Like a shotgun blast of harsh words and mean intentions right to the eyeballs, THUGLIT is back once again to fill your face with white-hot pellets of today's best crime fiction.
IN THIS ISSUE OF THUGLIT:
THE FIRST DAY OF HELL WEEK by J.D. Hibbitts REDEMPTION by Terrence McCauley RED EYED RICHARD by Paul Heatley DOING THE JOB by Hector Acosta IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD by Ed Kurtz PEEK-A-BOO by John Hodgkins LUCKY FOR ME by Rob Brunet WAKEY WAKE by Nathan Pettigrew
PLUS: Part III of Thuglit's exclusive first look at the upcoming novel by Todd Robinson, THE HARD BOUNCE from TYRUS BOOKS
This is the only one of the five Thuglit issues so far that I haven't flat-out loved -- but I still like it. I'm quite impressed with Terrence McCauley, and his entry here has a neat bonus payoff if you've read his earlier work. My other particular favorites in this issue were the two that came right after McCauley's, from Paul Heatley and Hector Acosta. The others all had good things to recommend them even if they didn't strike me quite as strongly.
Going through ThugLit in chronology order. I liked the third entry, but come on. I've never read about so many unpleasant characters in one book. Of course, no one expects really sympathetic characters here.. I admit, though, that I really liked Wyatt i The First Day of Hell Week who suffers through maybe the worst father in modern literature. On to #4.
The first story "The First Day of Hell Week" by J. D. Hibbitts is a right cracker and worth the price of the whole issue. Time to track down more by him. The rest of the stories are well-written but just OK. So 5 stars for the Hibbetts story.
I really enjoyed this collection of crime stories. Redemption by Terrence McCauley was just perfect! A young girl is having a hard time dealing with her recently widowed mother's new boyfriend. But she needn't worry. Someone is looking out for her.