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The Dark End of the Street
In one fast-paced story, a strong and aggravated man considers the pretty woman at the bar while he fingers the knife in his pocket. But what becomes of his prey when they move to the bedroom? In another tale, a man remembers the victim of a ghastly murder who visited the same hair salon as he does. And a Don Juan of a protagonist has a hobby of marrying vulnerable women, getting access to their bank accounts, and then robbing them blind.
But there is much more to this collection than dark-haired vixens and crimes of passion. Some stories are brooding, some twisted; some bring righteous satisfaction, some linger in the back of your mind. What is truly on display is an impressive collection of literary a group of some of the best writers we have, weaving fresh and memorable stories from a pair of classic themes. Taken as a whole, they are a rare treat for fans of great fiction, whether it's high literature, good old-fashioned suspense, or anything in between. Original black-and-white art by artist/author Jonathan Santlofer completes this innovative, exciting, and irresistibly intriguing book―a true literary gem.
But there is much more to this collection than dark-haired vixens and crimes of passion. Some stories are brooding, some twisted; some bring righteous satisfaction, some linger in the back of your mind. What is truly on display is an impressive collection of literary a group of some of the best writers we have, weaving fresh and memorable stories from a pair of classic themes. Taken as a whole, they are a rare treat for fans of great fiction, whether it's high literature, good old-fashioned suspense, or anything in between. Original black-and-white art by artist/author Jonathan Santlofer completes this innovative, exciting, and irresistibly intriguing book―a true literary gem.
291 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
15 people are currently reading
262 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Santlofer
40 books324 followersJonathan Santlofer is the author of five novels and a highly respected artist whose work has been written about and reviewed in the New York Times, Art in America, Artforum, and Arts, and appears in many public, private, and corporate collections. He serves on the board of Yaddo, one of the oldest artist communities in the country. Santlofer lives and works in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
September 30, 2016
I bought this so I could read one story, the one by Michael Connelly since it is part of the Harry Bosch Universe. The rest are just icing on the cake.
Table of Contents:
Introduction by S.J. Rozan was very short, something I appreciate. Santlofer & Rozan told the authors to give them stories with sex &/or crime. Go!
Dragon's breath by Madison Smartt Bell was tawdry & sad. I didn't like it at all at first. After thinking about it a while, I decided I really hate the message & that's why I'll give it 4 stars. It's such a damn shame.
Scenarios by Lawrence Block is just that, a gripping opening scene followed by several different ways the story could go. I don't normally care for authors discussing their works while it is underway, but I must say, this was well played, Mr. Block. Well played. 4 stars.
Hereditary thurifer by Stephen L. Carter wasn't what I was expecting at all, but was very well done. There's a lot more to being a preacher than just giving Sunday sermons. 4 stars.
Me & Mr. Rafferty by Lee Child had a great reveal at the end, but I don't get the slowness. I must be missing something since that was stressed so much. Still a good story. 3 stars.
Perfect triangle by Michael Connelly shows some of the sexual side that he normally leaves out. Nothing explicit, but it rounds out Haller's personality nicely & was interesting to boot. 4 stars.
(This story is #21.5 in the Harry Bosch Universe, a Mickey Haller short story. See my review of The Black Echo for the full chronology.)
Sunshine by Lynn Freed was just gross & pointless. 1 star.
Midnight stalkings by James Grady had a fun twist at the end. 3 stars.
Greed by Amy Hempel didn't make much sense on several levels. 2 stars.
Deer by Janice Y.K. Lee was another pointless story. I didn't even get a glimmer of one. 1 star.
Salon by Jonathan Lethem took the long way around the barn, but it was fairly obvious where it was leading. Still, well written & it had a creep factor. 3 stars.
Tricks by Laura Lippman was good. I thought I saw the end coming, but didn't guess the instrument or how the hammer would fall. 4 stars.
Toytown assorted by Patrick McCabe is long, boring, & lacks proper punctuation for dialog. 1 star
All 4 of the following get 1 star & a raspberry for being pointless. I certainly hope the stories improve again.
I've seen that movie too by Val McDermid
Story of the stabbing by Joyce Carol Oates
Beheading by Francine Prose
Celebration by Abraham Rodriguez Jr.
Daybreak by S.J. Rozan was very good in a horrible way. Such a pity! 4 stars.
Ben & Andrea & Evelyn & Ben by Jonathan Santlofer was a bit too inevitable, but pretty well done. Typical, tawdry, & I'm not sure if I liked the way it turned out or not. No one was very likeable. 3 stars, at least.
Creative writing murders by Edmund White wasn't very good. It was fairly obvious where it was going & how it happened was left out completely. Huge hole. Just sort of sick all the way around. 1 star.
19 stories of highly variable quality & tended to the extremes. 8 only garnered 1 star, but 7 got 4 stars, about the highest I ever rate stories of this type. It's rare to find that many really good stories in one collection & I know some authors to watch & avoid. I'll give it 3 stars over all.
Table of Contents:
Introduction by S.J. Rozan was very short, something I appreciate. Santlofer & Rozan told the authors to give them stories with sex &/or crime. Go!
Dragon's breath by Madison Smartt Bell was tawdry & sad. I didn't like it at all at first. After thinking about it a while, I decided I really hate the message & that's why I'll give it 4 stars. It's such a damn shame.
Scenarios by Lawrence Block is just that, a gripping opening scene followed by several different ways the story could go. I don't normally care for authors discussing their works while it is underway, but I must say, this was well played, Mr. Block. Well played. 4 stars.
Hereditary thurifer by Stephen L. Carter wasn't what I was expecting at all, but was very well done. There's a lot more to being a preacher than just giving Sunday sermons. 4 stars.
Me & Mr. Rafferty by Lee Child had a great reveal at the end, but I don't get the slowness. I must be missing something since that was stressed so much. Still a good story. 3 stars.
Perfect triangle by Michael Connelly shows some of the sexual side that he normally leaves out. Nothing explicit, but it rounds out Haller's personality nicely & was interesting to boot. 4 stars.
(This story is #21.5 in the Harry Bosch Universe, a Mickey Haller short story. See my review of The Black Echo for the full chronology.)
Sunshine by Lynn Freed was just gross & pointless. 1 star.
Midnight stalkings by James Grady had a fun twist at the end. 3 stars.
Greed by Amy Hempel didn't make much sense on several levels. 2 stars.
Deer by Janice Y.K. Lee was another pointless story. I didn't even get a glimmer of one. 1 star.
