Crimes of Hate

by Bret McCormick, Jennifer Trumbull, Randall Smith

"In compiling this anthology, it was my intention to focus on stories of crime motivated by hate. Not racially, politically, or religiously motivated violence, even though these are labeled 'hate crimes' in contemporary media.

Edgar Allan Poe's The Casque of Amontillado opens the anthology and The Interlopers by Saki (H.H. Munro) provides an appropriately hateful bookend as the final tale.

In between these two classic stories you will find seven very imaginative and original creations by incredibly talented contemporary authors:

Jennifer Trumbull gives us her take on what happens when a privileged young woman with everything going for her decides to kill someone in the aptly titled I Hate You.

Randall Smith cautions Don't Be Stupid in his disturbing tale of an eleven-year-old boy who's not quite right.

Psychopaths, Grieving and Timeslips is a most unusual novella from P.K. Kleypas. It deals with hate and the ensuing guilt it can arouse in 'normal' people forced to deal with psychopathic family members.

SF by Steven Purselley is a coming-of-age tale of profound darkness.

The Last Ray of Summer by Anthony Ferguson is another tale of family drama and the extreme measures required to end the acts of a sociopathic father.

Che Trujillo offers an inside look at the initiatory practices of an urban gang and a glimpse into the mind of a victim turned killer in Cherry Boy.

Crepuscular, my own contribution to this collection, tells of the lingering consequences crimes of hate can generate even decades after the fact.

So, immerse yourself in the strange situations and states of consciousness we have conjured for your amusement. And, be cautioned against unleashing your own crimes of hate on the unsuspecting world."

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 27, 2023

Reviews

[Nelli Lakatos · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5⭐

"𝓦𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓫𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓮𝓿𝓮 𝓱𝓪𝓼 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓸 𝓭𝓸 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓮𝔁𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓱𝓸𝔀 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓭𝓮𝓪𝓵 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓮𝔁𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓮."

𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐚𝐭𝐞 is a horror anthology revolving around hate. I only enjoyed one story from this collection unfortunately and if I could rate that separately then I would give it a 4⭐. The others were quite underwhelming honestly, it was a difficult read to get through because of that and it took me way longer than it should have been.

𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐁𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐡
Two boys who witness murder, then serve justice to the man who killed their mother.
This was the absolute best revenge story, it was so captivating, I really loved it. Certainly my favorite tale from this anthology.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is 9 short stories about hate and evil.
The stories are very different. Some have a supernatural element, and some are of just pure human emotions.

What is Hate if not evil, we throw it around like it means nothing nowadays, oh, I hate him. I hate pasta. I hate that kind of music. It just becomes normal. But real hate is an overpowering emotion when you've tried to fight it but can not. It's all consuming, and the reasons you hate are different for everybody.

But what makes us human is that we may dislike somebody to make us think we hate them, but would we torture them? Kill? Destroy everything they had? Most of us would not, but there's some people that would  hit that breaking point for a reason, and some of these stories make you wonder what you would do in their place. Can you understand why they hate so passionately.

I really enjoyed this book and the stories within. Please be aware that there are subjects within this book that are triggers for some people, so if you're of a nervous type who has bad dreams, then buckle up for a few bad nights.

And with Halloween just around the corner, it's the perfect time to read this.

[Kiki · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the bookending of the original stories with two classics was a nice touch, personally, I was more interested in the contemporary tales, so those are the ones I'll focus on in this review.

Each story revolves around the power of hatred and evil acts that lead to feelings of hatred.

Readers, be warned, there are some disturbing topics addressed in some of these stories, and descriptions of graphic scenes that could be distressing some readers.

I Hate You
This started promising, but it fell off track somewhere and I wanted to bail out too. The reason for the main character's hatred was odd and then the progression of events just didn't mesh with 'hatred'. I know hatred and feelings don't always have to make sense but this just didn't work for me. MC came across as more psychopathic but trying to find an excuse for her desire to torture this guy. Also, the story felt rushed in places.

Don't Be Stupid
This was a wild and great story. The brothers were very likeable characters and I was rooting for them all the way through. The older was quick-thinking and almost unbothered by a very traumatic series of events, which was scary yet entertaining. The ending left a little to be desired, but didn't ruin the overall experience.

Psychopaths, Grieving and Timeslips
I enjoyed this despite feeling is was a little long-winded. I questioned the MC's maturity and decision-making skills in some places, but I suppose when you're dealing with grief, timeslips and hauntings, you're not likely to think straight all the time, if at all.

S. F.
TW for child abuse and minor mention of beastiality
I almost stopped reading and skipped over this one. This story was a difficult one to get through due to nature of the main topic addressed, but a well-written read all the same.

The Last Ray of Summer
The sweetness of young love was refreshing after the previous story, but alas the sweetness quickly turned bitter. Despite the predictability of the story, it is gripping.

Cherry Boy
Well, that escalated quickly. There's no hanging around with this one - it's a sharp, quickfire tale about gang initiation that leaves you wanting more.

