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When I Make Love to the Bug Man: Collected Stories
Eleven celebrated short stories—from the darkly criminal to the twisted depths of the supernatural—by the writer whose work USA Today Bestselling writer Alison Gaylin called "Absorbing, addictive, and chilling."
A Paler Shade of Death—Tragedy has destroyed Becca's marriage and driven her to live among strangers. Her unraveling sanity exposes the truth of her past and deadly state of mind. (Edgar Short Story Award nomination)
Witches, All – A has-been rocker's hookup with a groupie spirals into a brutal dream of sex, monsters, and a feverish run for his life.
When I Make Love to the Bug Man – He's not the handsomest bug man, or the most efficient, but when Robert's wife falls under the bug man's intoxicating spell, she learns there are things more terrifying than a few spiders hiding in the dark.
The Erstwhile Groom – A hidden room whose tragic history turns deadly at the hands of two people who love too much.
The Christmas Gnome – The mother-in-law from hell sends a Christmas gift with a bloody life of its own.
The Peter Rabbit Killers – Some little girls are mean, and sleepovers can be murder-y. (lTW Short Story Award nomination)
And more…
A Paler Shade of Death—Tragedy has destroyed Becca's marriage and driven her to live among strangers. Her unraveling sanity exposes the truth of her past and deadly state of mind. (Edgar Short Story Award nomination)
Witches, All – A has-been rocker's hookup with a groupie spirals into a brutal dream of sex, monsters, and a feverish run for his life.
When I Make Love to the Bug Man – He's not the handsomest bug man, or the most efficient, but when Robert's wife falls under the bug man's intoxicating spell, she learns there are things more terrifying than a few spiders hiding in the dark.
The Erstwhile Groom – A hidden room whose tragic history turns deadly at the hands of two people who love too much.
The Christmas Gnome – The mother-in-law from hell sends a Christmas gift with a bloody life of its own.
The Peter Rabbit Killers – Some little girls are mean, and sleepovers can be murder-y. (lTW Short Story Award nomination)
And more…
318 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 18, 2022
11 people want to read
About the author
Laura Benedict
35 books423 followersLaura Benedict is the Edgar- and ITW Thriller Award- nominated author of eight novels of suspense, including The Stranger Inside). Her Bliss House gothic trilogy includes The Abandoned Heart, Charlotte’s Story (Booklist starred review), and Bliss House. Her short fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, and in numerous anthologies like Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads, The Lineup: 20 Provocative Women Writers, and St. Louis Noir. A native of Cincinnati, she lives in Southern Illinois with her family. Visit her at www.laurabenedict.com.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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January 23, 2024Alright I only read “When I Make Love to the Bug Man,” and lemme tell you….that was the most disturbing thing I have ever read. I knew where it was going, and it was still so so bad, and I am shivering just thinking about it again.
May 26, 2022
Elegantly Evil
No one details the descent of a sensitive mind into madness with the same elegance as Laura Benedict -- nor builds such a lovely world with such grace only to take it apart with whitely polished, sharp, neat teeth.
When I Make Love to the Bug Man, Benedict’s collection of short stories, comes in three parts: crime stories, Gothic, and surreal. There’s a common thread: the present is tenuous, wobbly, a veneer, behind which lurks darkness and vulgarity. It may be the obsessive need for recognition in a woman suffering from a variety of postpartum depression. It may be the feeling of doom provoked by a beautiful child’s charm in an estate with a many-statued garden. Or it may be a compulsion that wrests a happily married mother of two into an affair with the Bug Man.
Reading these stories is like taking a walk in a witch’s garden. If it’s lovely, it’s false or dangerous, and just when you get comfortable, some twist in the path reveals a fang or a claw and something just out of sight. If you are quiet, you can hear the faint ring of maniacal laughter that never quite passes the lips.
And if you are new to Bliss House, “Cold Alone” is a properly creepy introduction.
Every story is a gem, each with its own bit of wickedness.
Bonus points for a cool book cover.
No one details the descent of a sensitive mind into madness with the same elegance as Laura Benedict -- nor builds such a lovely world with such grace only to take it apart with whitely polished, sharp, neat teeth.
When I Make Love to the Bug Man, Benedict’s collection of short stories, comes in three parts: crime stories, Gothic, and surreal. There’s a common thread: the present is tenuous, wobbly, a veneer, behind which lurks darkness and vulgarity. It may be the obsessive need for recognition in a woman suffering from a variety of postpartum depression. It may be the feeling of doom provoked by a beautiful child’s charm in an estate with a many-statued garden. Or it may be a compulsion that wrests a happily married mother of two into an affair with the Bug Man.
Reading these stories is like taking a walk in a witch’s garden. If it’s lovely, it’s false or dangerous, and just when you get comfortable, some twist in the path reveals a fang or a claw and something just out of sight. If you are quiet, you can hear the faint ring of maniacal laughter that never quite passes the lips.
And if you are new to Bliss House, “Cold Alone” is a properly creepy introduction.
Every story is a gem, each with its own bit of wickedness.
Bonus points for a cool book cover.
September 2, 2024
This is an EXCELLENT collection of short stories!!! If you like creepy, edge of your seat reading this is for you!!! It reminds me of stuff @laura.tremaine would love!!! If you like Stephen King, but also instant gratification this is for you!!! My favorite stories: The Peter Rabbit Killers, Carnival, The Hollow Woman. @laura_benedict #creepyshortstories #shortstories #reading #books #spooky
May 15, 2022
Best summer read
Unsettling and addictive. I coasted through the first couple of shorts in a night, then spent the next day staring at my neighbors trying to decide if they were Really as normal as they seemed. So unnerving! Definitely read during the day.
Unsettling and addictive. I coasted through the first couple of shorts in a night, then spent the next day staring at my neighbors trying to decide if they were Really as normal as they seemed. So unnerving! Definitely read during the day.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews