The Mosquito
Following the collapse of his marriage, Michael reluctantly agrees to join his sister and friends on a getaway to the South of France, hoping for a chance to heal. However, the idyllic setting quickly sours. He finds himself sharing the house with Rupert, a recently widowed guest who seems determined to endlessly provoke him. Between Rupert’s relentless needling and a bizarre plague of bug bites, Michael's restorative vacation devolves into a toxic trap in this sharp thriller by B. A. Paris.
- Michael - Protagonist
- Julie - Michael’s wife
- Kate - Michael’s sister
- Saskia and Nathan - Michael’s friends
- Rupert - Recent widower
- Angela - Rupert’s wife, deceased
- Rupert spends the holiday talking about how happy he and Angela were together and pestering Michael about what was so awful about him that made Julie leave him.
- Mosquitoes torment Michael every night while he tries to sleep.
- Kate finally gets sick of hearing Rupert being rude to Michael and tells everyone that Angela had asked for a divorce but Rupert refused and soon after she got diagnosed with cancer and Rupert said he would not pay for her treatment if she left him so she stayed.
- Michael swings a bread shovel at the mosquito on Rupert’s forehead.
- Rupert crumples to the floor, and Michael realizes he is dead
- Michael realizes Rupert is dead and he puts his body in the bread oven.
- The next morning Michael tells everyone that Rupert apologized to him for being rude and left.
- Michael tells Saskia and Nathan he wants to buy the house, and the first thing he plans to do is get the bread oven working again.
The Mosquito by B.A. Paris delivers a really good story that hooks you right from the start. At only 31 pages long, it is the perfect choice if you are looking for a quick thrill. It keeps up a great, fast pace the whole way through, making it hard to put down once you start reading. It is easy to sympathize with Michael as the plot unfolds, and you feel completely pulled into his situation as the tension builds. To top it off, the ending is completely satisfying and wraps up the suspense perfectly!
- Murder
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
ASIN: B0C78LMCJG
Publication Date: July 25, 2023
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
