Hardly Even Rich

A Short Story

By: Dennis Canfield

Narrated by: Nick Podehl

Three million dollars, illegal drugs, and a woman with a violent history - what could possibly go wrong?

Brian Jeffries is a life insurance agent who's willing to cut corners if he must to sell a policy. It's all fine until the death of a client puts everything he values at risk.

©2018 Dennis Canfield (P)2018 Dennis Canfield

When we choose to deceive

A good short that sends a lesson to all about how a wicked web of deceit and lies always catches the worst luck for the weaver. I enjoyed this quick story and for those who are looking for a good Christmas read please check out a cute cozy novella by this same author called “Back to Christmas”.

Well Crafted Short Story

I received a free copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

Oh what a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive...

It was just a little lie, or omission, between friends ... no big deal... who is ever going to know and if it helps us both out... But now, the situation has changed and how far would one go to keep the little lie from bubbling up to the surface? That becomes the central question in this story.

Although variations of this type of story has been told before, this is a well crafted short story. It is always interesting to see what happens when a character believes they have total control over events but in actuality are just spiraling.

Prepare for things to escalate quickly!

What an exciting short story! Hardly Even Rich blends the sins of pride, greed, envy and wrath into one all-too-realistic spiral of events.One small lapse in judgment is all it takes sometimes, and in this case, a man's seemingly insignificant exception to a rule, paired with a woman's brazen greed, enables a huge nightmare for many.

What would I do in the same situation? That's the question you can't help but ask yourself as the feces hit the fan.

The narration for this short was remarkably well done by Nick Podehl. His work is worth searching out if you're looking for well-narrated books to add to your wish list.

Exciting Short Story Thriller

Hardly Even Rich by Dennis Canfield is an exciting short story that is well written with a few twists at the end of the story. Without giving anything away, our "hero" is a life insurance salesman who bends a few rules to get a commission to help support his stay-at-home wife and a daughter. After he sells insurance to a friend without disclosing that the friend occasionally smokes pot in order to offer him a lower rate, the friend ends up dead only a few months later. When the widow threatens to expose the salesman for knowing about the pot smoking, he jumps through several hoops in an attempt to appease the widow to no avail. The rest of the story focuses on how he can escape the mess he finds himself in.

Although the audiobook was just one hour, it certainly packs an entertaining punch and was a stimulating listen on the morning commute to work. Nick Podehl was an excellent narrator and he had differing voices for both male and female characters. Simply put, I'd listen to anything written by Dennis Canfield.

WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE...

... when first we practice, to deceive. One little corner cut, one little thing overlooked ... Seems so innocent, right? Who'd ever know? Then the S hits the fan.

The truth always comes out. Or... .does it? Some people will even be driven to violence, even murder, to keep the secret. Some you might not even expect.

"She's a psycho. Absolute, Goddamn psycho."

Wow, very interesting story! It's short, but very good. It seems like it could easily happen ... just a small "white lie," and now there's blood spilled. Then you're in so deep you don't think you can ever get out of it. $3 million is a lot of money.... what WILL it take to protect their secret? Crazy ending!

Story and narration were awesome! Definitely recommended :)
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Packs a Punch!

Wow. I really enjoyed this! This is a short story, so the audio book comes in at just under an hour...I was intrigued, but I'm used to listening to unabridged versions of fairly long books that take days to finish...I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy something so short. This one kind of knocked me on my butt. Seriously. The tension starts from the very first page, and it just keeps ratcheting up and up and up. I'm not quite sure how the author did it, but I was glued to my seat, totally focused on this story--I just could not move or do anything else until it was over. And I didn't even LIKE some of these people!

At it's core, it's a very basic premise...how one (apparently) innocuous decision can have far reaching impact on your life...and when it does, what will you do? What kind of person are you? What choices will you make? I like that the author kept the cast of characters small and intimate...the characters we got to know, we got to know fairly well and their voices (personalities) were consistent, even as circumstances changed around them. One character in particular...there were a couple early clues that she wasn't quite what she seemed--when she dropped one line in particular fairly early on, I immediately thought something was up with her...she surprised me more later, but when I re-listened, I found she actually was who she was all along. The clues are there....There is a LOT packed into this tightly wound short story.

I wouldn't have thought a short story about a life insurance salesman could lead to so much drama and tension...but it does, and I was fascinated, listening to it play out. I have not read this author's work before, but I will definitely be looking to read more from him.

Nick Podehl is an excellent and very experienced narrator--he's done hundreds of performances of audio books, and he is consistently very strong. His characters are clearly defined and he conveys emotion very well. He is an excellent voice actor, and having him on this story helps make the audio book an outstanding listen.