Title: The Spider Silk Scarf
Author: Ana Reyes
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Pages: 32
My GoodReads Rating: 
Nora, a young receptionist with a compulsion for stealing, lives with her boyfriend Ben, a plumber. They both hail from the same seedy part of town, and face the same lack of opportunities.
Nora likes to steal luxury items, watches etc, a
compulsion that began when her older sister, Gretel, then only 16, was
diagnosed with a terminal disease. Gretel expressed a desire for a shiny,
silver mirror, and Nora promised to get her one just like that the following
week at her birthday. Gretel died just before her birthday, and Nora has, since
then, felt the compulsion to steal luxury items she cannot afford.
When Ben returns
from a plumbing job at the home of Mrs Martin, the most reclusive woman in
town, he tells her that he heard Mrs Martin speaking on the phone to someone at
the museum, telling them about a spider silk scarf she wants to donate to the
museum. The scarf, apparently, took 12 men seven years just to harvest the
silk, and then one of the men died. Nora is consumed with desire for the scarf.
Nora breaks into
Mrs Martin’s house at midnight to steal the scarf. The trouble is that Mrs
Martin is known to be a witch who eats pet animals. Will she get out of the
escapade alive?
WHAT I LIKED:
The writing is
lush, rich and atmospheric, and brings out beautifully the themes of grief,
pain and regret. At the end of the story, Nora learns two life lessons that
redeem her and heal Mrs Martin.
WHAT I DIDN’T
LIKE: Nothing.
WHAT DIDN’T WORK
FOR ME:
I should probably
change that to "What doesn’t usually work for me". I don’t read Fantasy, and this
story shifted into fantasy territory at one point, a shift that isn’t quite
explained. But the writing was interesting and this encouraged me to continue
reading.
ALL SAID AND DONE:
A lovely, lush
read.
(I read this book on NetGalley. Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley.)
