This endorsement first appeared on Marshal Zeringue’s blog, Writers Read on October 19, 2013. Marshal asked me what I was currently reading. So I told him.

I’m almost through with editor Otto Penzler’s latest anthology, Kwik Krimes (Thomas & Mercer; August 20, 2013). Otto got over 80 writers, none of whom were me, to submit crime stories no longer than 1,000 words in length.

Sounds gimmicky, I know, but it is a lesson in the economical use of words. Some of my new friends in the mystery world have entries: Lyndsay Faye, Jim Fusilli, Chris Grabenstein, and one by Reed Farrel Coleman that reads like a punch in the face. (In a good way.)

Were I to blurb this book, it would go something like this:

For every mystery reader who’s ever wanted a good story they could start—and finish—in the smallest room of the house and for every mystery writer who suffers from verbal diarrhea. The perfect book for those looking to poop and get off the pot!