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Short Story Review - Too Much to Bare by Joan Hess

© Janet Kay Blaylock

This is a review of Too Much to Bare by Joan Hess. This short story is another one that is found in the anthology titled The Best of Sisters in Crime edited by Marilyn Wallace. I wrote reviews in September and October on short stories in this collection. Feel free to read them if you haven't already.

Too Much to Bare

This story starts out with Marjorie saying that her husband is going to kill her. Readers would start to wonder what she meant by that. Why would her husband want to kill her? What had she done wrong? Marjorie sat at a table in the Happy Hour Saloon with Sylvia, Bitsy, and Anne. They were drinking beer and chatting. Normally Marjorie didn't want to put up with Sylvia's type of communication, which was gossip and off-color humor. However, that night she decided it was going to be okay.

The saloon was filled with over 200 women who were drinking beer and smoking. The music was so loud that the people who to speak loud in order to be heard above the music. On the way to the bathroom, Bitsy told Marjorie she didn't know why they let Sylvia talk them into going to such a place as this. When they returned to their table, Marjorie mentioned again that her husband was going to kill her.

Suddenly, the music stopped, and everyone became quiet. A man wearing a pale blue tuxedo came onto the stage and asked if they were ready. He repeated his question. Everyone anticipated the next statement and what was going to happen. The emcee announced if they were ready to meet the men. Everyone hollered that they were ready. Then, he announced that they would have the opportunity to order one more round of drinks before they met the men.

Anne started thinking about her plan to kill Sylvia and Paul. Paul was Anne's husband. Sylvia was having an affair with him. She faked the suicide note and would call the police on Sunday night or Monday morning and tell them she was worried about Paul and wasn't sure where he was.

Within a few minutes, a man in a policeman's uniform appeared on the stage, so her thoughts turned to the action. He was carrying a billy club. The women stared at him. He had a stern expression. The policeman told the crowd he should take them all in and interrogate them. They didn't want that. He asked them what they wanted. They all yelled back and said "Take it off." They wanted him to undress like he was to do for the show.

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