Tiny Crimes (Black Balloon Press, 2018)
co-edited by Lincoln Michel and Nadxieli Nieto
Tiny Crimes gathers leading and emerging literary voices to tell tales of villainy and intrigue in only a few hundred words. From the most hard-boiled of noirs to the coziest of mysteries, with diminutive double crosses, miniature murders, and crimes both real and imagined, Tiny Crimes rounds up all the usual suspects, and some unusual suspects, too. With illustrations by Wesley Allsbrook and flash fiction by Carmen Maria Machado, Benjamin Percy, Amelia Gray, Adam Sternbergh, Yuri Herrera, Julia Elliott, Elizabeth Hand, Brian Evenson, Charles Yu, Laura van den Berg, and more, Tiny Crimes scours the underbelly of modern life to expose the criminal, the illegal, and the depraved.
Excerpts:
Jac Jemc, Adam Sternbergh, and Erica Wright at The Rumpus
Press
Library Journal review:
With only a few hundred words at their disposal, the authors find inventive ways to tell their compact tales of mystery, often eschewing ornate whodunit plots for varied storytelling techniques. . . . The tenor of each piece varies from the dreamlike (Laura van den Berg’s “Friends”) to the deliciously gruesome (Richie Navarez’s “Withhold the Dawn”). . . . The range of writers from leading independent presses is impressive.
Nylon lists Tiny Crimes as one great books to read this summer:
For fans of short stories and mystery, these bite-sized tales of murder and mayhem are absolutely perfect. And even if you don’t necessarily gravitate toward these genres, considering that this smartly edited collection contains work from some of the greatest writers working today, you’re bound to love this book, full as it is of depravity, double crosses, and intrigue—perfect for giving you chills on the hottest of days.
Chicago Tribune lists Tiny Crimes as a hot book for the summer:
An intriguing take on crime/noir writing… Despite their diminutive size, these tales promise to pack a punch
a compact, neatly designed, and very, very enjoyable set of extra-short stories, aka flash fiction, that set out mysteries, suspense, crime, or astonishing darkness. It’s as if editors Lincoln Michel and Nadxieli Neito skimmed the best and strangest tales from all the strongest mystery magazines going, and packed them into this intense block of well-designed illustrated pages… As far as I can tell, there’s only one drawback to buying this book: You won’t want to pass it along to a friend … because there’s always going to be a moment when you think “That story I liked so much, I should read it again” — and this one’s going to have to stay on your shelf. Or even on the bedside table.
LINCOLN MICHEL 