Dirty Old Town by Nigel Bird

As many of you already know I'm a lover of short story collections.  Honestly, I could read them 'til the cows come home. And since there be no cows in my neighborhood that could be a really, really long time!  (Ha! I only added that sentence so I could show off my favorite moo moo photo.)

I came across a collection of short stories floating across twitter, and before you even ask... Yes, I bought it for my Kindle.  Shortly thereafter I received an email from the author asking if I'd be kind enough to review his short story collection, Dirty Old Town. 

Dirty Old Town is a collection of nine short stories written by Nigel Bird.  If the name sounds familiar it's because Nigel recently had me as a guest on his blog, Sea Minor.  The collection that he's put together is pure entertainment from the very first sentence in the opening story to the last line that ends the collection.  It's brilliant, really.  Here's my little take on a few of the stories I found in the collection.

DRINKING WINE (Spo-dee-oh-dee): This is a great little story about a house wife that likes to listen to the old record albums that used to belong to her father.  Not only did this story bring back memories of my babysitting days, it reminded me of the days I would spend singing Linda Ronstadt's Blue Bayou on my very first record player.  I played that song so much that I had to stack pennies on the needle to keep the record from skipping.  "I'm going back some day..."

TAKING A LINE FOR A WALK:  A very sad tale about a school janitor that's growing old and who's about to be sent away on early retirement.  Basically, he's paying attention in class one day while he's cleaning up a mess and decides to put the lesson to good use.

DIRTY OLD TOWN:  This is a dark and twisted little story about what happens to dope dealers when the dope they're selling takes the life of the best gymnast on a gymnastics team trying to head to the Britain Olympics... There are some really, really great one-liners in this story. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight): The most laugh-out-loud story in the collection... It's a tale of a father and son breaking into a home on Christmas Eve.  Funny, in that the little boy promises his mother an item that his father can't afford and the father sends him down a chimney in search of said item AFTER he tells the boy that Santa isn't real!  What?  Hold up... what do you mean Santa isn't real?  This is my favorite story in the collection. I love, loved, loved the ending and I love that little boy!

Ha! Santa isn't real...  WHATEVER!

You'll also find Sea Minor, Sisterhood, One Hundred and Ten Percent, Three Little Birds and Silver Street.  Just like the author, all the stories are unique and original, and all are worthy of being read many times over.  Nigel Bird will be stopping by the blog tomorrow to give us a little lesson on Punch Lines.  It's a must read guest post that I know you'll enjoy. Until then...

Dirty Old Town by Nigel Bird is available on the Kindle, Nook and is also available on Smashwords for the great price of $0.99! 

Nigel Bird is about to serve up a 9 course meal.  As an appetiser, there’s a morsel (‘Sebille’) at Flashquake.  The Starter, ‘No Pain No Gain’ will be in Crime Factory.  There’s something fishy in the form of a surprise.  A visit to France for mains at Voluted Tales.  If you’ve room, it’ll be time for Best Of British Crime Stories. For dessert, Pulp Ink, served up jointly with Chris Rhatigan and / or Blackbird Pie at Grimm Tales.  Digestif is a novel that has all the ingredients and requires a bit more time in the oven.

And cheese.

You can read more about Nigel HERE!

Click x 7 (the free one doesn't count)

I purchased the following books for my Kindle last week.  One of them was free so technically that one doesn't count.

Blood is Red by Scott Sigler

For Whom the Minivan Rolls by Jeffrey Cohen

Witness to Death by Dave White

Plan B: A Nick Heller Story by Joseph Finder (FREE)

Here Comes Mr. Trouble: The Trouble Family Chronicles by Brett Battles

Vanished by Joseph Finder (I own this book in paperback and hardback, too)

Julius Katz and Archie by David Zeltserman

Hmmm. I've got no explanation for this. None.

Turning by Dawn Kirby

Clouded

“Well, how’d it go last night?” Jennifer asked as she slid into the passenger’s seat of Alana’s Jeep. “Did you finally get to have some fun?”

“I don’t know if I call it fun,” Alana answered, waiting for the door to slam shut, “but it did get me out of the house for a while.”

“According to Matt you had a wonderful time. He said you left with a good looking stranger.” She flashed a smile at her friend and put her seatbelt on. “Come on. I want details.”

“There’s nothing to tell,” she said, shrugging her shoulders, “I didn’t leave with anybody. If he saw a man with me, it was probably one of the men on staff. They do offer that there, you know. Most women don’t like walking out to their car alone at night.”

