Deep in the Woods

A Short Story

By: Justin M. Johnson

Narrated by: Tom Jordan

When Tommy's Uncle Willy gives he and his wife three hundred dollars to help them out, both Tommy and Tina know it's more than just a gift. But what does Tommy's uncle want in return?

©2017 Justin M. Johnson (P)2017 Justin M. Johnson and CCS Publishing

Captivating 20 minutes

Any additional comments?

This is exactly what a short story should be. It wastes no time setting up the tension from the very beginning which hooks you immediately. There's just enough backstory to make the characters believable but mostly dedicates itself to the present and the atmosphere. It held me from the uncertain beginning to the uncomfortable resolution. The story arc is like the uncle's character: starts as unnerving and it's all downhill from there.

I've heard many short stories from this author and narrator pair. They make a good team and I'm glad to have listened to another by them. In fact, I have a few more in my queue by this pair which I can't wait to get to.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

A gritty well written and overall excellent story!

What made the experience of listening to Deep in the Woods the most enjoyable?

For a story of this length I was surprised at how well the author put just enough detail into every scene to make me disappear into the story. Not a word was wasted. This could have easily been an hour long tale but Johnson did a fabulous job of trimming the fat and giving you and amazing story in such a short amount of time.

What other book might you compare Deep in the Woods to and why?

Reminded of well done scene from Mario Puzo's The Godfather. Perhaps a prequel or a side story.

Have you listened to any of Tom Jordan’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is my first Tom Jordan audio but my interest is now piqued. His performance of the material was very well done.

If you could take any character from Deep in the Woods out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Uncle Willy. I'm sure he would have plenty of stories to tell over a nice five course meal.

Any additional comments?

The writing was very well done. The dialogue believable and honest. Every character, even the bit players, had their own style and feel. Tom Jordan did a superb job bringing this story to life

Definite five stars – across the board

Deep in the Woods is an exciting and surprisingly satisfying short story that takes you on a journey on what exactly can happen when you accept a favor from the wrong person. Tom Jordan the narrator was great – personalizing the prose with character voices that brought the story to life. Definite five stars – across the board.

Short but good

This was a complete story even though it was a short one. In interesting story and even more interesting ending.

The Price of a Gift

Deep in the Woods may be a short book but it is packed full of suspense. Tom Jordan does a phenomenal job at narrating and his voices are supremely done. The characters are quirky yet scary all at the same time. The storyline I will just say the old saying "never look a gift horse in the mouth" would be quite wrong in this scenario. Justin M. Johnson I take my hat off to you packed a lot of story into 20 minutes of thrilling suspense. I received this book from Audiobooks Unleashed and this is my honest unbiased review.