FLESH & BLOOD Erotic Tales of Crime and Passion

Here's a bowl of mixed nuts--an anthology of tales about sex and crime by various rising literary lights, as well as reliables such as Lawrence Block and Donald E. Westlake. Some graphically depict the illicit and mordant liaisons of assorted lowlife, and one or two urbanely relate accounts of homicidal exotica. They're not for those who object to earthy language or untrammeled violence. Only one strikes this reviewer as actually erotic. Like the stories themselves, the narrators are all over the map, from the inept to the accomplished. In the latter category, Scott Brick stands out, as he almost always does. Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 03]