Short Story Review: Should Have Gone to Vegas by Janine Pipe

The blog takeover continues!

Today, to celebrate Janine Pipe week, I’m reviewing her story ‘Should Have Gone to Vegas’, which appeared in the anthology, The One That Got Away.

Don’t forget to read to the end of the post for details on how to win a signed paperback of Janine Pipe’s new short story collection, Twisted: Tainted Tales.

Jack and Adam go camping in a dilapidated cabin in the woods to spend some time together and help Jack work on his new book.

As every horror lover knows, the woods are nasty, dark and deep; Jack and Adam are in for a big surprise!

I love Pipe’s voice. Her stories are so much fun. You know the woods are dangerous – Adam even references it at the beginning of the story by mentioning The Ritual – but you keep reading to find out exactly what nasty things are waiting for the two men.

The characters of Jack and Adam are well drawn and their friendship is believable. I like how Pipe introduces their backstory without infodumping.

There are so many little nods to other horror writers and pop culture in this story that had me squealing with delight when I discovered them. I may be wrong, but I took the names of the main characters to be nods to authors Jack Ketchum and Adam Cesare.

As this is a short story, I don’t want to say too much for fear of spoiling it, but I absolutely loved what the men find in the woods. The later half of the story had me chuckling, despite some great gore.

I award Should Have Gone to Vegas…