Criminal Love etc is brutally good. Don't look here for moonbeams and painted ponies. Monson offers up a full helping of two dozen dark, gritty, often bloody, stories for your reading enjoyment. Some of the stories are, however, flash fiction short. But, they come at you with all the power of a fully-loaded eighteen wheeler barreling down the grapevine just as the brakes fail. They are intense stories filled with leather-clad bikers (including some amateurs), pill poppers, gunfights, beatings, wife abusers, black eyes, flying puppies, sex crazed women, and more. Some of the stories show you never know who the real tough guy is. Others leave you shocked and shaken. Really, really good stuff. Five star stuff from the top shelf. The second half of the book consists of wry, sarcastic blogs about deadend jobs as office clerks, Target team members, and the like. Also, there are interviews with other writers. This part of the book is interesting, but can't hold a candle to the short stories.
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