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Short works

Books : reviews

J. D. Robb, Mary Blayney, Elaine Fox, Mary Kay McComas, R. C. Ryan, eds.
Mirror Mirror.
Berkley. 2013

rating : 5 : waste of time
review : 4 May 2014

ONCE UPON A TIME in a world far removed from the days when fairy tales were new, five best-selling authors spin versions that take the classic stories into a new dimension. You'll recognize Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and other enduring characters, but they'll exist in realms beyond your imagination, where the familiar is transformed into the extraordinary and otherworldly.

The latest entry in the themed collection of novellas that I buy just for the Eve Dallas story. Here the link is stories that mirror a classic fairy tale; a weak bunch this time round.

Contents

• J. D. Robb. Taken in Death. 2013
Hansel and Gretel: two children are kidnapped by a mad aunt who wants revenge on their mother; Eve Dallas must find them before she harms them.
• Mary Blayney. If wishes were horses. 2013
A Magic Coin tale: the bearer of the coin is disappointed that it has never granted her a wish.
• Elaine Fox. Beauty, sleeping. 2013
Sleeping Beauty with a twist: Michael Prince, shallow, but not evil, is cursed; could the woman who has bought the house he haunts rescue him?
• Mary Kay McComas. The Christmas comet. 2013
The Little Match Girl meets comet ISON (which unfortunately turned out not to be as spectacular as assumed here).
• R. C. Ryan. Stroke of midnight. 2013
Cinderella: Sydney, bullied by her monstrous stepmother, comes into a little money, and decides to visit her dead father’s home town in Ireland.

J. D. Robb, Mary Blayney, Elaine Fox, Mary Kay McComas, R. C. Ryan, eds.
Down the Rabbit Hole.
Berkley. 2015

rating : 4.5 : passes the time
review : 11 December 2016

Enter a wonderland of mesmerizing tales from five bestselling authors. It’s a place that’s neither here nor there, where things are never quite as they seem. Inspired by Lewis Carrol’s whimsical masterpiece, ranging from the impossible to the mad to the curiouser, these stories will have you absolutely off your head.

Don’t be afraid to follow them… Down the Rabbit Hole

The latest entry in the themed collection of novellas that I buy just for the Eve Dallas story. Here the theme is stories that have a link to Alice in Wonderland; “iLove” is the most imaginative of these.

Contents

• J. D. Robb. Wonderment in Death. 2015
Lt Eve Dallas tracks down a serial killer with a drug-based Wonderland theme.
• Mary Blayney. Alice and the Earl of Wonderland. 2015
A Magic Coin tale, the flip side of the original “Poppy’s coin” story: what happened to the regency pair swapped to the modern day.
• Elaine Fox. iLove. 2015
Jeremy Abbott, more in love with his phone that with any person, gets a traumatic lesson in learning to pay attention.
• Mary Kay McComas. A true heart. 2015
Elise encounters a strange creature in a costume shop, who teaches her that she has been closing off relationships for fear of being betrayed again.
• R. C. Ryan. Fallen. 2015
Orphan Beth, raised by an evil aunt to be a selfish lawyer, encounters a cursed Laird; only she can save him, but will her loyalty to her aunt be too strong?