All Comments on 'Ransom'

Never read anything like this from you before. You continue to amaze me with your writing ability. This seemed like a throwback to the grainy black and white days, but with a bit of Sin City thrown in there. Five stars from me. If this is anything like we have in store with the rest of the stories, it's going to be a great day.

You do so much for the readers here. You edit so many stories for the great writers, you write great stories like this one and you bring us stories we would never see if it wasn't for you. Thanks, and five grateful stars.

There are a few jealous assholes that will see to that. Just know that a huge majority of the readers here love you and appreciate what you do. We need to speak up more. Thanks.

It's different, that's for sure. I guess there is a loving wife. Ollie was married and betrayed by her husband and wound up marrying Patricia. I can see why you had a hard time deciding where to put this. Regardless, it was a hard-hitting story and you are a great writer. I have to give the writing five stars.

Different. Not what I normally expect to read here. But it works, and in fiction anything is possible.

Great read, Randi. Thanks for posting it and for organizing this whole thing.

Better than I remembered from my early read.

But I think you could have toned it down... not so graphic. However, it was a good yarn, blithely told both before and after the rape scene. Um, I fell in love with Patricia.

There should be no complaints about that today. This was a very different kind of story. Yes, the violence was graphic, but the descriptions. What was that one line about a dark hallway with feral eyes glowing at the end? Wow. You are one hell of a writer.

Wow, that is some character you created there. Where can I meet Patricia? Or Olivia, for that matter. I want to be one of the guys they meet and take home! Wow, tough as nails, but once you get to the chocolate inside, sweet as honey! That was hot!

I really liked it! 5* However, I don't like some of the comments and I wish that you'd make this a "No Neanderthal" zone and delete them!

Cheers, Amy

Thank you for all the stories and spending your time putting this together. This was a good read.

To the racist piece of filth below me. You are the lowest scum around. This girl does nothing but good things around here. She writes great stories, helps other people and never has a bad word to say about anyone. Fuck you sideways, buddy.

Your stories are a direct injection of sugar to the blood stream. This was dark and scary, and I loved every word. You have writing chops, that's all I can say, and the courage to write something way outside your norm. Great story.

I'm just glad you do. If I was you, I would never post in Loving Wives again. It just drags you down. You seem to care about readers here, but I have never figured out why. Maybe you do it for people like me. I think most of the hate comes from just a few people, and maybe you know that. This was a good story, and if you had posted it anywhere else you would have got the love. Thank you from a grateful reader. RPL.

...to Noir here. :-) you need to buy a trenchcoat and a bottle cheap bourbon.

For all: Randi works damn hard to get authors to write all the time. The invitational pushes some of us to try other directions, other ideas. I know it works on me anyway. It's a thankless task for no money. She ends up editing for dozens of us all at once and (at least in my case) she ends up trying to explain basic English rules to true heathens.

Thanks again Randi

It is always a pleasure to read one of your stories. This one was especially masterful. The characters felt so real and unexpected, and the ending made me so happy. Thank you for taking the time to write such an excellent story. 5 stars <3

Good noir and nice twist on the relationship.

Another excellent story. Very funny in a few places. Well done, smart stuff. You write with such freedom. You like doing this and it shows. And you are very good at it as we never get tired of telling you.

I love the old style detective stories and you captured that feeling with a nice twist.

Thats the stuff that dreams are made of!! Bravo!

by checking the tree one discovers the branches, TK U MLJ LV NV

Thank you BR1958 for all you do! This story is kind of like an HDK story - you know about where it is going to go, so you just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Nothing but high marks. It is edgy and has a real bite to to. I gave it full marks.

MFH

You are the one Lady ! All of this wonderfulness of another " Readship " day that was brought to life by your sheer will ! That would be about as much as anyone could possibly ask of any one person , but no , there's also this !

There's a lot packed in a small package. Didn't they used to say that about Dynamite as well ?

You ARE the Bomb Randi ! Loved this .

5*'s

Talent either rises to the occasion or dies on the vine when surrounded with other's with similar ambition and qualities. This story proves, as most did, that you belong up there with the best of them BR. Loved the story, this was outside your normal box and yet you still crushed it. 5****

Kind of seems like. I mean with all that fucking....

For 3 at least Months...

Um... just because a woman has sex with another woman doesn't mean either are lesbians. There is this thing called "bi-sexual."

Some of us like sex, and if we love someone, we don't care that much about the gender of the person we love. We like beautiful people. Externals don't mean that much to us. I happen to be in a monogamous marriage to a man, but under different circumstances, it could well have been a woman I loved and married. A common LW trope is that being bi-sexual means you "need" sex with both men and women. What it really means is that you could be happy with either. Lesbian means that a woman is ONLY attracted to other women. Trust me on this, I'm a doctor.

