PASCAGOULA RUN AND OTHER STORIES

In Hess’ collection of short stories, folks dabble in assorted unlawful acts for a variety of reasons.

In the title story, 15-year-old Jimmy relishes speeding down the highway in his uncle Billy’s Jaguar. Billy gives the boy access to things he can’t otherwise get, like beer. But when the uncle’s transgressions (namely what’s in the Jag’s trunk) put the boy in danger, Jimmy realizes he may need to find someone else to look up to. This collection’s 19 stories primarily take place in Florida across various eras, including the modern day, the 1980s, and the period of the Korean War. The tales feature a host of characters committing crimes, from participating in a prison riot (which becomes an inmate’s chance for escape) to a thuggish man’s revenge on the woman he believes cheated on him. “Barrow Girls” finds sisters Josie and Rachel planning an abduction, though their shared motive isn’t as venomous as readers may anticipate. Indeed, a handful of characters throughout the book become entangled in criminal endeavors through dumb luck. That’s certainly the case for Rand in “Young Sweedy”; he’s a hitchhiker who goes from passenger to getaway driver for the person who picks him up. (While he willingly turns outlaw, he questions his choice once cops are in pursuit.) On occasion, crime enters the narratives in unexpected ways: “Calvin’s Storm” zeroes in on an intellectually disabled man who searches for his sister’s cat outside despite a lightning-heavy rainstorm. His sister and caretaker, desperate to track him down before he’s hurt, makes an unusual decision to get the help she needs.

Hess’ largely appealing cast brightens many of these stories of malfeasance featuring threats, violence, and even murder. “Stealing Sunshine” introduces Natalia, a career thief whom a reputed bounty hunter sniffs out; she opens the tale in the guise of Sunshine the Clown, shod in floppy shoes and donning a pink wig. In the novella-length “Brahman Manor Breakdown,” con artists Sam and Rachel are akin to regular working Joes as they yearn for a vacation after eight months of nonstop hustling. Scotland Ross, who headlines his own series of books written by the author, pops up in more than one story, including the wonderfully noirish “Kyla’s Condition.” In this yarn, Scotland, on the day of his prison release, joins his safecracking pal Tommy in knocking off a casino located shockingly close to the penitentiary. The author’s taut, unadorned prose energizes the stories with swift action, rapid-fire dialogue, and an unwavering pace: “I finger the Zippo faster and faster in my pocket. I flip it open, flick the wheel. Feel the heat. The guy with the gun steals a peek over his shoulder toward the island and then levels the gun back on me.” Several of the stories clock in at only a few pages, but that’s plenty of space for Hess to deliver keen insights into his remarkable cast.

Charismatic characters breathe life into these engaging crime stories.