The Death Panel: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness [Paperback]

Tom Piccirilli (Author), Scott Nicholson (Author), John Everson (Author), Simon Wood (Author), Randy Chandler (Author), Tim Curran (Author), Brandon Ford (Author), Kelly M. Hudson (Author), David James Keaton (Author), Cheryl Mullenax (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 23, 2009

Comet Press presents 13 stories from authors of dark crime, suspense, and horror. Ultra violent, hardboiled, with an unhealthy dose of the macabre, The Death Panel is a no-holds-barred, in-your-face hard ride to hell. Authors: Randy Chandler, Tim Curran, John Everson, Brandon Ford, Kelly M. Hudson, David James Keaton, Scott Nicholson, Tom Piccirilli, Zach Sherwood, David Tallerman, Fred Venturini, Erik Williams, Simon Wood.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Sarah Palin is good for something after all. Her fearmongering over the health care mess coined a phrase that inadvertently gave Comet Press a terrific title for a crime-based anthology, in THE DEATH PANEL: MURDER, MAYHEM, AND MADNESS, edited by Cheryl Mullenax.

The loose theme yielded some tight writing. Thirteen stories are included, many from young upstarts rather than established vets, and this is a rare case where there's nary a dud among them. However, that assumes you have a strong stomach and a mind that's not easily offended. And if that sentence causes an eyebrow or two to twitch, are you in for a treat.

The fatal fun begins with Randy Chandler's "Lipstick Swastika," in which impotent hotel detective Trench investigates a fourth-floor guest of Twilight Towers: a buxom German woman who is rumored to be a N@zi war criminal. What happens when e'er the two shall meet was a wild, welcome surprise, setting the reader up for an expectation-shattering 200 pages to follow. As I read this first story, I thought Trench had franchise potential written all over him, and sure enough, the "About the Authors" section at the end confirms that Chandler beat me to the punch.

"The Neighbor" is next, and it's your first indication that the book doesn't flinch in the gore department. Brandon Ford tells the tale of two trailer park denizens, one of whom has a taste -- both physically and sexually -- for dead girls. Its gruesomeness is one-upped -- or three-upped, or whatever -- later with John Everson's "The Mouth," about a kink-seeking deviant who meets a mentally handicapped woman whose vagina is where her mouth is supposed to be, and vice versa. True love! The term "outrageous" doesn't even begin to cover this one.

After that punch to the gut, it's nice to have Simon Wood onboard with the playful "Parental Guidance," a jet-black comedy about a loving father who spills his secrets to a neighbor about making his son behave. It's too bad ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS isn't around anymore, because this clever number would be a shoo-in for an adaptation.

With sharp writing and a crisp design to match, the anthology makes a strong case for 2009's best. It's only Comet Press' third release, but already, the small-press label has distinguished itself as a reliable name brand. Pick it up, if you've got the balls. --Rod Lott

--Bookgasm, December 24, 2009

Comet Press follows up its fantastic short story collection Vile Things: Extreme Deviations of Horror (review) with The Death Panel: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. Like Vile Things, The Death Panel is edited by Cheryl Mullenax and she definitely knows how to pick `em! The Death Panel is chock full of vicious, ultra-violent and hardboiled short stories from authors Randy Chandler, Tim Curran, John Everson, Brandon Ford, Kelly M. Hudson, David James Keaton, Scott Nicholson, Tom Piccirilli, Zach Sherwood, David Tallerman, Fred Venturini, Erik Williams and Simon Wood.

The collection starts with a bang with Randy Chandler's Lipstick Swastika, a story with a `40s noir feel about a hotel security guard that suspects a buxom German blonde to be an escaped Nazi war criminal. The story is full of smoky rooms, irresistible broads, hard men and steamy sex contrasted against explosive violence.

The violence continues with Blood Sacrifices & The Catatonic Kid by Tom Piccirilli. This is about an older gentleman in a mental institution and the "The Catatonic Kid," who one day snaps and escapes the institution, leaving a bloody wake behind him. Things aren't always what they appear though, and the story features a you-will-never-see-it-coming twist! ...

