The Effects of Urban Renewal on Mid-Century America and Other Crime Stories

People ask my why I don't write more short stories.

I'm not talented enough, I tell them. There is a true art to writing a competent short story. You have to be able to relay the heart of the matter in as few words as possible, but yet still make it engrossing and readable. That's why I'm a novelist. It takes me 80,000 words to do what a good short story writer can do in less than five-thousand.

THE EFFECTS OF URBAN RENEWAL ON MID-CENTURY AMERICA AND OTHER CRIME STORIES is a lengthy title. It sounds more like the heading of a master's thesis than a collection of short fiction, but don't let the title throw you. Jeff Esterholm knows what he's doing. In this book, Esterholm delivers a watertight collection of short crime stories deftly written with prose cut to the bone but never lacking a poet's sensibilities.

Esterholm doesn't shy away from the grittier side of things. He handles the idea of human evil with a delicate touch, allowing bad people to do bad things, as they are wont to do in real life. The prose is striking. It is polished to the point that it glides on the page. The images and moods he evokes in his stories fit the writing, and all in all, he hands you a delightful tome of satisfying crime stories.

This is a collection well worth your time.