Clockwork

John M. Floyd

$24.95

In his first two books, Rainbow’s End and Midnight, award-winning author John M. Floyd gave us a total of sixty short stories of mystery, suspense, and deception. In this collection of forty more tales, he once again uses his talent for classic storytelling and his love of plot twists to keep us guessing and enthralled until the very last word.

As before, Floyd goes beyond the mystery/crime genre to dip occasionally into areas like westerns and romance and humor and fantasy–but each story promises (and delivers) a rollercoaster ride of delicious plot reversals and a Hitchcock-style surprise ending. And his fans will be pleased to discover several more installments in the lighthearted small-town “series” featuring retired schoolteacher Angela Potts and her former (and long-suffering) student Sheriff Chunky Jones.

So if you love mysteries, or if you enjoyed the old Alfred Hitchcock Presents or Twilight Zone TV series, or if you just like to be kept on the edge of your seat, this collection of stories is right up your alley. But be advised: reading it might make you lose track of time. Better make sure your clock works…

Note: The first story in Clockwork, “The Powder Room,” was included among Other Distinguished Mystery Stories of 2009 in The Best Mystery Stories of 2010.

“Whether making you laugh or making you catch your breath, John Floyd is clearly the man in charge, and Clockwork is terrific.”
—Markus Sakey, author of The Blade Itself and The Amateurs

“John Floyd has assembled a clever, entertaining, and sure-handed collection of short stories.”
—Bill Fitzhugh, author of Pest Control and The Organ Grinders

“The collection reminds me of the Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen short story magazines that I discovered as an adolescent … and that hooked me as a lifetime member of the mystery/intrigue/suspense fan club.”
—Susan O’Bryan, www.msdigitaldaily.com

“You’ve just entered the John M. Floyd wing of the Crime Fiction Museum…Here, you’ll marvel at forty intriguing stories, restored to their original level of suspense, with a sprinkling of chill bumps and chuckles added for texture.”
—J.C. Patterson, The Madison Herald

“His style and talent is envied by writers and welcomed by readers. He always leaves me wanting more.”
—Deborah Elliott-Upton, www.criminalbrief.com

“Floyd can do more to keep one on the edge of the chair in several pages than most writers can do with an entire suspense novel.”
—David Beckwith, Keys News