Crepuscular
Undoubtedly my favourite of the anthology. If you're a fan of the paranormal, you may also find this to be your favourite. Prepare for chills, especially if you read it on a rainy night like I did.

[Danni Bowen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not reviewing the two classic stories and the fourth story by P.K. Kleypas.

THANK YOU HELLBOUND BOOKS FOR THE FREE EBOOK COPY FOR REVIEW!

SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Hate You by Jennifer Trumbull - Honestly, I kind of forgot about this one as I went along in the book. It wasn't bad and I related with Julie, but it didn't really live rent-free in my head. Sorry. Good writing though. I think the lunch with her friends felt like it slowed down the pace but it was for character-building so all good.

Don't Be Stupid by Randall Smith - Good story. Well, written and the kids were not Kenny's. Most of the choices the MC makes are logical in a kid's sense. They shouldn't have peed on the dude and untied him after smashing his face into goop. Also, this story isn't really about hate it's about survival. The kids would have died if they hadn't fought back. The last statement is a criticism of Bret, not Randall.

SF by Steven Purselley - The grandma does not die in this one. But a cat does so star removal. This story has great pacing. These characters are all definitely hormonal boys. So, realism is spot on. The descriptions were good. Subject matter, well, erf. I really liked that Billykins was into graffiti. Continue art, my dude. Again, while SF hated the people he killed, he didn't actually kill them until his friend was in danger. So, survival and protection.

The Last Ray of Summer by Anthony of Ferguson - Not much to say besides it's good. Also, puns and the dog dies.

Cherry Boy by Che Trujillo - The descriptions in this story were just chef's kiss. Loved Jamie. The only gripe I have is that the motivation was super quick but hey, it took out a man of the church so I don't give a fudge. And no animal death? Che I love ya, buddy.

Crepuscular by Bret McCormick - Richard was an okay protagonist. Kind of a wimp though, he gets taken out by water and a door. He doesn't really do anything just experiences things and is there for exposition to be dumped on us. And in the end, he doesn't even decide to fight back or not. Meh. Also, animal death.

Most of the stories are good. I'm not hype about the author but that's my opinion, I don't know them.

[Just.Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

“Is our capacity to hate the reason why humans ultimately found themselves at the top of the food chain?”

I really enjoyed the formatting of this book, the layout of short stories to demonstrate a full range of hate, the rationale for feeling it and the actions it produces. It made it highly readable to have these shocking bursts of hatred and even when the story was so uncomfortable it made my stomach twist I just kept reading. It’s holds your attention even if you don’t want a particular story too. For me this was SF, this one was too much for me so I was eager to finish it and get to the next one as soon as, but with the short story style that’s easily done and before you know it, you’ve landed into someone else’s story, mind, world and luckily as the reader you can move swiftly on.

Starting with Edgar Allen Poe arguably the father of the Gothic, at the very least the American Gothic, we get a trajectory of hate. From a tale of a man willing to bury another alive in a crypt chained to a wall with no chance of escape or survival (claustrophobics you’ve been warned) potentially over a social slight to modern, contemporary stories of hate. There’s a great demonstration on how our approach to horror has evolved, perhaps becoming more vulgar, violent and ugly. Ultimately, all of the reasons for hate in this book are down to someone having something the main character wants whether it’s the right to a stereotypical maternal love, the power to take something as important and valuable as life or just simply a higher social standing, this book makes it seem as though hate is born from a desperate, aggressive need to have something you can’t have but crave.

This work is an anthology of short stories centred on hate and asks the question what makes some of us act out our hate? We don’t get the answer to this, it’s a big question and hardly an easy one to answer but I’d have liked it if the stories had been evaluated, some discussion of why as well as a display of hate, even if not to answer the question just to explore what we’re presented with.

Thanks to Hellbound Books and Henry ROI PR for sending me a free copy for a review!

[Oana-Maria Uliu · Rating 4 out of 5]

The equivalent of a mixed tape - for Halloween. Isn't it the perfect day for this?

This volume begins and ends with two classics, but in between it has a variety of styles, as follows:

1. The Casque (Cask) of Amontillado - by Edgar Allan Poe
- not my favourite E.A.P. story, but one emblematic enough to be studied in uni - here, in Romania

2. I Hate You - by Jennifer Trumbull
- a story that subverts expectations: at first we are inclined to despise the victim and side up with the aggressor, even though it seems like a case of extreme feminism; punishing an example of toxic masculinity and entitlement. But then we come to see that the aggressor is just as "entitled", egotistic, and a psychopath, so we end up pitying the victim

3. Don't Be Stupid - by Randall Smith
- a story that shows how resourceful children can be in extreme circumstances, but also how sadistic they are by nature

4. Psychopaths, Grieving, and Time slips - by P.K. Kleypas
- it's hard to tell what's real and what isn't in this one: nightmares and real life issues blend together in something that resembles a long psychotic episode

5. SF - by Steven Purselley
- it's a long time until something happens - therefore the reader is bored when it all becomes gross and the shock of it hits harder

6. The Last Ray of Summer - by Anthony Ferguson
- I didn't get the point - there are certain elements that count as loose ends to me; things that remain unexplained, that don't seem to lead to anything

7. Cherry Boy - by Che Trujillo
- a story about a young man becoming a gang member (not my cup of tea)

8. Crepuscular - by Bret McCormick
- a story about how some forces of evil find their way into our reality

9. The Interlopers - by Saki
- it is only fit that the collection should finish with a story where two enemies end up sharing a flask of wine (given the fact that the first story was about wine, too)
- a final "punch-line" in Saki's famous style, witty and sadistic, as in one of Vera's made-up-on-the-spot stories

[Jessica Betz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I’m giving this book a solid 4/5 stars. Let me start out by saying that this is the first anthology that I’ve actually read, so take that into consideration. However, I did enjoy this book and would recommend it!

