Cult author Bob Freville (Battering the Stem; The Network People) has delivered a collection of stories as funny as they are frightening. Plumbing the depths of societal decay, Long Walks, Short Piers offers wry insight into the prejudices and preoccupations of modern man while reaching desperately for something else. A man takes his wife on vacation with the intention of killing her and making it look like an accident. Too bad he didn't bother to do his homework. As he lays the groundwork for her demise, he'll have to contend with lousy hotel accommodations, deadly plants, absurd Florida laws and a pair of dim-witted kidnappers. A Mission in Miami Gardens proves that breaking one's marital vows can become quite the chore. The Ombudsman is a suburban take on Washington Irving's fabled tale of a village facing their past in the face of imminent change. Rip is a small town loser who goes on a bender and wakes to learn that he's been appointed as an impartial public advocate. The problem is, Rip is far from impartial and the folks in Swindlehurst don't believe a word he says. It will take more than he's used to mustering to turn things around for this hopeless dead end village. Kallum is a hack blogger and Ame is a shameless social media influencer. Both have sacrificed the austerity of love for the base pleasures of the 21st century. It isn't until their home is broken into that they embrace their narcissistic death wish and recognize who they really are. You'll recognize them too. They Know You. The boy with hypertrichosis - the so-called "wolfman syndrome" - has lived a life of exploitation and disappointment, but when a clown comes to town things get even hairier. In Alouette à la Blanc, there is no escape from the pain of being.