“Hun, I’ve been to that club plenty of times and I don’t ever remember seeing anybody, employee or otherwise who even remotely looks like the one Matt described.”

“Do tell.” Alana put the Jeep in drive and pulled away from the curb with a smile on her face. Matt was her older brother and Jennifer’s roommate. “I’m dying to know what this mystery man supposedly looks like.”

Jennifer looked over at Alana dumbfounded. Was she serious? Had Matt just been pulling her leg? No, he wouldn’t joke about something like this. Not after what had happened to her and Paul. If he said she left with a man, she left with man. He was so terrified Ben would find a way out of prison and hunt her down; he’d taken to following her whenever she strayed off her normal work-home routine. He knew more about his little sister than she knew about herself.

“You’re serious? You really don’t remember the guy?” Alana shook her head. “According to your brother the guy was about six feet tall. He said he had, what was it again? Oh yeah, shoulder length raven black hair and iceberg blue eyes. I’d say he was pretty unforgettable”

“Raven black? Iceberg blue?” she giggled. He’s always had a habit of describing women’s features in relation to cars. It was only a matter of time before he started doing it with men as well. “I think he’s been huffing the paint way too long.”

“Maybe so, but he saw you walk out with the man,” Jennifer said adamantly. “Matt left right after y’all did, but he said your car was gone by the time he got to the parking lot.”

“No doubt he went straight to my apartment after that,” she said under her breath. He tailed her religiously and it was really starting to get old.

“You bet your sweet ass he did! He’s not about to let anything like that ever happen to you again.”

“And what’d he find when he got there, pray tell?”

“Your car in the parking lot and a locked front door,” she answered smugly. “All your lights were off, too.”

“And that’s unusual why? It was late. I lock my door AND turn out my lights before I go to bed.”

“Yeah, well-,”

Alana sighed. “Look, if I left with somebody don’t you think I’d remember it?”

“You wouldn’t if you were drugged,” Jennifer said quickly.

“Did Matt say anything about me acting like I had been? Was I stumbling out the door? Did he think I looked sick in any way?”

“Well no. He said you hadn’t had anything to drink either.”

“See, how can I be drugged if I didn’t drink anything? I’m not saying Matt didn’t see me talking to somebody, but that was all I did.” She vaguely remembered talking with a man, but she couldn’t for the life of her remember what he looked like or even what they’d talked about. Couldn’t have been a very stimulating conversation, she thought. “Besides, you know as well as I do the last thing I’m looking for is another relationship.”

“You don’t have to be in a relationship to get an itch scratched,” Jennifer pointed out. “We all do it at least once in our lives.” Alana started to say something, but Jennifer was too quick. “Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s too soon. You’re gonna have to let some of the fear go. I know that’s probably easier said than done, but if you’re ever gonna have a healthy relationship again something’s got to give.”

“I already gave up my peace of mind,” Alana said quietly. “I can’t afford to let anything else go.”

BUY NOW with 1-Click!

I was warned by my twitter pal, Spencer Koch, that Amazon had devised this plan to easily suck you dry by letting you save a credit card number in their system so when you wanted to buy a book for your Kindle, like... 8 Pounds by Chris F. Holm, all you had to do was click the button that said, "Buy Now with 1-Click"  and you were done. No address information. No double checking the shipping.  Just a simple click.

I didn't think it would become a problem for me. I mean, really. How many books could there possibly be on Amazon that I would be interested in? 

Click. Click. Click.

Turns out (after pulling a copy of my Kindle Orders),  I click that damn button a good 2-3 times a day. In fact, on November 25, 2010, I clicked that button six times. SIX TIMES!  On December 18, 2010... THREE. February 5, 2011... THREE. February 26, 2011... TWICE.  February 28, 2011... TWICE. April 28, 2011... THREE. 

Last week I clicked the button five times. FIVE TIMES, PEOPLE!  It would have been every work day last week, but according to my purchase order I skipped Wednesday and double clicked on Friday. And today, the day I'm typing this post, I clicked it twice. Back to back thanks to Ron... well, does it really matter who tempted me?

I'd really like to blame other people for my clicking addiction, but that really wouldn't be fair.  All the people that I have come to admire and trust with my book purchasing decisions are part of my wonderful twitter family. They clearly have my best interest at heart when they're innocently suggesting great reads by people that they know and like and have read.  I mean, really. It's hard to go wrong and I can't complain about the incredible mass of books I've accumulated since I first started purchasing Kindle books for my phone app with that "Buy Now with 1-Click" feature on October 18, 2010.

