Review: Story First
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 23, 2013
What does it say about me that I felt at home reading this collection?  Nevermind.  What it says about the author, Mike Monson, is that he is a first-rate storyteller.  Monson has the ability to pull you into his fictional world and you are there instantly.  Believing it.  As if you'd just tripped into someone else's life.  Monson's work reminded me of Raymond Carver's in that respect.  His writing isn't the focus of these tales, his characters are.  Which is why I think another reviewer missed out on how good it really is.  Because it's not easy to hook and hold a reader without him being aware of how you're doing it.  This is fiction that transports, frightens, entertains.  One of the best collections I've purchased this year.  Buy Criminal Love and keep an eye out for whatever else Monson has on the way.