The Best of Intentions and Other Stories: And Other Stories

In his third collection of stories, former band leader Shaw ( The Trouble with Cinderella ) has made every effort to present interesting characters: two members of a Navy band stand on deck during a rainstorm and discuss the possibilities of raising giant bullfrogs after WW II ends; Joe Kuback, ``owner of a combination delicatessen-lunchroom in Kenosha, Wisconsin,'' sells his business and goes off to Hollywood with plans to marry Bette Davis. Unfortunately, Shaw's hard authorial labor is all too apparent, and believability is stretched to its limits. In the title piece, Buddy Ross, having just lost $200 in a poker game, is mugged at gunpoint; he strikes up a conversation with the enormous thug and arranges to meet him the next night at a bar and buy back his own, stolen property. Readers will probably tire of these shenanigans, although Shaw proves his mettle in ``Snow White in Harlem,'' relating the adventures of a young, white jazz musician. (Sept.)