Odds of Survival: Crime Stories

Odds of Survival-18 dark, quirky crime stories from a master of noir *Thieves mistime a forest fire, and the cops aren't the only peril awaiting them. *A cancer victim turns serial killer, but only of perps who deserve to die. *Em's brother plays him for a sucker, and the cops play him like a fiddle. With a family like his, he figures orphans are the lucky ones. *When a hit man is brought in to clean up a honey trap, he never expects to change sides. *Is Ryan blessed to be a dead ringer for a Hollywood star? Dead is the key word. *The bald chemo queen has a good scam going, until she hooks up with a pro who notices the carpet doesn't match the drapes. *Donating a kidney makes Kevin feel like a hero. Until he meets the recipient. *When Katie discovers first edition Dr. Seuss books, the road to grad school opens up. Too bad there's red blood, dead blood along the way. *The painting is the only thing of value in her mother's estate, but the only way Kim can profit is by producing an exact copy. Over and over. *When a move star wanna-be conspires to steal enough dough to fund her dreams, her partner should expect a little improv. Barlow's stories have appeared in Best American Mystery Stories, Needle, Switchblade, Thuglit, Tough, Manslaughter Review, Mystery Weekly, Mysterical-E Magazine, Heater, and Pulp Modern. His writing has been described as, "brilliantly layered, hauntingly introspective and refreshingly offbeat" by Scotch Rutherford, editor of Switchblade Magazine. Rusty Barnes of Tough Magazine writes "(Barlow) always delivers the goods."