A Therapeutic Death: Violent Short Stories

Review\nA Therapeutic Death is a series of absolute gut punching short stories. The violence is visceral, the emotions cut like knives, and the consequences are devastating. J.B. Steven's does an amazing job of sucking you in from the first word and doesn't let you go until the explosive end.\nThe difficulty in creating the attachment necessary for readers to care about the characters on the page is difficult in a full length novel, to do so (repeatedly) in short story after short story was truly impressive. I experienced a wide range of feelings and uttered a few choice words while reading.
I cannot wait to read more stuff from Stevens.
— J. Todd Wilkins of Best Thriller Books\nA Therapeutic Death overflows with red meat for the hardboiled and war fiction fan. But they're lean cuts, trimmed of all fat. The result is a breathless and compelling collection that will linger with the reader long after they've closed the back cover. And it announces the arrival of an exciting new voice in crime fiction.\n— C. Mathew Smith for Criminal Element\nCrammed with twisted thrills, dark secrets, and elusive grasps at redemption, this collection of short crime stories will have you turning pages deep into the night.
In the opening story, we encounter two veterans struggling to resolve a problem that a haunting war crime started. Next, we read about a mixed-martial-arts fighter who makes a split-second decision and risks his soul in the process. This is followed by the tale of an assassin who must fight through a cabal of drug dealing circus clowns to keep her young daughter safe. Further in, we learn of two buddies who prove their friend innocent of homicide, despite being stuck in an 80s themed booze cruise. Later, in a true-crime piece, a rookie U.S. Marshal encounters the depravity of man in a dank basement.
These stories, and numerous others, present a series of characters in impossible situations, raging against the never-ending injustices of life. These people try to carve out a piece of happiness, often with disastrous results. The search for salvation brawls against life's harsh reality and the struggle can be overwhelming, but it makes for great reading.
Early Praise
"J.B. Stevens writes with compassion and nuance about ex-soldiers struggling to negotiate civilian life. His lyric prose is filled with sudden shifts that explode off the page."
—Chris Offutt, author of The Killing Hills
"A Therapeutic Death is a gathering of hard-hitting, fast-paced stories, littered with hardworn souls grasping for grace in deep and grim places. In other words, exactly what you want to see in a collection of stories unafraid of the dark."
—Michael Farris Smith, author of Nick and The Fighter
"Knockout prose in a fistful of words. I'll read anything J.B. Stevens writes."
—Marc Cameron, NYT Best Selling author of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan thrillers
"J.B. Stevens writes whoop ass-fiction with the real-life experience to back up every word. You're in for a gut-punch of a read."
—Mark Westmoreland, author of A Violent Gospel