Outstanding story collection. The title story and “Disappeared” have instantly earned a place among my favorite stories ever. Unpretentious, just raw and real. I want to read everything else Bobby Mathews has written.

Stories with something to say. Compelling and compulsively readable! I enjoy this author as a writer and as a person

A well written collection of southern noir short stories. All of the the stories are interesting, some are little funny, some super dark. There is something for everyone. My favorite is “A Little Push” it was clever and twisted and I didn’t the ending coming. Looking forward to what Matthews writes next!

I'd read a few stories by Bobby Mathews before I plunged into Magic City Blues, his killer PI novel from last year that brought Brimingham, Alabama to life. One of my favorites of 2023. So I was keen to get hold of this collection. Many thanks to Shotgun Honey for the ARC.

Some of the stories here were familar already, but most of them weren't. I'd read the title story about a year ago when it was up for a Derringer Award (which it deservedly won) and it is probably the crown jewel in this book. I'd remembered it as much longer than the 10-15 pages it is, most likely because it is so rich and vivid in detail. Negative Tilt the story feels like a snaphot of an entire life that sprawls out beyond the pages we get.

And that holds true for the entire collection really: while the book's length is average, it took me longer than usual to finish because each piece is richly drawn. You can feel the characters had a life before we meet them, and it will go on afterward once we leave them (in most cases, anyway).

There's an element of thought and care put into the arrangement of the stories here. We start off with Negative Tilt and the more 'literary' ones (character-driven but never self-involved and boring). There are ex-journalists turned repo men, plagiarizing MFA douchebags, and a wealth of hardscrabble southern boys.

Gradually the collection morphs into more straightforward tales of crime (and sometimes punishment), and these run the gamut from quirky to heartbreaking, before some of the flash fiction which are like hard and sharp jabs to the gut. Then the book rounds out with a few stories that dip into the supernatural.

The writing is clean and no nonsense, with just enough flair to keep things exciting. At one point a dive bar is referred to as a "neon smear" and I just about punched the air with excitement.

Highly recommended. My favorites from the collection are: Negative Tilt (obviously), My Father's Guns, A Little Push, Dance The Night Away.

“There ain’t a whole lot to do in Chilton County but grow peaches and cook methamphetamine…I didn’t grow peaches, and I didn’t make meth. All I did was look for my brother’s body, keep my guns clean and my knife sharp.” —excerpt from “The Ghost of Buxahatchee Creek”

The collection includes a mix of literary, crime, and horror fiction. Mathews’ history as a reporter is evident in his lush storytelling style and deep character development. The forward mentions the collection includes eight stories that have not been previously published.

My favorite stories in the collection are as follows:

“My Father’s Guns:” After their father’s death, siblings have differing views on the distribution of his estate. The history of the father’s gun collection not only speaks volumes about the deceased, it shows the relationship between the protagonist and his father as well as that of him and his siblings.

“The Ghost of Buxahatchee Creek:” A man is haunted by the murder of his brother and his desire for revenge. The small town setting and colorful characters are beautifully drawn.

“A Little Push:” When a podcaster interviews a hitman on his boat, she gets exactly what she came for. I enjoyed April’s perspective and the tension and suspense created by her being in a remote location with an admitted killer.

“The Handyman:” An ex-con’s latest job offer involves killing an abusive husband. The protagonist’s reactions to the offer and how he handles the situation are perfectly aligned with his characterization.

“Never See the Stars Again:” A man develops a self-destructive vendetta against the machine that maimed him. Great tiny tale of an unusual obsession.

“One in the Chamber:” There’s no honor among a group of thieves in this action and betrayal packed flash fiction story.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Shotgun Honey Books for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

I really like short stories because I use breaks from other things for reading. This book contains very short stories, but they all have real content, and most are very interesting. The writing is excellent, some of the best storytelling I have ever read. 5 stars plus!

When their "normal" lives hit a speed bump, the characters in these short stories will find themselves doing things they'd never have done before. Short stories demonstrate an author's skills as they must bring a character to life and complete the story in fewer pages than a typical chapter. Bobby Mathews has proved himself skilled as he takes these characters and turns their lives 180 degrees to see their way to commit these negative actions. I found them all great as they demonstarte the true nature of these flawed humans.

Negative Tilt is a collection of gritty short stories that give the reader a glimpse at the dark underbelly of society. I couldn’t relate to the circumstances the characters found themselves in, but thanks to the author’s vivid and descriptive writing, I felt like I was right there next to them, taking it all in. Some were more gruesome than others, but all showed a perspective completely unfamiliar to me. Even though I don’t expect to find myself in a situation like any of these, I felt some empathy even for the cruel and vicious characters. I would recommend this for anybody who likes noir or old detective stories. There’s not too much blood or gore, but some of the stories are uniquely twisted.