Flesh & Blood: Erotic Tales of Crime and Passion [Paperback]

Jeff Gelb (Author), Max Allan Collins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2001

Sex and violence. They go together like greed and blackmail, and jealousy and murder. Now acclaimed masters and rising stars of today's crime and mystery fiction offer erotic tales, luring you into the seductively dangerous realm of flesh and blood.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Patterned after the long-running anthology series, Hot Blood, which Gelb cofounded, this collection offers 17 original tales and one "classic" that combine "hot passion and cold blood," as Collins describes it in his introduction. Although the original contributions were invited, the anthology often reads like a classroom assignment, with some stories hitting the mark and others missing badly. Several old pros prove adept at using the theme without losing the tight focus required. Donald Westlake's "The Girl of My Dreams," the collection's classic, is a high point. Edward D. Hoch, a master of the form, sets a mini-mystery in a club for the sexually adventurous in Paris in 1933. Stuart M. Kaminsky's tale has a hook so clever it will elicit grins and groans. Loren Estleman has no trouble acing the assignment with his story, "Evil Grows." Lawrence Block, another master of the short story, unfortunately isn't up to his usual form. Other authors include Gelb, Michael Garrett, Ed Gorman, Vicki Hendricks, Terrill Lankford, Wendi Lee, Dick Lochte, Annette Meyers, Gary Phillips, Robert J. Randisi and Thomas S. Roche. Despite some good efforts, too many of the stories offer plenty of sex or violence or both but seem forced and artificial as they wrestle with theme and form. With some highly recognizable names as well as potential crossover from Hot Blood fans, however, this anthology should prove once again that sex and violence sell.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This first volume of a new anthology series collects 18 "erotic noir" stories featuring perpetrators as well as detectives. Each series title will contain previously unpublished stories by top and upcoming mystery writers except for one, which will constitute a "classic crime corner." Donald Westlake's "The Girl of My Dreams" fills that spot here. Looks good.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Press (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446677779
• ISBN-13: 978-0446677776
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 8.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,265,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Max Allan Collins is a New York Times bestselling author of original mysteries, a Shamus award winner and an experienced author of movie adaptions and tie-in novels. His graphic novel ROAD TO PERDITION was made into a major motion picture by Tom Hank's production company, Playtone.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Plenty of sex and violence, April 2, 2001

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flesh & Blood: Erotic Tales of Crime and Passion (Paperback)

This anthology centers on sex and violence. Most of the contributions are new stories that heat up the pages with torrid sex scenes. Although the authors are excellent writers, the basic flaw in this collection is that the short format does not lend itself to scorching bedroom scenes and a powerful mystery plot. FLESH AND BLOOD: EROTIC TALES OF CRIME AND PASSION contains well-written tales, but leans too heavily on the erotica at the expense of the mystery, leaving the audience to wonder who done it?

Harriet Klausner

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not at all what I expected, February 6, 2002

By 

James Martin (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flesh & Blood: Erotic Tales of Crime and Passion (Paperback)

I enjoyed Jeff Gelb's "Hot Blood" series. I have been looking eagerly for more in the series. When I saw this title put together by Mr. Gelb I just knew it would be great. Big mistake! Something went really wrong here. The stories are poorly written and read like a bad violent movie with the laughable love scenes. Silly nad disappointing.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Non-Erotic Tales of Crime, June 3, 2002

By 

Roger (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flesh & Blood: Erotic Tales of Crime and Passion (Paperback)

I would have appropriately titled this book "Flesh and Blood: Tales of Crime" because that would have garnered 5 stars. I found little evidence of eroticism and passion in most of the stories, and when any hint of them would arise, it was short-lived. I enjoyed the tales overall, but was mislead. I then became frustrated reading tale after tale in search of what Max Collins had promised in the introduction. The anticipation of what to expect from the introduction, was in fact, the most exciting portion of the book.