Amy McCorkle delivers a hard-driven short story with the fury of an AK-47 in “Another Way To Die”

Reviewed by Rena Short Brashear

McCorkle’s descriptions of guns blazing and windows shattering capture attention immediately in her story, set in Kentucky, with all the undertones of the reality of seedy drug life. 

The description of Daniel Logan brings to mind (as McCorkle said) Daniel Craig, but with an edgier feel. His cold-hearted plays with Kingpin Jack Sands equal the tenderness he shows to Alimira. These two, regardless of their past, are destined for one another in the future.  

McCorkle could have used more detail in describing the scenery of the mountains coming through Cumberland Gap by mentioning one of the cities instead of just saying the character found a motel on I-65. However, as with all truly great stories, the twist in the middle blows the reader away, leaving a lust for more that grabs the reader like a drug.

Delve into the history of Jack Sands:  his psychotic behavior and his total lack of respect for any woman, including his own daughter.  McCorkle shows just how far Jack is willing to go to get what he wants and how this one obsession could very well be his downfall.

Almira’s journey from a drug-addicted pawn in her father’s Illegal Empire to cleaning up her act is a rocky road filled with crooks and turns. She is one tough broad who knows what she wants and how to get it. Does she get free of Jack? Will Daniel turn her in or love her? The reader will be left on the edge until the very last chapter.

Taste the suspense, cut the friction with a knife and serve it up cold–just like the revenge Almira wants for her father, Jack Sands, in “Another Way To Die.” Find “Another Way to Die” and other titles by Amy McCorkle on her website.