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Florida Heatwave
From the pine-tree lined rural highways of North Florida through the tourist traps of Central Florida to the tropical, international environs of SOBE, come stories of sun-faded noir, orange pulp served up freshly squeezed by the Sunshine State’s very best practitioners.
- GenresShort StoriesAnthologies
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
41 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Michael Lister
184 books233 followersNew York Times bestselling and award-winning novelist Michael Lister is a native Floridian best known for his literary suspense thrillers as well as his two ongoing mystery series, the prison chaplain John Jordan "Blood" series and the hard-boiled, 1940s noir Jimmy "Soldier" Riley Series, and the post-apocalypic suspense thriller Cataclysmos.
Visit www.michaellister.com for more information, or follow his youtube channel - Writing and Life at https://www.youtube.com/user/MichaelL...
The Florida Book Review says that "Vintage Michael Lister is poetic prose, exquisitely set scenes, characters who are damaged and faulty" and Michael Koryta says, “If you like crime writing with depth, suspense, and sterling prose, you should be reading Michael Lister," while Publisher's Weekly adds, “Lister’s hard-edged prose ranks with the best of contemporary noir fiction.”
Michael grew up in North Florida near the Gulf of Mexico and the Apalachicola River in a small town world famous for tupelo honey.
Truly a regional writer, North Florida is his beat.
Captivated by story since childhood, Michael has a love for language and narrative inspired by the Southern storytelling tradition that captured his imagination and became such a source of meaning and inspiration. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in theology with an emphasis on myth and narrative.
In the early 90s, Michael became the youngest chaplain within the Florida Department of Corrections. For nearly a decade, he served as a contract, staff, then senior chaplain at three different facilities in the Panhandle of Florida—a unique experience that led to his first novel, 1997’s critically acclaimed, POWER IN THE BLOOD. It was the first in a series of popular and celebrated novels featuring ex-cop turned prison chaplain, John Jordan. Subsequent books in the series include BLOOD OF THE LAMB, FLESH AND BLOOD, THE BODY AND THE BLOOD, BLOOD SACRIFICE, and RIVERS TO BLOOD, and each takes readers through the electronically locked gates of the chain-link fences, beneath the looping razor wire glinting in the sun, and into the strange world of Potter Correctional Institution, Florida’s toughest maximum security prison. Of the John Jordan series, Michael Connelly says “Michael Lister may be the author of the most unique series running in mystery fiction. It crackles with tension and authenticity,” while Julia Spencer-Fleming adds “Michael Lister writes one of the most ambitious and unusual crime fiction series going. See what crime fiction is capable of.”
Michael also writes historical hard-boiled thrillers, such as THE BIG GOODBYE, THE BIG BEYOND, and THE BIG HELLO featuring Jimmy "Soldier" Riley, a PI in Panama City during World War II. Ace Atkins calls the "Soldier" series "tough and violent with snappy dialogue and great atmosphere . . . a suspenseful, romantic and historic ride."
Michael Lister won his first Florida Book Award for his literary novel, DOUBLE EXPOSURE, a book, according to the Panama City News Herald, that “is lyrical and literary, written in a sparse but evocative prose reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy.” It is a contemplation of life and death, art and meaning, set deep in the swamps of the Apalachicola River, a thriller about a wildlife photographer whose camera traps capture a crime, that shows the beauty and danger of the Panhandle paradise.
His second Florida Book Award was for his fifth John Jordan novel BLOOD SACRIFICE.
Visit www.michaellister.com for more information, or follow his youtube channel - Writing and Life at https://www.youtube.com/user/MichaelL...
The Florida Book Review says that "Vintage Michael Lister is poetic prose, exquisitely set scenes, characters who are damaged and faulty" and Michael Koryta says, “If you like crime writing with depth, suspense, and sterling prose, you should be reading Michael Lister," while Publisher's Weekly adds, “Lister’s hard-edged prose ranks with the best of contemporary noir fiction.”
Michael grew up in North Florida near the Gulf of Mexico and the Apalachicola River in a small town world famous for tupelo honey.
Truly a regional writer, North Florida is his beat.
Captivated by story since childhood, Michael has a love for language and narrative inspired by the Southern storytelling tradition that captured his imagination and became such a source of meaning and inspiration. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in theology with an emphasis on myth and narrative.
