Diverse, dark-humoured, and deliciously bite-sized, this compelling collection of 12 short stories by JT Lawrence include: ‘Escape’ — a suicidal baby who knows he was born into the wrong life has to get creative and take measures to correct the mistake, much to his mother’s horror.

‘The Itch’ — a story about an intense, uncontrollable, unexplainable itch that lands the protagonist in a mental institution.

‘Bridge Gate’ — In this poignant and charming short story, a daughter yearns to connect with her absent father through the letters they exchange. She’s not put off by his pedantic corrections of her writing, despite the slow reveal that he is less than perfect himself.

‘The Unsuspecting Gold-digger’ — a woman gradually poisons her husband so that she doesn’t have to break his heart.

This is a collection of twelve short stories, all cleverly written and many with a twist at the end. Some of the stories are comical, and some are sad.

I won’t describe each one but here are a sample of them:-

‘The Itch’ is a fantastic story that will have you itching! I couldn’t stop scratching as I read it, much to the amusement of my partner. I’m even itching as I write this! You will not be able to resist scratching either. It’s a clever story that deals with mental health and is quite graphic in its descriptions.

‘Travelling Slacks’ was one of my favourite stories in this collection. The story is told via the review/s of a Bed and Breakfast establishment and the response/s of the owner. It’s an amusing and very original story, and gets funnier as it moves forward.

‘Bridge Gate’ is a series of letters between a father and daughter. The father is spending time at Her Majesty’s pleasure. His letters to his daughter, who is too young to realise that’s Bridge Gate is a prison, are blunt. He is also very critical of her grammar. As the letter exchange continues, we soon see the real and caring person behind them and warm to him. I didn’t expect the ending at all. It took me completely by surprise.

‘Escape’ is about a baby hell bent on suicide. The idea of this is an unpleasant one. I wasn’t sure what to expect but it’s quite a comedic tale from an interesting viewpoint.

There are many themes in this collection; murder, mental illness, and infidelity are just a few. I’m not usually a fan of short stories. I’ve come across many that have bored me because they’ve had no substance to them. This collection is very different and enjoyable. I would recommend reading Sticky Fingers.

JT Lawrence is an author, playwright and bookdealer based in Parkhurst, Johannesburg. She is the mother of two small boys and a baby girl, and lives in a house with a red front door.

Her first novel, ‘The Memory of Water’ (2011), is about a writer who would do anything for a story. It’s an Amazon bestseller with over 20,000 downloads. Her 2015 offering, ‘Why You Were Taken’, is a pre-dystopian sci-fi thriller starring a synaesthete, and takes place in a futuristic Jo’burg burdened by infertility and a water crisis. It was optioned by the national broadcaster and the much anticipated sequel, ‘How We Found You’, is currently in the works.

JT has written various plays for SAFM including ‘The Shelter’, ‘Unspilling the Milk’, ‘Every Breath You Take’, and serials, the most recent being the crime drama ‘Jigsaw’. Her short story collection ‘Sticky Fingers’ was broadcast in the last quarter of 2015, and is now available as a paperback and ebook.

Her humorous memoir, ‘The Underachieving Ovary’, was released in September 2016.

‘Grey Magic’ is her latest novel. It’s about an eccentric modern-day witch, accused of murder, who must explore her past lives in order to keep her freedom — and find her way back to magic.

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