(As a side note, sorry for being AFK so long. I’ve moved back to the US and have been scrambling around seeing anxious friends and relatives).

Like many of the books I’ve read in recent months, DEV is an anthology of fantastical short stories by some pretty talented names. I had several favorite stories, including:

• Two Blondes by Charlaine Harris- Sookie and Pam are at it again. Strippers, elves, murderers, and vampires, OH MY! (If I were them I would stop listening to Eric…)
• The Boys Go Fishing by Sarah Smith- An elderly super hero is forced out of retirement when a bunch of mutant kids are dumped on his doorstep. I liked this one because I pictured Morgan Freeman as the main character–you’ll see what I mean.
• The Innsmouth Nook by A. Lee Martinez- A goofy tale of two guys opening a bed and breakfast in a town straight from the Black Lagoon.
• Safe and Sound by Jeff Abbott- Let’s put it this way: Nancy Grace covering the Natalie Holloway case meets supernatural disappearances.
• Seeing is Believing by L.A. Banks- Old swamp voodoo brings a young couple together, but there’s more than meets the eye.
• Thin Walls by Christopher Golden- SUCCUBUS, OMG! Just wait til you read the mouth/vagina description… *shudder*
• The Heart is Always Right by Lilith Saintcrow- A story about gargoyles in the modern world that was so captivating, I’m hoping for a series to be spawned.

There were a handful of others, while cute and entertaining, were just not as gripping as those listed above. They were either too corny or just emitted the paranormal romance vibe too strongly.

I highly recommend this anthology and it’s going down as a new favorite. Read it to stave off post-Halloween withdrawals.

4 horny demon dogs of 5

THIS CASE IS GONNA KILL ME
Phillipa Bornikova
Cover Copy: What happens when The Firm meets Anita Blake? You get the Halls of Power—our modern world, but twisted. Law, finance, the military, and politics are under the sway of long-lived vampires, werewolves, and the elven Alfar. Humans make the best of rule by “the Spooks,” and contend among themselves to affiliate with the powers-that-be, in order to avoid becoming their prey. Very loyal humans are rewarded with power over other women and men. Very lucky humans are selected to join the vampires, werewolves, and elves—or, on occasion, to live at the Seelie Court.
Linnet Ellery is the offspring of an affluent Connecticut family dating back to Colonial times. Fresh out of law school, she’s beginning her career in a powerful New York “white fang” law firm. She has high hopes of eventually making partner.
But strange things keep happening to her. In a workplace where some humans will eventually achieve immense power and centuries of extra lifespan, office politics can be vicious beyond belief. After some initial missteps, she finds herself sidelined and assigned to unpromising cases. Then, for no reason she can see, she becomes the target of repeated, apparently random violent attacks, escaping injury each time through increasingly improbable circumstances. However, there’s apparently more to Linnet Ellery than a little old-money human privilege. More than even she knows. And as she comes to understand this, she’s going to shake up the system like you wouldn’t believe….
Get it – Amazon CA | Amazon US | Chapters | Goodreads

SUPERNATURAL BORN KILLERS
Casey Daniels
Cover Copy: Former cemetery tour guide and reluctant medium Pepper Martin is thrilled when she gets her job back—with a promotion. But her new position is turning out to be more than she can handle, especially with the dead clamoring for her attention… As Garden View Cemetery’s new community relations manager, Pepper is feeling overwhelmed with planning the annual party to attract new sponsors. Luckily, some of the cemetery’s permanent residents have volunteered to give Pepper a ghostly hand, and she’s not about to turn away the help. But when a murdered ghost starts leaving puddles everywhere, Pepper quickly finds her newly acquired free time occupied. The dead man is her ex-boyfriend Quinn’s former partner Jack Haggarty—and he isn’t going away until Pepper figures out the real reason behind his murder. And while Quinn recently had a brush with the afterlife, he still isn’t ready to accept Pepper’s abilities—or offer his skills as a detective. Now, Pepper has to convince Quinn she’s the real deal and investigate Jack’s death—before someone else meets their end in a watery grave…
Get it – Amazon CA | Amazon US | Chapters | Goodreads

