Stray Bullets

by Edward Vaughn

Vengeance Betrayal Loss Murder These are the themes that dominate the first story collection from Edward Vaughn. Stray Bullets features fifteen tales of gangsters, con men, losers, and outlaws. Ranging from Russian mobsters out for revenge to cheating women hiding out in motels to outlaws on the post-Civil War plains. Violent, and morose Stray Bullets has something for every fan of crime fiction.

146 pages, Paperback

Published August 18, 2018

Reviews

[John The Crippledgimp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of stories was full of some fuckin awesome crime noir. Each one of these stories packs a vengeful, gritty, violent punch. This is my first read from Edward Vaughn but it definitely won't be my last because I like crime noir and Vaughn's writing delivers with this collection. I highly recommend this if crime noir short stories and flash fiction is your thing this is definitely one to check out.

[Rob Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guns Don't Kill Readers, Stray Bullets Do

Stray Bullets is an apt title because these stories hit like hollow-points. I do think that every bad actor in these tales gets the violent response they deserve. We have low level thugs, tough guys and troubled souls bumping into each other on the same path leading nowhere good. Hell, we even get a couple of hard-boiled Western stories. If you're in the mood for gritty crime yarns, pick up Stray Bullets.

[Matthew Vaughn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The debut collection from Edward Vaughn is packed with fifteen hard hitting Noir stories, ranging from tales about street level thugs to violent old west showdowns. Murder, backstabbing, and robbery, the stories in this collection are full of all sorts of violent crimes by equally violent people. This is gritty noir done well, written with a hard edge and sharp wit. This collection was tailor made for any fan of crime stories. If you like your fiction bleak and your protagonists with flawed characteristics, then you would be hard pressed to find a story you didn't like in this book.

[C.M. Rutherford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these were interesting but all the stories are extremely short. I have a hard time enjoying stories that are so short. The writing was not bad but I am not a huge fan of stories that consist of only a few pages. Flash fiction has no appeal to me. I think many of these stories could have been great if they had been expanded more.

[Matt Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of throwback pulp stories—many previously published in the likes of Shotgun Honey and Near to the Knuckle. Vaughn sure knows his way around a fight scene...and a death scene. My favorite story here is the one with the compound bow—I will say no more or I'll spoil it. This book is for fans of those old adventure and dark crime pulps...well worth the read. High entertainment factor, and some laughs to boot.