Short Fiction Friday: Two from HarperCollins

E shorts and teasers have become quite the trend of late. Some folks are understandably not fans - they tend to add little to the series themselves. I quite enjoy them: they give me a little chance to get back to authors and characters I love, and even work to refresh my Swiss cheese memory. Some, like Lisa Unger's Whispers stories and Elliott James's Pax Arcana shorts, are complete stories on their own. Others, like Hallie Ephron's "Photoplay" offer up a bit of extra insight into an upcoming release. Most admittedly tend not to include anything completely necessary to the series, but I'm fine with that as it means folks who don't come across them (or don't have e readers) ultimately aren't missing out on anything huge.

Elizabeth Haynes is one of the authors who has jumped on board with this trend. I've gobbled up and reviewed each new release only to anxiously wait for the next one to come. The second title in her Briarstone Crime series released in March but just a few months prior to that Haynes and Harper teased us with the release of "Promises to Keep," a short set between Under a Silent Moon and Behind Closed Doors.

If you've read the two books, then you know that DS Sam Hollands has been dealing with a recent break up. Her partner, Jo, was reprimanded for becoming too involved in a case and eventually left Sam. In "Promises to Keep" we get more of Jo's story from the discovery of Hassan Reza in the woods to her decision to leave Sam. It's a great short, giving the reader more insight into something seen only through Sam's eyes in the novels and tying up a few odds and ends that are glazed over in the series.

Again, for readers who don't like e books or shorts, you're not missing anything huge but if you're a fan of the series and open to these little reads it's a great bonus!

Rating: 3/5

Another new one to get readers stoked about an upcoming release from Harper is Sophie Hannah's "The Warning." Hannah's ninth Spilling CID title, Woman with a Secret (aka The Telling Error), releases in August here in the States. This is Hannah's first release in the series coming to us from Harper so it's definitely a boon to them to offer up a taste for readers who may be unfamiliar with the series as a whole.

In "The Warning" a stranger comes to the rescue when Chloe and her daughter, Freya, most need him.  The man is cordial and attractive, gaining Chloe's interest almost immediately. But even when she's warned off the man, she finds herself unable to fully resist his charm. Is he really as bad as he's made out to be or is this a case of someone spurned getting their revenge?

"The Warning" features both of the Spilling CID leads but isn't really a true series tie in. It is a fun and quick little read great for enticing folks who have yet to try Hannah or her series.

Rating: 3/5

(Both shorts do include excerpts of the newest series installments.)