Twisters

A good idea for an anthology --- fifteen sinister stories (most of them American in origin) each with a twist in the tail. The additional twist skilfully provided by the editor is that five of them are very short (Robert Kurosaka's A Lot to Learn is only the length of a sick joke) and four only about five pages. Tailor-made to entrap the reluctant. The longer stories are more traditional exercises in suspense, mystery and murder from Patricia Highsmith and Julian Symons --- to name but two. The twists are nicely varied --- some raise a smile, others a shudder and some of the stories invite involvement and speculation. The Man who Could Turn Back the Clock, for example, actually provides alternative endings. The whole has obvious potential for the English classroom. A pity the cover bears no relation to the content of any of the stories.