Crime Scene

by Rick R. Reed

After discovering a photograph in a book of a little girl killed by her own mother, a woman becomes preoccupied wondering how anyone could kill their own child. One hot summer day the answer becomes all too violently clear.

"An amazing, heartfelt look at one woman's need to offer herself a reason for the horror she feels looking at a crime scene photo. This is a riviting short story. It will be very hard to stop reading until the end; this story is so well crafted, even then you will want more."
(Author TW Spencer)

"Stunning in its ability to deliver a compelling story in such a small amount of words, CRIME SCENE is masterful and really delivers an emotional gut-punch."
(Author Jesse S. Greever)

Genres: Short Stories, Horror, Thriller, Crime

18 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 5, 2010

About the author

Real Men. True Love.

Rick R. Reed is an award-winning and bestselling author of more than sixty works of published fiction, spanning genres such as horror, psychological suspense and love stories. He is a Lambda Literary Award finalist and a multiple Rainbow Award winner.

Entertainment Weekly has described his work as “heartrending and sensitive.” Lambda Literary has called him: “A writer that doesn’t disappoint…”

Find him at www.rickrreedreality.blogspot.com. Rick lives in Palm Springs, CA, with his two rescue dogs, Kodi and Joaquin.

Reviews

[LenaRibka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Considering the topic, this extremely short story could be added to the collection of You Are Not a Stranger Here, but I found it less complex and not interesting enough for it.

[Cindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This tells the story of a woman haunted by a crime scene photo of a young girl who was murdered by her own mother. The woman becomes so obsessed with the image of the child that she can't get it out of her head, even for a moment. She must find a way to find peace, to reconcile in her mind, the reasoning behind such an act.

Only a true storyteller can say so much in so few pages. This is classic Rick R. Reed, and the type of story that originally sucked me into his writing way back when.

Highly recommended.

[Jason Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is very short but for the length, it is amazingly written. I could feel the heat and hear all the noises from the street and the beach.

[T.W. Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing, heartfelt look at one woman's need to offer herself a reason for the horror she feels looking at a crime scene photo. This is a riviting short story. It will be very hard to stop reading until the end; this story is so well crafted, even than you will want more. I will be reading more of Rick Reed's writings for that reason alone.

[Jesse S. Greever · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both distrubing in topic and stunning in its ability to deliver a compelling story in such a small amount of words, CRIME SCENE is masterful and really delivers an emotional gut-punch.

[Petrina Binney · Rating 5 out of 5]

As ever Rick R Reed astonishes me. I think this short and haunting story is going to live with me for a very long time.

[Harrison Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disturbing little tale by a writer who can write the hell out of a short story. It's hard to describe this one without giving it away but Reed does a masterful job here of examining some of the more disturbing aspects of human nature, such as the urge to witness other people's misfortunes, especially when someone is compelled to slow down and witness a car crash. And then once they see another's trauma, they then need to dissemble what they've seen in order to cope with it. Reed sets an ominous tone and doesn't let up. Recommended if you're a fan of crime fiction or psychological horror.

[Sydney Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story about a woman who is haunted by the picture of a crime scene. It evoked my own memories of the day I heard about a similar crime in my own back yard (Andrea Yates). Simply, yet masterfully written.