The Inside Out Man (eBook)

*SHORT-LISTED FOR THE 2017 UJ PRIZE*

A young musician receives an unusual offer from a wealthy stranger in this haunting story of psychological horror.

Bent is a jazz pianist living gig-to-gig in a dark city of dead-ends. With no family, and no friends, he has resigned himself to a life of quiet desolation. That is, until the night he meets the enigmatic Leonard Fry.

After accepting an invitation to his countryside mansion, where Leonard resides on his own, Bent is offered a deal of Faustian proportions.

There is a room in this house. Theres only one way in and one way out . . . Theres one lock on the door, and only one key to that lock. Now, what Im going to ask may seem strange to you. I dont necessarily need you to understand, but what I do need is for you to agree to help me.

Disillusioned with his life of excess, Leonard has decided to explore the final frontier of his existence, the margins of his mind, by locking himself in a small room in his mansion for a year. In exchange for Bents assistance, everything Leonard owns will be Bents for the duration of his self-imposed imprisonment.

But there are two sides to every locked door. As the days go by, and Leonards true intentions become clear, Bent will find himself venturing beyond the one terrifying boundary from which he cant be sure hell ever return . . . the boundary of his own sanity.