Reviewed by Beverly J. Rowe, MyShelf.Com
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The blurb on the back cover of this book of short stories by Michael Hoffman calls them "somewhere between fantasy and reality." They are not fantasy in the usual sense. The only descriptive word I can think of for these stories is: disturbing.

A family is touring Bangkok, when suddenly their young son disappears. "Officer Bill," the helpful policeman, is certain that they will find him...but will they? He can't have just disappeared into thin air, can he? A very ordinary professor unexpectedly finds that his younger brother is a famous rock idol...and he is pursued by fans and his personal demons. A man is falsely accused of sexually assaulting a young girl...but why is he increasingly feeling guilty?

Hoffman is a very talented storyteller; his prose is lyrical and flowing, drawing you effortlessly into the story, but the stories are not what they seem to be. Reality becomes slightly skewed, and yet it isn't possible to say exactly what that reality is. The characters and places are familiar and at the same time strange. I was caught by surprise at the obscure endings, with dark issues confronting me that I really had to stop reading to think over. Not many books have that effect on me.

I highly recommend this book for readers that are looking for something new and unusual in which to lose themselves. I'm definitely a fan, and will have my antennae tuned to this writer for future works.