Like a Charm
A Novel in Voices
By Karin Slaughter

     The dark, haunting cover of Like a Charm foreshadows the disturbing malevolence that seeps from its pages. The voices of these collaborating authors are sinister, and every author is well-known in the mystery/suspense genre. But before you drop $21.95 for this book, be aware that these are not stories of murder and intrigue, but of death and misery. In fact, they remind me of the kind of short stories that are required reading in college English classes -- odd characters, titillating content, and a startling revelation or action. Like a Charm offers up some odd, even frightening characters along with all the rest. These stories reach the depths of obsession, insanity, and sin to show the deep, dark, even perverse sides of their characters, chilling readers to the core.

      The stories take place in America and England at various times in history, and each chapter and each life is linked to a certain charm. The first story -- an erotic tale -- shows how a bracelet is cursed. Donoghue’s “Vanitas” is the key charm. A young girl finds the bracelet in her late cousin’s belongings and unlocks the cause of the woman's death. This story is less intense than the others, but holds its own sadness. Another one is Peter Robinson’s “Cornelius Jubb.” The charm here takes the shape of a tiger, and the story reads like a detective mystery.

      Like a Charm is for readers who like their stories dark, explicit, and sometimes bizarre.