Salon by Jonathan Lethem took the long way around the barn, but it was fairly obvious where it was leading. Still, well written & it had a creep factor. 3 stars.
Tricks by Laura Lippman was good. I thought I saw the end coming, but didn't guess the instrument or how the hammer would fall. 4 stars.
Toytown assorted by Patrick McCabe is long, boring, & lacks proper punctuation for dialog. 1 star
All 4 of the following get 1 star & a raspberry for being pointless. I certainly hope the stories improve again.
I've seen that movie too by Val McDermid
Story of the stabbing by Joyce Carol Oates
Beheading by Francine Prose
Celebration by Abraham Rodriguez Jr.
Daybreak by S.J. Rozan was very good in a horrible way. Such a pity! 4 stars.
Ben & Andrea & Evelyn & Ben by Jonathan Santlofer was a bit too inevitable, but pretty well done. Typical, tawdry, & I'm not sure if I liked the way it turned out or not. No one was very likeable. 3 stars, at least.
Creative writing murders by Edmund White wasn't very good. It was fairly obvious where it was going & how it happened was left out completely. Huge hole. Just sort of sick all the way around. 1 star.
19 stories of highly variable quality & tended to the extremes. 8 only garnered 1 star, but 7 got 4 stars, about the highest I ever rate stories of this type. It's rare to find that many really good stories in one collection & I know some authors to watch & avoid. I'll give it 3 stars over all.
August 6, 2010
I won this book from First Reads and have really enjoyed it! Many of the stories have a twist such as "Me & Mr. Rafferty." My favorite story is "The Hereditary Thurifer" by Stephen L. Carter. It is longer than some of the others and very detailed. I really did not catch on until the very end of the story! This book would be great to take along on a trip...
June 3, 2022
Welp. Clearly I am waaaaaay too square for this type of book. The stories just kept getting more twisted and disturbing as it went on. I'm not sure why I finished it in the first place; I had only intended to read Michael Connelly's contribution which was thankfully not terribly sleazy or explicit although I thought Mickey Haller hiring the prostitute at the end was a little out of character. I have a low tolerance for reading about human depravity so it's my own fault for choosing a book subtitled "New Stories of Sex and Crime". Duh. Let's put it this way: I hated it, but if this is the sort of thing you're into, you probably will not hate it.
August 7, 2021
Not really a fan of short stories but due to my love for Michael Connelly's books decided to make the effort. This story features Mickey Haller and if you are already familiar with Michael Connelly's characters I am sure you will enjoy it.
Synopsis:
In one fast-paced story, a strong and aggravated man considers the pretty woman at the bar while he fingers the knife in his pocket. But what becomes of his prey when they move to the bedroom? In another tale, a man remembers the victim of a ghastly murder who visited the same hair salon as he does. And a Don Juan of a protagonist has a hobby of marrying vulnerable women, getting access to their bank accounts, and then robbing them blind.
But there is much more to this collection than dark-haired vixens and crimes of passion. Some stories are brooding, some twisted; some bring righteous satisfaction, some linger in the back of your mind. What is truly on display is an impressive collection of literary talent: a group of some of the best writers we have, weaving fresh and memorable stories from a pair of classic themes. Taken as a whole, they are a rare treat for fans of great fiction, whether it's high literature, good old-fashioned suspense, or anything in between.
Synopsis:
In one fast-paced story, a strong and aggravated man considers the pretty woman at the bar while he fingers the knife in his pocket. But what becomes of his prey when they move to the bedroom? In another tale, a man remembers the victim of a ghastly murder who visited the same hair salon as he does. And a Don Juan of a protagonist has a hobby of marrying vulnerable women, getting access to their bank accounts, and then robbing them blind.
But there is much more to this collection than dark-haired vixens and crimes of passion. Some stories are brooding, some twisted; some bring righteous satisfaction, some linger in the back of your mind. What is truly on display is an impressive collection of literary talent: a group of some of the best writers we have, weaving fresh and memorable stories from a pair of classic themes. Taken as a whole, they are a rare treat for fans of great fiction, whether it's high literature, good old-fashioned suspense, or anything in between.
June 26, 2022
I realize that I am debarred from criticizing Jonathan Sandlofer’s collection The Dark End of the Street for being full of dirty stories, given that it proclaims right on the cover “A New Assemblage of Dirty Stories!” I will say that I was disappointed by the Connelly story and disgusted by Rozan’s. There were a couple of stories I did like, however: I thought that both “Scenarios,” by the late Lawrence Block, and Jonathan Letham’s “The Salon” were very good (oddly, I just this minute realized that they have similar themes). I’m sure there are plenty of readers who would enjoy The Dark End of the Street but I’m not on recommending terms with them.
By the way, I was puzzled by Sandlofer’s decision to include his drawings in the book. Deciding whether they’re “good” is way above my pay grade; they certainly seem skillfully done. But they have nothing to do with any of the stories, so I can’t figure out what they’re doing there.
By the way, I was puzzled by Sandlofer’s decision to include his drawings in the book. Deciding whether they’re “good” is way above my pay grade; they certainly seem skillfully done. But they have nothing to do with any of the stories, so I can’t figure out what they’re doing there.
May 21, 2011
Not at all an intense can-you-top-this collection (as were some of the "Hot Blood" series of story collections where sex was mixed with horror). But I enjoyed this book--almost in spite of itself--for its variety of authors.
Some of the pieces were underdeveloped piffle; others were solid and imaginative. Yet the book stood on its own, because the pair of editors handled the range of authorial voices like a well-focused conductor with an all-star orchestra.
This isn't a great anthology--but it amounted to a breath of fresh air. The mix of recognized mainstream-lit authors, plus better-than-simply-"genre" mystery/thriller talent, kept me wanting to see both how the characters would develop, and how much of a captivating plot could be spun, in the 8-to-20 page range where most of these stories fit. These are accomplished authors, so either the people or the predicaments were always worth the read--and sometimes it was both. Meanwhile, the editors knew the value of having Stephen L. Carter's "The Hereditary Thurifer" offer a traditional crime story after Lawrence Block whimsically spun our expectations with his exploration of "Scenarios."
Some of the pieces were underdeveloped piffle; others were solid and imaginative. Yet the book stood on its own, because the pair of editors handled the range of authorial voices like a well-focused conductor with an all-star orchestra.
