C. W. Bennett

Hudson Valley Stories C. W. Bennett 1st edition

These eight short stories explore aspects of comeuppance and redemption, among other outcomes. There is often confusion about where to place empathy when a thief?s target is another thief, or when a career bully tastes his own medicine from someone he previously victimized; and we are generally pleased when malevolence changes to goodwill for any reason. The main characters in these stories bear out the realities that good people sometimes lose, or lose control, and can be guilty of isolated or even regular indiscretions, and that blatant, glaring evil often goes unrecognized. All eight stories, though purely fictional, are inspired by various towns in the Lower Hudson Valley region of New York State. 'Coldenham Manor' is a short read without any dialog which deals with changing fortunes of time that are often beyond our control but with solutions within sight, and reach, if we take the time to look. In 'Claiming Spaces' a single father rids his property of dastardly four-legged denizens and learns a lesson in forgiveness and tolerance when a family member goes missing. 'The Eighty-four Mobiles' centers around two major New York highways that intersect in a near-perfect cross in Orange County; a serial killer is on the loose, and at least one likely victim realizes what she has in common with those who have already disappeared.