Saturday, May 10, 2014

Short Story Saturday: Angels by Jen Conley NEEDLE MAGAZINE, Spring 2014

Jen Conley is an editor at SHOTGUN HONEY and her stories have appeared in venues such as NEEDLE, THUGLIT, BEAT TO A PULP, LITERARY ORPHANS and YELLOW MAMA. She lives in New Jersey.

"Angel" is the traditional cop story we see too little of lately. It manages through excellent writing, atmosphere, and character to invigorate the genre.

A seasoned female cop gets the call to investigate an accusation of rape. The call has come in from a young boy, who is hesitant to provide the details necessary. The girl herself also has some doubts about reporting the crime and can't identify her assailant. The story does a great job of showing the reader why such a crime can be difficult to solve and prosecute. Conley also has a lot to say about grief. I hope Officer Andrea Vogel gets another case. She's a great protagonist.

This story appears in NEEDLE MAGAZINE, Spring 2014.

6 comments:

David Cranmer said...

Agreed. Jen and this character are tops.

Anonymous said...

This sounds great, Patti - thanks for the recommendation.

Anonymous said...

Patti, how was Grandparents Day?


Jeff M.

George said...

Patti, Diane just received the June issue of GOOD HOUSEKEEPING where they've picked Megan's THE FEVER as one of their recommended SUMMER READS. Congratulations!

Charles Gramlich said...

Will have to give it a try. I've not read anything by her.

Al Tucher said...

Excellent story, excellent issue. (Which also has a story by somebody named Patti Abbott).