Joe Gores: Speak of the Devil (UK 2015)

From the Publisher:
Joe Gores collects here fourteen stories spanning the five decades of his varied writing career. In the title story, two bright young scientists set out to prove there is no good-dispensing God by demonstrating that there is no evil-dispensing Satan - with unforeseen results.

Sneaking onto an anti-terrorism course for law enforcement officers produced 'Watch For It', featuring an urban terrorist who is clever, manipulative and without pity. A childhood spent around the Mississippi marshes informs 'Quit Screaming', putting a Miami mobster into a midnight swamp where he buried a man he murdered.

'Sleep the Big Sleep' sees a nerdy dreamer finally get his chance, inspired by a photo taken of the author for the cover of a crime magazine. And 'Goodbye, Pops', which won an Edgar Award, is based on a story written by the author while at college, on the death of his beloved grandfather.

Joe Gores: Speak of the Devil. 14 Tales of Crimes and their Punishments. Orion Books / The Murder Room, ISBN: 9781471917660 (May, 2015), eBook, 0.58 MB (240 p.),£4.99.

Joe Gores: Speak of the Devil (USA 1999)

From the Publisher:
Three-time Edgar Award-winning author Joe Gores has collected fourteen stories that span the five decades of his varied writing career. In the title story, which was inspired by a high school religion lesson, a pair of bright, cynical young scientists set out to prove there is no good-dispensing God by proving there is no evil-dispensing Satan -- with unforeseen results.

Sneaking into an anti-terrorist course for law enforcement officers produced "Watch For It," the tale of an urban terrorist who is clever, cruel, amoral, manipulative, and utterly without pity. A childhood spent around the Mississippi River marshes informed "Quit Screaming," which puts a Miami mobster into a midnight swamp where he had buried a man he murdered.

"Sleep the Big Sleep," about a nerdy dreamer who finally gets his chance, was built around a photo done of the author for the cover of a crime magazine. And "Goodbye, Pops," which won an Edgar Award, is an oft-rewritten tale based on an angry little story written by the author while he was away at college, on the death of his beloved grandfather.

Joe Gores: Speak of the Devil. 14 Tales of Crimes and their Punishments. Five Star, ISBN: 078622035X (September, 1999), 220 p., $21.95.