Old Devil Moon

“[Christopher] Fowler repeatedly challenges the reader to redraw the boundaries between innocence and malevolence, rationality and paranoia. His strength lies in the way he unveils the darker side of the ordinary.”—GuardianA geologist trapped in a town without water is lured into a desperate escape plan. A boy plans a murder in an eerie funfair. A cop witnesses an inexplicable plague of madness. A teenager learns a deadly trick with his cell phone.Christopher Fowler’s tenth collection of uniquely disturbing short stories contains the blackest humor and the darkest fears.Christopher Fowler is the author of twelve novels, including the Bryant & May series. He lives in London.

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. British author Fowler, best known for his Bryant and May impossible crimes series (White Corridor, etc.), scores another triumph with his eclectic 10th short story collection. Highlights include The Lady Downstairs, a Sherlockian pastiche told from the perspective of the great detective's long-suffering landlady, Mrs. Hudson, and the grim revenge story, The Threads, in which an arrogant British tourist to North Africa gets his comeuppance. The amusing parody That's Undertainment! brutally eviscerates modern popular culture. Old Friends, an effective modern ghost story, pays homage to such late British film greats as Terry-Thomas and Diana Dors. John Wyndham would've appreciated the concise but horrific The Spider Kiss, in which an outbreak of insane human behavior in Miami proves to have its origins in the animal kingdom. Exclusion Zone focuses on a father's estrangement from his daughter's anarchic rebellion. Fans of all genres will be impressed by the 22 well-written, often moving selections. (Aug.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Christopher Fowler is the author of twelve novels, as well as numerous screenplays and collections of short stories. His first novel, the bestseller Roofworld, has been developed as a film. One of his short stories, Left Hand Drive, won Best British Short Film in 1993. 'American 'American Waitress' from Demonized won the British Fantasy Society's Best Short Fiction Prize.

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