Didn't they call a lot of those old late 1940's-1950's movies Film Noir, all dark, foreboding, and always dribbling over along the wrong side of the law?

I've always enjoyed Bogart and Mitchum in those things. Now your story was an interesting twist; the not so scrupulous private dick is a woman, and a woman who attracts and is attracted to our heroine.

Imagine a hard nosed, but soft-core, partly beaten down former "dick" played by Claire Trevor rescuing a badgered. haggard, and terrified Lauren Bacall from the likes of a malevolent Zachary Scott while outfoxing and evading the "not always scrupulous legal authorities. In the process they fall for each other, then they swill lots of gin (no marijuana in those days), get high, and get it on, only later to reconnect and make it permanent, though not really married, (it would have the 1940's-1950's after all. I recall Peter Lorre playing a homosexual in one of those old movies.). Just the same everyone saw there was something very special going on.

This was clever story, well written, and fun to read, lots of sex and gristle. I had a good time! A five for sure. You turned things upside down.

And about the resurgence of better Loving Wives stories; that's been your greatest success.

Jedd Clampett

That series was my introduction to your works. Never knew why thosed stories were withdrawn.

I realize your contribution to this site. I applaud you.

After reading this story and all the comments, I felt certain

I missed something. Two re-reads later, I admit the puzzlement lingers.

I must not be as discerning a reader as all the legendary authors who posted glowing reviews.

Grew up in Butte Montana in 60s and 70s. The police and sheriff's departments were more than willing to overlook drug dealing brought in on car haulers to major auto dealer, gambling and prostitution. You just had to make payments. Word was the depts even covered up themurder of a young mother. Her husband worked for above mentioned auto dealer. She threatened to expose everything and was found outside of town. A local contractor who had huge gambling debts was set up as fall guy.

I actually witnessed gambling payoffs. First friday of month couple of cops go into bars that are known for having punchboards. Without a word owner hands them two cartons of cigs with payoff inside.

Witnessed to cops, drunk on duty, pull over and target practice on streetlight.

blackrandl1958 always delivers a great story. This is no exception.

Didn’t enjoy the rape thing, though.

Also thanks for the MMT thing; I’m

enjoying the various submissions.

Thank You for the Magical Mystery Tour & Your entry.

As Usual, an exceptional story with Dark Humor to spare ! !

..for organising this and so many other treats for compulsive purveyors of Lit Legends. Postings from the Lit luminaries you've gathered make coming back here worthwhile. And thanks for another interesting story. The narrative was compelling but I can't say that it was the best you've written because I found the main character thoughly unlikeable, seeming somewhat entittled, both taking predatory advantage of a distraught woman and condoning the use of rape to advance her business. Perhaps I'm an oddity but as a man I do not concur with the assumption in the mass media that lesbian sex is hot. It doesn't offend me but neither do I find it remotely exciting so the "squick" factor was just another ingredient in the soup. The plot though, of a faked kidnapping, was quite intriguing. I would have enjoyed a little more of its detailed unravelling but let me thank you for another fun read.

Your heroine uses rape and torture to get a confession and you think the police are bad wee bit of a double standard don't you think. Other than that normally I really love your stories.

Loved the story Randi and thanks for your contributions to the Mystery Tour.

Thank you for your story, enjoyable as always. If Lit had a "Lifetime Achievement Award" I would nominate you and then stuff the hell out of the ballot box (not that it would need help getting filled). You Rock...5 for your story along with my with gratitude and thanks.

As you know, this is not one of your better stories. But I appreciate you having the nerve (curiosity?) to write and submit it. I hope most others like it.

But allow me to use this opportunity to express my admiration and respect for the time and effort you expend to further the writing art. While many of your stories are good, I think it is your enthusiasm and effort to encourage and assist other writers that sets you apart. I hope you have children.

It doesn't matter to me if you are a young attractive black woman, or an 83-year old white guy. What comes through your writing and your work is respectable. You have my gratitude and appreciation.

And thank you for allowing anonymous comments. I once had an ID but I forgot my password and after several attempts the website locked me out, and I think I emailed someone to get assistance but never got a response, and then I just said, fuck it, who needs this aggravation? I have noticed that a lot of the positive comments from those with ID's are platitudinous and a bit patronizing. What good does it do to be told, oh, another great story from a great author. Or, you hit another one out of the park, full marks! Its like a budding chef being told by the same group of diners, that was really good, everything you cook is really good, I always look forward to one of your meals. That's nice, but what was it exactly about the food that you liked, and what might I have done better or different? Oh, everything you cook is just wonderful, don't change a thing. Of course, you've been changing everything with almost every story, but from a certain group with ID's you always get the same short quick smiley-face response. Wow, what a great writer! Very clubby, but how helpful?

