Crazy Tales of Blood and Guts — Teresa Solana

Fascinating short stories that include a rather bloody satire on installation art, including the Edgar Award-nominated story "Still Life No.41", a wonderful story of gruesome revenge involving a wayward son-in-law, a surprising and hilarious tale of a pre-historic serial killer who invents God and psychoanalysis, and, inevitably, a vampire story told with venom and humor. These stories remind one of the best short stories by Stephen King, such as those in the Just after Sunset' compilation. They can be horrific but are never without a devastating sense of humor. As in the adult short stories of Roald Dahl (the Kiss Kiss' collection in particular, with its tales of family and other violence) there is great ingenuity, surprising and satisfying endings, and, since it's Solana, deep cutting satire of contemporary fads and mores.