THE ASYLUM INTERVIEWS: TRIXIE (novella)
Jocelynn Drake
Cover Copy: The second of two prequel stories to Jocelynn Drake’s Angel’s Ink.
Gage’s ex-girlfriend is back in town and needs help escaping a master vampire. While not the easiest of tasks, he certainly didn’t count of getting help from a mysterious woman with a few secrets of her own.
100 pages
Get it – Amazon US | Goodreads
[title available at Amazon US only]

THE KINGMAKERS
Clay and Susan Griffith
Cover Copy:  A war to the death.
Empress Adele has launched a grand crusade against the vampire clans of the north. Prince Gareth, the vampire lord of Scotland, serves the Equatorian cause, fighting in the bloody trenches of France in his guise as the dashing Greyfriar. But the human armies are pinned down, battered by harsh weather and merciless attacks from vampire packs.
To even the odds, Adele unleashes the power of her geomancy, a fearsome weapon capable of slaughtering vampires in vast numbers. However, the power she expends threatens her own life even as she questions the morality of such a weapon.
As the war turns ever bloodier and Adele is threatened by betrayal, Gareth faces a terrible choice. Their only hope is a desperate strike against the lord of the vampire clans—Gareth’s brother, Cesare. It is a gamble that could win the war or signal the final days of the Greyfriar.
The Vampire Empire trilogy rushes to a heart-wrenching conclusion of honor and love, hatred and vengeance, sacrifice and loss.
Get It — Amazon CA | Amazon US | Chapters | Goodreads

IN A FIX
Linda Grimes
UFL Review
UFL Interview
book trailer
Get it — Amazon | Chapters/Indigo | Goodreads

Pet Shop Boys: A Short Story
Kim Harrison
Cover Copy: From bestselling author Kim Harrison comes this original short story (to be featured in her anthology Into the Woods, October 2012) where things are most definitely not as they seem. A pet shop employee’s innocent date with a customer quickly turns disturbing rather than delightful. She and her family hold a centuries-old secret, and they want him to stay with them forever.
Get It – Amazon US | Goodreads
[title available at Amazon US only]

CLEAN
Alex Hughes
Cover Copy: I used to work for the Telepath’s Guild before they kicked me out for a drug habit that wasn’t entirely my fault. Now I work for the cops, helping Homicide Detective Isabella Cherabino put killers behind bars. My ability to get inside the twisted minds of suspects makes me the best interrogator in the department. But the normals keep me on a short leash. When the Tech Wars ripped the world apart, the Guild stepped up to save it. But they had to get scary to do it, real scary. Now the cops don’t trust the telepaths, the Guild doesn’t trust me, a serial killer is stalking the city, and I’m aching for a fix. But I need to solve this case. Fast. I’ve just had a vision of the future: I’m the next to die.
Get It – Amazon CA | Amazon US | Chapters | Goodreads

HAVE STAKES WILL TRAVEL (novella)
Faith Hunter
Cover Copy: In Have Stakes Will Travel, readers get a chance to go deeper into the thrilling world of skinwalker and vampire hunter Jane Yellowrock. In “WeSa,” the Beast who lives inside Jane watches as her hunting grounds become prey. In “Haints,” Jane and her best friend, witch Molly Trueblood, are hired to investigate mysterious paranormal phenomena—and the evil they find brings a new meaning to the words “haunted house.” “Signatures of the Dead” tells the story of the vampire massacre that made Jane Yellowrock a household name. And in “Cajun with Fangs,” Jane makes a new friend who turns out to have old enemies, and finds herself drawn into a vicious blood feud, fueled by dark magic and ancient grudges.
143 pages
Get it – Amazon US
[title available at Amazon US only]

ASHES OF HONOR
Seanan McGuire
Cover Copy: It’s been almost a year since October “Toby” Daye averted a war, gave up a county, and suffered personal losses that have left her wishing for a good day’s sleep. She’s tried to focus on her responsibilities—training Quentin, upholding her position as Sylvester’s knight, and paying the bills—but she can’t help feeling like her world is crumbling around her, and her increasingly reckless behavior is beginning to worry even her staunchest supporters.
To make matters worse, Toby’s just been asked to find another missing child…only this time it’s the changeling daughter of her fellow knight, Etienne, who didn’t even know he was a father until the girl went missing. Her name is Chelsea. She’s a teleporter, like her father. She’s also the kind of changeling the old stories warn about, the ones with all the strength and none of the control. She’s opening doors that were never meant to be opened, releasing dangers that were sealed away centuries before—and there’s a good chance she could destroy Faerie if she isn’t stopped.
Now Toby must find Chelsea before time runs out, racing against an unknown deadline and through unknown worlds as she and her allies try to avert disaster. But danger is also stirring in the Court of Cats, and Tybalt may need Toby’s help with the biggest challenge he’s ever faced.
Toby thought the last year was bad. She has no idea.
Get It – Amazon CA | Amazon US | Chapters | Goodreads

Dead Mann Running
Stefan Petrucha
Cover Copy: Just because a bullet has your name on it, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t duck. Either I’m stubborn or it’s rigor mortis, but being dead didn’t stop me from being a detective. But it’s tough out there for a zombie. These days the life-challenged have to register and take monthly tests to prove our emotional stability. See, if we get too low, we go feral. And I’ve been feeling down lately myself. So when a severed arm, yeah, just the arm, leaves a mysterious briefcase in my office, my assistant Misty thinks figuring out where it came from will keep me on track. But this job goes deeper and darker than I imagined. Turns out the people after the briefcase know more about my past life than I can remember, and even more about what I’ve become.
Get It – Amazon CA | Amazon US | Goodreads

The Dirty Streets of Heaven
Tad Williams
Cover Copy: Bobby Dollar is an angel, a real one. Bobby’s wrestling with a few deadly sins of his own, pride, anger, even lust. Bobby can’t entirely trust his heavenly superiors, and he’s not too sure about any of his fellow earthbound angels either, especially the new trainee angel that Heaven has dropped into their midst. And he sure as hell doesn’t trust the Countess of Cold Hands, a mysterious she-demon who seems to be the only one willing to tell him the truth. When the souls of the recently departed start disappearing things get bad very quickly for Bobby D. Caught between the angry forces of Hell, the dangerous strategies of his own side, and a monstrous undead avenger that wants to rip his head off and suck out his soul, Bobby’s going to need all the friends he can get.
Get It – Amazon CA | Amazon US | Chapters | Goodreads

anthology – AN APPLE FOR THE CREATURE
Includes stories by: ILONA ANDREWS, AMBER BENSON, RHYS BOWEN, MIKE CAREY, CHARLAINE HARRIS, DONALD HARSTAD, STEVE HOCKENSMITH, NANCY HOLDER, FAITH HUNTER, TONI L.P. KELNER, MARJORIE LIU, JONATHAN MABERRY, THOMAS SNIEGOSKI
Cover Copy: Includes a never-before-published Sookie Stackhouse story!

What could be scarier than the first day of school? How about a crash course in the paranormal from Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner, editors of Home Improvement: Undead Edition? Your worst school nightmares—taking that math test you never studied for, finding yourself naked in school assembly, not knowing which door to enter—will pale in comparison to these thirteen original stories that take academic anxiety to whole new realms.

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris’s story, “Playing Possum,” Sookie Stackhouse brings enough birthday cupcakes for her nephew’s entire class but finds she’s one short when the angry ex-boyfriend of the school secretary shows up.

When her guardian, Kate Daniels, sends her undercover to a school for exceptional children, teenaged Julie learns an all-new definition of “exceptional,” in New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews’s “Magic Tests.”

For those who like fangs with their forensics, New York Times bestselling author Nancy Holder offers “VSI,” in which FBI agent Claire is tested as never before in a school for Vampire Scene Investigation.

And in New York Times bestselling author Thomas Sniegoski’s “The Bad Hour,” Remy Chandler and his dog Marlowe find evil unleashed in an obedience school.

You’ll need more than an apple to stave off the creatures in these and nine other stories. Remember your first lesson: resistance is fruitless!
Get it – Amazon CA | Amazon US | Chapters | Goodreads

anthology – GHOSTS: Recent Hauntings
Cover Copy: The spirits of the dead have walked among our legends, myths, and stories since before recorded history. Ghostly visitations, hauntings, unquiet souls seeking the living, vengeful wraiths, the possibility of life beyond the grave that can somehow reach out and touch us…these are some of literature’s most enduring icons. Now, in the twenty-first century, we are no less fascinated with phantoms than our cave-dwelling ancestors or our Victorian-age forebears. Thirty modern masters of fright and fantasy fill this anthology with shivers, chills, and spooky explorations of both sides of the veil. Be prepared to keep a light on all night!

Peter Atkins: “Between the Cold Moon and the Earth”
Rick Bowes: “There’s a Hole in the City”
Laird Barron: “The Lagerstatte”
Steve Duffy: “The Rag-and-Bone Men”
Jeffrey Ford: “The Trentino Kid”
Karen Joy Fowler: “Booth’s Ghost”
Neil Gaiman: “October in the Chair”
Stephen Gallagher: “The Box”
Elizabeth Hand: “Wonderwall”
Glen Hirshberg: “The Muldoon”
Alaya Dawn Johnson: “The Score”
Stephen Graham Jones: “Uncle” (original)
Caitlin R. Kiernan: “Apokatastasis”
Marc Laidlaw: “Cell Call”
Margo Lanagan: “The Proving of Smollett Standforth”
John Langan: “The Third Always Beside You”
Joe R. Lansdale: “The Case of the Lighthouse Shambler”
Maureen F. McHugh: “Ancestor Money”
Sarah Monette: “The Watcher in the Corners”
Reggie Oliver: “Mrs Midnight”
Richard Parks: “The Plum Blossom Lantern”
James van Pelt: “Savannah is Six”
Tim Powers: “A Soul in a Bottle”
Barbara Roden: “The Palace”
Ekaterina Sedia: “Tin Cans”
Nisi Shawl: “Cruel Sistah”
John Shirley: “Faces in Walls”
Peter Straub: “Mr Aikman’s Air Rifle”
Melanie Tem: “Dhost”
Steve Rasnic Tem: “The Ex”
Get it – Amazon CA | Amazon US| Chapters | Goodreads

78/366

In this world, licensed houngans can bring back the dead, but only so the deceased can finish a particular, important task. Then he/she goes back in the ground. The houngan who’s the star of this tale, Dodie Kilburn, is hired to bring an architect back to finish a house that’s being donated to charity. As the story progresses, the resurrected architect “dies” again. Twice. Dodie keeps bringing him back. Now her license is in jeopardy, and Dodie’s thinking something fishy is going on.

This story is a finalist for this year’s Derringer Award in the Novelette category.

The second workshop I attended at Crimebake on Friday night was called Techniques for Using Humor in Mystery and our speaker was Toni L.P. Kelner. Humor tends to seep into my writing, so I knew this was a must-attend workshop.

She started by talking about the different ways humor can be incorporated into a mystery:

• Slapstick
• Witty
• Crazy capers
• Farce
• Whimsical

Mysteries can be funny throughout or simply have a smart aleck character. There can be humorous moments to allow the reader to catch their breath. It also makes it easier to ratchet up the suspense. When building tension you can use humor before inserting a clue so that you are hiding  information in plain sight.

There can also be humor in the setting. Keep in mind that everything in the story should be doing something. Don’t insert humor unless it performs a function for the story. Humor must pull double duty such as exposition or catching your breath between tense scenes.

Humor can be risky because no one loves the same humor. You also run the risk of losing a reader. There is no margin of error for humor. Your book can be a moderate thriller, a tepid romance, or sorta sci-fi. If you miss the mark with humor, it fails.

It is important to realize that humor differs by age, background, culture, etc. Things will not translate. Be aware that humor can hurt people’s feelings.

Revision is key–If I had longer, I’d have made it shorter. Remember to whittle down your humor. If it’s not moving the action, cut the humor.

Keep in mind there is a time and place for humor, but it slows down the pacing. And some moments cannot be funny,

Humor can be very visual and hard to do in a story–like when the Three Stooges throw pies in people’s faces.

Structure matters with humor. Don’t tell the funny line first.

Topical humor can be a roadblock–try for age trying to get to.

In her mysteries, Toni found that the more specific she got, the more universal it got. She didn’t set out to write funny, she just based things off of the people in her life and readers found it very funny.

Timing is essential with humor.

Note: This week my wordcount is not moving. I am doing another serious revision of my first book for a contest including new chapter breaks. So second book is on the back burner until next week when I get this contest submission in.

I had the opportunity to feature my debut thriller STACCATO in The Mystery Bookstore set up for the conference, as well as at the Rue Morgue table. Exposure was excellent for the debut authors where we took the spotlight during one morning’s breakfast to present our titles to all those in attendance.

Kris Neri, author of the recently released Revenge for Old Times’ Sake, and High Crimes on the Magical Plane (nominated for The Lefty Award at the conference) was kind enough to introduce me to a slew of published authors.

I met Eric Beetner, co-author with K.B. Khol of One Too Many Blows to the Head, also released by Second Wind Publishing. Eric did an excellent job on his two panels, one about noir fiction, the other featuring newly published authors.

Biggest honor was appearing on the panel “The Art of the Short Story” with venerable award-winning authors Gar Anthony Haywood and Toni L.P. Kelner who co-edits anthologies with Charlaine Harris (famous for her Sookie Stackhouse True Blood series).

I’m currently reading Gar’s literary crime fiction novel Cemetery Road and must say, this is an incredible novel. One word description: Magic.

I hope and intend to keep in touch with the authors I had the pleasure and honor to meet. I look forward to seeing my new “friends” at the Bouchercon conference in April.

Deborah J Ledford is the author of the debut suspense thriller novel STACCATO, now available from Second Wind Publishing, Amazon, Kindle, and independent bookstores.

I’ve already said that I’m not fond of urban fantasy’s trend of publishing anthologies simply because some of the authors contributing write stuff that is important to the series, which means if you don’t read the story, you’re going to end up a little lost.

But I made an exception for this one, because first and foremost, it has my favorite urban fantasy author, Carrie Vaughn, contributing, but there’s also a contribution from Patricia Briggs and Charlaine Harris, and since I’m a fan of werewolves, I figured this one wouldn’t hurt. I was a little put off by the fact it’s in hardcover, but what the hell, let’s give it a shot.

The premise of this anthology is lump werewolves with Christmas, which I think is a wee bit limited in regards to the latter, because many of the stories had a mystery element to them, and often the mystery was undermined because the reader already knew two factors: werewolves and Christmas.

Normally, when I review an anthology, I sit down and I jot down a response to every single story, no matter what I thought of it. I’m not going to do that this time, for reasons I’ll explain later. Instead, I’m going to talk about the stories I liked and/or by the authors of series I’m already familiar with, and then I’ll talk about the anthology as a whole at the end, like I’d do for any other review.

Expect to find spoilers for the stories I do review.

“Gift Wrap”
by Charlaine Harris

A warning for people reading this story: it takes place after book eight of Harris’s Southern Vampire mysteries, From Dead to Worse. So if you haven’t read that book, like I haven’t, you’re going to be spoiled on the outcome of a few things. Fortunately for me, I’d read a few spoilers, but I was still feeling rather meh about the timing of the story and how it just HAD to take place after the most recent Sookie Stackhouse hardcover. Because not everyone wants to BUY the hardcovers. Some of us want to wait for the paperbacks.

Anyway. After reading the first seven Sookie Stackhouse novels in a row, I was surprised to find myself a little annoyed at the character while reading this story. Maybe it’s because I knew I’d missed a book, or maybe it’s because it’s knowing that even after EIGHT BOOKS, Sookie is the same girl she always has been: down on her luck, at the mercy of other people’s plans, and always missing Bill. This girl can’t keep a man in her life to SAVE her life, which is just sad in a way that makes a reader wonder if they really want to keep reading about this woman’s misadventures in the paranormal and romance, as well as makes the reader wonder just what the overall POINT of this series is all about anyway. Not saying there has to BE a point, but even without reading the eighth book, I feel like Sookie’s stories are pretty much going the direction of the supernatural/soap opera variety, and that this character won’t receive any closure any time soon.