This isn't a great anthology--but it amounted to a breath of fresh air. The mix of recognized mainstream-lit authors, plus better-than-simply-"genre" mystery/thriller talent, kept me wanting to see both how the characters would develop, and how much of a captivating plot could be spun, in the 8-to-20 page range where most of these stories fit. These are accomplished authors, so either the people or the predicaments were always worth the read--and sometimes it was both. Meanwhile, the editors knew the value of having Stephen L. Carter's "The Hereditary Thurifer" offer a traditional crime story after Lawrence Block whimsically spun our expectations with his exploration of "Scenarios."
February 15, 2014
Mickey Haller is back in this great short story about the sly antics of a recently punished lawyer.
When Haller meets his client at her place of work, all seems on the up and up. Add to the mix that she's an exotic dance that Haller wants more than anything, and the lawyer-client relationship might be a little blurry. Still, he wants to do his best and so he forges ahead to get her case dropped and any arrest record expunged. It will take a lot, but Haller's up for the task. Citing statutes and interpretations of the law, Haller heads to the DA's office with fire in his belly (and elsewhere). Can he live up to his reputation and help this law student avoid embarrassment when it comes time to write the Bar? Only Haller knows...
Great work, Mr. Connelly. Your other star character knows how to entertain!
When Haller meets his client at her place of work, all seems on the up and up. Add to the mix that she's an exotic dance that Haller wants more than anything, and the lawyer-client relationship might be a little blurry. Still, he wants to do his best and so he forges ahead to get her case dropped and any arrest record expunged. It will take a lot, but Haller's up for the task. Citing statutes and interpretations of the law, Haller heads to the DA's office with fire in his belly (and elsewhere). Can he live up to his reputation and help this law student avoid embarrassment when it comes time to write the Bar? Only Haller knows...
Great work, Mr. Connelly. Your other star character knows how to entertain!
August 26, 2010
The Dark End of the Street is a good collection of short stories. Some of them are dark and bloody, while others are almost innocent and fluffy. Several of them had me hooked and I had to stay up a few minutes late just to finish reading. My favorite is probably the last: The Creative Writing Murders by Edmund White. Like some of the other stories, it is unclear until the end what is going on and where the characters are headed.
I won a copy through First Reads.
I won a copy through First Reads.
April 18, 2018
A strange series of short stories, a few good ones, but mostly not.
April 23, 2021
Something a little bit different 😬
The Dark End Of The Street - S. J. Rozan & Jonathan Santlofer
⭐️
Ok so this book is actually edited by the above names. It’s actually a collection of short stories by a number of different authors. I hated this, it gave me a real reading slump and I only enjoyed about 4/5 stories. The theme is “Sex and Crime” and boy did they all take it on very differently. So I’ve decided to do this review as a one word reaction to each of the stories.
Dragon’s Breath - Madison Smartt Bell
Boring 🥱
Scenarios - Lawrence Block
Funny 😻
The Hereditary Thurifer - Stephen L Carter
Confusing 🤨
Me & Mr Rafferty - Lee Child
Clever 🤯
The Perfect Triangle - Michael Connelly
Girl Power 💪🏼
Sunshine - Lynn Freed
Justice 🦷
Midnight Stalkings - James Grady
Sneaky 💁🏻♂️
Greed - Amy Hempel
What?!? 💩
Deer - Janice Y. K. Lee
Pointless 👎🏼
The Salon - Jonathan Lethem
Hated 🤢
Tricks - Laura Lippman
Brilliant ❤️
Toytown Assorted - Patrick McCabe
Punctuation 🤬
I’ve Seen That Movie Too - Val McDermid
Tragic 💔
The Story Of The Stabbing - Joyce Carol Oates
DNF 👎🏼
The Beheading - Francine Prose
Snappy 💀
Celebration - Abraham Rodriguez Jr
Unclear 😡
Daybreak - S.J. Rozan
Heartbreaking 💔
Ben & Andrea & Evelyn & Ben - Jonathan Santloffer
Shocking 😮
The Creative Writing Murders - Edmund White
Meaningless 🥱
If I’m honest for most of these stories I either hated them or was really confused by them. However a couple did really stand out and I thought they were so clever! My favourites: Scenarios, Midnight Stalkings, Tricks and Ben & Andrea & Evelyn & Ben.
The Dark End Of The Street - S. J. Rozan & Jonathan Santlofer
⭐️
Ok so this book is actually edited by the above names. It’s actually a collection of short stories by a number of different authors. I hated this, it gave me a real reading slump and I only enjoyed about 4/5 stories. The theme is “Sex and Crime” and boy did they all take it on very differently. So I’ve decided to do this review as a one word reaction to each of the stories.
Dragon’s Breath - Madison Smartt Bell
Boring 🥱
Scenarios - Lawrence Block
Funny 😻
The Hereditary Thurifer - Stephen L Carter
Confusing 🤨
Me & Mr Rafferty - Lee Child
Clever 🤯
The Perfect Triangle - Michael Connelly
Girl Power 💪🏼
Sunshine - Lynn Freed
Justice 🦷
Midnight Stalkings - James Grady
Sneaky 💁🏻♂️
Greed - Amy Hempel
What?!? 💩
Deer - Janice Y. K. Lee
Pointless 👎🏼
The Salon - Jonathan Lethem
Hated 🤢
Tricks - Laura Lippman
Brilliant ❤️
Toytown Assorted - Patrick McCabe
Punctuation 🤬
I’ve Seen That Movie Too - Val McDermid
Tragic 💔
The Story Of The Stabbing - Joyce Carol Oates
DNF 👎🏼
The Beheading - Francine Prose
Snappy 💀
Celebration - Abraham Rodriguez Jr
Unclear 😡
Daybreak - S.J. Rozan
Heartbreaking 💔
Ben & Andrea & Evelyn & Ben - Jonathan Santloffer
Shocking 😮
The Creative Writing Murders - Edmund White
Meaningless 🥱
If I’m honest for most of these stories I either hated them or was really confused by them. However a couple did really stand out and I thought they were so clever! My favourites: Scenarios, Midnight Stalkings, Tricks and Ben & Andrea & Evelyn & Ben.
December 10, 2025
I liked this but not entirely. There was some stories that were truly amazing while there were others that basically bored me to almost wanting to put down the book. I gave every story a chance and there were more good than bad of course some standing out more than others.
Lee child offered a story masterfully written.
Michael Connelly crafted an incredibly gripping story.
Lynn Freed wrote with the most profound wording painting and incredibly vivid image of a traumatic tale ending in Just desserts. But then again, the same could be said of Jonathan Santlofer.
