A Twist of Malice

With A Twist of Malice, Jean Rae Baxter proves that the short story is not only alive and well, but ready to pounce from a dark corner upon the unsuspecting reader. These fourteen burnished diamonds offer sinister examinations of the darkness of the human soul, whatever its mortal age. Her characterization is spare and deft, recalling the brilliance of Alice Munro and Muriel Spark. Allusions in the titles such as "Out, Out" and "In the Chambers of the Sea" reveal a comprehensive literary background, subtle and underscoring, never intrusive. "Catnappers" is a chilling a portrait of young girls, enough to turn anyone from parenthood. Suspense hangs in the air like virulent Spanish moss. In "Loss," a woman scorned turns her pain into advantage, wreaking a poetic revenge. In "A Wanton Disregard," another revenge tale, a bereaved mother acts out the scenario many women might follow, had they a snarled courage. Throughout the book, families hover at the edge of disfunctionality, yet the truth of the dialogue and decisiveness of actions whisper, "There but for the grace of God." This is a book to be savored and re-read, a handbook for purveyors of prose and a delight for any reader.