4 out of 5 stars

 A huge thank you to the author for providing me with a copy of this short story collection in exchange for an honest review.

This collection was a 3.6 read for me ( averaged out), but I was comfortable rounding up to a 4 star rating. As with all short story collections, some worked better than others for me. I will go through and give each story a rating and a brief review.

An Unlikely Acquaintance - 2 stars - This was my least favorite of the collection. There was lots of action, but not a lot of story.

Today - 3.5 stars - Interesting characters and a good amount of development considering the short story status. Good tie in of multiple POV's at the end.

For Keeps - 4.5 stars - This one was good...Really good. This has the potential to be expanded into a full novel. Excellent premise.

Becoming Something More - 4.5 stars - My favorite of the collection. I would love to see this one expanded. The characters introduced are intriguing and some additional back story would be welcomed. There was a hint of paranormal to this one.

Help Wanted - 4 stars - A interesting offering. The lack of anything but dialogue works well in a short piece, but I don't think I would enjoy it in a longer work. Reads like a script without stage directions.

Waste Management - 3.5 - This was probably the darkest of the collection. The story itself was a little disjointed, and felt like it was too edited down??? I wanted to understand more about what was happening.

Who Dat Man - 3 stars - Another one with good bones, and I had really hoped it would work a little better for me. The writing style again felt a little disjointed, but with the touch of New Orleans magic, it was a solid good story.

This collection was a quick and fun read. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys contemporary crime and/ or noir genres.

                                                                On to the next!