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Review #4746905
Viewing a review of:
 Checkmate  [13+]
The late summer night when Mrs. Richards lost the last chess game of her life
by Josh T. Alto
Review of Checkmate  
Review by Beholden
In affiliation with WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group  
Rated: 13+ | (4.5)
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Review of Checkmate by Josh T. Alto

This is quite a strange little tale. At several points it leaves the reader wondering how the narrator knows all this, since no one casn possibly have witnessed the action. But that's common to most stories - it just stands out a little more in this one as it speaks so much of what was going on in Mrs Richards' head. The reader accepts it all for the sake of the story.

I like the construction of the piece a great deal. The way the facts are announced with newspaper report precision at the start, then the witness account of finding the doors locked and knocking not answered, it follows very smoothly and logically. It's a bit of as jump from there into Mrs Richards' thoughts as she plays chess with her dead husband, but it's not an impossible jump for most readers, I would guess. And the piece is so well written that I'm enjoying it for that alone.

Perhaps the most mystifying aspect of the sstory is the mellowing of Mr Richards in death. Far from being his once violent self, it seems he has become a rather more thoughtful ghost and deflects much of Mrs Richards' criticism as a result. This may seen a slight anomaly in view of his previous ominous predictions of what awaits her in death.

There were a couple of minor flaws that I'll list here:

"Mr. Morgan shouted at him “Come on Buster, let her sleep!”, but he did not leave the door and kept barking." Sounds at first that it was Mr Richards who did not leave the door. Saved by the barking but it's too late to prevent that little hiccup.

"in one of their quarrel before he died" Should be "quarrels".

Otherwise it's a charming story, well written and most enjoyable. Well done.



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