This was an excellent short story. The interrogation at the beginning was confusing at first and the dialogue was a little cringey at times but I was intrigued and surprised by the outcome. The ending was hinted at but still shocking nonetheless. For such a short read, it was an enjoyable horror/thriller and I think it is definitely worth the read if you are a fan of the genre. Thank you to NetGalley, Joe Hill, and Amazon Original Stories for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For the first time this month, I tried to look for books to read in NetGalley, and Ushers by Joe Hill is one that is available to read. 

Ushers is a captivating short story about a 23-year-old counselor for disturbed teens named Martin Lorenson, who is a "survivor" of not one but two incidents that left a number of victims injured and/or dead, while he is always left unscathed. Due to his questionable "involvement" in the incidents, police special agents Anthony Duvall and John Oates questioned the 23-year-old if he has something to do with the incidents. Is it just a coincidence that he was there twice, or is there another reason entirely? 

I enjoyed this short story for what it is. My only gripe is that it is too short and left me wanting more. However, I do agree with the other reviewers, stating that despite its length, the author still executed the story pretty well, and it turned out great in the end. It is captivating and kept me entertained the whole time.

Joe Hill is one of the authors that I'm not gravitating towards after I read and disliked 'The Heart Shaped Box'. Nevertheless, this might be the push that I was looking for to change that and to try out some of his other books.

Thank you NetGalley for providing a free copy of this short story.

This has all the necessary ingredients for an excellent Joe Hill short story. The amount of detail and suspense in the short amount of time keeps things exciting and has you craving to keep reading. Definitely near the top of my list with other Joe Hill short stories.

This was delightful. I really enjoyed the "ushers" and even when I saw the ending coming, I still really enjoyed the journey. There were some stylistic things of Hill that I always have issues with like his dialogue, but this was a good and quick short story!

4.5/5! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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An absolute perfect example of how a short, horror story should be. This was tense, well-written, and right to the point.

Martin has escaped death twice and two federal agents are determined to find out how he has avoided these deadly circumstances on multiple occasions, accusing him of nearly every possibility. That's all you need to know. The rest unfolds perfectly.

I've never read anything else by Joe Hill, but these 29 pages have convinced me.

If you love death, grim reaper vibes, go read this.

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Thanks NetGalley & Amazon Original Stories for this e-arc in exchange for a review!

I love this concept; I can see an entire book filled with short stories about the Ushers.
Really a masterclass in creating a great atmosphere in just a few pages.

The ending is just *chef's kisses*.

I'm a big fan of Joe Hill, and I've read a number of his anthologies. He's every bit the punchy Master of Horror as his father, but his writing has a slightly different flavor. I liked this story as much as Ive liked a lot of Hill's short stories. This one is like listening to a haunting, high, clear sound.

I was able to predict the outcome fairly early, (so will you), but it's still worth reading, because Hill's characterizations are always interesting, and the end, while predictable, managed to be satisfying, and still gave me chills.

I would read a full length novel about Martin, the cheerful and irreverent subject of this story.

*Thank you to the publisher of "This was written for you" for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.*

Like all things Joe Hill, this short story causes shivers.

I love how his mind works. He imagines deeply immersive stories and then knows precisely when to withhold detail and when to overwhelm us with detail.

In Ushers, Hill introduces Martin Lorensen. While the Feds wonder if he's some sort of violent threat, Lorensen defends himself with an alternative - and in many ways, far more disturbing - truth.

I highly recommend you read this incredible short story.

My thanks to Amazon Original stories, Joe Hill and Netgalley.
I enjoyed this shorty. I usually pass on short stories and wait until its published with others. So when I saw this up for grabs on Netgalley, I took it!
I'll confess that I have a soft spot for Joe. How could I not? He's prolific as heck and I believe he can be "at times" just as good a writer as his father. They both know how to do characters and that's freaking important as anything else to me.
I ended up with tears in my eyes after reading this. Poor Martin.
Yeah, I kinda loved this one.