My very first purchase was 8 Pounds: Eight Tales of Crime, Horror & Suspense by Chris F. Holm.  For an unbelievable price of $0.99 you get eight incredible reads that leave you shaking your head in disbelief and thinking horrible, horrible thoughts whenever you hear a noise in the wall.  You know the noises I'm talking about. The ones that always come around in the middle of the night when you're home alone, or when you're the only one awake in the house that can hear them.

My second purchase for my Kindle was Terminal Damage by the gang at Do Some Damage.  While the collection as a whole is excellent, it must be said that this was the collection that introduced me to Oscar Martello. After reading this I collected every collection of short stories that contained an Oscar Martello story.  I mean, honestly. How could I pass them up?  You can find any and all stories about Oscar Martello here.

Would you believe me if I told you I've been putting off my reading of More Sinned Against by Dave White for fear that his main character might take away my possessive feelings for Oscar? It's totally true. It's on my list to read, but after finishing a book this weekend I really think I'm okay with moving on. Not on, on. Just moving on a little. Now would be a good time to release an Oscar Martello short story collection, Mr. Weddle.  It'd be really nice to have Oscar around all the time. All. The. Time. 

My good friend, Elizabeth introduced me to Jeff Strand.  Not only do I plan to collect all of his book books, I'm creating a nice little collection on my Kindle. I know the writing is excellent because I've read about him over at Musings of an All Purpose Monkey, but truth be told... I'm a fan of the cover art.

I was introduced to Dave Zeltserman by reading an expert of Blood Crimes: Book One over at Paul D. Brazil's blog.  It's like a dark urban fantasy, meets crime fighter, meets vampires book. Dark and dirty with vampires, and some really good love scenes, believe it or not. Sounds like my kind of thing. I've recently purchased Zeltserman's Julius Katz Mysteries... again, thanks to Paul.  Well, I should blame Dave, too. He did talk about this character in a blog post and made me curious.  Plus, David Cranmer thinks the guy rocks.  I totally trust David Cranmer.

I've got a pretty good collection of hard-boiled crime by Anthony Neil Smith... some I've accidentally purchased twice (Kindle should really find a way to prevent that from happening).  Word on the street is Anthony should have another book available for my Kindle enjoyment shortly. Can't wait!

Who else... Oh, I bought two books by Brett Battles after reading reviews by Elizabeth White.  And I bought three books by some guy named J.D. Rhoades after someone, who shall remain nameless, retweeted information about the Jack Keller series.  Makes sense that I would buy it.  The books are about some hot guy named Jack... and it's a series. Cute men on repeat seem to be my thing. Can't wait to read these books!

I bought Beautiful, Naked & Dead by Josh Stallings because my friend from Scotland told me to.  She had read it and loved and promised me I wouldn't be disappointed. I wasn't. My review is in the making.  I'm just trying to find the right words to describe hubba-hubba superlicious without it coming across as cheesy.

So why am I telling you about this? Well, I'm hoping if I confess my Kindle  purchases on my blog each week that it might... might help me with my clicking problem.  So I've gone ahead and created a Sabrina's Kindle page for my blog. I'm hoping to update it weekly. Ya, I probably shouldn't be hoping for that since I'm supposed to be curbing my habit. Oh, well. You can find every book you will find on my Kindle listed; minus the freebies you can find on Amazon.

So take a look. If you like any of the books on the list feel free to click on the link and buy them. I haven't added today's purchases just yet. Just as well, since I just noticed on Twitter that that Dave White guy just released Witness to Death on Kindle this evening. Best $0.99 EVER! Thanks, Dave.

May 9, 2011... THREE!

TURNING by Dawn Kirby

Haunting Memories

Alana stretched her arms over her head letting the morning sun warm her body. It was early springtime here now and she was looking forward to waking up like this more often. The comfort the heat brought had a way of shaking off all the bad feelings her nights left her with.

Night time hadn’t always left her uneasy. In fact she used to love standing in the darkness, admiring the moon, counting stars, feeling a cool breeze play across her face. At one point in her life nights were her haven. The one place where peace and serenity ruled.

That was shattered the night her ex, Ben had showed his true colors. They’d been apart for weeks, but he still felt like he had a valid presence in her daily life. He made it known to everybody he had every intention of winning her back no matter what he had to do to do it. Losing a possession wasn’t an option for him.

