Dolphin Junction: Collected Stories

The 11 entries in British author Herron’s first story collection offer wit, original metaphors, surprising plots, and seemingly placid scenes full of sinister undercurrents. Highlights include the seamlessly constructed title story, in which a man can’t convince the police that his missing wife has been abducted, and the wonderfully deceptive “Lost Luggage,” in which a young couple stop at a motorway service station and engage in a bit of people watching. “All the Livelong Day” elegantly teases back layers of expectation that lead readers from a simple hike through dramatic countryside to claustrophobic horror. Four stories feature Herron’s Oxford private investigators, Zoë Boehm and Joe Silvermann. In one of them, “Proof of Love,” each of the detectives confronts—in their own very different ways—a blackmailer. The distant past of MI5 spymaster Jackson Lamb, another of Herron’s series characters, is poignantly explored in “The Last Dead Letter.” Herron (This Is What Happened), who has received CWA Gold and Steel Dagger awards, is sure to win new fans with this one. Agent: Juliet Burton, Juliet Burton Literary (U.K.). (Nov.)