Flyover Country by Barbara Collins and Max Allan Collins

by Barb Goffman

42/366 from the anthology Once Upon A Crime edited by Gary R. Bush and Chris Everheart (Nodin Press 2009), originally copyrighted 1999 (I’m not sure where it was published originally.)

A Manhattan book editor has flight trouble and ends up with a night-long layover in Iowa. She’s crabby and lets folks know it. To her surprise, everyone in Iowa ends up being super nice, and they bring out the best in Miss Snooty — so  much that she turns into Miss Nice and decides to ditch her big-city life and move to Iowa. Does she have her happily ever after? I’ll let you see for yourself, but here’s a clue: this story is in a crime anthology.

Recommended.

The Surrogate by Anthony Neil Smith

by Barb Goffman

40/366 from the anthology Once Upon A Crime edited by Gary R. Bush and Chris Everheart (Nodin Press 2009)

This story drops you right into the mind of a horrible, selfish man who thinks he’s entitled to cheat on his wife because … I don’t even know why. He’s full of excuses. And then he decides to kill the baby she’s carrying. Despite that there’s no real gruesomeness on the page, this is one of the most disturbing stories I’ve read.

Putting aside the plot, I give props to the author for making the voice come alive. This sick tale is sticking with me.

Dumber Than Dirt by Libby Fischer Hellmann

by Barb Goffman

26/366 From the anthology Once Upon A Crime edited by Gary R. Bush and Chris Everheart (Nodin Press 2009)

Growing up, Derek knew two things about himself: He was dumber than dirt and he loved cars. After high school, while his friends went off to college, he went into the joint on a two-to-five stretch for borrowing someone’s car without permission. When he got out, he vowed to do better, and he avoided cars. Until the day he finds the keys to a shiny Benz and just can’t help himself. The writing about his love of cars is so nice, I’ll quote a little here:

“The road opened up a few miles later, and Derek floored it. The car hesitated for a fraction of a second, then lunged forward. Derek hunched forward and let the car eat up the highway. There was always a moment when he could tell whether a set of wheels was worth it or whether it had some defect, some flaw that made it a clunker. But this baby was perfect. Derek blew out his breath. It felt like he hadn’t really breathed in years. His fingers drifted over the walnut-trimmed instrument panel, the velvety smoothness of the seats. He wasn’t sure where the car ended and his flesh began.”

What could make this day any better? Oh, finding a dead body in the car’s trunk. His boss’ dead body.

An Issue of Women and Money by Michael Stanley

by Barb Goffman

24/366  From the anthology Once Upon A Crime edited by Gary R. Bush and Chris Everheart (Nodin Press 2009)

Most of the stories in this anthology are set in Minnesota, which makes sense since the anthology was designed to honor the owner of the Minneapolis bookstore Once Upon A Crime. This story, however, is set in Botswana. Two men were involved in a fistfight, then one is found dead with a knife in his chest. The other man denies being the killer. Police detective Kubu is on the case. The key clue to solving the puzzle is right there, yet it’s hidden so well in plain site that I missed it. Good thing Kubu didn’t. Will you spot the clue?

Dumb Luck by Marilyn Victor

by Barb Goffman

23/366 from the anthology Once Upon A Crime edited by Gary R. Bush and Chris Everheart (Nodin Press 2009)

This is the story of unlucky Gertie and her dead mule. You learn how the mule died, and you want to kill her husband as much as Gertie did.

Live Bait by Sujata Massey

by Barb Goffman

22/366 from the anthology Once Upon A Crime edited by Gary R. Bush and Chris Everheart (Nodin Press 2009)

Doug and Lucy have been married ten years. She used to dress up for him. Now she dresses up for parties with the neighbors, especially one particular neighbor who seems to have caught her eye.  Doug decides to get rid of his problem, but with his myopic focus on his task, he fails to notice some important things going on around him…

I love when titles have double meanings. I won’t say more than that. Don’t want to spoil it for you.

Jibber Jabber by Reed Farrel Coleman

by Barb Goffman

19/366 from the anthology Once Upon A Crime edited by Gary R. Bush and Chris Everheart (Nodin Press 2009)

This is the story of a white supremacist and his autistic son. After witnessing a traumatic incident, the son finally begins interacting with the world but in an unexpected way. This story story has really resonated with  me. I finished it several hours ago, and I’m still not sure what I’m supposed to believe happened, which in this instance is kind of cool.

Den of Iniquity by Lori A. Lake

by Barb Goffman

17/366 from the anthology Once Upon A Crime edited by Gary R. Bush and Chris Everheart (Nodin Press 2009)

This is the story of a woman who finds the man who molested her as a child and cooks up some revenge. It was a good story with some well-written suspense, though I was hoping for a stronger twist at the end.

Contender by William Kent Krueger

by Barb Goffman

16/366 from the anthology Once Upon A Crime edited by Gary R. Bush and Chris Everheart (Nodin Press 2009)

Krueger has such a way with language that this story was a delight to read. It’s the tale of an abused boy who becomes a man who trains boxers, including a kid being abused. Here’s just a couple of the gems from this story:

“Far back as I can remember, he was laying into me with  his bare knuckles. Me and my ma. Beat us like dirty rugs.”

“In a gym a woman’s about as common as a tattoo on a nun.”

And even though the clues are there, Krueger placed them so deftly that when the story twists you’re still surprised. At least I was. Hats off to the author.

Pinked Off by Maureen Fischer

by Barb Goffman

15/366 from the anthology Once Upon A Crime edited by Gary R. Bush and Chris Everheart (Nodin Press 2009).

Monica was in the fifth grade when her mom agreed to have her room redecorated. Monica was finally going to have the girl’s room of her dreams with shocking pink carpet and white furniture with pretty golden handles. It was like she was finally Cinderella, and her dreams were going to come true, until they were dashed. The redecorated room didn’t turn out at all like she’d wanted. If that were the end of the story, you could shirk it off as a “too bad” situation. But a few years later, when Monica’s little sister gets her room redecorated, her Cinderella dreams do come true. So it’s clear which child is loved and which is dissed. But don’t worry about Monica. She finds a way to deal with her rage.