... There is not one bad story contained between the pages of The Death Panel: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness. I eagerly read the noir-tinged and hard-boiled stories of crime, violence and horror and eagerly await Comet Press' next release, because they and editor Cheryl Mullenax are really making a name for themselves in the horror community! --Fatally Yours, January 13, 2010

From Monster Librarian

Not all of the stories in The Death Panel are horror, but they are all good. This is more of a hard boiled crime anthology, with some hard boiled horror thrown in the mix. I happen to be a fan of both genres, so I enjoyed the mix of private eyes, dirty cops, gangsters and the occasional monster. With a mix of favorite authors and those who are new to me, the stories range from straight up noir to supernatural crime. Favorites include: "Blood Sacrifices & The Catatonic Kid" by Tom Piccirilli, in which two residents break out of a mental hospital, with violent results. "The Neighbor" by Brandon Ford, asks "What happens when a lonely "trailer" wife thinks her neighbor is a serial killer? Do you really want to know?" In Fred Venturini's story "Detail", an ex-cop runs a discreet auto detailing business, and keeps secret files on his customers. When he meets a beautiful woman in trouble, his life gets out of control. John Everson's "The Mouth" is the story of a sadistic sex freak, always looking for a new thrill, who is pointed towards a girl known only as "The Mouth". This one is not for the easily offended. "Nine Cops Killed For A Goldfish Cracker" by David James Keaton is difficult to describe. It's a bizarre story of a man who needs to pay the rent, a goldfish with a thousand dollars in it's stomach, and all the cops who get in the way. I could go on and on, talking about Tim Curran, Kelly M. Hudson, Simon Wood, and the rest, but you should read these gems for yourself. If you are a horror fan who wants to expand your horizons, I highly recommend picking up The Death Panel.

Contains: Sex, Violence, Strong Language and Gore --Monster Librarian, January 15, 2010

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Comet Press; 1st edition (November 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982097999
• ISBN-13: 978-0982097991
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,693,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Horror Crime Collection Breaks New Ground...And Faces!, May 23, 2010

By 

Nell Gato "The Red-Eye Reader" (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Death Panel: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness (Paperback)

I don't often read genre fiction, but this happened to fall into my lap while juggling planes between semesters, and an anthology seemed like a good way to satisfy the short attention span that a vacation from campus turmoil demanded. So I was quite shocked to find myself so engaged in these nasty little tales of revenge, insanity, and good old-fashioned murder.

First off, there is some solid and powerful writing to be found in this collection. Yes, as promised, these stories delivered the goods as far as violence, gore, shock value, and the occasional character development, but there are also some big surprises to be found here, too.

And the biggest surprise is David James Keaton's cinematic "Nine Cops Killed For A Goldfish Cracker," a ferocious but remarkably complex street fable with the momentum of a bullet. Layer upon layer of righteous confrontations, racial overtones, brutal but hilarious domestic turmoil, and possibly even a dash of religious symbolism combine to make this a dense but incredibly satisfying read. Yes, at least nine police officers are tragically killed in increasingly violent yet darkly comic showdowns, but as the story roars headlong to its inevitable conclusion, I challenge anyone not to root for any protagonist who lovingly cradles a cookie jar full of goldfish as he commits murder after murder to keep a roof over the head of his very pregnant but formidable wife (and girlfriend!). There is enough material in Keaton's fascinating powerhouse of a story for at least ten full-length crime novels or films.

Another highlight in The Death Panel is a vile little number by John Everson called "The Mouth." Quite possibly the most disgusting thing I've ever read, I am, however, glad something this toxic made it to the printed page. But I have to admit that the chances of me revisiting this story are unlikely. It's a fun one to recommend, though, to friends and enemies alike, and it maintains a staggering level of perversity up until its gruesome finale.

Also, David Tallerman takes advantage of the hard-boiled theme of this anthology to slip in a bit of fantasy with an oddity of a tale that I found to be a refreshing respite from the increasingly grim proceedings. "Rindelstein's Monsters," which reminded this reader of a mixture of James Whale and H.P. Lovecraft, is a playful story that answers an intriguing question I'm surprised no one thought to address during the recent resurgence of werewolves in pop culture.

"The Name Game" I found to be a twisty little Hitchcockian gag with exactly the payoff I craved, while "Lipstick Swastika" (excellent title) couldn't have had a more satisfying comeuppance for the villainous but voluptuous Nazi. "Parental Guidance" reminded me of Stephen King's early days and his story "Quitter's Inc." from Night Shift (high praise), while Tom Piccirilli's "Blood Sacrifices & The Catatonic Kid" also kept my attention until the final bloody revelation. And Kelly M. Hudson's "What Makes an Angel Cry" hinted at an impressively realized world and mythology outside of the brief glimpse provided.

All in all, I highly recommend this book to both horror and crime readers, as well as for graduate students such as myself looking for a guilty pleasure outside of academia. I realize a wildly creative hybrid such as this anthology might be an oddity, but if stories of this quality are representative of these two genres, The Death Panel has created a new fan, and literary fiction may have to take a vacation for awhile instead. At least until it catches up.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the death panel: not for grandmas, February 19, 2010

By 

A. Hempel - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Death Panel: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness (Paperback)

While this book probably wouldn't be the best to give Grandma for her birthday, it might be just the kind of twisted stress relief you might need for a visit with extended family. The stories cover a wide swath of the horror genre, so while not every single story was something I enjoyed, if you're at all a fan of a good demented read, this is for you.

My favorite story in the mix is David James Keaton's "Nine Cops Killed for a Goldfish Cracker." Although certainly not devoid of slaughter (as the title makes perfectly clear) the story has the only narrator I felt myself really rooting for. There's much more to the story than cops and crackers, and Keaton's sense of language is of a different degree of sophistication than the rest of the anthology's tales. I'm hoping to see a collection of this writer's stories out sometime soon. If the rest of his stuff is this good, he'll be a hit fast -- you'll want to be able to say you liked him before everyone had heard of him.

This isn't to say the other stories aren't a good read, though I did find myself more than once annoyed that it seems women exist in these stories only to be killed. I wasn't so much offended as a feminist but as a reader. Knowing what's coming from the first pronoun is annoying.

The story destined to burn its way into your brain is "The Mouth," by John Everson. I described its basic premise to my mother, who screamed and told me to stop. While the story does have a dark (very dark -- very, very dark) humor to it, the story's language felt somewhat rough around the edges -- not in terms of foulness, which doesn't offend me, but that it might have benefited from a few more rounds of revision. Still, though, read it -- if only because I did and now certain images are seared into my consciousness and therefore should be in yours, too.

It's interesting that not one of the authors is female (yes, Kelly M. Hudson is a guy, and if you don't believe me, read "What Makes an Angel Cry" -- although you should read it anyway) but the editor is a woman. What does this mean? I don't know, frankly, but it's something to ponder as you read the book. Because you should. Have I mentioned that?

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stephen King Meets Jim Thompson, January 24, 2010

By 

Gary Griffiths (Los Altos Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Death Panel: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness (Paperback)

Holy smokes! Barricade the doors and lock up your daughters; "The Death Panel" is as grisly, garish, and depraved a collection of horrific crime you'll ever read - an abattoir of the human dark side with a taste of the supernatural - a rogues gallery of degenerates who you guess are lurking out there, but hope you never encounter. Any one of these stories would nicely fit into Frank Miller's "Sin City" - larger-than-life crime fiction eschewing subtlety for a mostly monochromatic pallet of blood, bone, and perversion.

Like most anthologies, "Death Panel" has its strengths and weaknesses. Among the gems I'd place Tom Piccirilli's "Blood Sacrifices and the Catonic Kid" near the top - a clever and ironic tale of a wise old con out for revenge. Randy Chandler, who writes noir like he's related to crime classicist Raymond, get the collection of to a strong start with "Lipstick Swastika", the story of a hotel detective and loathsome female Nazi death camp guard on the lam. And there's "Detail" by Fred Venturini, where CSI meets "Car And Driver." Simon Wood's "Parental Guidance" adds some brutally new dimensions to tough love. While Brandon Ford's "The Neighbor" majors in stomach-turning perversion, yet has that same gruesome magnetism that draws spectators to a plane crash.

I was less than enamored with "What Makes and Angel Cry". Seems author Kelly Hudson may have tried to pick up on a theme perfected by Charlie Huston's vampire Joe Pitt series, but failed to measure up to Huston's hip and irreverent delivery. "Rindelstein's Monsters", by David Tallerman, was built around an intriguing "post Rapture" existence, but unfortunately fell short of what I was hoping would develop into a unique approach to the overdone apocalypse stories. Others, like John Everson's "The Mouth", while undeniably original, pretty much pegged the nausea needle, and Zach Sherwood's "Board up the House" was just a bit oblique and ambiguous for my tastes.

So while definitely not for the squeamish, this is a well-edited collection of crime horror; thirteen fast-paced reads that waste little time in the niceties of prose or setting that might upstage the terror and shock of the main event. In short, the Comet Press has compiled an edgy and gruesome set of tales to incite pitchfork-wielding mobs - a perversely entertaining form of guilty pleasure guaranteed to satisfy that "Tales from the Crypt" part of your psyche.