5.0 out of 5 stars O'Henry Endings for Lovers of a Twist of the Tale Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2025 I was pleasantly surprised by this collection, which is Canadian in setting but uni

5.0 out of 5 stars O'Henry Endings for Lovers of a Twist of the Tale

Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2025

I was pleasantly surprised by this collection, which is Canadian in setting but universal in appeal. If you like older men starting as fools but finishing as heroes, then you will enjoy the self-published, collected stories of Peter Clarke. The book begins with a love story, but it's nothing like typical romance fiction. This opening story pays off with a twist ending, as do most of the longer stories in this book. The longest spans generations and really could have been expanded even further. Nevertheless, its impatience to end provides one of the most satisfying dramatic reversals of the collection. It follows a distraught son who succumbs to tragedy, which initially drags him into homelessness and crime. However, like I said, these stories don't end as you'd expect. Other stories have a more lighthearted tone, showcasing the author's range of humor as well as drama. There are a few poems and non-fiction pieces interspersed throughout, but it's the hard-boiled fiction that really shines, in my opinion.