Expletive Deleted

"No expletives have in fact been deleted from this nose-thumbing anthology of original stories (and a single reprint, Laura Lippman's mildly profane but clever 'A Good **** Spoiled'). Jordan's selections prove beyond a doubt that expletives are a guarantee of neither success nor failure. Standouts include Ken Bruen's 'Spit,' which proves that his flair for language is undiminished by copious profanity; Olen Steinhauer's grim 'Hungarian Lessons'; Libby Fischer Hellmann's 'The Jade Elephant,' a clever twist on a redemption tale; and Russel D. McLean's awesomely dark 'Pedro Paul.' Unfortunately, they're overshadowed by disappointments like Nathan Singer's incoherent 'The Killer Whispers and Prays... Or Like a Sledgehammer to a Ribcage' and Kevin Wignall's unconvincing 'The Preacher.' The shock value of the language is minimal and the repetition monotonous, and somehow not a single entry manages to be both erotic and explicit. As a tribute to that most banned of all English words, this volume merits only a half-hearted (if not one-fingered) salute." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)