In the early 90s, Michael became the youngest chaplain within the Florida Department of Corrections. For nearly a decade, he served as a contract, staff, then senior chaplain at three different facilities in the Panhandle of Florida—a unique experience that led to his first novel, 1997’s critically acclaimed, POWER IN THE BLOOD. It was the first in a series of popular and celebrated novels featuring ex-cop turned prison chaplain, John Jordan. Subsequent books in the series include BLOOD OF THE LAMB, FLESH AND BLOOD, THE BODY AND THE BLOOD, BLOOD SACRIFICE, and RIVERS TO BLOOD, and each takes readers through the electronically locked gates of the chain-link fences, beneath the looping razor wire glinting in the sun, and into the strange world of Potter Correctional Institution, Florida’s toughest maximum security prison. Of the John Jordan series, Michael Connelly says “Michael Lister may be the author of the most unique series running in mystery fiction. It crackles with tension and authenticity,” while Julia Spencer-Fleming adds “Michael Lister writes one of the most ambitious and unusual crime fiction series going. See what crime fiction is capable of.”
Michael also writes historical hard-boiled thrillers, such as THE BIG GOODBYE, THE BIG BEYOND, and THE BIG HELLO featuring Jimmy "Soldier" Riley, a PI in Panama City during World War II. Ace Atkins calls the "Soldier" series "tough and violent with snappy dialogue and great atmosphere . . . a suspenseful, romantic and historic ride."
Michael Lister won his first Florida Book Award for his literary novel, DOUBLE EXPOSURE, a book, according to the Panama City News Herald, that “is lyrical and literary, written in a sparse but evocative prose reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy.” It is a contemplation of life and death, art and meaning, set deep in the swamps of the Apalachicola River, a thriller about a wildlife photographer whose camera traps capture a crime, that shows the beauty and danger of the Panhandle paradise.
His second Florida Book Award was for his fifth John Jordan novel BLOOD SACRIFICE.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 7, 2018
Good collection, some you are really into, others more dark, good selection over all, to pick up and read one or all. My favorite to read was the Introduction by Michael Lister, he does have a way with words, the description of Florida was great.
April 5, 2023
Didn't realize this was short stories until received from library. A couple were very good, a few good, a few ok, and a couple horrible. I am not a short story connoisseur apparently. I keep trying but not enough time for proper development.
February 2, 2013
There are lots of excellent stories in this collection, which is glazed over with the heat of noir inevitability. James W. Hall's narrator, obsessed with the photo of a nude woman he saw as a child, kept me turning the pages to see what was going to happen. James O. Born's Revenge of the Emerging Market is a vivid portrait of Florida hucksters with an ending I didn't see coming. Iffy, by John Dufresne, was particularly interesting to me because it takes place in my own neighborhood, and the portrait of an aimless local was really chilling. Carolina Garcia Aguilera's Personal Experience is another great story-- a compelling narrator, lots of Florida color, and an unexpected twist. Tom Corcoran's story, set on a cruise ship and in Key West, was very intriguing even if I missed a few things, and I really enjoyed Lily and Men by John Lutz and Wild Card by Lisa Unger. These are just the high points of a great anthology.
March 17, 2012
I put this book down for nearly two months in the middle because there was a string of stories that I didn't particularly like. I'm glad I picked it back up, though - the last half of the book was really good. It's much darker than my usual fare, but it was an interesting read as well as a nice intro to a different genre.
January 24, 2012
I was so looking forward to this, and was so disappointed in it. As a native Floridian, I generally love any book that takes place in Florida, but this collection of short stories was very disappointing. Don't waste your time. I couldn't even read all of them, they were so bad.
December 24, 2013
This was a pretty good book (or collection or stories). Most of them had the same ending though, someone got killed in some ironic way. It started to get repetitive after the first few stories but the themes and settings kept me going.
April 1, 2012
I did not care for this book. Not my kind of thing.
March 26, 2013
with a story by raven mack, it dont matter what else was in there, its already five stars (yeah, im biased, but i admit it)
November 4, 2013
Great short stories centered in Florida. Some of the stories will stay with you for a long time. Great writing. Interesting variety.
July 11, 2015
Like I said earlier I am not much on short stories but something about these books set in my home area kept me coming back for more
October 2, 2015
Well......as I was reading by my pool, enduring one, I really enjoyed these short stories! They all nailed the heat and humidity!!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews