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Book Review: Anatomy of Innocence: Testimonies of the Wrongfully Convicted edited by Laura Caldwell and Leslie S. Klinger


Anatomy of Innocence: Testimonies of the Wrongfully Convicted  edited by Laura Caldwell and Leslie S. Klinger

Liveright Publishing, 2017

ISBN-13: 978-1631490880

Available: Pre-order hardcover, Kindle edition

As much as we would like to believe our criminal justice system works the way it is supposed to, it has many flaws. Every year, people are wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit, and serve time they don’t deserve to lose from their lives. Some of these are eventually able to prove their innocence, and are freed and exonerated of their crimes. With an introduction by author Scott Turow and Barry Scheck of the Innocence Project,  Anatomy of Innocence collects the stories of 15 exonerees, each working with a bestselling author of mysteries, thrillers, and crime fiction, to effectively share their personal experiences. Authors involved include(but are not limited to) Sara Paretsky, Lee Child, Laurie R. King, and Arthur Miller. Different stories focus on different parts of the process the exonerees went through, from arrest to trial, time served, appeal and exoneration.

The purpose of this book is to show how easily errors can occur in our justice system– in some cases, genuinely well-meaning, honest people contribute to the conviction of an innocent person. The book also illuminates parts of the justice system we’d rather not see: David Bates, tortured into confessing; Michael Evans, convicted in spite of evidence pointing to innocence when the one holdout juror caved to peer pressure; Peter Reilly, freed when hidden evidence was revealed after the prosecutor for his case died; Alton Logan, whose accuser admitted the crime on an affidavit to be released only after his death, under the veil of attorney-client privilege. It’s obvious that in many of these cases race was a factor– in Ray Towler’s story, it’s pretty clear that eyewitnesses identify him almost completely by skin color, despite considerable physical dissimilarities to the person they describe initially.

The stories also show the indomitable spirit these men and women exhibited (and still do) under extremely traumatic circumstances– solitary confinement, separation from loved ones, deliberate attempts at the destruction of self. Kirk Bloodsworth drew on his POW training as a Marine; Ginny Lefever took up running and reading; Antione Day formed a band. And while there are tragedies and abuses of the system, many of these stories show the best in people. Peter Reilly’s community raised money for an appeal; an elderly African-American inmate encouraged Bill Dillon to apply for a DNA test of crime scene evidence; a prison trustee’s reading suggestions led Jeff Deskovic to contact the Innocence Project.

Anatomy of Innocence brings to light perspectives we rarely see, of those wrongfully convicted, with powerful emotional impact. With the tensions in our criminal justice system today, it provides an opportunity for thoughtful reflection and compassion, in a time of anger, fear, and moral confusion. A list of member organizations of the Innocence Project is included at the end of the book. A majority of funds raised by the sale of the book will benefit Life After Innocence, an organization that helps exonerees adapt to life after release from prison.  Highly recommended.


Posted on February 1, 2017 by , Reply

Book Review: I Can Taste The Blood edited by John F.D. Taff and Anthony Rivera

I Can Taste the Blood  edited by John F.D. Taff and Anthony Rivera

ISBN-13: 978-1940658728

Grey Matter Press, 2016

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

This anthology contains five stories, or “visions”, all written with the same title: I Can Taste the Blood. The editor gathered five authors, each presenting a unique take on the phrase, which originated from graffiti in the bathroom of a dive bar, which read “I can taste the blood.”

The first vision, by Josh Malerman, is the story of Rab, a traveler who begs for help at the home of Madmannah, Sammi, and their child, Aart. It is a windy night when the desperate traveler knocks on their door and demands shelter for a short time. At the encouragement of their visiting friends, they admit the stranger into their home. Rab then tells them the story of how he came to be in their humble abode, what is chasing him, the horrors that he faced in this person’s presence… and what he has done. Everything is not as it seems with the traveler, or with the entity pursuing him.

