Saturday 22 May 2021

ROB PIERCE - THE THINGS I LOVE WILL KILL ME YET (2016)


Synopsis/blurb ....

Escape. Lust. Revenge. Rob Pierce writes with an understanding of the darkness in the hearts of people who’ve been struck and need to strike back. From gun dealers to murders to the simply self-destructive, The Things I Love Will Kill Me Yet is filled with stories of men and women whose dreams can never take them out of their realities.

Praise for THE THINGS I LOVE WILL KILL ME YET:

“Pierce’s style is spare and hard-hitting, and The Things I Love Will Kill Me Yet delivers a knockout.” —Sam Wiebe, author of Last of the Independents

Twenty plus stories from one of  All Due Respect's top authors. Full list below ....

Thanksgiving, 1963 
Whorehouse Blues 
Ella 
The Real Thing 
Under the Bridge 
The Leaves 
Empty Kitchens 
Walkin’ the Dog 
A Small Knife or a Large Vehicle 
Killing Animals 
As Good a Cop 
The Judge 
Broken Window 
Mud People 
A Small Crew 
Hemingway Drank Shots 
Pancake Collection
Stomach Punches 
The Humanity of Dogs 
All My Exes Die in Texas 
Twine 
Dead Soldiers 
Cornered

My favourite was the opener, Thanksgiving, 1963 which was worth the price of admission on its own. A tense Texan Thanksgiving family re-union set before, during and after Kennedy's Dallas assassination. Family issues, alliances and fault lines are brought into sharp focus. An important College Football game provides a distraction, or conversely serves to focus attention on an strange time for America. Additionally, brawling and selling guns - both ticks in the boxes.

The others see us engaged with .... whores, bars, drinkers, motels, winos, homelessness, romance, pool, competitiveness, bar fights, bloodshed, dog troubles, marriage woes, revenge, burglary and consequences, mud people - a weird one, pirates and midgets, troubling following you around, love issues, war, the fight game and a lot more besides.

Not every story rocked me, but more often times than not they satisfied. Overall an enjoyable 
collection.

4 from 5   

This was my fifth encounter with Rob Pierce's work, after reading Uncle Dust, Vern in the Heat, With the Right Enemies and Tommy Shakes. Just Blood by Choice left to catch up on.

Read - April, 2021
Published - 2016
Page count - 186
Source - purchased copy
Format - Kindle

2 comments:

  1. There are times when a short story collection is just right, Col. I'm glad this one was satisfying. So often, the quality of a group of stories is inconsistent, so it's especially good to hear that that wasn't the case here.

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    Replies
    1. Margot, Rob Pierce is equally skilled at both long and short form fiction.

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