BookList - Wes Lukowsky
Gorman is already among the best genre writers, and he keeps getting better. Both his mysteries and his westerns are consistently excellent. He's also an accomplished short story writer. With one exception, these 22 stories originally appeared in magazines or anthologies. Many are crime, suspense, or horror tales, but 'The Ugly File,' published here for the first time, deals with the very serious issue of child deformity. Another confronts spouse abuse from the perspective of involved children; still another evokes the horror of child abuse. Gorman possesses the rare ability to examine real issues in a fictional setting without preaching. It may be inappropriate to describe a story about child abuse as 'entertaining'; let's try 'emotionally engaging' instead. -- Booklist

Baltimore Sun
With the best of these stories, Ed Gorman not only transcends the genre of crime fiction, he takes it on an entirely new direction.