Rainbow’s End (and other stories)

John M. Floyd

$22.95

In this collection of short mystery / suspense fiction, Mississippi author John M. Floyd showcases the classic story-telling and surprise endings that have made him one of the most widely-published short story writers in the South. These thirty tales run the gamut from contemporary Tokyo to the Old West to the swamps of Georgia, and compelling characters fill their pages – a Texas oilman who makes a bizarre deal to avoid blackmail, a young boy who meets a legendary outlaw, a visitor sent from another world to dispense justice, a willing but terrified cop on the trail of a serial bomber.

The plots are equally varied: From Africa to the South Pacific, from the rural countryside to urban skyscrapers, Floyd keeps his readers guessing every step of the way. In “Teamwork,” thieves on the run find their biggest problem is each other; in “Survival,” castaways plan their escape from a remote island; “One Less Thing” pits a young woman with gambling debts against a ruthless loan shark; and in the title story, a bank robber accompanies his partner’s girlfriend into the Alaskan wilderness in search of stolen loot. There’s something here for everyone— adventure, romance, mystery, comedy, even a “series” of six tales featuring a retired schoolteacher and a small-town sheriff. So if your idea of the end of the rainbow is a potful of fiction with endless twists and turns…you’ve come to the right place.

“John Floyd has all the right moves in this collection of stories. In the tradition of O. Henry, he takes the reader down the twisty path of crime … to where the reward is far better than a pot of gold.”
—Carolyn Haines, author of the Sarah Booth Delaney mysteries

“Novelists, playwrights and authors don’t write short stories because they can’t introduce believable characters, spin a complete and satisfying yarn, and thrill the reader in the brief space of five to thirty pages. John Floyd can, and does with almost unerring style, in Rainbow’s End.”
—Jim Fraiser, author of Vanished: Mississippi Gulf Coast

“Rainbow’s End is the perfect one-a-day pick-me-up for mystery enthusiasts or folks who enjoy their reading short,clever and very satisfying.”
—J.C. Patterson, The Clarion Ledger

“Saying John Floyd writes entertaining mysteries is like saying Tiger Woods plays a good game of golf. Somehow the words just don’t do their talents justice.”
—Ben Douglas, The Northside Sun

“Mr. Floyd has created a unique collection of short stories.”
—Cerri Ellis, Futures Mysterious Mystery Magazine

“John has mastered the challenge of keeping an entire story absorbing …”
—Elaine August, SouthernScribe.com

“ … O. Henry, James Thurber and Vladimir Nabokov are among the few storytellers whose short works make me think, ‘Now that’s what short stories are all about.’ The same is true of John Floyd.”
—Nancy Horner, Bookfoolery & Babble

“If you enjoy stories that fling you through their pages like a stone from a slingshot, John M. Floyd is a writer you want to be acquainted with.”
—Pete Mesling, Fearfodder