A review by jdhacker
Obscene Folklore by Mer Whinery, Mer Whinery

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.75

This collection brings together many of Whinery's shorter works set in and around his Coffin Mills area of Oklahoma. Some of these have appeared in his own collections previously, some in sundry other anthologies, and a few are new to Obscene Folklore.
If you're already a fan, you'll find familiar work to enjoy here as well as new work to delight. If you're new to his work, this can be a good introduction as it demonstrates a nice cross section of Whinery's strengths. "The Hungry Boy" shows how deftly he can write in a voice as distinctive from his own as that of a very young, lovesick girl (with a nice, never quite revealed, twist involving her grandmother). "The Loved Ones", not to be associated with the amazing movie of the same name, is a rare venture into science fiction for Whinery. A number of these stories are doing some great world building around his Coffin Mills/Black Knot/Lavera/Bava universe. "Little Red Tent at the Edge of the Woods" connects to a real world tragedy in a really interesting way. And "The Tenth Life" feels like a good old fashioned fairy tale more than anything