This is the second collection of Terence Faherty's stories about odd happenings in and around Indianapolis as recorded by the Star Republic newspaper's reporter of weird news. I very much enjoyed the first collection, and my review of it is here. I enjoyed this new (and probably final) collection just as much. Two of the stories included here were first published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, and three others appeared in various publications. The rest are original to this collection.Perhaps my favorite among them is "Infinite Uticas" because I enjoy stories about alternative universes, but they all offer a little glimpse of weirdness that is often explained in an ordinary way, although sometimes with a bit of an extraordinary twist. The final story in the book, "Alpha Centauri to Centerville," is sadly elegiac, not just for the series but for the newspaper industry, too.
The thing that's striking to me about all the stories is the warmth and humanity that Faherty always finds in the weirdness. He doesn't moralize, but the stories always imply more than they say. Good stuff, and a fine collection. Check it out.
3 comments:
As I mentioned last time, I did buy the first collection. As a matter of fact, I was about to start it. I'll have to get the second one too.
These are of particular interest to me, because I grew up (and, after my retirement, once again live) in Indianapolis. Terry does a good job with the city; I'll be interested to see this collection.
(P.S.: Other people with mysteries set in Indy: Michael Z. Lewin's Albert Samson books and Ron Tierney's Deets Shanahan books. We like them both.)
OK, I did read the oldest (not the first) story in the first book, and I bought the second.
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