Sharing my 5-Star Review submitted to Amazon for ‘Shillelagh Law’ by Joseph Ferguson:

Each diverse story embodies intelligent writing through the paradigm of literary allusions, pensive prose, and ingenious metaphors and similes:

From “Rock and Roll” - Mary was shouting something, her voice the whine of a mosquito in a hurricane.

From “The Incredible Sleeping Man” - He stirs, eyelids sputter like a little-used faucet.

Artistic tools of the trade set aside, Ferguson delves into the human condition by stripping every character of their veneers to bare the skivvies of their souls—be it through inner conflict, emotionality, or mortality.

In “Shillelagh Law” the reader finds out what Officer Kathleen Cavanaugh really thinks of her job. I’m left wondering if she will follow her dreams after theatrics get the best of J. Francis McComer on her watch.

Speaking of “himself”—J. Francis McComer—what a motley assortment of characters under the nomenclature of moronic and absurd. I laughed uproariously through “Incident on a Boring Afternoon” and “My Favorite Christmas Tree”. You had to be there! Ferguson sees that you are, drawing in the reader through his keen powers of observation to set a scene realistically, and bore into the minds of his characters:

From “My Favorite Christmas Tree” - Beer cans were strung into maracas, garbage cans became drums, wine bottles - flutes. Round and round him we danced hooting, chanting, and rattling our cans in a wild Druidic rite of winter.

Each memorable character takes the reader along their journey in this highly recommended short story collection exemplifying eclecticism par excellence.