Rusty Barnes

Richard Logan was 14 that summer, and things were pretty much the same as always in his little Pennsylvania town. His parents were caring but stubbornly corrective, his grown relatives and neighbors coarse, hard-working and mysterious, his love-life non-existent. He was full of adolescent yearning and small-town ennui.

Then, so quickly, nothing was the same. There was a naked woman – new in town – running out of the woods with ornery Lyle Thompson close behind her, scared out of a tryst show more by Richard's careless shot at a woodchuck. Later, there was another naked woman, dumped near a stream like an unwanted dog, found by Richard and some new friends, including the fetching but prickly daughter of the first naked woman.

Now there was a riddle to solve, and women and girls to protect. Lyle Thompson was in it up to his neck, which put him and Richard on a collision course from the moment of that first encounter.

Rusty Barnes doesn't waste any of the potential of this setup. He builds tension all the way through as Richard fights his own youthful timidity, deciding ultimately to do the right thing, to go to battle, to make the dangerous leap from kid to hombre.

A wonderful sense of place, great characters, a satisfying conclusion. Highly recommended. show less

um presente que me foi dado por lucas araújo, um livrinho impresso em folha sulfite, provavelmente baixado a partir daqui. bons poemas, crueza e melancolia de cidades do interior; vida sem grandes perspectivas; lirismo retorcido por sangue, provincianismo e selvageria.

"(…) as i noticed by the reek / of perfume these were girls. i admit / to yelling CHICKFIGHT! and settling back / against the concrete wall to watch. / i am not proud; these are just details, / like how the younger smaller show more girl / sunfished her way out from under / the big girl and came up with a knife, / one wild slash on a roll of fat (…) / (…) / i fell in love with her soon after. after we necked / in my father’s fairlane, i went too far of course. / her cool fingers marked the side of my neck. / i released from her crotch and panicked, began / to watch for it; the sharp right hand, the blade, (…) (high school chick fight)" show less

While these stories are all more vignettes than the fully developed short-shorts of Barnes's stunning Mostly Redneck, all the other Barnes hallmarks are here: the stark but poetic prose, the attention to character detail that feels quaint until it slaps you in the face, the quiet enormity of everyday lives.... It's a fast read, and sometimes it feels too fast, but only because Barnes's writing is addictive and you end each story craving the next fix. Thank goodness I now have Barnes's first show more novel, Reckoning, to look forward to! In the meantime, this is a beautiful little book -- another gem from both Barnes and sunnyoutside press. show less

As made clear on the cover with the phrase, Short Stories, Half Crime by Rusty Barnes is a collection of short stories. These reads are crime fiction tales, often noir in style, and not ones to read if you want to feel good about people. The nine tales in the read feature characters living on the edge, in more ways than one. Often pushed to the brink, they react.

Some stories that resonated with this reader are:

Crate Lang ticked off Robbie Moore who is now making his anger publicly known as show more “Bad Old Boy” begins. Crate does not want to fight. He just wants Robbie to take the money they already agreed to though Robbie does not seem amenable to that at the point. For Crate, the fight is the easiest time he will have in the days to come.

In “The Keeper” all he had to do was get the weed to Fuzzy Zemanek at the Tioga County Fair. Fuzzy has a gig there and John, Fuzzy’s supplier and the narrator’s boss, is insisting he make delivery to him at the fair. The lunch sack contains a lot of baggies stuffed with weed. That delivery would normally go to Fuzzy’s house, but John insists it goes to him at the Fair. Obviously, this seems like a bad idea to take it to the Fair. It was, before long, things are going worse and worse and not just because of the zebras.

“Big Daddy” is set in the Pocono Mountains in 1995. Stacy Rich was supposed to do just one little thing to make a little money. Instead, she keeps getting squeezed to do more and more and her options are running out.

Ray introduced Sissy to him and that snake on her back is captivating. Jared’s woman took the kids and split, so Ray figures Sissy would be good for him. Whether she is or not slowly becomes clear in “Ampersand.”

Kelly had an intense romantic relationship in the past, before Brigid, and she knows about it now. The relationship was with a man so she is very confused as to why and who Kelly really is, beyond the father of their kids. Angel, that man, is who Kelly wants to take the family and visit while also making a final clean break. That visit is just one aspect of the very complicated, “In The Blood.”

While those particular tales resonated in me, the nine short stories in Half Crimes by Rusty Barnes are all good ones. Published by Redneck Press, each short story tends towards the dark side of life as these are not cozy mysteries with ladies, tea, and cats. These are tales with blood, sweat, fear, and huge heaping tablespoons of desperation.

These tales, even for characters seemingly in charge, feature people doing the best they can with their own circumstances. Often those circumstances, as well as their own huma nature and the human nature of others, work against them from start to finish. An entertaining read and strongly recommended if you like dark complicated tales.

My reading copy was either a free book pickup OR the author sent it to me with no expectation of a review. I have no idea now how I obtained it as either one happens a lot with me.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025 show less