This story is kind of creepy: Sookie thinks that the naked werewolf she finds behind her house is hiding from a former pack and she hides him from those looking for him. Her plan works, and to thank her, this handsome werewolf gives her a sexy night to remember (not that we got any details). Then the reader learns that the whole thing was a ruse created by Sookie’s great-grandfather (a fairy), so she wouldn’t feel so lonely at Christmas. And that’s just creepy. It also makes me wonder if this Preston guy is going to show up in later books (I have a feeling he might), and that also makes me feel a little blah. I want Sookie to resolve things with the men still pining for her, namely Bill and Eric. These new guys are becoming distractions, because they don’t stick around.

“Il Est Né”
by Carrie Vaughn

So I have to admit a certain bias because Vaughn was the first UF author I’ve ever read, and therefore there’s a special love for her books that’s hard to ignore when it comes to actually being critical. But hey, Vaughn’s story is the whole reason I bought the anthology, so I think I’m allowed to be biased.

On the down side, this is a story set in Kitty’s universe about Kitty herself. However, on the up side, it takes place between books two and three (Kitty Goes to Washington and Kitty Takes a Holiday, which means you don’t have to have read the most recent book to know what’s going on, and frankly, even if you haven’t read books one and two, I think you can enjoy the story regardless. It’s not a tale that’s detrimental to the canon of the fictional universe: it’s just a fun side story.

We get two points of view: a werewolf named David and Kitty herself, though Kitty’s is in third person, which is odd since we’re so used to seeing Kitty’s POV in first. At any rate, she’s spending Christmas in a Waffle House away from home because she’s been exiled by her pack, and in walks in David: another were who nearly panics when he scents her. Turns out, once David was turned, he never had anyone to teach him what it meant to be a werewolf and what it meant to control the wolf. He turns wolf, and on the rare moments he goes back to human, he can’t remember anything, which is problematic since the news reports a sudden rash of killings nearby, apparently done by an animal. Kitty’s suspicious, but part of her wants to help this guy, so they investigate.

It’s a nice little story. There’s no romance, just a nice balance as Kitty starts to learn what it means to be a teacher and an Alpha to someone else. They find the real killer, who turns out just to be a psycho human being, and thanks to Kitty’s guidance, David is able to control his wolf, which gives him hope for the future and allows him to take the step to reconnect with his family. Nice parallel to that too, because Kitty does the exact same thing at the end.

Appropriate title and a nicely contained short story. At least for now. Don’t know if Vaughn plans to bring this character back. Personally, I’m not sure there’s a point in it, but if she does, it’ll be interesting to see how she handles it.

“Christmas Past”
by Keri Arthur

I haven’t read Keri Arthur before, but I’ve seen her name around. What really stood out to me in this story was the strength of voice and the ability to contain the story itself. There were two simple conflicts: the murders and the tension between Hannah and Brodie. The love story is very well played, and the title is more than appropriate to that element of the plot. The murder mystery itself was done well too, and easy to wrap up.

Now, I don’t know if this story takes place in any of Arthur’s existing universes, but it doesn’t matter. The story stands very well on its own, which more than makes it worth the read. The romance is more important than the mystery, and the characterization is very nicely done. If this does feature existing characters from an existing storyline, I wouldn’t mind reading more. If it doesn’t, I have to say that Arthur definitely wrote this one just right.

“The Star of David”
by Patricia Briggs

Here’s a case where we have a story that intellectually I know takes place in Briggs’s Moon Called universe, but I don’t need to know a darn thing about that universe or its characters to enjoy this story. And personally, this is the kind of “spin-off” story that I like to see done in the genre: it takes place in the universe, but it focuses on minor/previously unknown characters and acts as a story in its own right and is icing on the cake for readers familiar with the universe. In this case, I want to say the character of David was once mentioned in the Mercy Thompson books, but merely as a side-note. Either way, I recognized the werewolf culture as well as the vampire culture, and definitely could enjoy the story for what it was.