The second vision, by J. Daniel Stone, is one of violence, underground snuff films, and heroin. Bok can’t escape the clutches of Laurenz, an elderly German man with a taste for extreme violence who creates films to feed his urges. Bok discovers, through his lover Jared, that the old German’s films hold a transformative contagion. As a warning, this story is extremely explicit in its depiction of bloody violence, snuff film material, and sex.

Joe Schwartz presents a vision of a man who earns his keep as a hired strong-arm for someone known simply as Caretaker. The man and his partner, Joe, kidnap a young woman as she leaves her home. We get a series of short memories of crimes he has committed when he first started in the “business,” and snapshots of his personal life. As the story returns to the present, and the kidnapped woman, things don’t quite go as planned for the dastardly duo.

Erik T. Johnson’s vision tells of Canny, who is trying to cope with his strange mother and her death… I think. I read and reread this story a few times, and I’m still not sure what to make of it. It reads like a stream of consciousness piece, and Canny’s thoughts are incredibly disjointed. There are subtle, perhaps too subtle, connections between his thoughts. At times I felt like I should be getting more from this story than I was, but things just weren’t connecting for me. I will say it is very poetic, and there is a lot of rich imagery in this story. Just be prepared for an exercise in attempting to follow a lost man down the rabbit hole.

The final vision in the anthology, by John. F.D. Taff, is probably my favorite out of the anthology. Merle, a divorced father of one, lives in the small town he was raised in, where he knows everyone and everyone knows him. One evening at the local bar, his friend, Gun, points out a bandage on his arm. Merle doesn’t remember giving blood, but the alcohol he loves so much tends to make him forgetful. Things change that night, when the two men venture to the VFW for the weekly spaghetti dinner. Merle gets very sick, and experiences disturbing and hyper-realistic hallucinations. What happens to him in the following days is enough to make anyone crazy. He struggles with his illness, he sleeps for days on end, his ex-wife is a constant nag, and all he wants to do is see his daughter. Oh, and his hands are growing teeth.

I Can Taste the Blood is an incredible anthology, full of nightmare fuel. I don’t recommend it for squeamish readers, though. There are times where the material delves into uncomfortable themes, or it just gets gross. If you don’t like transgressive dark fiction, this won’t be your cup of tea. If you do, dig in. You won’t be disappointed. Recommended.

Contains: blood, gore, sexuality, torture, rape, body horror

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker


Posted on October 7, 2016 by , Reply

Book Review: A Darke Phantastique edited by Jason V. Brock


A Darke Phantastique: Encounters with the Uncanny and Other Magical Things, edited by Jason V. Brock, illustrated by Samuel Araya.

Cycatrix Press, 2014
ISBN-13: 978-0984167654
Available: New and used hardcover

 

There is a notion with publishers that anthologies don’t sell; that if you release one into the world that it is most likely going to be ignored and lost in the mix. In addition to “Year’s Best” volumes, and the many excellent anthologies produced by editors like Ellen Datlow, there are numerous themed anthologies focused on a particular subgenre, such as Lovecraftian fiction or paranormal romance. A Darke Phantastique takes a different approach: what unites this collection is more of a deft use of the surreal, or a dark shading over each story, rather than outright horror.

 

This is Brock’s first time as solo editor of an anthology. The Bleeding Edge and The Devil’s Coattails, anthologies he co-edited with William Nolan, were shorter and more concise; this one clocks in at over 700 pages, including stories, poems, art, and even a screenplay. Although that makes for a big book, Brock is a picky selector, and the anthology is worthy of the time and money a reader invests in it.  Standout stories nclude “Squatters”, by Nicole Cushing; “Lizard Man Dispatches”, by Ray Garton; and “Dust Made Into Words”, by Cody Goodfellow.

 

The only weakness is layout and design of the book. During his time as editor of literary horror magazines Dark Discoveries and Nameless Digest, he did a great job in layout and design. While the design of A Darke Phantastique is interesting, it sometimes seems to overwhelm the content. Just give me the stories!

 

While not inexpensive, A Darke Phantastique deserves to be in every library in the country that takes dark literature seriously. The high quality of the fiction makes this an anthology that stands above.
Posted on December 26, 2015 by , Reply
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