From the hallucinatory noir story ‘Go Deep’ to the twisted short stories ‘Necessary Women’ and ‘Remmy Rothstein Toes the Line,’ this collection showcases the Sunday Times No. 1 bestselling author’s dark humour, limitless imagination, and masterly command of voice and character. (‘Go Deep’ and ‘Remmy Rothstein Toes the Line’ also available as single stories and ‘Necessary Women’ also available as part of a bundle with ‘The Mean Time)
I read this because I really enjoy Karin Slaughter’s books. Though short stories are not my usual format, I thought these were worth a look. And I wasn’t disappointed.
Each is a dark tale, and quite, quite twisted. More laughs than I expected, especially in the last one, which is both raunchy and very funny.
GO DEEP
Charlie Lam is an archetypal car salesman in Atlanta. His business supports his wife and daughter, his girlfriend, an extended family who all just love to live off his money, and 70 employees.
He is also in over his head with the local gangster.
One day, he has an accident and that leads to changes in Charlie’s life that he could never have imagined. Dark and bold, this story leads in a direction I just did not expect.
NECESSARY WOMEN
In a poor town in the South of the U.S. a fourteen year old girl is warned by her mamma about the dangers of sleeping with boys and how important it is not to end up the way her mamma did, married to a long distance trucker who likes nothing better than to beat on her when the mood takes him. Then her mamma dies and she is left to take care of her daddy.
But there’s more to this little lady than anyone might imagine, including her daddy, and how she resolves the issues she encounters is a dark, gruesome and macabre tale that shines a light on the darkness of a soul.
REMMY ROTHSTEIN TOES THE LINE
This is a very funny tale. Told in the form of memo/reports. Mindy is an adjudicator for the organisation that verifies World Records. Mindy is sent to the swamps to verify a claim that Remmy Rothstein has the world’s longest tongue.
The challenges she encounters in her travels are well documented in the reports she sends back, and they are hilarious. Not to mention Remy and his family, who would make a novel in themselves.
The stories are quite different, and enjoyable, though the middle one in particular is very dark and twisted. Highly enjoyable though and a good price for an easy read.
Live and Deadly 