Anonymous-9's "Hard Bite and Other Short Stories" reminds me of the curved spine of a serpent's tail. Tattooed on its back are vivid colors, shapes and sizes that change and move into shadows or sunshine depending on which angles of imagination you choose to look, or which she allows you to see. The serpent slithers through brush and undergrowth and you have to run to keep up, you have too, because nothing matters more than what happens next? What the F$#! happens next?

Every story is alive, every page a beating heart. Enter into the "Master Bedroom" where mom and pop lie chained to the bed. Or check your drink for a "Tequila Spike" where there is more than meets the eye in the gentle and frail. While you're checking that drink, better check twice and cross your legs like a lady, certain mixtures can cause (one of my favorites--no joke) a "Killer Orgasm" emphasis on killer. In "Hard Bite", a disabled superhero cyber geek and killer monkey take down one hit and run perpetrator at a time. `Nuff said. Reading "Return of the Night of the Living Dead Monkey from Sunset Boulevard" is like movie cow tipping with a satisfying mug of cold beer. In "Claw Marks" Anon turns from monkeys to kitties, where the creature of the household witnesses crime first hand, then helps clean up the aftermath. If you enjoy political satire, especially undead political satire, you'll enjoy "Eating the Deficit." Speaking of eating, how does "Organic Chicken tortilla Soup with Chopped Finger Garnish" sound? The prose is humorous and tasty with a dash of horror. Yum! And of course, there is "M-N-S(n) Murder-necrophilia-suicide." A demon, head of the Family Homicide in Hades, has a difficult case on his hands. Frank Sinatra really screws up his never-ending day, or does he?

I highly recommend Anonymous-9's "Hard Bite and Other Short Stories" for every genre lover out there. Just keep an eye on that serpent, and if he offers you an apple--take a rain check.
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I thought it was unfair to read these stories so soon after [b:When the Women Come Out to Dance|531818|When the Women Come Out to Dance|Elmore Leonard|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1175573380s/531818.jpg|1899309] by [a:Elmore Leonard|12940|Elmore Leonard|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1240015224p2/12940.jpg]. There were a lot of similarities in the style, subject matter, the shock of what people can do to each other & how they can justify it in their own minds. Leonard is a well known expert at it while Anonymous-9 is a fairly new author. How could she possibly hope to compete? Damn, but she did!

The one HCC novel I read that was written by a woman, [a:Christa Faust|26764|Christa Faust|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1206544979p2/26764.jpg], was as noir & hard case as anything I've ever read by a guy. In some ways, it was even rougher & darker. She, like Anonymous-9, write far better leading women than most men do. They are sometimes worse than I want to imagine & they do men just as well. Set that into a some very creative situations & the results were wonderful. Definitely an author to pursue! ( )