At long last I’m getting to this collection of stories and what a feast lies within. Here’s a selection of what’s in store for you.
Let’s start with A Head for Numbers in which budget PI Sam Carranza is hired to find a woman’s father who has dementia and has run off from the nursing home. When Carranza finds him, he realizes there’s more here. For one, the father definitely doesn’t have dementia, despite the gun held to Carranza’s head.
Rabbits, is a story of nightmares and reality. “Dreams are not real. They’re puzzles with pieces that don’t fit.” A painfully wrought story of realization and grief.
There is great backwoods humour fashioned in Breaking News, I laughed out loud at this one.
Spiked, tells the tale of retribution, and a choice to be made. “This ghost seated on the bed, this husk with vacant eyes – my father – is a reaper and a tormentor of souls.”
And finally, the poignance in Spy Head is so sweetly rendered you’ll wish there was more of this story.
A truly excellent selection that may be what you need for sneaking moments here and there during the upcoming busy season. Well recommended.
M.E. Proctor
M.E. Proctor was born in Brussels and lives in Texas. Her short story collection Family and Other Ailments is available in all the usual places.
Her short fiction has appeared in Vautrin, Bristol Noir, Pulp Modern, Mystery Tribune, Reckon Review, Shotgun Honey, and Thriller Magazine among others.
Proctor is a Derringer nominee and is currently working on a contemporary PI series. shawmystery.com
~ June Lorraine Roberts
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