These few stood out particularly to me and I would easily say or amongst the best in this volume. Maybe it has to do with the events currently going on in my life that these would grip me so much while some of the others, simply didn't or maybe it was the writing itself. Because I am unsure of this I am not pointing fingers at any other story in particular and I repeat, some just did not hold my attention.
Lee child offered a story masterfully written.
Michael Connelly crafted an incredibly gripping story.
Lynn Freed wrote with the most profound wording painting and incredibly vivid image of a traumatic tale ending in Just desserts. But then again, the same could be said of Jonathan Santlofer.
These few stood out particularly to me and I would easily say or amongst the best in this volume. Maybe it has to do with the events currently going on in my life that these would grip me so much while some of the others, simply didn't or maybe it was the writing itself. Because I am unsure of this I am not pointing fingers at any other story in particular and I repeat, some just did not hold my attention.
November 21, 2024
Not the most gripping book i have red though i did find certian chapters alot more gripping than others. Overall a pretty average read that i felt i could read quite casually and wasnt ilreally in too much of a rush to reach the end!
January 24, 2018
Some good authors, . .
December 19, 2023
My favorite read of 2023!
August 7, 2011
This collection definitely had some hits, but also some flops. From the title, I was looking forward to reading some dirty, flirty, naughty, and criminal stories. Some were, others not so much.
Some hits were:
ME and Mr Rafferty - short, sweet, and BADASS ending.
Perfect Triangle - about sex, crime, and strippers.
Midnight Stalking was fabulous, about sex and crime in 1939 (perfectly matches title of book).
The Salon - dirty and bad, in a good way.
Creative Writing Murders - deliciously sinister, and noone seen it coming.
Some flops were:
Dragon's Breath - just totally disconnected and bad.
Hereditary Thurifer - essentially, 28 wasted pages. It went nowhere, no crime, just bored out of my mind reading it.
Greed - about apples, husbands, and wives. Makes NO sense, another waste.
Deer - about a dead deer in a pool. What's the crime in that? No sex either.
There were a few bizarre ones thrown in:
Sunshine - about rape of a Baboon Girl - just so wrong in so many ways!
Toytown Assorted - a woman fantasizes about leaving her 50's life, killing her neighbor, and to go to Miami none of which actually happens. Reminds me of the movie "revolutionary road" without the suicide.
The Beheading - a young girl dreams that her neighbor is a child killer. WHAT? no seriously.... what young girl dreams that up? But that's why it totally deserves to be in this collection.
Celebration - man gets trapped by nympho and looses his former life. Gross yes brutal yes, but good? not really.
Then there were stories that actually made you think:
Scenarios - a unique spin on an author's input.
The Story of the Stabbing - this was long but very much worth it. It shows the progression of a stabbing crime in NYC from the 70's through the family of a young girl. Every year the stories get more and more exaggerated, racist, absurd, till they reach the point of blatant lie and more.
Daybreak - about a Chinese girl sold as a mail order bride and manages to kill her captor before he kills her. GREAT revenge, love the inside from inside the minds of BOTH characters. Unhappy with the ending, but oh well. Still a very good read.
This one story I have to separate from the rest not bc it's good or bad, but bc it's sooo hyper local: Ben and Andrea and Evelyn and Ben. About a suburban man who works for his wife's father's company. He slaves away in disgusting conditions while the father reaps all the benefits, and decorates his daughter with them, which of course hurts Ben. This is just so twisted. It's hyper local bc many of the towns they mention are Long Island and NYC towns.
There were a few other stories that i didn't mention, but these are the ones that really stood out.
I give this collection a 3 out of 5 bc there were some REALLY good stories - exactly what the title ordered. But there were also boring confusing endless flops. I did expect more "film noir" woman-comes-to-detective- to-investigate-a-cheating-husband type of stories, but naaaaaah nothing like that at all. I think if the editors choose to create a second volume to this collection they need to get REAL dirty or i'm afraid it will be a dull read.
Some hits were:
ME and Mr Rafferty - short, sweet, and BADASS ending.
Perfect Triangle - about sex, crime, and strippers.
Midnight Stalking was fabulous, about sex and crime in 1939 (perfectly matches title of book).
The Salon - dirty and bad, in a good way.
Creative Writing Murders - deliciously sinister, and noone seen it coming.
Some flops were:
Dragon's Breath - just totally disconnected and bad.
Hereditary Thurifer - essentially, 28 wasted pages. It went nowhere, no crime, just bored out of my mind reading it.
Greed - about apples, husbands, and wives. Makes NO sense, another waste.
Deer - about a dead deer in a pool. What's the crime in that? No sex either.
There were a few bizarre ones thrown in:
Sunshine - about rape of a Baboon Girl - just so wrong in so many ways!
Toytown Assorted - a woman fantasizes about leaving her 50's life, killing her neighbor, and to go to Miami none of which actually happens. Reminds me of the movie "revolutionary road" without the suicide.
The Beheading - a young girl dreams that her neighbor is a child killer. WHAT? no seriously.... what young girl dreams that up? But that's why it totally deserves to be in this collection.
Celebration - man gets trapped by nympho and looses his former life. Gross yes brutal yes, but good? not really.
Then there were stories that actually made you think:
Scenarios - a unique spin on an author's input.
The Story of the Stabbing - this was long but very much worth it. It shows the progression of a stabbing crime in NYC from the 70's through the family of a young girl. Every year the stories get more and more exaggerated, racist, absurd, till they reach the point of blatant lie and more.
Daybreak - about a Chinese girl sold as a mail order bride and manages to kill her captor before he kills her. GREAT revenge, love the inside from inside the minds of BOTH characters. Unhappy with the ending, but oh well. Still a very good read.
This one story I have to separate from the rest not bc it's good or bad, but bc it's sooo hyper local: Ben and Andrea and Evelyn and Ben. About a suburban man who works for his wife's father's company. He slaves away in disgusting conditions while the father reaps all the benefits, and decorates his daughter with them, which of course hurts Ben. This is just so twisted. It's hyper local bc many of the towns they mention are Long Island and NYC towns.
There were a few other stories that i didn't mention, but these are the ones that really stood out.
I give this collection a 3 out of 5 bc there were some REALLY good stories - exactly what the title ordered. But there were also boring confusing endless flops. I did expect more "film noir" woman-comes-to-detective- to-investigate-a-cheating-husband type of stories, but naaaaaah nothing like that at all. I think if the editors choose to create a second volume to this collection they need to get REAL dirty or i'm afraid it will be a dull read.
September 21, 2016
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This collection of stories was an okay read. I enjoyed reading these stories because none of them were too complex for me to understand what was happening.
