Blood Lite

This toothsome anthology of 21 funny-scary stories from members of the Horror Writers Association arrives just in time for Halloween. On the humorous end, Matt Venne's “Elvis Presley and the Bloodsucker Blues” recreates Presley's voice with pitch perfect swagger and sets the record straight on how he really died, while Charlaine Harris's “An Evening with Al Gore” depicts a novel way to deal with environmental criminals; both tales are truly outstanding. In a creepier vein, Steven Savile's “Dear Prudence” finds a conflicted man repeatedly revising a note where he details gory plans for his significant other, and Nancy Holder's “I Know Who You Ate Last Summer” features stomach-churning “rock star cannibals.” Big names like Jim Butcher and Sherrilyn Kenyon will have comic horror fans grabbing this anthology off the shelves. (Oct.)