“Personally, I’ve alway admired the short-short. I find conceiving and writing them to be pleasurable, challenging, stimulating. They’re over and done with quickly, too. Novels take months to write. You can turn out a finished short-short–the first draft of one, anyhow–in an hour or two. Immediate sense of accomplishment, instant gratification.” (p. ix)
I’ve always been fond of short-short stories. My early favorites were by Frederic Brown. Brown’s most famous short-short story is: “The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock at the door…” If you’d like to read Bill Pronzini’s spin on this classic short-story, read “Whodunit” in Small Felonies (p. 269).
Bill Pronzini has written over a hundred short-short stories. This new Stark House collection, Small Felonies 2, possesses a different vibe from the previous Small Felonies chiefly as the result of 14 collaborations with Barry N. Malzberg. You’ll really enjoy their “The Man Who Loved Mystery Stories.” And you’ll learn a lot from Malzberg’s Afterword, “The Felicities of Fiction or The Heart of the Artichoke.”
I’m a big fan of “Trade Secret” where a retired hit man is approached with a contract to kill. And fans of Pronzini’s “Nameless Detective” series will enjoy the three “Nameless” short-shorts included in this first-rate collection. Pronzini juggles plot elements, characters, and setting to pull off a surprising stunt time after time. Don’t miss this gem from Stark House! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
PREFACE — 11
- Trade Secret — 13
- Wishful Thinking — 18
- The Monster — 24
- Home is the Place Where (A “Nameless Detective” Story) –27
- Night Walker (with Barry N. Malzberg) — 32
- Out Behind the Shed — 37
- Chip — 42
- Multiples (with Barry N. Malzberg) 48
- The Being — 52
- Stroke of Luck — 56
- Betrayal — 61
- Shade Work — 65
- The Man Who Loved Mystery Stories (with Barry N. Malzberg) — 70
- Lines — 74
- Wedding Day — 79
- Putting the Pieces Back — 84
- Birds of a Feather (with Barry N. Malzberg) — 88
- Where Am I? –92
- The Shrew –98
- Meadowlands Spike (with Barry N. Malzberg) — 102
- Angelique — 107
- Crazy — 111
- Demolition, Inc. (with Barry N. Malzberg) — 114
- The Last Laugh — 119
- Confession — 123
- The Tuesday Curse (with Barry N. Malzberg) — 128
- Bones — 132
- I Think I Will Not Hang Myself Today — 137
- A Matter of Survival (with Barry N. Malzberg) — 142
- Dago Red — 146
- Why Did You Do It? — 151
- Bomb Scare (A “Nameless Detective” Story) — 155
- What Kind of Person Are You? (with Barry N. Malzberg) — 157
- The Wind — 160
- Such Things as Nightmares Are Made Of — 164
- A Matter of Justice (with Barry N. Malzberg) — 170
- I Didn’t Do It — 175
- Home — 178
- The Crack of Doom (with Barry N. Malzberg) — 181
- Do It Yourself — 186
- The Night, the River — 191
- Always Her Eyes (with Barry N. Malzberg) — 196
- I Know a Way — 203
- Neighbors — 206
- Final Exam (with Barry N. Malzberg) — 211
- Funeral Day — 217
- Caius (with Barry N. Malzberg) — 220
- The Space Killers — 225
- Free Durt — 230
- Zero Tolerance (A “Nameless Detective” Story) — 236
- AFTERWORD By Barry N. Malzberg — 241
- Bibliography — 244
As with the previous book, you can’t go wrong with this one. (I agree on Fred Brown too.) Good choice!
Jeff, I had pretty much given up hope that Bill Pronzini’s SMALL FELONIES would ever have a sequel. But, STARK HOUSE surprised us all!
Stark House/Greg have consistently good ideas.
Todd, I’m a huge fan of STARK HOUSE! I love their CARTER BROWN series! Greg’s tastes in crime fiction parallel my own.
I bought the Kindle edition.
Jeff, you’re going to enjoy SMALL FELONIES 2!
I stumbled across the Nameless series back in the 80s and read 2-3 of them. I did like them but didn’t follow through because there were so damn many of them, not to mention his other work. The last really prolific writer whose work I blew through was Bill Crider. I discovered his blog around 10 years ago, which led me to the Dan Rhodes series and then the rest, or at least all of them I could find. The Crider books just sorta took over my reading life. Pronzini would probably do the same thing if I went back to them.
Michael, you’re right about the similarities between Bill Crider and Bill Pronzini. A loyal readership supported both writers. I know several fans who collected all of Bill Crider’s books. And, I know some other fans who collected all of Bill Pronzini’s books. Both writers deserve this attention and felty.
So no comment on the Buffalo draft?
Rick, the Bills traded up from #25 to #23 in the First Round to pick Kaiir Elam, a cornerback from Florida. I plan to do a 2022 Draft Re-cap on Sunday. How did the Seahawks do?
They picked at #9, first top 20 pick in forever, took a left Tackle, desperately needed. Of course the question for Seattle is quarterback, but this is a very weak QB draft. Both the NYC teams scored big. You may have some competition from the Jets this year.
Rick, Seattle should think about acquiring Baker Mayfield from the Cleveland Browns who have to move him.
NO! Mayfield is a loser.
Rick, Baker Mayfield was the first Pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. I think Mayfield is playing for a dysfunctional team–the Cleveland Browns–and would flourish as a Seahawk.
This is indeed a good book to know of, George…does this augur for a Stark House reprint of the first volume, Greg?
Todd, I suspect Bill Pronzini has published enough short-short stories to fill a THIRD volume…if STARK HOUSE is interested. Hopefully sales of SMALL FELONIES 2 will determine that course.
The problem with short short stories is there’s just not enough meat on the bone.
Rick, Bill Pronzini is a master of setting up a scene with compelling characters in an explosive situation…all in about 2000 words. Astonishing!