Flint Kill Creek: Stories of Mystery and Suspense

National Book Award winner Oates (Butcher) returns with a disturbing collection of 12 short stories featuring ordinary people whose lives descend into the unsettling and macabre. In “***,” a mysterious inscription on a day calendar prompts a man to visit his childhood home, where he discovers a deeply mystifying past. “Flint Kill Creek” follows anxious, insecure Inga, who loses her life on the banks of a roaring stream, perhaps—or perhaps not—at the hands of her lover. In unnamed towns, a distressed bone marrow donor undergoes surgery; a “nice” girl finds her older sister clinging to life after an overdose; and a newly married woman realizes that her husband is not all he seems. Narrator Kelli Tager offers a vivid performance of Oates’s stories, expressively bringing forth every emotion, from fear to anger to uncertainty. Tager’s attention to pacing is exceptional and will keep listeners on the edge of their seats.