Each story told from a different perspective, this collection of stories about crime and sex were very intriguing. I found them to be enjoyable because I wasn’t sure what to expect. As someone who enjoys reading fictional stories about crime, I found these to be interesting enough for me to read.
I also enjoyed reading The Dark End of the Street because none of these authors were familiar to me. I felt no familiarity with any of the authors mentioned who were a part of this collection. I found that to be a nice thing for me because it made reading all of these different short stories interesting. It allowed me to read these short stories with an open mind, something I might’ve not been able to do if I were familiar with any of these authors.
I enjoyed reading this too because they are stories about crime and sex. As someone who enjoys watching shows like Criminal Minds and Law & Order Special Victims Unit, reading about these type of crimes is just as fascinating. Especially when the perspective is from someone thinking about committing a crime that doesn’t pull through. Or reading a story about someone witnessing a crime that gets told from many different people who weren’t there. These type of stories fascinate me because they are appalling, different and make me wonder about the world we live in. I also see them as a way of keeping up with the way people act in society and a better way of understanding people. While criminal acts aren’t something to gawk at, they are definitely a way for us to better understand the people surrounding us.
While I did enjoy reading The Dark End of the Street, I also felt a sense of déjà vu when reading these stories. When I first opened up the book to read the first story, I felt like I already knew what was going to happen, almost as if I’d read these stories before. This feeling continued throughout even when there were stories I wasn’t sure I read before.
This feeling made it difficult for me to read these stories because the element of mystery was gone. I couldn’t enjoy these stories quite as much because I already knew what was going to happen. I don’t know if it’s because I already read this book before and didn’t realize it, but it definitely hampered my ability to enjoy it. I couldn’t react to the stories with a fresh perspective and the sense of mystery and surprise that comes with reading stories like this was gone. Instead, I wasn’t at all surprised by the events that unfolded, just disappointed that I could find them to be so predictable.
Despite this feeling of déjà vu, I still enjoyed reading The Dark End of the Street. But it did hamper my ability to enjoy these short stories to their full potential.
This collection of stories was an okay read. I enjoyed reading these stories because none of them were too complex for me to understand what was happening.
Each story told from a different perspective, this collection of stories about crime and sex were very intriguing. I found them to be enjoyable because I wasn’t sure what to expect. As someone who enjoys reading fictional stories about crime, I found these to be interesting enough for me to read.
I also enjoyed reading The Dark End of the Street because none of these authors were familiar to me. I felt no familiarity with any of the authors mentioned who were a part of this collection. I found that to be a nice thing for me because it made reading all of these different short stories interesting. It allowed me to read these short stories with an open mind, something I might’ve not been able to do if I were familiar with any of these authors.
I enjoyed reading this too because they are stories about crime and sex. As someone who enjoys watching shows like Criminal Minds and Law & Order Special Victims Unit, reading about these type of crimes is just as fascinating. Especially when the perspective is from someone thinking about committing a crime that doesn’t pull through. Or reading a story about someone witnessing a crime that gets told from many different people who weren’t there. These type of stories fascinate me because they are appalling, different and make me wonder about the world we live in. I also see them as a way of keeping up with the way people act in society and a better way of understanding people. While criminal acts aren’t something to gawk at, they are definitely a way for us to better understand the people surrounding us.
While I did enjoy reading The Dark End of the Street, I also felt a sense of déjà vu when reading these stories. When I first opened up the book to read the first story, I felt like I already knew what was going to happen, almost as if I’d read these stories before. This feeling continued throughout even when there were stories I wasn’t sure I read before.
This feeling made it difficult for me to read these stories because the element of mystery was gone. I couldn’t enjoy these stories quite as much because I already knew what was going to happen. I don’t know if it’s because I already read this book before and didn’t realize it, but it definitely hampered my ability to enjoy it. I couldn’t react to the stories with a fresh perspective and the sense of mystery and surprise that comes with reading stories like this was gone. Instead, I wasn’t at all surprised by the events that unfolded, just disappointed that I could find them to be so predictable.
Despite this feeling of déjà vu, I still enjoyed reading The Dark End of the Street. But it did hamper my ability to enjoy these short stories to their full potential.
July 27, 2010
Some ideas sound good if you don't examine them too closely, and this book is one of them, sort of like the Edsel. Editors/contributors Jonathan Santlofer and S.J. Rozan invited several crime writers and an equal number of literary authors to contribute stories about crime and sex. Santlover also contributes drawings that often have nothing to do with the stories they accompany.
Many of the crime writers seem to think they have to write above themselves, and the literary writers seem to think they're slumming. The result is a collection of stories that lack voices or passion, but ride self-consciousness and, often, pretention, for extra laps.
The editors let Madison Smartt Bell lead off, and he's so busy being literary and clever that his characters are never more than abstractions; his story sets the tone for most of what follows. Many others fall into the same trap, including S.J. Rozan, one of my favorite writers, who offers a work several grades below anything else I've ever read from her.
A few authors do fight their way through to high ground. Lee Child, released from the usual Cro-Magnon style of his Jack Reacher series, delivers a delightful tale with lyrical prose and a nice twist ending. Michael Connelly lets humor lighten up his style, too, with a short story about Mickey Haller, his Lincoln Lawyer. These are two of the best stories in the volume.
Joyce Carol Oates manages to bring her story home, too, even though she suffers what has become her trademark lapse of trying to channel either James Joyce or Henry James (A bad choice even for James Joyce and Henry James) in a story that examines how one person's oral history becomes someone else's entertainment and never stops growing. I've seen other people try a similar idea, but nobody has ever done it as well as Oates does here. Laura Lippman's story is far from her best, but she's a skilled enough writer to make her switcheroo caper story work, too.
Looking at the table of contents, I don't even remember what half the other stories were about, and I only finished the book an hour ago. What does that tell you?
Many of the crime writers seem to think they have to write above themselves, and the literary writers seem to think they're slumming. The result is a collection of stories that lack voices or passion, but ride self-consciousness and, often, pretention, for extra laps.
The editors let Madison Smartt Bell lead off, and he's so busy being literary and clever that his characters are never more than abstractions; his story sets the tone for most of what follows. Many others fall into the same trap, including S.J. Rozan, one of my favorite writers, who offers a work several grades below anything else I've ever read from her.
A few authors do fight their way through to high ground. Lee Child, released from the usual Cro-Magnon style of his Jack Reacher series, delivers a delightful tale with lyrical prose and a nice twist ending. Michael Connelly lets humor lighten up his style, too, with a short story about Mickey Haller, his Lincoln Lawyer. These are two of the best stories in the volume.
