24 TALES OF MYSTERY AND WONDER

Railey’s short story collection explores love, tragedy, and murder across the Central U.S.

The opening two-part novella, Derek Christian, Antichrist, sets a dark tone. In it, a reformed fraudulent investor becomes a celebrity televangelist. With all the power he ultimately wields, his strong beliefs and con-man instincts may influence the global masses in the worst way. These grim tales feature serial killers, shocking deaths, and violence unfolding back to the early 19th century. It’s not all bleak, however. Railey doesn’t dwell on vicious acts themselves but rather the unexpected places such acts can lead. That’s certainly the case for characters seeking revenge in “The Dilemma” and “The White Van.” Other entries are a little lighter. In “A Fork in the Road,” a vagabond may stop wandering when an Arkansas woman captures his heart; in “Today Is Yesterday’s Pupil,” a Kentucky lottery winner uses his newfound wealth to help people. Everyday characters populate this collection, including door-to-door salespeople and telemarketers, and face everyday predicaments, like rotten neighbors or an anti-social co-worker. While Railey fleshes out the morally questionable Derek Christian, other characters may be too big for their own stories. For example, the unnamed narrator of “The Storyteller” gushes over his friend Bob Barnet, “a marvel of a man…whose words rolled off his tongue like honey flows from the comb,” but despite endlessly praising Barnet, the narrator doesn’t share any of the man’s famous stories. Meanwhile, Railey’s unadorned, tame prose further lightens the somber stories. Unfortunately, occasionally wordy or redundant descriptions prove distracting, like “interestingly entertained” and “mistakenly mistook.” Still, these are relatively minor complaints; the 24 short stories jam-packed into this book make for a quick read.

Relatable characters drive a series of modestly enjoyable tales.