Short Story Collections

Award-winning author Julie Smith's books are variously dark, antic, deductive, wry, sensual, funny and genuinely frightening -- all of which aptly describe her short stories. From the high art of revenge in "Fresh Paint" to the depths of the Antarctic in "The End of the Earth", this collection proves that Julie Smith is indeed one of those writers who never writes the same story twice.

ROY AND FOREST THOUGHT THEY WERE PRETTY SMART CON ARTISTS--UNTIL THEY MET THE REDNECK QUEEN OF CRIME... These stories are all about their setting--well, that and the convivial characters. The lazy, boozy, druggy, sunny piece of real estate so aptly nicknamed the Redneck Riviera just seems like the best place in the world outside of San Pedro Sula to commit a crime. Its commitment to not doing a whole lot, but doing so while drunk or high, is a perfect set-up for that idle-hands-devil's workshop thing. Meet Forest and Roy, a couple of Clueless Clydes right out of Elmore Leonard--that is, if Leonard's lowlifes lost about half their IQ points. But you've got to hand it to them--they're not short of ambition, just gray matter. In these action-packed pages, they make elaborate plans to knock over an entire vacation town; in a separate caper, relieve a fellow crime partner of two million dollars; and in a third, take down an old rival. Speaking of partners in crime (not to mention rivals), enter Heidi, aka the Dutch Treat and in Forest's opinion, the unparalleled Queen of Crime. What the resident geniuses lack in brains, Heidi supplies. Fans of clever female villains will get a kick out of the way she makes sure no male would-be crime czar is ever safe with her. Who else will like these stories : Leonard aficionados, of course; fans of caper novels like those starring Donald Westlake's Dortmunder gang or Lawrence Block's Bernie Rhodenbarr; Florida Zany lovers like fans of Carl Hiassen and Dave Barry; and anyone who likes humorous mysteries and clever capers. Who won't like it : those offended by the kind of colorful language affected by not-so-tough guys who live by their not-so-sharp wits.