His Happy Place
Table of Contents
His Happy Place
His Happy Place is the second of a six part short story series called Getaway from Amazon. This series features six popular bestselling authors who each write one short story for the series.
One of the things I love is that this is an opportunity to read short stories from your favorite authors, and be introduced to new authors you may not have read before. This was exactly how I discovered Taylor Jenkins Reid when I read her short story, Evidence of the Affair.
This post contains affiliate links
Have you read His Happy Place yet? Come on in and let me tell you about it!
About His Happy Place
A quiet weekend in the wilderness, just the two of them. How romantic. But new love turns to terror in a suspenseful short story from the New York Times bestselling author of The Other Black Girl.
When Ama’s straitlaced boyfriend, Nathan, invites her to his secluded upstate New York cabin for the weekend, she can’t say no. It’s a chance for them to escape the city’s distractions, share intimate secrets, and take their relationship to a deeper level. By day, it feels like the perfect love story. But when Ama is awakened by strange events, she starts to wonder if she really wants to know everything about Nathan.
His Happy Place by Zakiya Dalila Harris is part of Getaway, a collection of six stories about dream escapes that take unimaginable, even sinister, turns. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single sitting.
Thoughts on His Happy Place
“Satisfied, Ama reached for the book of matches in her pocket and flicked it open with her thumb and index finger. There were ten matches. A nice number, she noted. Probably more than enough. But what did she know? She’d never burned down a building before. Certainly not with someone inside it.”
Zakiya Dalila Harris, His Happy Place
His Happy Place starts with the end, and that is a bit weird and spoiler-ish. But it feels like a strong beginning/end, and the question is, how did our main characters arrive there? That is where the meat of the story is.
Who is the crazy one in this story? Is Nathan a psychotic killer? Or just someone with a painful past? Or is Ama the crazy one? Good question!
His Happy Place leaves a lot up in the air, and many questions unanswered. I wanted more. So, so much more. This would be my biggest complaint about this short story. It takes a special talent to write a great short story, and this felt more like the beginnings of an excellent full novel. I don’t think short stories should have such cliffhangers in them. But that very well could have been the author’s intention.
Final Thoughts on His Happy Place
His Happy Place was a good short story, but definitely not a great short story, in my opinion. Just because there was so much left up in the air, and the ending felt like a huge cliffhanger. Definitely not my favorite style of writing.
It is still interesting and worth the read, but I still am left feeling like I want answers to everything. But if you are looking for a nice way to spend an hour in the afternoon with nothing else to do, this story is good for that.
Discussion
Have you read His Happy Place, or any other writing from Zakiya Dalila, or any parts of the Getaway series? Are you a fan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
About the Author
Zakiya Dalila Harris spent nearly three years in book publishing before leaving to write her debut novel The Other Black Girl. Prior to working in publishing, Zakiya received her MFA in creative writing from The New School.
Her essays and book reviews have appeared in Guernica and The Rumpus. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their growing collection of plants.
Purchasing His Happy Place
If you are interested in buying the audiobook version of His Happy Place, click here.
Click here for the Kindle version.
Click here for my favorite Kindle I currently own.
More About the Getaway Series
Secrets follow you everywhere
Perfect vacation or last resort? In this collection of short psychological thrillers, bestselling authors bring trouble to paradise. Today’s itinerary: surfing, sailing, hiking, facing your worst fears… Most dream vacations never live up to expectations—but few cause this many nightmares.
If you’ve enjoyed my review of His Happy Place, here are the others in this series!
Stockholm
Belle Mer
Catch Her in a Lie
Shell Game
Amazon Notice
The Reading Wife is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, at no added cost to you.