Sticky Fingers

If the balance is off, bad things can happen.

In the book Sticky Fingers, J.T.Lawrence has given the reader twelve beautifully written and unexpected short stories. Each is quite unique, told almost exclusively from the point of view of the main protagonist, be that a kleptomaniac woman, a suicidal baby or, in the case of this reader's personal favourite, Travelling Slacks, a detailed entry into the Trip Adviser Review and the conversation which results from it between the guest and the owner of the establishment.

Each time, the author takes the reader inside the head of the character who is telling their own story, and sometimes there just might be another person already inside, as in the detective investigation, She Did It. And not everything is as it first appears. Most are enjoyable, all very readable and strange but at the same time completely human and real, little tastes of the surprising unique individuality of people.

The audiobook is narrated by Bianca Flanders and it is a reading rather than a performance, with little variation given to different character definition. The timbre of her voice is pleasant and well paced, she reads, too, with apparent understanding and her pronunciation crystal sharp. However, her slight accent (South African?) sometimes left me uncertain of a given word, as in the story entitled The Itch which I initially believed was called The Etch, to my puzzlement. This mistake rapidly was corrected but there were other occasions where the meaning remained unresolved. But overall, hers was a good narration.

Sticky Fingers is more than a collection of short stories. It is a coming together of a small group of individuals, each with some strange quirk which the author brings vividly to life for the reader. Not necessarily always likable, each is, however, interesting and well worth getting to know. It is a remarkable experience.
Definitely recommended.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Fresh new talent

Audio Book Review
Sticky Fingers Volume 1 By Jt. Lawrence.

A fantastic collection of dark short stories. I thought these were gripping to listen to and well written. The narrator had a calming soothing voice that wrapped you up in a blanket of darkness and macabre. Honestly I can't say I had a favourite tale as they were all pretty marvellous to listen to. I highly recommend listening to this or reading the book. A highly addictive experience to indulge into this world.
Five Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
By Jennifer.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great mix of stories

This was fab. Such a mix from Itch, an itch that has consequences to Sticky Fingers how tempting to pick that up and why?
JT Lawrence has covered lots of topics to tempt the listener to keep them enthralled. The narrator is very clear and well spoken. Very enjoyable.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Thoroughly enjoyed

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

I had never heard of this author but I love short stories so thought I'd give the book a go. Honestly I was blown away. It's hard to review short stories without spoilers but some of the endings had me exclaim out loud. A couple times I thought I knew what twist was coming and the twist was twisted.
Thoroughly enjoyed and will look out for more by this author.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A great mix of stories

A really enjoyable listen, such a mix of story types and themes. Love J.T. Lawrence’s writing style.

Twelve creepy stories.

I don't normally read short stories - I'm kind of keeping them for when my memory only has a 20min retention span! But I had the chance to listen to this series of 12 tales and I really enjoyed them.
They made me smile in a dark sort of way. I can't help but wonder what goes on in this author's mind.
An added bonus for me was that the author is from South Africa and while this didn't affect most of them, it did add an interesting slant.

I enjoyed the narration by Bianca Flanders, clear and well paced. I'm surprised to see she's not narrating the next two collections.

I'm not sure I had a favourite story, but maybe Traveller's Slacks: Trip Advisor gone mad, will be the one that sticks in my mind. That and the kamikaze baby, as I was looking after my new baby grandsons at the time.
I have the next two collections on audio, so I'm looking forward to some new insights into the brain of JT Lawrence.

Interesting and attention grabbing

JT Lawrence was an unknown author to me before reading this book, and I am more than happy to say that I will look out for other books by them. These short tales were unique and some left you questioning just what was happening, whilst others were a little predictable. They were all engaging and able to weave a story with little trouble, which was nice to see. Bianca did well with the characters, building them all up as individuals and giving them their own life rather than just different shades of one another. It truly felt like each story was separate from the last.

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A must read for J.T. Lawrence fans

I normally don’t enjoy short stories, but being this collection written by J.T. Lawrence, I had to listen to it. They are twelve clever stories, each one with a special twist. They are all very different, and each of them contains the yeast for them to become a longer story.

It’s difficult to say which was my favorite: I loved Bridge Gate, The Unsuspecting Gold Digger, Travelling Slacks, and Sticky Fingers, the one that gives the title to the book. Lawrence creates very vivid characters and incredible situations, and it’s so easy to relate to the characters that it is sometimes a bit scary, because some of these stories show the darkest parts of the human heart.

Many of these stories had an ‘OMG moment’ that had me mulling for a while, and this is surprising about short stories since I find it hard for them to move me in general.

Bianca Flanders did justice to the material, delivering a gripping narration with great character interpretations and voice inflections just at the right moments.

This is a must read for J.T. Lawrence fans. She writes so well and is so creative that I want to be her!

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Outstanding crazy stories!

The reader is so good, giving us great interpretation of the storues. The stories are unusual and short, but with plenty of depth! I enjoyed these weird stories because they are so good!!

A voice for the end of the world

If ever they need someone to announce the onset of the Apocalypse, they need look no further than Bianca Flanders. She has the kind of crystal clear, calm, impassive voice best suited for warning you of impending horrors whilst simultaneously reminding you of the importance of good manners. It's exactly the right voice for this collection, too: stories for the most part about something awful in the post, whilst the cast of characters react too late or fail to notice (pretend not to notice?) the terrible things going on. All the stories are different - they aren't all ghost stories or horror stories, but there is a definite creepiness to most of them. Loved this collection and have just downloaded the next volume.