Safe Enough: Crime Stories by the Author of Jack Reacher

Thriller author Child (coauthor of In Too Deep) slips out of his accustomed large action novel format with 20 imaginative short stories—none featuring Reacher. In another departure from his long fiction, Child shows off his writing chops with stories written from the standpoint of antiheroes. His central characters include a double-dealing bodyguard/assassin who works both sides of a domestic squabble, thieves, and other assorted rough characters. The title story features a woman living with her husband in a wooded rural area. A man seeking solitude nearby witnesses the man hit the woman, and then the husband goes missing. From these bare bones, Child crafts a delightfully complex short story. In the foreword, Child admits to having long overlooked the short story format, which he describes as akin to the fabrication of Fabergé eggs—small, intricate, and perfectly formed. Aspiring to this ideal presents a daunting task for one accustomed to the room to stretch out afforded the novelist; readers will be pleased to find Child makes the grade with this collection.