Bruce Von Stiers

Sometimes husbands and wives work well together. In the case of Max Allan and Barbara Collins, sometimes they even collaborate on writing projects. Such is the case of a book that I just read. The title of the book is Murder-His and Hers: Short Stories. The book features stories by both Barbara Collins and her husband, Max Allan Collins. The book was published by Five Star.

The book has nine stories in it. Four of them are from Barbara. Three of them were from Max Allan and two of them were written by both of them. The book also includes an Introduction from Max Allan and a separate one from Barbara.

The first story is Eddie Haskell in a Short Skirt. This story was written by both authors. Becky Knight is a guest of the Polk County Prison. She is accused of killing one of her best friends. Becky is a partner in an investigations firm with her father. The story unfolds as a series of flashbacks as Becky’s dad Sam tries to find out who actually killed the victim.

Dead and Breakfast is reminiscent of the Alfred Hitchcock shows on television. A couple with a small boy can’t find a hotel room and are forced to take refuge at a bed and breakfast establishment. There is something not quite right about this place. The proprietor is kind of eerie and some of the tenants are grumpy. A late night disappearance and an interesting breakfast conversation make this a macabre story. It was written by Barbara.

Cat’s-Eye Witness is about Pierce Hartwell and his attempt to conceal the true circumstances of his wife’s death. This story is from Max.

Next up is Reunion Queen, a story from Barbara. This story surrounds a fifteenth high school reunion. A once homely girl is now a beautiful woman. She has her eyes set on something, but what is it? In this story you find that revenge can indeed be very sweet. Anyone who hates high school reunions should really enjoy this story.

In the next story, Inconvience Store, Max gives us a private investigator who is several months pregnant. Michael Tree might sound like a man’ name but she is a very pregnant PI. A chance trip to a convience store down the street from her house lands Michael right in the middle of a robbery. This is more of a suspense story than a mystery.

Seeing Red is a very sideways look at road rage from Barbara. Catgate could have been pulled from the headlines as Max shows us just what lengths a member of the Senate will take to conceal something. A couple of twists and turns prove that nothing goes unpunished. With World’s Greatest Mother, Barbara takes a peek into domestic violence and murder.

The last story in the book is A Cruise to Forget. This story was written by both Barbara and Max. It involves Anthony and Margaret Vane. Anthony tries to get some medication for Margaret from the ship’s doctor. It seems that the couple is on a cruise. A little later Margaret disappears, apparently having fallen overboard. Or did she? Is there a witness? There just might be . Cora Hazen is on the same cruise. Cora has a secret that most people don’t know about. Her daughter is on the cruise with her is trying to help Cora out.

Murder His and Hers is a small volume that is packed with entertaining and interesting stories. It is nice to see a husband and wife being able to work together and bring the public something worth reading. The stories are short and well written. All of them with the exception of A Cruise to Forget have appeared in other works like Deadly Allies II and Vengeance is Hers.

Look for this book on Amazon.com or at the FiveStar web site. It can be found at www.galegroup.com/fivestar.