Review: “Love Life” by Matt Shaw (2011)

Matt Shaw is well known in the publishing world for his extreme horror, which doesn’t bother me in the least, so when I was able to find this available on Kindle Unlimited, I went ahead and grabbed it. I wanted to get a sense for what people have been talking about since, for whatever reason, I haven’t read anything of his before.

This is a story about Kirk, who has a prostitute, Kim, come into his orbit twice in one day. The first time, he contacted her, and the second, she contacted him. As they spend the evening together, we begin to learn more about each of them.

Both share a common link to the past, which they didn’t know when the day began. As they begin exploring that link, more and more is revealed about Kim’s past, both distant and immediate.

But why is she trying to make as much money as possible in a single night? And what, or who, is she running from?

As this story progressed, it was definitely a slow burn. But that’s not a bad thing, because it’s counterbalanced by good character development. From a reader’s perspective, I found both Kim and Kirk to be sympathetic characters, well-rounded, and realistic.

The ramp-up to the climax is sudden and brutal but also completely in line with the plot to that point. Maybe I’m just a depraved individual, but a significant piece of the climax I had seen coming. However, that doesn’t make the story any less good. Shaw absolutely knows how to write brutal and extreme horror, even if it’s only for a few necessary pages.

Overall, I enjoyed this novella/novelette, and it was a quick and easy read. I’ll definitely be picking up other works from Shaw. If you would like to pick this one up yourself, it can be purchased through Amazon and perhaps other places.

Rating: Four Stars (Out Of Five Possible)

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