Joyce Carol Oates manages to bring her story home, too, even though she suffers what has become her trademark lapse of trying to channel either James Joyce or Henry James (A bad choice even for James Joyce and Henry James) in a story that examines how one person's oral history becomes someone else's entertainment and never stops growing. I've seen other people try a similar idea, but nobody has ever done it as well as Oates does here. Laura Lippman's story is far from her best, but she's a skilled enough writer to make her switcheroo caper story work, too.
Looking at the table of contents, I don't even remember what half the other stories were about, and I only finished the book an hour ago. What does that tell you?
Read
June 21, 2012"Night Falls in the South," we might term a pair of stories from DARK END OF THE STREET, since the anthology, comprised of specially commissioned pieces, contains contributions by Madison Smartt Bell and the honorary Southerner Amy Hempel. "Greed" was her first chance to work with a murder plot, Hempel reports; but why the "Southern" label? First, we love to shoot, poison, and choke each other, and second, she has spent a considerable amount of time on the faculty of the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. Additionally, perhaps because of her longtime friendship with New Orleans’ Nancy Lehmann, Hempel understands Southerners.
For example, the title story of Hempel's third collection, a novella called TUMBLE HOME, contains a memorable character initially referred to as “the Southerner” and then as “Chatty.” I have made friends”--at some sort of rehab facility--”with the Southerner. Chatty is not one of those ironic nicknames as when a fat person is known as ‘Tiny.’ Chatty says that when she was a girl away at school and the holidays were coming, her mother would ask if she was bringing home any listeners.”
In the South, as the late Dixie Carter would say, we are proud of our crazy people. We do not lock them up in attics. We let them out and show them off to company. Especially when they are both crazy and drunk (or perhaps vice versa). Chatty’s self-test for drinking in high school involved the latter-day Orpheus known as James Marshall Hendrix: “away at school, ... [she says] she monitored hserlf by using the Jimi Hendrix test: Am I choking on my own vomit? No? Then I can have another drink.” Hempel’s bona fides as an honorary Southerner have been established indelibly this year, having been appointed as editor of Algonquin’s annual anthology.
(written with Stanley Booth)
For example, the title story of Hempel's third collection, a novella called TUMBLE HOME, contains a memorable character initially referred to as “the Southerner” and then as “Chatty.” I have made friends”--at some sort of rehab facility--”with the Southerner. Chatty is not one of those ironic nicknames as when a fat person is known as ‘Tiny.’ Chatty says that when she was a girl away at school and the holidays were coming, her mother would ask if she was bringing home any listeners.”
In the South, as the late Dixie Carter would say, we are proud of our crazy people. We do not lock them up in attics. We let them out and show them off to company. Especially when they are both crazy and drunk (or perhaps vice versa). Chatty’s self-test for drinking in high school involved the latter-day Orpheus known as James Marshall Hendrix: “away at school, ... [she says] she monitored hserlf by using the Jimi Hendrix test: Am I choking on my own vomit? No? Then I can have another drink.” Hempel’s bona fides as an honorary Southerner have been established indelibly this year, having been appointed as editor of Algonquin’s annual anthology.
(written with Stanley Booth)
June 13, 2010
Anthologies are a favorite of mine, as I love discovering new authors and revisiting old favorites! With a collection, there's no buyer's remorse when you realize you don't really care for the book. If you don't like a particular story in an anthology, you just move on to the next one. It's like a literary buffet!
Have to admit that sex and crime aren't my usual genres, but because this is an anthology (mainly because Lee Child is one of the authors) I was happy to be given a chance to review this book! Some of the stories were interesting, some were strange, some were mysterious thrillers, and some left me scratching my head wondering what the heck just happened? While not every story in this collection was a winner, I think that there's enough variety that most readers will be pleased.
I'm not going to review all 19 of the stories, but wanted to mention a few stand-outs. I think my favorites were Scenarios by Lawrence Block, Tricks by Laura Lippman, The Beheading by Francine Prose, and Daybreak by S.J Rozan. These stories stood out from the rest for various reasons, and I liked the Laura Lippman story enough to want to seek out her other works. The Lee Child story that originally caught my eye, Me & Mr Rafferty, was okay, but I was sort of expecting more.
Gave this a 3/5 rating as while some of the stories were original, clever, or thought provoking, others didn't appeal to me at all. As I said, sex and crime aren't my usual genres, so that may be why I didn't enjoy the stories more. It also reminded me a little of film noir for some reason, maybe because of the illustrations? Not a bad collection, just not my usual type of book.
Have to admit that sex and crime aren't my usual genres, but because this is an anthology (mainly because Lee Child is one of the authors) I was happy to be given a chance to review this book! Some of the stories were interesting, some were strange, some were mysterious thrillers, and some left me scratching my head wondering what the heck just happened? While not every story in this collection was a winner, I think that there's enough variety that most readers will be pleased.
I'm not going to review all 19 of the stories, but wanted to mention a few stand-outs. I think my favorites were Scenarios by Lawrence Block, Tricks by Laura Lippman, The Beheading by Francine Prose, and Daybreak by S.J Rozan. These stories stood out from the rest for various reasons, and I liked the Laura Lippman story enough to want to seek out her other works. The Lee Child story that originally caught my eye, Me & Mr Rafferty, was okay, but I was sort of expecting more.
Gave this a 3/5 rating as while some of the stories were original, clever, or thought provoking, others didn't appeal to me at all. As I said, sex and crime aren't my usual genres, so that may be why I didn't enjoy the stories more. It also reminded me a little of film noir for some reason, maybe because of the illustrations? Not a bad collection, just not my usual type of book.
June 21, 2010
This anthology starts with a great idea - get authors at the top of their game from different genres to write a story combining sex and crime. Shouldn't be too hard, right? It seems like lots of really good crime stories have sex at their center - that or money are the classic motives. There are some good writers in here, too - Stephen L. Carter, Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Laura Lippman, Val McDermid, Edmund White - seemed like a safe bet.
Unfortunately the collection is pretty uneven with most of the stories on the forgettable side and many of them taking the assignment way too literally. There were some standouts, though. I loved "The Hereditary Thurifer" by Stephen L. Carter - the story of a mysterious man and a tragedy at a "darker nation" Church; "The Perfect Triangle" by Michael Connelly - a story about Mickey Haller (from The Lincoln Lawyer) helping a stripper client make a problem disappear; and "Tricks" by Laura Lippmann - all about a guy who gets exactly what he deserves. All three of these stories manage to play with the themes while telling a great story and all play to the strengths of each writer in ways that make the stories memorable and satisfying.
