Short Story Review: The Lawyer, The Ghost and The Cursed Chair by Ruth Sims

Reviewed by Alan Chin
Published by Untreed Reads Publishing

Horatio Lamar (H.L.) Snodgrass IV comes from a long line of successful Lawyers. At the height of his own success, he decides to do an office makeover, and he pays someone to haul away some tattered furniture that has been in his family for generations. That night, H.L. is visited by the ghost of Hawkins Forsythe Snodgrass, H.L.’s Great-great-great Grandfather. Hawkins tells H.L. that he should have never gotten rid of a certain chair, because it had a curse on it. If H.L. doesn’t get the chair back soon, a string of misfortunes will surely befall him. H.L. chocks the vision up to a bad food combination, and ignores the ghost’s warning. But that night his boyfriend leaves him, the next day his wife cleans out the joint bank accounts and drops him like second-period Spanish, he wrecks his car, and his secretary sues him for sexual harassment. It begins to dawn on H.L. that maybe he should get that damned chair back. Thus begins this hilarious journey.

This is a fun, fun read. It is not one of those stories that had me laughing out loud, but rather, it had me glowing with joy. The language, characters and situations all combined to tickle my funny bone. There was nothing deep about this read. It’s a pleasure that one treats oneself to, like a rich dessert only without the calories.

For me, comedy is the most difficult thing to pull off, and Ruth Sims shows off her notable skill and imagination with this little gem. This is the kind of story you want to have handy on a gloomy day, because it will most certainly cheer you up.

I can highly recommend this read to anyone who enjoys quirky characters and funny situations. Or for that matter, to anyone who just needs a good laugh.

http://www.ruthsims.com/
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