It's been 20 years since I was the parent of a kindergartener, but I still remember my son coming home with a stuffed toy and a note from the teacher telling me it was our turn to host said toy for the weekend, and to record in it's diary the events of our time together. I don't remember what we shared with the class but I do remember keeping quiet about our cat dragging it to the litter box in an attempt to bury it or maybe murder it. Perhaps the cat sensed something? In this short story Doggem goes home with a very special boy. George is to host Doggem for the entire 6 week school break. This is more than enough time for Doggem to become privy to dark family secrets that even little George has yet to discover.
Is there such a category as whimsical horror? If not, I think the author has invented it. This was an enjoyable read that would have fit in perfectly as an episode of Amazing Stories or Tales from The Darkside.

I received a complimentary copy for review.
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This review first appeared on scifiandscary.com

‘Doggem’ is a creepy little delight. A small but very nearly perfectly formed short story that made me smile and kept me flipping its pages. It has a fun concept which puts a nice spin on the standard “inanimate object comes to life” horror trope and it uses that to good effect in a satisfying and well-structured story.

The ‘Doggem’ of the title is a stuffed toy, one of those that primary/elementary school classes have and which the kids get to take home over the weekend and bring back along with diary entries detailing all the fun they’ve had. As the parent of a 10-year old I no longer have to endure such things, but it’s only a few years since we had similar visitors in our home and felt the pressure to do something suitably exciting/educational with them so that the other parents didn’t judge us.

In this case, Doggem is aware of what’s going on around him, even if his inability to move means he can’t directly influence events. His weekend with young George Gould and his parents is filled with the kind of stuff a horror story should be, murder, revenge and fiendish twists. The story that author John F Leonard tells is a relatively simple one, but he tells it beautifully, with engaging prose and an enjoyably dark sense of humour. Doggem gets some chapters of his own, and his take on the events he is witnessing is amusingly world weary.

The big question with solo short stories is always value for money one and there are certainly books you could buy for the same price that would last you a lot longer. In fact, the 79 pages the Amazon listing claims for ‘Doggem’ is padded out with some other material at the end. What you get for your money though is a story that is delightfully dark and genuinely different. I’d definitely recommend it, and if you have Kindle Unlimited I’d suggest snapping it up now for a coffee break read,

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What a fun and dark short story this was!

It's young George's turn to take Doggem home from school over the holidays. Doggem is a cute little stuffed toy and George is excited. The one responsibility that comes along with Doggem is his diary entries. George is required to write about Doggem's life from Doggem's point of view over their time off. George is a little worried about that, but is proud and happy to give it a shot. He will soon discover though, that Doggem is much more than he seems to be. What will happen over the holiday? Will George be able to keep up with Doggem's diary entries? You'll have to read this to find out!

This is a charming little tale about George, his family, and Doggem. It didn't spool out quite the way I expected it to, and that's what made this bite-sized tale so much fun!

You can get your Kindle copy here: https://amzn.to/2rIXtyl

Recommended!

*I was provided a free e-book copy in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.* ( )