A young man (Martin) finds himself talking with two special agents after he decides not to get on a train that ends up crashing. The agents question why he didn’t get on the train and also bring up a school shooting that happened when Martin was younger. Martin ends up telling one of the agents the truth about both instances and another instance that occurred. This was semi spooky, but gave grim reaper vibes. It was a short and fast read and my first book by this author. Definitely want to check out his other books.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Joe Hill continues to prove that he is one of, if not the best short stories writer's in all of fiction. Ushers is an incredible story that doesn't waste a single word and is utterly gripping from the first word to the very last, and it's also the kind of story I end up thinking about hours and days later.

Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and Netgalley for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.

Just as creepy as I expect from Joe Hill. The building sense of dread, the drinking...should have seen the ending coming well before it arrived. Yet, I didn't. The execution was perfect.

What an excellent short story! I was intrigued by the whole story and found the end to be a perfect conclusion.

Ushers is a short story by Joe Hill, which follows two police officers in the midst of investigating a train derailment. The focus of their investigation is Martin Lorenson, a 23 year old who seemingly preempted and survived the accident.

This was a fast paced short story, that managed to create believable main characters in a short space of time. It reminded me of the films Final Destination, with hints of Unbreakable and The Sixth Sense.

Overall, it was a really enjoyable read that, whilst having a slightly predictable ending, kept you gripped to the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories and Joe Hill for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ushers by Joe Hill

Officers Duvall and Oates have the unenviable task of questioning Martin Lorenson. His ability to escape death leaves the detectives wondering if he is somehow involved in some catastrophic events in the community. Upon meeting Martin, he appears to be a level-headed individual with unbelievable luck. He managed to avoid tragedy twice. Unbelievably, his anxiety is his savior from the clutches of harm. Diving down into a rabbit hole of Martin's history, more peculiarities come to the surface. Is Martin a drug dealer? Did he supply them to the train engineer before the tragedy? What about the school shooter?

Feeling like I was eating a sample from my local Costco, I digested a small taste of Joe Hill's world. My expectations were unclear, but I devoured this story with delight. Unfortunately, I do not have any other Hill writing to compare it to, but this story left me wanting more. I enjoy the thrilling experience of analyzing the presented case and reconstructing the pieces to reach a satisfactory conclusion. In my mind, I am a member of the task force. This particular tale comes with a twist that I didn't see coming. The ending where I admitted, Mr. Hill, you got me, and for that, I will gladly read more from you in the future.

Looking back, I think this was the ideal appetizer. The story was brief yet rich in substance and depth. I highly recommend it as a starting point for anyone exploring Joe Hill's work. I'm giving it 4 out of 5 stars!

Many thanks to Amazon Original Stories for the ARC through Netgalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this short story in return for my honest thoughts.

When cops come around to question a young man who has now narrowly avoided two mass death events to see if he's responsible, he essentially pleads the fifth and chalks it up to anxiety. When the cop runs into him again, he opens up a bit more and a more sinister truth comes to light.

I would have loved to see a little bit more about this world, but in general it was a great short story. It read like a play to me, and I thought it did a good job of setting the scene and letting us get to know the characters as people. It didn't overcomplicate things or leave us unnecessarily in the dark.

Ushers, by the talented Joe Hill, is a glistening chunk of horror delivered as a compulsively readable short story. The subject is Martin Lorensen, a hardly noticeable young man who works with disturbed teenagers. Why is he being interviewed by the FBI? When he was a teenager, he survived a school shooting. And now he’s a surviver of a fatal train crash. He bought a ticket and then refused to board the train. How does he know that fatal events are about to happen? Do you really want to know how? Joe Hill will tell you in a way the will leave you looking behind you for a long time. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories and Joe Hill for this ARC.

Fantastic, bittersweet, and creepy short story from a contemporary master of horror. A really interesting look at death, with amazingly good character development in such a short page count.

Ok so normally I don’t like novellas and I always need more to get into but this one was the exception.
I loved this one. Are the Ushers the bad guys or good guys… makes you think. Well written!

This was a nice quick read, if a bit derivative. It had a satisfying ending that connected all the threads.