When the publisher Down & Out Books went under, it took down a lot of good crime fiction reading. Slowly, those books are coming back with new publishers. Such is the case here as Editor Michael Bracken recently announced on Facebook that the eBook version was now up at Amazon and elsewhere for preorders. So, I thought I would remind you of this great read that is now being published by Audecyn Books. I would also warn you that, at the time of this writing, to ignore the book description at Amazon and elsewhere as it pertains to a totally different anthology.
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/4tOt12p
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, 2026
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