This is an anthology that’s curated of nine short stories that drastically range from Edgar Allen Poe to sci-fi, to more realistic tellings. Although the stories are so different, they have one thing in common - pure unadulterated hate. The hate portrayed in these stories are unique in the fact that they do not center around religion, race, or political reasonings.

These stories take you into a deep dive of the darker side of the human psyche and makes you wonder what you would do if put in these situations? Personally, I found myself utterly shocked by a lot of the actions of these characters, but it also made me use some serious critical thinking skills.

McCormick did an absolutely wonderful job of curating this terrifying anthology and I know that I will be thinking about it for weeks to come. Please be aware of the trigger warnings in this book and read with serious caution if you are easily spooked or triggered by violence/gore/horror. With that being said, it is the perfect time of year to give this book a read!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 9-story collection provides a glimpse into the many varieties of human hatred and how it manifests. Bret McCormick has curated a pretty varied collection of stories, some that will make your skin crawl with the depths of human darkness they portray. I really loved the framing stories that McCormick chose, particularly The Casque of Amontillado (a fave Poe tale), and I felt they bookended the stories within the anthology quite well.

As with all anthologies, there were some stories that stood out a bit more for me as a reader. I particularly enjoyed The Last Ray of Summer by Anthony Ferguson and Crepuscular by McCormick.

This is a read that will stay with me for awhile, as the stories within really make you reflect on the depths of human hatred and the darkness that it leads to… which seems pretty fitting and timely as that hatred is on full display in our world currently.

[Morph.reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saved this for a Halloween read knowing it contained horror and other creepy spooky things. This genera is out of my comfort zone but as soon as I read Edgar Allen Poe I knew I was in for a treat.

This is a collection of stories that dive into the dark parts of humanity. I personally love psychology, it was so interesting to read and wonder what would happen if you were in their shoes.

There are triggers in this book (violence/gore/horror) so be mindful when reading. Your mental health matters!

[Lexaprose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 9 story anthology takes you on "a chilling journey into the darkness of the human psyche".

**PLEASE CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING THIS ANTHOLOGY**

The Casque of Amontillado-Edgar Allen Poe ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was my first time reading this story written by Poe. An excellent choice for the start of this anthology series.

I Hate You-Jennifer Trumbull ⭐⭐
At first I thought this was going to be similar to the film, Promising Young Woman, but this story fell flat and felt rushed. I wanted more of a backstory and insight into the female main character's psyche.

Don't Be Stupid-Randall Smith ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I loved this one! It hooked me from the very start. It was like Home Alone on steroids. I want to read more from this author.

Psychopaths, Grieving and Timeslips-P.K. Kleypas ⭐⭐
This felt like a fever dream that went on for much too long. I did enjoy the character Rose and her insightful opinions.

SF-Steven Purselley ⭐⭐⭐
This one is hard to rate. The story was well written and had good pacing, but the subject matter was hard to stomach. I know this is one story that will continue to haunt me.

"I was at an age when a whole lot of what adults did just felt wrong. They paid a lot of lip service to doing the right thing but nobody ever actually did the right thing."

The Last Ray of Summer-Anthony Ferguson ⭐⭐⭐
I enjoyed the story, but did not find it particularly memorable. It reminded me of the movie My Dog Skip mixed with an X Files episode called Sleepless (S2E4).

Cherry Boy-Che Trujillo⭐⭐⭐
Short but action packed. I was surprised by the plot twist.

Crepuscular-Bret McCormick ⭐⭐⭐
I appreciate the detailed imagery. It adds more depth to the story. I believe this has the potential to be an interesting full length novel.

"Most people never get a good close look at evil. Maybe that's one reason that or world is as sane as it is."

The Interlopers-Saki (H.H. Munro)⭐⭐⭐
This short Hatfield vs McCoy-esque tale gives insight into the dangers of toxic masculinity and blind hate.

Thank you to Hellbound Books for sending me this story in exchange for my review.

[Samantha Kirkpatrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

.... Are we sure these stories are true?

It's hard to rate a book that has different stories by various authors inside of it. Some of the stories were confusing and difficult to finish while others had me fascinated the entire time. But, they all had something that tied them together.

That being said my 2 favorite stories had to have been:
Psychopaths, greiving and timeslips
And
Crepuscular.

Boy did Psychopaths, grieving and timeslips really give my brain something to think about.