At Home in the Dark

by Lawrence Block, Joe Hill (Contribution by), Joe Lansdale (Contribution by)

Overview

The crime fiction canopy's a broad one, with room to give shelter to writing of all sorts, as editor Lawrence Block shows with At Home in the Dark:

“Some of these stories have one or both feet planted in another genre. James Reasoner's story is a period western, Joe Lansdale's is bleakly dystopian, and Joe Hill's novelette slithers through a little doorway into another world. “And now that I've singled out those three, I suppose I should go ahead and list the rest of the gang: N. J. Ayres, Laura Benedict, Jill D. Block, Richard Chizmar, Hilary Davidson, Jim Fusilli, Elaine Kagan, Warren Moore, Joyce Carol Oates, Ed Park, Nancy Pickard, Thomas Pluck, Wallace Stroby, and Duane Swierczynski. “If you're looking for a common denominator, two come to mind. They're all dark stories, with nothing cozy or comforting about them. And every last one of them packs a punch.

Which is to say that they're all very much At Home in the Dark—and we can thank O. Henry, master of the surprise ending, for our title. 'Turn up the lights,' he said on his deathbed. 'I don't want to go home in the dark.'”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781951939892
Publisher:	LB Productions
Publication date:	09/16/2020
Pages:	326
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

The winner of multiple Edgar, Shamus, and Maltese Falcon Awards, Lawrence Block (b. 1938) is one of the most acclaimed mystery authors writing today. Best known for his Matthew Scudder and Bernie Rhodenbarr series, Block has published more than 100 books and numerous short stories. His novel A Drop of the Hard Stuff was adapted into the Liam Neeson film A Walk Among The Tombstones. He lives in New York.

Table of Contents

Foreword: It's Getting Dark in Here Lawrence Block 9

Hot Pants Elaine Kagan 15

The Eve of Infamy Jim Fusilli 35

Night Rounds James Reasoner 41

The Flagellant Joyce Carol Oates 53

The Things I'd Do Ed Park 69

Favored to Death N. J. Ayres 85

Rough Mix Warren Moore 107

This Strange Bargain Laura Benedict 113

The Senior Girls Bayonet Drill Team Joe R. Lansdale 137

If Only You Would Leave Me Nancy Pickard 155

Giant's Despair Duane Swierczynski 167

Whistling in the Dark Richard Chizmar 205

O, Swear Not By the Moon Jill D. Block 215

Nightbound Wallace Stroby 237

The Cucuzza Curse Thomas Pluck 261

Cold Comfort Hilary Davidson 287

Faun Joe Hill 307

Editorial Reviews

"Noir fiction comes in many forms, as multiple award–winning thriller and mystery writer Block points out in this stellar collection. Sometimes noir carries the trappings of the hard-boiled style—dangling cigarettes, mean streets, gunsels—but not always. These 17 original stories cross genres, styles, and settings with abandon, but they are all very dark indeed, from a James Reasoner western story to Joe R. Lansdale’s chilling 'The Senior Girls Bayonet Drill Team,' which depicts a high-school competition in which sport and butchery have joined hands. Elaine Kagan’s 'Hot Pants' features a young woman caring for a father sliding into dementia (Is there anything darker than that?), while fending off harassment at work. The panic and hopelessness of her circumstances are as disquieting as it gets. Duane Swierczynski’s novella depicts a couple dealing with their adult daughter’s addiction and a criminal son-in-law who wants custody of his daughter. Swiercynski does a masterful job of shifting between past and present to tell his story. A fine collection that sticks to its theme while demonstrating remarkable variety."

— Wes Lukowsky in Booklist



" I will be greatly surprised if the Lansdale, Hill, and Benedict stories do not each appear in at least one “year’s best” SF, fantasy, and horror anthology."

—Anthony Cardno

From the Publisher

03/04/2019

This above average anthology features an eclectic mix of 17 stories, which MWA Grand Master Block (the Matthew Scudder mysteries) labels dark in preference to noir, though they’re by no means as dark as dark has gotten in recent fiction. One highlight is “The Senior Girls Bayonet Drill Team,” a dystopian tale of a new arena blood sport, in which even Joe Lansdale—famed for gonzo excess—holds back on gore and piles on implication. Also notable are Laura Benedict’s “This Strange Bargain,” which works a modern variant on Hansel and Gretel, and Wallace Stroby’s “Nightbound,” which puts his series heroine Crissa Stone through an action-packed woodchopper when her robbery of a Dominican gang money drop goes south. A small portal in Maine gives big game hunters armed entry to Fairyland in Joe Hill’s unsettling “Faun.” On the minus side, some tales suffer from overwriting and characters expending too many pages thinking deep thoughts. Weak endings mar others. Still, crime fiction fans will find plenty to like. Agent: Danny Baror, Baror International. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

05/01/2019

Block (A Drop of the Hard Stuff), editor of this collection, prefers the word dark to noir, and the 17 stories in this compilation have various degrees of darkness. It's a strong lineup of authors, including Joe Hill, Joe R. Lansdale, Joyce Carol Oates, and Duane Swierczynski. Lansdale's "The Senior Girls Bayonet Drill Team" offers a powerful dystopian story about high school girls who fight with bayonets in enormous stadiums. Nancy Pickard's "If Only You Would Leave Me," a story of a couple who have grown to resent each other, has a surprise ending. It will be difficult to forget Swierczynski's "Giant's Despair" or Hill's "Faun," both of which will leave readers feeling uncomfortable. VERDICT While the selection of authors is appealing, readers and libraries may balk at the price. Because the quality varies, and there are only 17 stories, the Akashic "Noir" collections may be preferable.—Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

Library Journal