Twisted Tales

April 10, 2006
Award-winning horror writer Massey (Within the Shadows
) offers an uneven but spirited collection of short fiction that largely concerns bad guys getting their comeuppance. Massey is best when giving himself the time to flesh out his characters, as he does in "The Sting," the story of an arrogant lawyer and his phobias; the lawyer's a jerk, but he's got authentic, identifiable motives that make the firecracker ending really pop. "The Secret Door," about a smart high school grad forced to work as a janitor in a building with a mysterious room, conversely features a likable, believable narrator with a hopeful fate. And when he's on a roll, Massey uses small details to infuse even minor players with life: "Mr. Green had an annoying habit of explaining matters with which his employees were already familiar." However, the book is rife with drunk, abusive stepfathers, grandmotherly doppelgängers, and victimized women getting their due. Massey plunges into his characters with gusto, but the repetition of themes and characters eventually starts to feel stale rather than cohesive.