STEALING SMOKES: SOME SURPRISING SHORT STORIES
BY JOHN HANLON
What a fun adventure it was to read this book of short stories! I’ve shied away from reading many short story anthologies in the past, but I’ve become more interested in them as I’ve gotten older. A good short story can leave you immensely satisfied when you don’t have a lot of time, or when you’re not in the mood to delve deeply into a novel.
Stealing Smokes: Some Surprising Short Stories is an apt title for this book, as almost every story ended with some sort of surprise. There were stories ending with a touch of the magical and mystical, some ending in heartbreak, some ending in shock and some in laughter. All of them dealt with the human condition, and sometimes I recognized myself (not always positively) in a character. I read each story with anticipation, knowing that something at the end would jar me in one way or another.
Thanks to NetGalley and Digital Strategies Limited/IBPA/Members’ Titles for an ARC in exchange for my review.
4 stars
House of Black and Blue 