I hope you stay involved as long as your real life allows. Thank you for what you contribute to the world of the mind and imagination.

A lot of this critical commentary is centered on absolute moralistic purity, and not on moralistic relativism.

"When you lie with dogs, you get up with fleas" is a old proverb, that particularly applies to certain segments of society. Try telling MS13 "you're under arrest" while doing your best as an unarmed Metropolitan Bobby.

"Cooperate or I shall blow my whistle, and speak truthfully about your bad conduct to the Magistrate" won't make you bullet, nor knife-proof.

But you'd be moralistically pure, no doubt mentioned at your funeral.

I gave it four stars because I don't particularly get excited by rape, even if it's done to a criminal. Funny both women say they were not lesbians, but had together the best sex ever... It's like saying I'm not gay, but love to suck cock and turn around and take it up my ass. Thanks for the effort to motivate other writers to publish their work in Literotica. I love erotica with a plot. Otherwise it's just plain porno.

For its noir elements but I couldn't give it a 5 bc of the use of rape in it,even if I thought the hubby deserved it. I know it is a dark tale but that part got to me.

writing a story for it. No one else could have pulled it off, or would even try. You've become the most influential writer/editor on this site. The writers are better for it and the readers are enjoying another round of great stories. You have improved the site, the quality of its product, and fostered increased cooperation and sharing among many of the writers. It's all very impressive! A thank you is not sufficient, but it is all I've got!

It's dark, moody and a fascinating read. It's funny; I've been watching the comments on this story. You've removed most of the really stupid ones, and I don't blame you for that. People complaining about rape and torture, and yet I saw a Reuters poll recently that showed a majority of people support torturing terrorists suspects to extract information.

The poll said that 82 percent of Republicans and 53 percent of Democrats believe that torture is "often," or "sometimes" justified to extract information from suspected terrorists.

I guess the people who commented about that here are the 18 percent and the 47 percent who don't agree. The woman who was tortured in this story was, as far as the characters knew, a kidnapper, holding a woman's husband hostage, and as far as they knew, planning to kill him. You can bet that if someone was holding my wife hostage, I would do whatever it took to get information out of them. I guess they were just supposed to ask politely? Pretty please tell us where you're holding the man you kidnapped? Right.

Or, maybe those people who made those comments are a few, very few, stupid jealous fucks who just like to take shots at this author. That seems more likely to me.

I loved this story, and I would love to hear more about Patricia and Olivia, but knowing this author, she doesn't do part two. Thanks for this story and all the other great stories. Seeing what came before and what came after just shows how rare and great these stories are.

I would be interested in the author's view about where you stop with torture. You can use torture to find out lots of stuff so logically you should use it freely. If some of the people you torture are innocent they can be passed off as colateral damage. After all, as long as you catch the bad guys more than 50% of the time it's all OK isn't it? Well, isn't it?

but this read like something AmyYum would write, and they're all pretty formulaic and terrible. I get why Patricia would have a chip on her shoulder about the police, sort of, though the 'suck dick to get your permit' thing seemed forced and I doubt that a desk Sargent would have any way to alter a permit process or impede it. After that, things just kept getting more and more bizarre.

And then comes the torture-rape. How she can call police thugs and then hire people on to rape (or rape and murder) is just insane. And to videotape it? What happens when Patricia gets mad at Olly, or Marcus doesn't get the payment he wants? He just comes by and rapes Olly?

This story is just a mess. A fucked-up mess.

Do you seriously believe that authors endorse the actions of their characters?

Does an author have to believe in torture to write a story where a character, even a "hero," uses torture?

You think you can take me home some time for the 2 of you? Great story

It was a very good story, but there is torture and then there is rape torture described in the way we have here. The scene written was equivalent to rape fetishism 101 and, at least in my opinion, was wholly unnecessary to the atmosphere or plot of the tale.

As seen later when she tells Andy to do pretty much the same to the men involved, it was alluded to, not fleshed out. It could have been done similarly in the first incident.

