Til Death Do Us Part Edited
by
Misha Burnett
(Independently Published, May 21, 2025, pb, 284 pp.)
“Samhain’s Daughter” by Blake Carpenter
“Drinks in Tbilisi” by Ian Nol
“The Bell” by Z. M. Renick
“Behind the Wall of Unreflecting Silver” by John D. Martin
“Treasure in the Truck Bed” by Jacob Calta
“Where Hell Calls Home” by Misha Burnett
“Meant to Be” by Declan Finn
“Treasures and Love” by Olyn Moon
“What God Hath Joined” by Justin M. Tarquin
“A Marriage of Calibers” by Aelth Faye
“In the Doghouse” by Daniel Skeen
Reviewed by Mina
This anthology is a collection of stories filled with husband-and-wife teams finding themselves in unusual places and situations, some adventurous, some dangerous, and running the gamut from science fiction, to fantasy, to horror and places in between.
In “Samhain’s Daughter” by Blake Carpenter, the couple is a human, Mike, and a fae princess, Wynn. Together, they must stop the Fae Queen from stealing their unborn child on Samhain night.
The most intriguing things in this tale were that mirrors act as doors to the Ever After, and the Scottish swearing. But the story is a bit plodding and predictable, with half-explained references to past events.
“Drinks in Tbilisi” by Ian Nol is clearly not taking itself too seriously. A hired killer walks into a café in Georgia with murder on his mind. He’s searching for a renegade American agent, Wallace Cartwright, but gets more than he bargained for when he meets the redhead, Jovana. Grosse Pointe Blank meets Eastern European underworld.
“The Bell” by Z. M. Renick is a detective story with mafia connections thrown in. Miranda works for the Gaming Control Board, her husband Dan is a PI. Together they set out to solve the death of the manager of a casino club suspected of money laundering. It turns into a game of who saves who. A light read.
In “Behind the Wall of Unreflecting Silver” by John D. Martin, we meet a family of “mind-talkers.” Tom gets a telepathic panic call from his teenage son, Eric. He calls on the help of an old friend and associate, Tony. Tom finds himself kidnapped, drugged and psychically tortured. His son is in a catatonic state having thrown up a steel mental block in self-defence. Will Tony and Tom’s wife Laura reach them in time and will Eric be ok? A solidly written story with a good dose of tension.
“Treasure in the Truck Bed” by Jacob Calta was frustrating. I’m all for a good mystery but it really didn’t make much sense. Eddie and Maggie find a barrel whilst beach-combing. What follows seems to be just an excuse for crazy driving. The surfer ‘tude in the writing style didn’t do much for me either.
“Where Hell Calls Home” by Misha Burnett has a slow building menace to it. A family is working to clear a dead hoarder’s house, filled to the brim with junk. It’s prosaic, almost boring at the beginning, then we begin to get hints of an old evil and the danger to Maria, Ted, and their teenage kids becomes very real. Ted takes drastic action. Good, old-fashioned horror.
“Meant to Be” by Declan Finn is about an unusual couple: a vampire, who allegedly avoids killing where possible (no sign of it in his story), and a sociopathic human, augmented by a cure to a werewolf bite. There isn’t much of a storyline—it’s pretty much a bloodbath from beginning to end. It felt like a computer game with no real depth for fans of a dumbed-down Dexter. And it’s that annoying type of filler story between other stories already written and half referred to.
“Treasures and Love” by Olyn Moon follows a husband and wife team who are collecting clues to hidden treasure. They have run-ins with an Eastern European mafioso also looking for the treasure. The suspension of disbelief required from the reader is astronomical, and the story has no ending. It’s no sillier than Indiana Jones or James Bond, but it works less well on paper. I also keep wanting to exclaim that the baddies really can be plain home-grown American.
“What God Hath Joined” by Justin M. Tarquin is the most complex tale in this anthology. Diamond and Bryce are trying to stop a human-trafficking ship. The baddie is a katana-wielding woman, which is probably a nod to Kill Bill. She can cut people out of time with the sword (“obliviating” them). Diamond and Bryce have superpowers and can use their auras in intriguing ways. (My only niggle is that of course the woman gets heightened empathy and the man gets heightened analytical powers.) Faith is nicely slotted in as a superpower (and marriage itself), but the ending is a bit rushed.
“A Marriage of Calibers” by Aelth Faye is set in a future world, after a nuclear disaster. A pregnant border guard, Joy, sets out to rescue her husband, Cassius, from mutant creatures. It’s risky, as she juggles helping her husband and protecting her unborn baby. It’s not a bad story, but not particularly remarkable either. The emphasis on guns is reminiscent of cowboy films.
“In the Doghouse” by Daniel Skeen is a light story about a worried housewife, Selma. Her husband Joel is a werewolf, or rather, a labradoodle. He returns home from a mission with the CIA stuck in his dog shape. As Joel can only communicate with pack mates, Selma is forced to accompany him on his next mission. It is clearly trying to be funny but misses the mark for me.