The Trees Grew Because I Bled There: Collected Stories

In this collection of eight horror shorts, LaRocca (Things Have Gotten Worse Since Last We Spoke) displays his signature style of rendering grotesque and brutal subject matter in exquisite prose. It starts strong, with the one-two punch of emotional heavy hitter “You Follow Wherever They Go” followed by “Bodies Are for Burning,” which takes readers into the disturbing mind of a woman whose thoughts are consumed by a desire to light the people around her on fire. The standout is the title story, in which a toxic relationship takes a mental and physical toll on the involved couple. LaRocca falters slightly with “You’re Not Supposed to Be Here,” which is reminiscent of the Saw movie franchise, and the lackluster “Where Flames Burned Emerald as Grass.” Still, the visceral depictions of unhinged psyches (“Suddenly, the thought arrives to me like a canine beckoned by a whistle. I imagine pressing a lighter against the small child’s index finger, holding the flame there until her pink skin bursts open and crinkles like a tube of blood sausage”) and unflinching body horror throughout will please LaRocca’s fans—and ought to earn him some new ones. (Mar.)