Visitations — Jonas Saul

Visitations has twenty-five short stories in a horror/thriller collection from Jonas Saul The Visitation Jake is about to get married. He wants his mother to be part of the wedding, but she is dying of cancer. During the vows, he looks up to see his mother watching the ceremony with a smile. After the wedding, Jake calls the private nurse to thank her, only to find out his mother died the night before. A mysterious stranger shows up to tell Jake that the price his mother agreed to pay in order to be at the wedding needs to be collected at a later date. Now the debt has come due and only Jake can pay the price. But will he go that far? The Painting A painting in Matt's office has him spooked. On the surface, it is nothing more than a landscape scene, but unaccountably it has come to life. One evening the creek begins to flow, the leaves on the trees rustle, and a deer is spooked by someone close by. To his shock, Matt's wife enters the scene followed by his ex-business partner. He discovers they are having an affair and hears them plot his murder. Angered, Matt comes up with a plan of his own, but his plan may cost him more than he bargained for. Near-Death Experience A writer meets a woman online and falls deeply in love, but before they can meet in person, she is brutally murdered. When the writer goes to their prearranged meeting spot in honor of her memory, he discovers a shocking truth. A Greater Justice A man who is trying to get out of the life of crime is offered a lot of money for one more job. He agrees, but discovers his new employers are the ones who killed his son a year ago. His decides to make his last job one of vengeance. The Imprudent Son Returns Perry Strall had an illegitimate son who is serving a life sentence for murder. But now he is out of prison and on his way home -- to his real father. His son has questions he wants answered, whatever it takes. Even if it means another murder. The Uniqueness of Life Rebecca is in the bank when she sees her husband outside. He motions her to join him. She leaves the bank just as a robbery commences, and she escapes a bullet by seconds. When she gets outside, her husband has disappeared. The Newspaper A man reads about an accidental death in the newspaper, but the paper is dated for tomorrow. The next day he rushes out to save the victims of the accident only to discover that he knows them. Will he be a hero or arrested for attempted murder? Don't Shoot Jim Bower's flat is haunted. He has decided to join the others who live in his basement apartment. These visitors knock on the walls, move things around and torment him. He digs through the wall and into the dirt foundation of the house, searching for the perpetrators. If they can be disruptive, then so can he. But first, he must remove his pesky landlord who harasses him about the noise. Stuck A hostage negotiator's worst nightmare comes true. He is called out on a case where his wife is the victim. The Truth A renowned psychic is performing mass readings at a stadium when an entity tells her there is a murderer among them. These and other great stories await you in Visitations