UNSETTLED by Jay Sigler

UNSETTLED: A NOVELLA by Jay Sigler

Published April 19th 2019

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(from the book description)

Friends since high school, Brendan and Matt have been there for each other through all of life's ups and downs. But when a devastating accident takes everything from Brendan plunging him into a state of paranoid obsession, their friendship is put to the ultimate test. Fighting to keep his own family from falling apart, Matt struggles to help his friend, and his long suppressed anger begins raging to the surface.

As raw emotions take over, the lines of reality begin to blur. And when actions are taken solely on perceived reality, can anything truly be settled?

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Wow! Yes that is my expert, official statement about UNSETTLED. I just finished it and had to sit for awhile to gather my thoughts and decide how to right up a review that is both informative and at the same time not ruin what is such a well crafted story. So I decided to just talk about my views on the story and let the description from the book cover above be the only peek at the actual story line.

I went into this novella knowing I was not going to get a smiley happy tale. If you have read the author's first novel TRAIN THOUGHTS (review available HERE), you will already know that his style is very raw and emotional and at times horrifying. 

UNSETTLED takes the agony and despair from TRAIN THOUGHTS and turns it up to 11. Jay's ability to create a believable character is on display right up front. This is a small cast, our two main characters, Brendan and Matt, and 3 more that figure into the story. The attention given to these few characters is wonderful. They are your normal, every-day people, they have flaws, they have ups-and-downs and most of all they have inner turmoil and secrets. 

This story is 100% emotion. From the first page, till the last you will be biting your nails as the next chapter unfolds. There are no creatures here or malevolent forces, the true monsters are the human characters themselves. Whether driven by anger, despair or resentment, sometimes what man can do to man is the most horrible thing we can witness. 

The despair and tension build to a crescendo in the final chapters and all boils over into a utterly horrifying, bloody and tragic ending.

 This is only the 3rd published work by author Jay Sigler, and with UNSETTLED he has placed himself in some rare company with other authors who excel at emotional horror such as Chad Lutzke and Brain James Freeman.

UNSETTLED is a small novella at just over 60 pages, so it is perfect for your weekend read. Just have 1, no maybe 2, OK let's just say 3 glasses of wine ready while you read. This story will make you gasp and leave your heart aching, but you don't want to pass it up.

You can purchase UNSETTLED in ebook and print on AMAZON.

To learn more about JAY SIGLER and his works you can follow is author's page on FACEBOOK.