Nice Girl Does Noir

Short stories are the poetry of prose. Mistakes, in a novel, can be buried. In a short story, they stand out like roaches on a sugar cookie. Short stories are precise, cut to the bone, every word a necessity. A novel may go far afield, but a great short story requires unbelievable restraint. Not many authors develop that control. Libby Fischer Hellmann has the hand of a master. Take it from a guy who knows her well: Libby is a nice girl. But she writes noir with a savvy edge honed on the hard, dark knowledge of the evil possible in us all. With each story she opens a door to a room that holds a demon-and with prose too damn good to resist, she seduces us inside. So you should probably interpret this introduction not only as an invitation but also as a warning. If you choose to read on, I can guarantee that Libby's stories will take you places nice people don't often go.