Thuglit Issue 10

by Ed Kurtz, Todd Robinson (Editor), Mark Mellon

New hardcore hardboiled tales from eight of the best crime writers on the planet. So sit back, gird your loins, and tear into some THUGLIT, punk!

WE AIN'T YO MAMA'S CRIME FICTION!

HOUSTON by Eryk Pruitt
WALK UP by Ben Nadler
OUR LADY OF MERCY by Edward Hagelstein
DEATH OF A ONE-PERCENTER by Mark Mellon
NOTHING YOU CAN DO by Ed Kurtz
FOR WHOM NO BELL TOLLS by Terrence McCauley
THE RAT AND THE COBRA by S.A. Cosby
TRACES OF A NAME by Aaron Fox-Lerner

Genres: Short Stories, Crime

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2014

About the author

Ed Kurtz is the author of THE RIB FROM WHICH I REMAKE THE WORLD and other novels. His short fiction has appeared in numerous collections, and has been honored in Best American Mystery Stories as well as Best Gay Stories. Kurtz lives in Minneapolis.

Reviews

[Suz Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thuglit always packs a great wallop of crime fiction goodness. The good kind of slap in the face that gets the blood pumping and makes the reader feel like one of the cool kids. After reading the issue, I took a look at the biographies in the back. Maybe it was Big Daddy Thug, Todd Robinson, or someone else of the staff who made up S.A. Crosby’s bio, but it made me laugh. That’s how it is at Thuglit. If they don’t get your bio, they’re gonna write one for you. No worries, though. They might just associate you with a cool cat like Bruce Lee.

This issue features eight excellent stories. My favorites are as follows:

“The Rat and the Cobra” by S.A. Cosby: BLACKTOP WASTELAND is one of the breakout novels of 2020. Go add it to your to be read list if you haven’t already. You’ll thank me later. This story is set in the world of Cosby’s novel and focuses on the sins of the protagonist’s father and the son’s fear of becoming either a rat or a cobra because of his DNA. Cosby’s beautiful prose is always a joy to read.

“Traces of a Name” by Aaron Fox-Lerner: This story follows graffiti artist turned graphic artist, who becomes unsettled when his legacy tag gets defiled, hinting at his feud with a dead man. “Traces of a Name” is rich with graffiti artist culture and how messing with someone’s tags could be ignite violence. Like in “Our Lady of Mercy,” Admrl has gotten his life together and puts his hard earned accomplishments on the line. Admrl’s world is so expertly crafted, I swear I could smell the aerosol can fumes.

“Our Lady of Mercy” by Edward Hagelstein: A former homeless man finally has gotten off the streets and secured a job, but jeopardizes everything after a chance encounter with Ms. Vagabond, a former flame. This story is a great testament to those people who always have our back and the others, friend or foe, who stand ready to sink their knives right between our shoulder blades.

“Houston” by Erik Pruitt: A tale that shows the danger of monkeying with one’s drug supply. The protagonist’s girlfriend Kate goes to great lengths to stand by her man, making this a cheeky read.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are all good stories, although most were too detailed and sedately paced for my taste. Liked the stories by Ed Kurtz and S. A. Cosby best, those were the live wires, at least to my ear, in this issue.

[Marget Weatherby · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Star for S.A. Cosby's "The Rat and the Cobra"

I recently found out that this short short was S.A. Cosby first printed work in 2014. He was given his break through a mutual friend to write for Thuglit a crime fiction journal published by Todd Robinson.

This short tale follows two bothers, one a killer "thug" the other a upstanding real estate agent in his hometown. One with a past and one that has a past that comes to light. In true Cosby form, this was well written and leads the reader right into the action.

If you would have asked me 10 years ago if I would have been a fan of Southern Noir fiction I probably would have laughed. But today, it is one of my favorite genres mainly due to S.A. Cosby.

The journal Thuglit can be found on Kindle Unlimited.

[Jacob Dzik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good collection but the story "The Rat and the Cobra" by SA Cosby is superb. This author is going to be the next big thing in crime fiction.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another great collection of menacing words by Thuglit. I guess the question you gotta start asking is why grab another pack of Thuglits. What's here that you didn't get in the first nine issues? More of the good stuff. Tales so raw and gaping that you don't know where to turn. Tales that'll leave you shaking your head and wondering if this really is what goes on out there when most of us are home watching tv or getting some shut eye so we can be bright and cheery for the next day's meetings. There's a dark underside to our civilization and these tales give you a sense of what's out there.

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thuglit always, always, always hits the mark. Issue ten is no exception.

Thoroughly enjoyed all stories and found each to have that certain special quality that screams, 'reread'.

Stand outs in this issue include, Edward Hagelstein's "Our Lady of Mercy" and S.A. Cosby's "The Rat and The Cobra".

That's not to say the rest isn't up to snuff, they are!

So go buy this and stop reading this BS.

GO!

[MR ALEXANDER DICKINSON · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good collection of stories. The one by S.A Cosby really stood out. So much better than his widely acclaimed recent novel Blacktop Wasteland. Perhaps because a good short story narrative has to be concise by definition.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good issue of noir. Enjoyed all the stories.