Edited by
Michael Bracken and Stacy Woodson, Scattered,
Smothered, Covered & Chunked: Crime Fiction Inspired by Waffle House
is a fun crime fiction read. Some of the tales are noirish in style while
others are more middle of the road crime fiction reads. There is humor, plenty
of food references, and a number of folks who really should have known better
than to do what they did.
There are
sixteen short stories in the read. Every one of them is a good one. The short
stories referenced here with my brief comments are those that really resonated
with me. Your choices, no doubt, would vary.
It should also
be noted that I am one of those people who just reads an anthology straight
through from front to back. I don’t poke around reading people I know first or
anything like that. So, the listing below is in the order that I came across
them as I read and not any implied ranking of my favorites.
Alan Orloff’s “Well
Done” features a place in a bad way, a need for money, and an arsonist that is
willing to work cheap. Of course, the arsonist’s name is “Scorch.” It had to be
his name and there is also one heck of a fire.
Win’s Waffles,
owned and operated by Winfred Perkins III, is also having a hard time of
things. The long running family business is going under in “The Price of Blood”
by Nils Gilbertson. He knows the legacy is almost dead. He also knows that
Duncan Dudley is an idiot who is constantly involved in failed money-making
schemes. But, his latest venture is just crazy enough that it could work.
Editor Michael
Bracken’s “Windfall” takes three characters and, on one hand, drops them in the
exact right place at the right time. Another way of looking at it is that the
three are in the wrong place at the absolute worst time. An armored car robbery
and human nature is at work in this tale.
Lucie Heinz has
always tried to keep her brother safe, not that he has listened very well over
the years. Her brother, Carson, has made it very hard in “The Ham & Egger”
by J. D. Allen. They have been hiding,
for good reason, and big sister thought that she could indulge her brother’s
desire to get out after being house bound for days. She thought they could safely
go out to the Silver Saddle Saloon for a couple of hours. What had seemed like
a good idea, clearly wasn’t. Hindsight won’t help them now.
“The Heart of
Darkness” by Tammy Euliano also features a sibling who was expected to do everything
to protect the younger brother. When he left, Dad took it hard, and told him to
never come back home. Mom is dead so he is back for the funeral and trying to figure
out what happened during her last days.
Like when Jim
Cantore of the Weather Channel shows up in your town, when the Waffle House
closes, you know things are really bad. That has happened in Donna Andrew’s “When
Even Waffle House Closes.” The winter storm is causing havoc and she is in
trouble as the storm could kill her. So could the robbers who are as deadly as
the southern snowstorm.
The sixteen
short stories that are present here are all entertaining reads. The detailed bios
at the end of the book help readers in their quest to read more by these
authors.
Scattered,
Smothered, Covered & Chunked: Crime Fiction Inspired by Waffle House is an interesting
and highly entertaining crime fiction read. It incorporates a premise that
could easily be used again and again for additional volumes in a potential
series. This reader hopes that happens as Scattered, Smothered, Covered
& Chunked: Crime Fiction Inspired by Waffle House, edited by Michael
Bracken and Stacy Woodson is a mighty good read. It also might make you hungry.
Amazon Associate
Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4jcSGMV
Published by Down
& Out Books, my reading copy was a digital edition and purchased by yours
truly using funds in my Amazon Associate Account.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
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