Odd-lot

Benjamin Franklin Award (silver medalist) for Best Mystery/Suspense Book, sponsored by Publishers Marketing Association. ForeWord Award for Year's Best Horror Book (honorable mention), sponsored by ForeWord Magazine. Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Award, Year's Best Genre Fiction Book (honorable mention). Six of nine stories named honorable mention in Year's Best Fantasy & Horror.

If you're a horror fan, you'll love this collection as much as I did. This book ranks right up next to Stephen King's stuff. It's dark, twisted, original, and each story is completely different than the one before it. The writing is tight and strong and pieces like "The Mason's Leach" and "The Strand" kept me thinking about them for days. The New England details add to the old ghost story appeal - although many of the stories are beyond "spooky" and into outright horror. A must read for any horror fan. Highly recommended.

Quite a mix of "odd" stories, most set in Maine or Vermont. Some are campfire tales you'd hear at a Scout camporee, plain old fun ghost stories ("Capt James' Bones" and "Garden Plot"). Others are more literary, like the romantic ghost stories "Lighthouse Moths" and "The Ice Fisherman". Another is a very creative new Urban Legend, "The Mason's Leech." "Casino Night" is a very scary look at the future of gambling. "The Strand" reminds one of M.R. James's or H.P. Lovecraft's stories, as does "The Witness Tree." "Where Lions Hide" is a combination story that's "Man vs Best" action plus fantasy (shape-changing). It's easy to see why this collection's nine stories have already picked up 6 Honorable Mentions in The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror anthologies. A terrific first horror collection from an author known for his popular radio Christmas stories.

The personal comments of actual owners of kangaroos, ostriches and the other animals made this book an informative adventure. I learned a lot and have visited some of the farms here in California. I recommend it for libraries especially and any one who is curious about raising some truely unusual pets.

It was great to pick up a book like this and find so many other references, personal comments by real owners and resources available about some unusual pets. I needed some information about ostriches which I found, but was surprised at the enthusiasm of the miniature donkey owners - I amy have to check them out as well.