There isn't anything terrible in this collection, but with the exception of the three I mentioned most of what is here is pretty negligible. An okay read, but I'd wait to get it from the library.
Unfortunately the collection is pretty uneven with most of the stories on the forgettable side and many of them taking the assignment way too literally. There were some standouts, though. I loved "The Hereditary Thurifer" by Stephen L. Carter - the story of a mysterious man and a tragedy at a "darker nation" Church; "The Perfect Triangle" by Michael Connelly - a story about Mickey Haller (from The Lincoln Lawyer) helping a stripper client make a problem disappear; and "Tricks" by Laura Lippmann - all about a guy who gets exactly what he deserves. All three of these stories manage to play with the themes while telling a great story and all play to the strengths of each writer in ways that make the stories memorable and satisfying.
There isn't anything terrible in this collection, but with the exception of the three I mentioned most of what is here is pretty negligible. An okay read, but I'd wait to get it from the library.
June 19, 2010
The Dark End of the Street is a collection of short stories featuring the work of Lee Child, Joyce Carol Oates, Amy Hempel, Michael Connelly, and many others.
Edited by Jonathan Santlofer and S. J. Rozan, this book includes nineteen stories that take a new look at the old themes of sex and crime, violence and darkness. The stories feature serial killers, characters who fancy themselves killers, wives who have been wronged, cruel sadists, and characters who are just plain pitiable. A few stories read a bit like detective true crime stories from the old magazines, but for the most part, the stories are evocative and intriguing, a memorable collection crafted by an enviable group of writers.
Plot twists abound. For example, Lee Child's "Me & Mr. Rafferty" features a serial killer and a cop and their fixation on each other. Then there is the revenge with a twist in Laura Lippman's "Tricks." The idea of sadism is the focus in Lynn Freed's "Sunshine," as well as S. J. Rozan's "Daybreak." But my favorite story out of the collection is Jonathan Letham's story, "The Salon." I love the premise of a hair salon being a serial killer's milieu. Letham's narrator is deftly drawn, just dripping with sarcasm and a sardonic wit.
(291 pages, black and white illustrations, Bloomsbury)
Edited by Jonathan Santlofer and S. J. Rozan, this book includes nineteen stories that take a new look at the old themes of sex and crime, violence and darkness. The stories feature serial killers, characters who fancy themselves killers, wives who have been wronged, cruel sadists, and characters who are just plain pitiable. A few stories read a bit like detective true crime stories from the old magazines, but for the most part, the stories are evocative and intriguing, a memorable collection crafted by an enviable group of writers.
Plot twists abound. For example, Lee Child's "Me & Mr. Rafferty" features a serial killer and a cop and their fixation on each other. Then there is the revenge with a twist in Laura Lippman's "Tricks." The idea of sadism is the focus in Lynn Freed's "Sunshine," as well as S. J. Rozan's "Daybreak." But my favorite story out of the collection is Jonathan Letham's story, "The Salon." I love the premise of a hair salon being a serial killer's milieu. Letham's narrator is deftly drawn, just dripping with sarcasm and a sardonic wit.
(291 pages, black and white illustrations, Bloomsbury)
December 17, 2016
Like any collection where the stories have been solicited rather than pulled from already published works, the quality is uneven, with a few feeling uninspired and written at the last minute and others being memorable. Oddly, the best stories in the book were grouped at the back, and included Joyce Carol Oates, who writes about how a girl witnesses how the retelling of an incident in the life of her mother changes over time and who is doing the telling, and Edmund White, whose story involves the politics and struggles for tenure in the English department of a small college.
Val McDermid surprised me with an unexpectedly gripping story about an old lover returning for a bit of blackmail. I'd read one of her crime novels years ago, and hadn't been impressed, but I see that I'll have to read something else by her after all. The stories by Laura Lippman, Lawrence Block and Lee Child were all serviceable, but not up to what some of the authors came up with.
I read this as a palate cleanser between other books, and for that it served its purpose well. There were no unreadable stories and they were all recognizably noir, although if you were looking for a book of short crime stories, Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives would be a better choice.
Val McDermid surprised me with an unexpectedly gripping story about an old lover returning for a bit of blackmail. I'd read one of her crime novels years ago, and hadn't been impressed, but I see that I'll have to read something else by her after all. The stories by Laura Lippman, Lawrence Block and Lee Child were all serviceable, but not up to what some of the authors came up with.
I read this as a palate cleanser between other books, and for that it served its purpose well. There were no unreadable stories and they were all recognizably noir, although if you were looking for a book of short crime stories, Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives would be a better choice.
August 16, 2010
I received this as an advanced reading copy. It was something in an area I don't typically read, but it seemed interesting so I figured I would give it a try. It is a collection of short stories in the crime/sex. Overall, the collection of stories were good - some better than others. There were only two stories in the collection which I did not like, "Dragon's Breath" and "Toytown Assorted". In fact the 2nd of those stories I had to fight my way to get through it. "Dragon's Breath" was the lead story in the book and it put me off hoping the rest of the stories were not like it. Happily, "Scenarios" the following story pulled me back and and set me to reading the rest of the stories.
Overall there were several good stories in the book, "Scenarios" as mentioned as well as "The Story of the Stabbing", among others.
I liked the collection because it exposed me to several different writing styles. The two short stories I did like like, I think more for the writing style employed in them, as opposed to the story they told. If you like this genre of writing, then you may enjoy this book
Overall there were several good stories in the book, "Scenarios" as mentioned as well as "The Story of the Stabbing", among others.
I liked the collection because it exposed me to several different writing styles. The two short stories I did like like, I think more for the writing style employed in them, as opposed to the story they told. If you like this genre of writing, then you may enjoy this book
June 29, 2010
I am always excited to read first-reads books, however I have mixed reviews on this book. The stories were short, perfect for breaks or waiting in the doctor's office, which I really liked. I think the concept was pretty good, giving the authors free-range to write as they wished.
Several of the stories I really liked and then there were a couple I did not. One in particular really ruined the book for me. I was almost afraid to even read beyond it for fear there would be other stories as distasteful as that one. I guess the only way such garbage would have been read was to sneak it in between good stories and hope it would go unnoticed. Lynn Freed has now been added to my "Do Not Read" List, which sadly, I apparently just started such a list. I feel this book should have come with a warning for her story "Sunshine". I felt it was a bit like child pornography. It's one thing for a crime novel to mention a child rape in part of investigation or something, but for the whole story to be written with this as the subject matter for a pleasure read, disgusting!!
