The Inside Man

Jane True

by Nicole Peeler

Award-winning author Nicole Peeler brings the supernatural adventure from Tempest Rising and Tempest Reborn to this urban fantasy short story in the spellbinding Carniepunk anthology.

The ladies of Triptych—Capitola, Shar, and Moo—are hardly impressed when a scared halfling approaches them with tales of his tiny Illinois hamlet having gone “ultra boring” after a visit from a traveling circus. But when more stories begin circulating of towns gone “walking dead” they decide to investigate. What they discover is a ringmaster bent on entertaining you…for the price of your soul.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Short Stories, Novella, Anthologies, Paranormal Romance

38 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 12, 2015

About the author

Nicole D. Peeler is an essayist and novelist, as well as an associate professor at Seton Hill University, where she directs their MFA in Writing Popular Fiction. Find out more at https://nicolepeeler.com, or sign up for her free newsletter at https://nicolepeeler.substack.com/.

Reviews

[RavensScar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick read about characters from the Jane True universe.

[Yolanda Sfetsos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is a creepy story that needs several trigger warnings because it contains scenes that show sexual abuse.

Capitola, Shar, and Moo are private investigators of the supernatural kind. When they're hired by a mob boss to find out what's been happening to a bunch of towns where the people are left empty, the girls find themselves in the middle of nowhere. With a clown...

Yikes! This is another great story with a cool mystery that turns out to be super creepy. And freaky as well. The way that clown is described sure is nightmare fodder. 😳

I really liked the main character in this one.
Capitola is interesting and funny, has a lot of attitude and intriguing origins. Not to mention her two equally interesting friends.

I've read a few books in the Jane True series and really enjoyed them but I don't remember these three side characters.

I really enjoyed this!

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read anything else in Peeler's Jane True series, but I found this short story very enjoyable! The three main characters are super interesting, and so is the concept of a paranormal "halfling" that was mentioned in the story. I loved the strong friendship between the three women and the action-driven plot, though the exploration of Moo's childhood trauma (content warning: rape; incest; parental abuse) might be triggering for some people. And I'm super curious why Moo is named... well, Moo, haha. I wonder if it's short for something.

[Kimm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy Clowns!

Great for frightening your friends who are scared of clowns, but it won't scar them for life. Nicole is so good at the weird scare.

[Debbie Chittenden · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm stunned to think this is considered a short story. Where is the story?

[Cyndi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story. I would like to try more in this series. Some great lines..."You didn't tell me about the killer clowns"

[Chrissie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 I rounded it up.

I didn't like this one as much as the others in the Carniepunk anthology. I liked the tone of the book, and the humor, but for some reason the plot didn't thrill me.