Tom Piccirilli (1965–2015)

First in series, but unfortunately there are only two books in this series due to the untimely demise of the author. This is a hard-hitting noir novel, with unrelenting violence mixed with enough human kindness to make it palatable. I love Terrier Rand, and his family, even though the family was known to be accomplished cat burglars. As an interesting anecdote, all the boys in the family for four generations were named after dog breeds. We meet Shep(herd), the grandfather who is suffering show more from Alzheimers, and his three sons, Malamute, Grey(hound), (Doberman) Pinscher as well as Pinscher's two sons, Collie and Terrier. That was enough to hook me, and then I met the family, Such a conglomeration of scoundrels like you've never seen before Terri has been gone for five years pursuing his dream of escape from the family legacy while working as a cowboy on a western ranch. Collie, his older brother, has asked him to come back. Collie admits to killing seven people in one night on a nonsensical killing spree, but he says to Terri that he did not kill the young teenager. Fighting demons of his own, Terrier tries to get to the root of the problem and finds himself caught in a crime web that he can't fight through. It all hits close to home, and the family legacy is at the root, so Terri must try to unravel the strands with much danger to himself. I couldn't put it down, and the unique storyline held me enthralled throughout. Loved the book and it was like nothing I'd ever read before I want to read the second and last book about Terri Rand ASAP. Perfect crime fiction at it's noir best-you don't know who to root for and who to hate and as you read it doesn't matter. show less

Terrier Rand and the rest of his family of thieves, all named after dog breeds, are not likeable people. They live in a world where thieving and lying are the norm, and honesty is rare. His father, Pinscher, is a former burglar who may be in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's, while his grandfather Shep has succumbed to that disease. A brother named Collie has been executed by the state for multiple murders, and the teenage sister, Airedale, known as Dale, is involved in her own secret show more activities.
That being said, Tom Piccirilli tells their story with impeccable originality. His characterization brings everyone of these people to life, from the estranged grandfather on the mother's side who plots murder as he lies on his death bed, to Dale, who has become involved in making videos with a group of teens who break into houses, steal and perform other acts of vandalism and mayhem.
As Terry (Terrier) follows his family business of crime, which is less a family business and more an inherent family tendency, he struggles with the emotions that he feels for his family, when the closeness of love and hate relationships leads him to places in himself that he has not realized existed. At the same time, Terry struggles to protect the woman he loved and lost, who is now married to his friend Chub. Chub has tried to stick to his legitimate business repairing cars, but gets caught up with a gang of criminals with more violent tendencies than the Rand family who stick to the more benign occupations of cat burglar and con man.
Living in this world of dubious definitions of right and wrong, Terry Rand's most compelling need is love, and the petty crimes that are the undercurrent of his life somehow all lead him back to the love he has for his family, and his love for Kimmy and their daughter Scooter, both of whom he has lost to Chub. Whispers in the Dark is a compelling story with characters who are real, although living a life that is unreal. I look forward to the next in the series. show less

This was a really nice collection of short stories. I loved that many (if not all?) of the authors have somehow had dealings with the movie industry, and just the real touches and little insights from that world were interesting in and of themselves.

Another thing that struck me as I read it, and I never would have thought about this so much before the #Metoo movement, but many of these stories included #metoo kind of moments -- the failings of Hollywood and the powers-that-be in regards to show more exploitation in one way or another.

The fact that many of these authors included scenes and characters that really demonstrated how commonplace these practices were so matter-of-factly accepted speaks to how all of us had just become desensitized to what was happening to men and women, in and out of Hollywood. I mean, all this is just a part of the human experience and these authors obviously knew it was happening to write so realistically for the characters.

I want to make it clear, by no means am I placing blame on these authors for a societal norm that was prevalent in the industry -- the world. Really, they were ahead of their time as documentarians and they captured a moment in human history (albeit a fictionalized view) that is at the forefront of today's headlines.

I definitely don't want to overshadow the scares by commenting on this, this book is filled with great scary stories. The above was just my own observation.

Too bad this book isn't still in print so more people could read it. The stories are sufficiently chilling! Nice writing. show less

One of the things that I love about Piccirilli's books is the mood that he creates. The atmosphere and pacing comes across so quickly; you are practically breathing it in. All thanks to Piccirilli's poetic words. It's pulp noir poetry.

In this book, he channels that poetry through an ex-con who heads home to the Appalachian mountains. Shad Jenkins is finishing his two-year sentence in prison when he's visited by the ghost of his sister. After the confirming phone call from his father, Shad show more heads home with the very-clear intention of finding the killer and bringing him to justice. During his stumbling investigation, Shad discovers a new Moon Run Hollow. Not really a new town but one filtered through different eyes and a new perspective.

In my mind, that was the other half of NOVEMBER MOURNS. There is the primary story of Shad coming back to find a killer and avenge his sister. And then there is the "coming home as an adult" portion. After being gone for two years, Shad is seeing Moon Run Hollow differently. His visit stirs up the past, awakening old feelings, discovering things that weren't important previously. All while also realizing that his old life isn't right for him anymore. Unsure of what his new life would be, Shad must still get through the parts of his old life that are haunting him. He must get past the ghost of his sister. For us readers, it's that exploration of the story, the geography of the town and the past, that makes the book so enjoyable. The book was off-center at times but in a good way. Kind of Twilight Zone including a twist ending. I could attempt to summarize it as a loving, violent, tender, painful, haunting book; it wouldn't do the book justice though. Just go read it already and see what I am inadequately explaining. show less