As far as whether the author supports torture, I couldn't make a definitive declaration on it. I do know from reading the author's other works that she appears to believe in a Libertarian fashion of self government and that many of her characters seem to feel the end justifies the means. I also hold the personal belief that if you read a large enough body of a writer's stories you will see some of their opinions bleed through the overall work. So while I wouldn't bet anything important on the outcome, I would hazard a guess that she would feel torture to be applicable depending on the circumstances.

Does it make her a bad person? No, everyone is welcome to believe what they like. I don't agree with it, nor do I feel rape in any form is justified, but then I am just some random jackoff on the internet.

thanks for the read.

Thank you for the story.

Alpha reader, beta reader, four editors, and yourself did a fine job Blackrandl1958.

I really missed the dog. No pet in this story at all.

AMerryman

Will continue to spiral into depravity with 3somes becoming moresomes and eventually Olly will only be able to be satisfied by Marcus and heroin.Relationship doomed.

Just kidding. This was cool. These are characters that would not out of place at The Shack. Would love a follow up as Pam Grier fights crime on her own terms. Thank for the story. Thanks for the event. It is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for sharing this one!

But there was no mystery or magic in it for me. Sorry Randi but that was my reaction.

Never apologize to me for not liking something. We like what we like.

I usually really enjoy reading your work. This one though, just didn't feel it. Characters felt much more superficial than in your previous stories. Story flow felt a little forced, also.

I liked the story, and the revenge inflicted on the bad guys. I just wondered if Cindy got use Marcus and kept him happy. Thanks for this one and for arranging the mystery tour.

A superb story. Thank you Randi for stretching out and exploring new terrain. That's a sign of a great author, which, of course, you already are.

The plot was obvious but the way the story was told made it a great tale. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Maybe Patricia will have other adventures along the way.

This is one I somehow missed. Well written, but a little raw even for me. I'm not a big fan of the noir genre and this is pretty damn noir.

Wrote this in the order we all read it. If you had written the love story at the end before the scenes in the warehouse basement with Cindy, Markus and Andy it seems to me you might have had a difficult time sleeping. I remember reading an interview years back with Stephen King (Playboy?) where he was asked if there was anything thing he wouldn't publish and his answer was to the effect "if he could get it onto the word processor without puking he'd publish it." Not saying in anyway to disrespect the story or your writing as I enjoyed the hell out of it, just that basement scene was a graphic surprise. Sometimes the devil must be given his due, there are times we have to go over the line to protect the ones we love. You certainly stretched your reach on this one. Signed: BTW

just a little over the top. rape is not my cup of tea so i mostly skimmed. thanks for organizing the story collection.

Hi Randi. BJ again.

A solid six in my book for both action and love story.

There was a problem with the page numbering. On my computer, only two pages were showing at the bottom of the page with no rating scale and no place for reviews. The right arrow brought up the last page with the rating scale and the reviews.

BJ

People who make 'weed' sound harmless

are as much a danger to every who hears/reads them as those who suggest that getting drunk is not dangerous.

So only 2 stars for this one, I like your ability to write in more than one style, and have marked most of your writing higher than this. 5-3=2 Mind the weed please, it is not harmless.

kUsing marijuana IS relatively harmless. Getting drunk ISN'T dangerous as long as you don't do a dangerous activity such as driving while you'r drunk.

This is the second or third time I've read this and it's just as good as it was the first time. Randi is a real pro when it comes to entertaining us, readers. Thanks again for a great story.

I really liked this bit silly but good fun read,

Excellent story. Entertaining as hell. Plot is simple and the denouement follows the plot well. It is satisfying too. I love how this author uses words. When she is describing a scene it plays in the mind like a movie the reader is directing it. When she describes the characters the reader wants to meet them to experience their presence. She is a pleasure to read and I am thankful she writes us stories to escape from our live. A 5 of course.

Hi Randi

I liked how smooth you go from the devil to the loving soul. I also like to stunt you pulled about getting the concealed carry and the permit. That was really good. I did NOT like the weed aspect of your writing; when you start on this path. you strat with a game and it gradually gets more intense to the point where you are in danger yourself and you become a danger for society. In spite of this, I still grant you a 5 *

BJ

Damn, Randi, how is it I've just now found this gem? I read it. The misses read it. We both give it a huge two thumbs up, along with 5*. I do have to agree with some of the other folks and offer my warning about too much weed. Me? I have to quote a former President by saying "I never inhaled" Yeah, right.

Fun, loving, thank you.

[10.10.23]

Que Romantique!

11/10!!!!!

I loved the story because of the uniqueness of the plot, the characters, and the conclusion. You are mymfaavorite mwriter on Literotica.

Soulmates. Turning a possible disaster into halcyon adventurers. (Besides gender preference, gay means happy?)