Queen of the Cold-Blooded Tales

The ghosts of murder victims return to finger their killers and violently avenge their deaths; nature takes on ominous tones in the hooting of an owl, the nighttime crashing of waves on the shore, or the petals of a dying rose; and fate never fails to administer a righteous justice in this collection of 23 contemporary horror stories. Brown ( The Walking Trees ), a professional storyteller who lists National Public Radio among her performing credits, deftly retains an oral quality in these short tales. Her quirky imagination and macabre sense of humor lead the reader on eerie, atavistic journeys, sometimes concluding with an O. Henry-like twist. While the stories lose a bit of their effectiveness on paper, they are tailor-made for reading aloud--on nights, say, when the moon is hidden and unknown things are bumping about. (Aug.)