Rejection Blues

Every writer experiances rejection, sometimes it’s fair, sometimes you scratch your head. I ’m posting the rejection below anonymously because I wanted to pose two questions. Is it really outside the range of believable possibilities that a muder suspect might ditch a knife and part of thier victims finger in a nearby garage? Suppose the suspect was on the run and not a hardened criminal, maybe even a kid? Any number of possiblites. In the story that question isn’t answered, it just has to fall within the range of credible possibilities. My second question I know the police canvas neighborhoods, is it unbelievable for the police to search every house on a block? Particularly if they have the suspect in custody and might have a general idea of where the evidence was hidden?

Many thanks for sending “The Box” my way. This one came very close. I love stories that deal with paranoia, and I think that you did a wonderful job or portraying Sarah’s building dread as she grows to suspect her husband of murder. You created some awesome suspense and tension as she is about to get caught by Jason. The reveal was particularly devastating and nasty. I did feel that the story unraveled a bit in the final act. The part with the detective was slightly unrealistic, and I found it odd that a murderer would break into the garage to hide a knife and a finger. This explanation felt a bit forced (were these cops really going to search every home in the neighborhood?). “The Box” is a wonderful shocker, but I’m afraid that it’s not for us.