The Perfect Man — Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Paige Racette has spent her entire career imagining the perfect man. She's described a different version of him over and over in her romance novels. But when Josiah Wells starts using her novels as a blueprint for the way to romance her, she finds the attention creepy, not attractive. Then Wells escalates, adding violence to his role-playing. Paige must escape the perfect man -- maybe with the help of another man, one a little more flawed, a little less perfect. A little more human. Chosen as one of the best short stories of 2003, “The Perfect Man” shows that perfection might be overrated.

“Kristine Kathryn Rusch's crime stories are exceptional, both in plot and in style.”
-- Mystery Scene Magazine

“[Rusch's] short fiction is golden.”
-- The Kansas City Star

“Rusch is a great storyteller.”
-- Romantic Times

Kristine Kathryn Rusch's short mystery fiction has won the Ellery Queen Readers' Choice Award twice, and has been nominated for the Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony Awards. Her mystery novels appear under the names Kris Nelscott and Kris Rusch.