September 1, 1997
"I grew up seeing the world as an exciting place," writes popular mystery writer McCrumb (If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him) in the introduction to her first short story collection. "The quiet tales of suburban angst so popular in modern fiction are Martian to me." It shows in these 25 tales, most set either in the Appalachia familiar to her fans or in her mother's "flatland South"; the title story is a portrait of her father's spartan childhood in rural Tennessee. "Love on First Bounce,'' written when McCrumb was in high school, introduces feisty Elizabeth MacPherson, heroine of eight later novels. Elizabeth is reading Dorothy Parker when we meet her; so, evidently, was McCrumb, who learns from Parker how to prod her stories along with pointed, dismissive phrases (of a boy-crazy friend: "She likes to build souls for mysterious strangers; I suppose getting to know someone would spoil the effect"). Fourteen novels haven't dulled McCrumb's wit. A few of these stories are bloodcurdling character studies; others are pervaded with loneliness and despair, and some draw on the legends of her Scottish ancestors. Ordinary housewives, a potential serial killer and isolated, poor mountain folk caught between or straddling cultures are grist for her imagination. Perhaps the best entries in the collection--among them "Gentle Reader," which chronicles the short but profitable epistolary friendship between a popular Southern mystery writer and a mysterious fan--adopt the politely satirical tone of her mysteries and are sure to please her readers (gentle and otherwise).
September 1, 1997
This is the first story collection from best-selling mystery writer McCrumb (e.g., She Walks These Hills and If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him, both LJ 5/1/95). With settings, tone, diction, and characters varying so widely, the 25 stories might have been written by 15 different writers. The one theme common to many of the stories is the desire for--and usually accomplishment of--revenge. Some stories, especially the first one, "Precious Jewel," are very fine, subtle, and moving. In others, however, a distancing irony prevents the reader's involvement with the characters. Some nicely convey a feeling for the rural South ("The Witness") and others the often-fraught relationship between men and women that is not limited to any region ("A Snare As Old as Solomon," "John Knox in Paradise"). The length of the stories does not allow much plot, and McCrumb sometimes attempts to compensate by winding up with an obvious metaphor or startling action to provide a punch. Buy where there is demand for her novels, which are clearly McCrumb's strong suit.--Judith Kicinski, Sarah Lawrence Coll., Bronxville, N.Y.
Starred review from September 15, 1997
McCrumb, best known as a mystery writer, turns her considerable talent to mainstream short fiction with this collection of two dozen delightfully unique and entertaining stories. McCrumb has an uncanny knack for picking up the subtle nuances of dialogue, place, and personality that make her characters and settings sparkle with life. She can perfectly mimic the hillbilly twang of an Appalachian healer or the dulcet, pear-shaped tones of an upper-class Briton; she can create the excitement of teenagers in lust, mirror the evil that lurks in a serial killer's heart, or convey the quiet desperation of a woman trapped in a miserable marriage. But most of all, McCrumb can make her readers believe what she writes. Nearly every story in this collection is a standout, from the fragile, tragic slice of life called "Precious Jewel" to the explosive "A Snare as Old as Solomon" to the sidesplittingly funny "The Monster of Glamis." McCrumb's stories will pluck at the heart like a twangy country love tune; they'll make readers wonder, laugh, weep, and mourn; they'll evoke anger, sorrow, fear, and tenderness; they'll entertain, repel, delight, and mesmerize. McCrumb is one of America's premier storytellers, and this extraordinary collection of her stories makes a perfect addition to every library's shelves. ((Reviewed September 15, 1997))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1997, American Library Association.)