She had known he was a jealous man, but she never thought spending an evening with an old high school friend would send him into a murderous rage. Especially since the guy had been a mutual friend of theirs since grade school. They never knew he was watching them until he jumped out from behind some bushes in front of her friend, Paul’s house and stuck a hunting knife in his neck.

After Paul hit the ground, gasping for air, blood pooling around him, Ben had jumped on her and started punching her mercilessly. When she couldn’t stand anymore, he resorted to kicking her. He hurled every awful name he could think of at her, each one punctuated by a kick to the gut of the head. She had no idea how long the beating lasted. She couldn’t even recall when Paul had thrown his body over hers, but he had. He’d died protecting her as best he could with what strength he had left.

The attack had happened over a year ago. Paul was arrested that same night and after pleading guilty to all charges sometime later, he was sent to prison for life. For months horrible dreams plagued her sleep. She relived the beating every time she closed her eyes. Paul’s lifeless blue eyes haunted her even now. In her mind it was her fault he was dead. Had it not been for her he would still be here. His wife wouldn’t be a widow and his son would know who his father was.

As time went on the nightmares began to fade. The visions lingered, never letting her forget her role. Day by day waking up grew easier. For the most part she thought things were starting to get better. That is until last night. What she’d dreamed of she couldn’t place, but whatever it was had scared the hell out of her. She woke up the same way she had so many times before; grasping her neck and frightened beyond belief.

“Damn you, Ben!” she mumbled. Even from behind the walls of a cell he had control over her. Tears stung her eyes as she pictured Paul’s body, the knife still lodged in his neck, blanketing hers. The memory as vivid now as it had been that night. “You won, didn’t you?”

Miles away Nicholas lay in his bed helpless to do anything to make the pain she felt stop. He’d seen the possible effects his actions would have had on her. Having survived such a brutal experience some regression was to be expected. That didn’t mean he had to like it. Truth be told he hated it. She was reliving the worst night of her life because of him. Because of his need, his desire to have a worthy companion. His consolation? One day he’d be able to take the offending memories away forever if she asked him to.

That thought and that thought alone urged him to sleep. Once she wore herself out working, cleaning running errands trying to forget, she’d need him. Alana’s nights were his now. He’d opened up a wound and it was his responsibility to help heal it. Whether she knew he was there with her or not he planned to stay by her side until she could finally let go of the past and embrace the future; their future.

The Wolves of Fairmount Park by Dennis Tafoya

"...it always matters. Everything right that you do, it doesn't always make things better. Sometimes, I don't know. Sometimes it does just hurt everyone, but maybe that's how you know it was the right thing to do."                            

                             Brendan Donavan

After two boys are brutally gunned down in front of a drug house on the wrong side of Philadelphia, two families struggle to make sense of a crime that left one boy dead, and another boy, Michael Donovan, in a coma and fighting for his life. 

Grieving for the loss of his son, Geo, George Parkman Sr. sets out immediately to enact revenge on the person he feels is responsible for Geo's death, Orlando Donovan, the drug-addicted Uncle of the surviving boy. Concerned that Orlando's half brother, Officer Brendan Donovan, will do all he can to cover for Orlando's perceived involvement, George Parkman Sr. sends a seriously disturbed private investigator to take care of the problem. 

And to make matters worse for Orlando his half brother, Brendan, even thinks he knows more than he's willing to tell. 

Why were the boys at a known drug house? Why did they have so much money with them? What is the connection between these boys and a turf war between two rival gangs? Is it possible the boys were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, trying to do the right thing?

With the remembrance of his painful past used as a guide and a desire to see things through to the end, Orlando sets out alone to find the answers that will hopefully bring peace to the father of the murdered boy, and acceptance from a brother that he has desperately wanted to please for years. 

As the story unfolds you'll find a Detective who's career was built on the back of a known drug dealer,   and see first hand how the disguise of friendship can place shadows over the reality that surrounds you.  You'll see brothers reunited and a supposed loving relationship dissolve without a word being spoken by either party.  And you'll see death. Death being the constant reminder of the realities that surround the drug world.
Whether it be an innocent death or deserved, death will find its way into the streets of all those who willingly or unwillingly pass by.

