SleuthSayers: The Gingerbread Man

SleuthSayers: The Gingerbread Man: In June, Level Short released Wish Upon a Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by Fairy Tales , an anthology I edited with Michael Bracken. The sto...

Little Big Crimes: The Briar Patch, by Tom Milani

Little Big Crimes: The Briar Patch, by Tom Milani: "The Briar Patch," by Tom Milani, in Wish Upon a Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by Fairy Tales , edited by Michael Bracken, and Sta...

Little Big Crimes: Three Billy Goats Gruff, by Michael Bracken

Little Big Crimes: Three Billy Goats Gruff, by Michael Bracken:  "Three Billy Goats Gruff," by Michael Bracken, in Wish Upon a Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by Fairy Tales , edited by Michael Br...

The First Two Pages: “Musicians of Bremen” by Debra H. Goldstein

 The First Two Pages: “Musicians of Bremen” by Debra H. Goldstein

The First Two Pages: “The Briar Patch” by Tom Milani

 The First Two Pages: “The Briar Patch” by Tom Milani

SleuthSayers: Goldie Locke and the Three Barretts

SleuthSayers: Goldie Locke and the Three Barretts: There are several reasons for my post today. One was the release of a new crime anthology this past Tuesday; the second was a  SleuthSayers ...

The First Two Pages: “Jack and the Beanstalk” by Andrew Welsh-Huggins

 The First Two Pages: “Jack and the Beanstalk” by Andrew Welsh-Huggins

Short Story Wednesday Review: Scattered, Smothered, Covered & Chunked: Crime Fiction Inspired by Waffle House Editors Michael Bracken and Stacy Woodson

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

Short Story Wednesday Review: Scattered, Smothered, Covered & Chunked: Crime Fiction Inspired by Waffle House Editors Michael Bracken and Stacy Woodson

 

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

Little Big Crimes: Retro Rhapsody by Hugh Lessig

Little Big Crimes: Retro Rhapsody by Hugh Lessig:   "Retro Rhapsody," by Hugh Lessig,   in  S cattered, Smothered, Covered & Chunked: Crime Fiction Inspired by Waffle House,  e...

Little Big Crimes: Windfall, by Michael Bracken

Little Big Crimes: Windfall, by Michael Bracken:   "Windfall," by Michael Bracken, in  S cattered, Smothered, Covered & Chunked: Crime Fiction Inspired by Waffle House, edite...