Author: Douglas R. Brown
Publisher: Epertase
2021 was a great reading year for me and this collection was the perfect book to close the year with. All the stories have interesting plots and even though they deal with heavy topics, Brown manages to sprinkle humor throughout all of them without making light of said topics. The collection is centered around A Firefighter’s Christmas Carol, which is an adaptation of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and has as its protagonist a firefighter named Ted who has been struggling with PTSD. Brown writes a touching foreword where he explains how he has also struggled with PTSD due to his job as a firefighter and how Ted’s struggles were largely based on his own.
During the foreword the author also continues to say that his intention with this story is to help others understand PTSD better, to end the stigma around it, and show to everyone that having a mental illness is not a moral failure nor does it equate to weakness. It takes a great deal of courage to be so open about your trauma, your struggles, and your downfalls as Brown does during his foreword. Another thing that I liked about these stories is that most of them have first responders as protagonists, which is something I’ve never seen before but it makes complete sense, because who sees more death and suffering than them?
Brown did an incredible job of showing the mental and emotional toll that the job has on first responders and how mental illness, in general, can turn someone’s life upside down. It’s a heavy and emotional read, but it’s one of the best short story collections out there so if it’s possible for you, I 100% recommend checking it out.
A Firefighter’s Christmas Carol – During Christmas Eve the firefighter Ted is visited by three ghosts (the past, the present, the future) who urge him to seek help before it’s too late. A heart-wrenching depiction of how struggling with PTSD and refusing to seek treatment can change someone and how that also hurts the one closest to them. It is a heavy story, I was crying by the end and had to take a break before reading the rest of the collection, please check the content warnings at the bottom of this review and practice self-care during and after your reading.
Janitor – This story has more twists and turns than a rollercoaster, every single time I thought I’d figured out where it was going the author threw me for another loop. The protagonist is the night janitor and quite fond of his job, that is until mysterious things start to happen during his shift and make him fear for his life.
Death Alarm – Ted has been having a hard time enduring the teasing of his coworkers in the fire department, but being a rookie means that he must play it cool if he wants the others to respect him. However, playing it cool becomes a lot harder when Ted starts seeing a woman who isn’t actually there. It was by far my favorite story of this collection, I loved the plot, the twist, the pace, everything except a tiny plot hole at the end. I don’t want to spoil anything, so forgive me for keeping it vague, but, during the first half of the story, there is a specific reason that the fire alarm goes off. However, in the second half, the fire alarm going off seems random and a bit like a Deus Ex Machina.
CatchTime – It goes back and forth in time as it follows two separate events that show how far some people’s anger issues go. Also, it’s a great cautionary tale about why you should always be kind to others, after all, you never know what a stranger can be capable of…
Skelwaller Lake – A fast-paced story that begins in the middle of a deadly chase and had me holding my breath all the way through. A large part of this story’s enjoyment relies on the reader not being sure of what’s happening and that’s why I won’t reveal anything else. However, like with all the other stories in this collection, it can be very triggering for some people, so I recommend checking the specific content warnings at the end of this review.
DOA - Toni gets more than she bargained for when she agrees to help a ghost solve his unfinished business and slowly remembers events from her own past. This story ties in with the first one, A Firefighter’s Christmas Carol, and it has a very open end, which makes me hope that the author writes a sequel featuring both Toni and Ted.
Trigger Warnings
A Firefighter Christmas Carol - Suicide, Substance Abuse, Child Death.
Janitor - Self Flagellation, Death, Hallucinations.
Death Alarm - Murder.
CatchTime - Murder.
Skelwaller Lake - Murder, Child Kidnapping, Implied Child SA, Body Horror.
DOA - Suicide, Murder, Child Death.
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