Several of the stories I really liked and then there were a couple I did not. One in particular really ruined the book for me. I was almost afraid to even read beyond it for fear there would be other stories as distasteful as that one. I guess the only way such garbage would have been read was to sneak it in between good stories and hope it would go unnoticed. Lynn Freed has now been added to my "Do Not Read" List, which sadly, I apparently just started such a list. I feel this book should have come with a warning for her story "Sunshine". I felt it was a bit like child pornography. It's one thing for a crime novel to mention a child rape in part of investigation or something, but for the whole story to be written with this as the subject matter for a pleasure read, disgusting!!
June 24, 2010
I was so hoping to like this book more than I did; it seemed like something I would love.
I've never been a huge fan of short stories - I've always feel like they're... stilborn. They seem to be more focused on making a story to fit their ending that twists at the last minute (surprise!); the overall story is neglected in favor of the gimmick. The endings may be interesting, but the actual story falls flat and feels incongruous.
And this may be more of a reflection on me, but I didn't consider the vast majority of the contributors "today's top authors". Overall, ther was just no wow factor for me, unfortunately.
However, I did especially like "The Hereditary Thurifer" by Stephen L. Carter, "Tricks" by Laura Lippman, and "Ben & Andrea & Evelyn & Ben" by Jonathon Santlofer (one of the editors).
I've never been a huge fan of short stories - I've always feel like they're... stilborn. They seem to be more focused on making a story to fit their ending that twists at the last minute (surprise!); the overall story is neglected in favor of the gimmick. The endings may be interesting, but the actual story falls flat and feels incongruous.
And this may be more of a reflection on me, but I didn't consider the vast majority of the contributors "today's top authors". Overall, ther was just no wow factor for me, unfortunately.
However, I did especially like "The Hereditary Thurifer" by Stephen L. Carter, "Tricks" by Laura Lippman, and "Ben & Andrea & Evelyn & Ben" by Jonathon Santlofer (one of the editors).
June 5, 2010
This is a collection of mystery stories from some of today's best writers. The theme of the stories revolves around sex and crime. The authors were allowed to run with this theme and some very different stories emerged. Some of the authors present us with story lines that at first seem very familiar, but hold onto your hat because the ride has just begun. By the end of the story we are in an entirely different ballpark, wondering how we got there. Some of the stories are outright violent or sexy and both can get very explicit. Many have a touch of the noir and are seldom sympathetic to the victim, although I did end up siding with one or two of the protagonists. Murder, identity theft, bondage, swindling, bigamy, and the pleasures and dangers to be found in your local beauty salon, all come into play to make this a fascinating collection.
August 1, 2010
This is a collection of short stories whose themes revolve around sex, crime or both. Typically, I don't enjoy short stories, not enough to sink my teeth into, but I had hopes that the short story would lend itself nicely to the subject matter.
Each story was written by a different author. At first, that seemed to be a good thing. The end of each story heralded the start of another, different author with hope that the next one will be worth the time to read. In most instances, I was disappointed. Some were stilted, some too obtuse, some just flat-out boring. Yes, there were a couple of stories that were enjoyable, largly due to the writing style of the author. However, not enough to carry the book.
I received this book through the First Reads program, and am grateful for the opportunity to review this book. But I would not recommend it.
Each story was written by a different author. At first, that seemed to be a good thing. The end of each story heralded the start of another, different author with hope that the next one will be worth the time to read. In most instances, I was disappointed. Some were stilted, some too obtuse, some just flat-out boring. Yes, there were a couple of stories that were enjoyable, largly due to the writing style of the author. However, not enough to carry the book.
I received this book through the First Reads program, and am grateful for the opportunity to review this book. But I would not recommend it.
August 22, 2010
Just got this in the mail this morning, I am looking forward to starting it tonight.
Sorry it took so long to review this book, life gets in the way sometimes.
I really enjoyed this book. I am not usually a short story reader but several of these tales have great twists and turns that kept me guessing right up to the end of the story. Most of these are really well written some by some very well know authors. They are pretty intense and fairly graphic (sex and violence, yep as promised) without being too explicit for most readers. If you are looking for some quick reads to fill a little time between novels give this "Dark End of the Street" a quick stroll. Just watch your back and don't talk to strangers.
Sorry it took so long to review this book, life gets in the way sometimes.
I really enjoyed this book. I am not usually a short story reader but several of these tales have great twists and turns that kept me guessing right up to the end of the story. Most of these are really well written some by some very well know authors. They are pretty intense and fairly graphic (sex and violence, yep as promised) without being too explicit for most readers. If you are looking for some quick reads to fill a little time between novels give this "Dark End of the Street" a quick stroll. Just watch your back and don't talk to strangers.
September 8, 2010
"When we proposed this book to writers from both banks of the stream dividing crime writing and literary writing, we thought we had a particularly alluring idea. Write your heart out on the twin subjects of sex and crime. Define each however you want, take any approach you like. What writer could resist?"
And indeed what reader? I enjoyed reading this compliation of short stories. Some of them were much, much better than others. But, the whole point of a collection like this is that there is something to meet the needs of every reader. My favorite was "Scenarios" by Lawrence Block.
I won this book on First Reads.
And indeed what reader? I enjoyed reading this compliation of short stories. Some of them were much, much better than others. But, the whole point of a collection like this is that there is something to meet the needs of every reader. My favorite was "Scenarios" by Lawrence Block.
I won this book on First Reads.
September 22, 2020
Nineteen stories by successful authors that were to contain elements of sex and crime. Joyce Carol Oates’ contribution was the most powerful of the collection, and while I seemed to have overlooked the sexual component, it was so à propos to our time of resurging blatant racism and epidemic misinformation. It was surprising how many of these used murder as the crime of choice, and somewhat dismaying that so many involved erotically motivated torture and death.
My favorites were: “Midnight Stalkings” by James Grady; “Deer” by Janice Y. K. Lee; “Toytown Assorted” by Patrick McCabe; “The Story of the Stabbing” by Joyce Carol Oates; and “Celebration” by Abraham Rodriguez Jr.
My favorites were: “Midnight Stalkings” by James Grady; “Deer” by Janice Y. K. Lee; “Toytown Assorted” by Patrick McCabe; “The Story of the Stabbing” by Joyce Carol Oates; and “Celebration” by Abraham Rodriguez Jr.
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