The Wolves of Fairmount Park by Dennis Tafoya, is the most engaging book that I have read this year. I was fascinated by how many characters in this book demanded attention, and amazingly surprised that they all received a voice strong enough to be heard without pushing the story out of focus.   The Wolves of Fairmount Park may be dark in its reality, but if the book had lacked these details there would have been no emotional development between the readers and the characters.  For me it became an emotional journey. Emotional because I  wanted to see Orlando succeed in his efforts, and because regardless of how awful some of these characters were, their deaths were still difficult to endure.

We think we know how things should be, who our friends are and how to trust, but for them... their only friends were the drugs they relied on and the money they needed to find to buy more.

The Wolves of Fairmount Park is available on both the KINDLE and the NOOK.

Dennis Tafoya lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and is the author of two novels, Dope Thief and The Wolves of Fairmount Park, as well as numerous short stories appearing in collections such as Philadelphia Noir, from Akashic Books. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the International Thriller Writers, and the Liars Club, a Philadelphia-area writers group. 

*This book was read as part of an online book group with Goodreads.  Goodreads is a great place for you to keep track of your reading, make friends with people that have common reading interests as you and join in on discussions about books that you have read.  If you are interested, you can open a free account with Goodreads here.

YELLOW MEDICINE by Anthony Neil Smith

"That's what you remember when you chop up your friend, the weird noises and the surprise at finding just how well we're put together."  

                                     Deputy Billy Lafitte

In Yellow Medicine by Anthony Neil Smith, we find Deputy Billy Lafitte starting a new life in Minnesota after Hurricane Katrina left him not only homeless, but without a family and a job when he decided to take advantage of other victims in the area by securing fees in exchange for his Good Samaritan-like behavior.

Even with the second chance provided to him by his brother-in-law, Deputy Lafitte manages to take kick-backs from the meth dealers that have set up shop throughout Yellow Medicine County, and finds himself in serious trouble when the past that he was supposed to be leaving behind in the South catches up with him in the Minnesota backwoods.

When one of the local kids, Ian, gets into trouble and goes into hiding from a group of outsiders that are wanting to move into their territory, Deputy Lafitte is asked by Ian's girlfriend,  Dawn, to help out.  From there things go from bad to really, really bad in a matter of minutes when Ian goes missing and the severed head of a blond beauty is found at one of Ian's hideouts.   After refusing a bribe from the group, it doesn't take long for Deputy Lafitte to realize that the new locals are more than just dealers looking for easy money, but are a group of terrorists wanting a quiet place to start their operation.

Yellow Medicine by Anthony Neil Smith, takes you on a wild ride of corruption and crime with a protagonist more than capable of finding his way in and out of the mess.  Deputy Billy Lafitte, although despicable and unethical, not to mention sleazy, is an amazing character in that he still manages to garner sympathy from the reader. His skills from his early days during Hurricane Katrina has actually helped him prepare and even possibly win a fight against a ruthless group of terrorists.  Not only is he quick to respond to each situation, he seems to have a clever ability to convince others to break the rules right along with him... seriously, there is no shortage of solutions for this one-man team fighting terrorist extremists. You might not like Deputy Lafitte most of the time, but you will learn to appreciate his character because he leads you to believe that he only cares about himself and that he's willing to do whatever he can to get what he wants, but towards the end of the book... well, the guy actually has a heart. And believe it or not, there  really is a good explanation for dismembering, burning and scattering the remains of his friend.

Yellow Medicine is the third book I have read this year written by Anthony Neil Smith, and just like the others, Yellow Medicine does not disappoint. Well written and highly-entertaining, the plot moves quickly and never loses its pace.   Anthony Neil Smith used the words "bat shit crazy" the other night on Twitter in reference to this book and I thought it was a great description. Yellow Medicine is definitely "bat shit crazy" in the best way "bat shit crazy" can be.  It's a must have for any fan of the noir / crime genre.

Yellow Medicine by Anthony Neil Smith is available for $0.99 on both the KINDLE and the NOOK.  And since I'm not sure how long this price is going to last, it's best you snatch a copy  now.  Don't have a Kindle?  You can download a free application for your computer HERE.

Anthony Neil Smith is currently the Director of Creative Writing at Southwest Minnesota State University. He earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Writers in 2002. Other novels by Dr. Smith include Psychosomatic, The Drummer, and Hogdoggin’. He has also published over forty short stories. Dr. Smith is also co-creator and editor of the internet noir zine Plots With Guns. To learn more about Anthony Neil Smith you can give visit him on his website, Herman's Greasy Spoon.