Writing with Hemingway at City Park Grill by Stewert James

This was a fun and interesting collection of short stories, and a short novelette.  The entire book takes place in the northern Michigan city of Petoskey, and that made it more fun for me to read.  I’ve spent time during family vacations walking those streets and having lunch at that same hotel.  It was fun to go back to visit without leaving my couch.  The stories were written in first person, and I easily became involved in the emotion of each piece.
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Once particular piece that stood out was Kindle.  It is a curious paranormal piece that suggests that perhaps we are a little too connected to our devices; perhaps more than we should be.  I thought this story was tremendously imaginative and felt my heart quicken as I turned each page.  It was a fun bit of tension with a satisfyingly edgy ending.

My favorite of the collection was the novelette at the end of the book.  It was a wonderful way to wrap up an interesting trip Up North.  In the introduction to the piece, the author explains that this story was the product of a collaborative exercise.  Several members of a group gathered to layout the plot, and then each created a fictional character that was based on an actual person.  It’s clear that the group had terrific fun working together on this piece.  Their good-natured poking at people they obviously know well, and their speculative solution to one of the most publicized mysteries of Michigan, made this story one that expected nothing less than my full attention.  Their outrageous approach to this whodunit is fun and twisty.  It had me guessing right up until the end.
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If you’re from Michigan, you’ll enjoy this trip “home”. If you’re from someplace else, read this and enjoy a couch-vacation to a place you’ll not soon forget. 

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