Treacherous:
Grifters, Ruffians, and Killers by Gary Phillips is an interesting short story collection.
Beyond the various crimes, the backdrop is often deals with issues of race,
privilege, class, and economic standing. The book is broken into four
categories with each section containing 4 to 7 previously published stories.
The result is 21 crime fictions tales. While they are all good ones, a few that
I very much liked are below.
The book
opens with the first section “Grifters.” A highlight is the opening short
story, “The Performer.” An aging lounge singer is making small talk with a
woman after a set. One thing leads to another, and soon he is, apparently, in
the middle of a mess.
Another
highlight is “Rodger Crumbler Considered His Shave.” 50 years old Rodger Crumber is pleased with
things, but is pretty sure it could be way better. He has a plan to make things
even better and that plan is underway.
The “Bad
Juju” section comes next. These stories are all about messing with people and
things that should not be messed with at all.
“The Snow
Birds” sees folks play polo by using bikes. It is street polo where grudges are
settled and crimes are plotted.
Glen Murry, aka
Junie, is a teen and he does some things for the gamblers in “Sportin’ Men.” He
makes drinks and food and works on his plan. He isn’t the only one with a plan.
“Both of
Shadows and Substance” comes next as the third section.
A truck
driver by the name of Roosevelt Hopkins stops for a meal on the way to the
port. A waitress, a legendary car, and more are at work in “Can’t Be Satisfied.”
Maybe you are
in the mood for zombies? In “Disco Zombies,” taking the drugs and more seems to
have worked out. Then the damn zombies showed up looking to take it all back.
The plan was
to rip off the aging rock star in “House of Tears.” The plan isn’t going as
well as they had thought it would in the first story of section 4, “Hell Bent.”
Racists and
other scumbags, are hard at work in “Masai Back in Town.” Swanmoor put one down
and got intel from the other. He soon learns that the one he left alive is also
now dead as there are multiple agendas in play.
The 21 tales
that make up Treacherous: Grifters, Ruffians, and Killers are all
good ones. These short stories are graphic crime fiction. That means they are
graphic in use of language and also frequently depict in detail violence and sexual
situations between various characters.
Along the way,
the tales consider race, class, economic status, and a lot more. These tales
are not light hearted. Regardless of time period, these feature characters
doing their best to survive. As we all are, every single day, in a world often
stacked to benefit the wealthy and powerful.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/41KuVa4
My ARC
digital reading copy came from the publisher, Level Short (Level Best Books),
through NetGalley with no expectation of a review.
Kevin R.
Tipple ©2024
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