It starts out a little bumpy, but once Briggs brings David’s POV and introduces the main mystery, the story settles into itself quite nicely. There is some trouble distinguishing between David’s and Stella’s POV at times, especially once he becomes wolf, but I really liked the father/daughter tension as well as the kid they were protecting: a wizard. Though if there’s a real flaw to the story, it’s the idea that when we last saw Stella (before the end), we got the impression, like David, that she was disgusted by his actions when he beheaded the vampire. I know that’s intentional so that the very end is a nice surprise, but it almost felt a little too neat, not necessarily earned. I’m not sure how it could’ve developed instead, though perhaps one more scene in Stella’s head where her brother’s explaining why David was so violent with the dead vampire might’ve worked so that we would have some hope of her forgiving him, rather that it just HAPPENING, you know?

Still, nice little story. And another story that’s got a very appropriate title.

“Milk and Cookies”
by Rob Thurman

This is one of those stories that had me wondering if it existed in Thurman’s Cal Leandros series, mostly because the first person POV voices were so damned alike. And once I learned this was a story that didn’t exist in that universe, I was still uneasy, because again, the POV voices are so damned alike.

There are three central mysteries/plots that weave together for this story: what really happened when Nicky was seven years old and where his cynicism of Christmas began; the bullying by Jed, and Tess’s secret wish for Christmas that Nicky is sure she won’t get.

The problem with this story exists in the two main characters: Nicky and Jed. Thanks to the premise of the anthology, the reader KNOWS that werewolves must be involved in this story somehow. So the real question is, who’s the werewolf, Nicky or Jed? Turns out it’s Nicky, who apparently killed Santa when he was seven and then when Jed wouldn’t take the hint to leave Nicky and his sis alone, Nicky captures him, dresses him up as Santa, and calls for Tessa to come down and have HER first kill at seven. Which is clever, but begs the question: did Nicky’s parents do the same for HIM when he was seven, or did Nicky kill the REAL Santa when he was seven? It could go either way, to be honest.

But I can’t say I liked the coy hand that was used with this story. There were clues, but not enough, and for a family of werewolves (little Tess surely knew what she was, cause she didn’t flip out when she changed), I would’ve thought there would’ve been a little more direct commentary as to what they were. I get that they had to be careful, be suspicious of strangers, to not draw attention to themselves for fear of others finding out what they were (all carefully disguised in the cultural background of having grandparents from Russia), but still, when they were alone at home, I would’ve thought more direct references would’ve been made.

Oh well. Cute story, but it didn’t quite work out for me.

List of All Contributors

Charlaine Harris
Donna Andrews
Simon R. Green
Dana Cameron
Kat Richardson
Alan Gordon
Carrie Vaughn
Dana Stabenow
Keri Arthur
J. A. Konrath
Patricia Briggs
Nancy Pickard
Karen Chance
Rob Thurman
Toni L.P. Kelner

My Rating

Wish I’d Borrowed It: I’ll be honest, I lost interest during so many of these stories it wasn’t even funny. Most of them were either too easy to figure out, or they were GOTCHA stories that barely had any skin on the bones, or were frankly just not very well constructed period. Some stories should’ve ended much sooner than they did, and some just didn’t make a lick of sense. This was such a disappointment for me, because I did get this in hardcover, and I was expecting something more entertaining, to say the least. But let’s face it, the premise of the anthology was limited: werewolves and Christmas. Not only does the werewolf factor take the mystery out of some of the stories, but the fact it must take place in Christmas time really limits the stories you can tell. You get the usual “truths” about Santa, or the variations on the Christmas story itself, but very little that was really memorable. I’ll give honorable mentions to Donna Andrews, Alan Gordon, and J. A. Konrath for having cute/interesting premises, but unfortunately, even those stories didn’t stick with me once I was done reading. To be honest, the best ones in the bunch were Carrie Vaughn’s, Keri Arthur’s, and Patricia Briggs’s. Considering the anthology features 15 stories total, those aren’t good numbers. This doesn’t bode well for the pile of UF anthologies I’ve got waiting in the floor.

Then again, maybe I was just in a really, REALLY bad mood during the week it took me to read this.

Next up:

Blindness by Jose Saramago