The Safe Man: A Ghost Story (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
Brian Holloway can open any safe and thinks he knows all of them. Until he is invited to open the safe that is under the floor of the house of the famous writer Robinette. It is a Le Seuil and neither Brian nor the colleague he consults have ever heard of it. But a job is a job, so he sets to drilling the safe open. When he enters the safe there is nothing in it except the feeling that something is wrong. When he returns with some more tools there is a small girl in the room, Lucy, with whom he has a short chat. At home he tells his 8-months pregnant wife that he has met a girl with the name of their future baby girl. And then the daughter of Mr. Robinette disappears from the house of which she is sure that it is haunted. Initially, Brian is a suspect but then the girl is found and things turn out not the way you would think they would be. After talking to the daughter, he knows things about the future that he will have to tell his wife, but how to tell her...A different type of story from Michael Connelly, a very short one (only 22 pages) at that, but it shows that he can also tell a decent ghost story. This short story is certainly a change of pace for Michael Connelly, known for his full-length police procedurals starring Harry Bosch. The main character opens safes for a living. His father, now in prison, was a safe-cracker of the criminal variety but this guy operates on the right side of the law. He is called to a job at the home of an eccentric and crabby writer. While he succeeds at opening an unfamiliar type of safe, he wishes he'd never been able to crack its code. Strange story that left a lot of details hanging. It features Connelly's usual great writing, but it just didn't do much for me. A 2.5 for me.
What do You think about The Safe Man: A Ghost Story (2012)?
interesting short story. Actually reminded me of The Woman in Black. Very short
—Denay
