The Meaning of Blood: and Other Tales of Perversity

Fifteen tales of dark, transgressive fiction for fans of Elmore Leonard, Chuck Palahniuk, and Edgar Allan Poe.

In the Pacific Northwest, a sex robot helps a jealous wife reevaluate her relationship with her husband; in the Tennessee hills of 19th-century America, a zealous preacher forces a faithless man to demonstrate his devotion to God; and in the brothels of an Old West settlement town, a family discovers the true meaning of blood.

In The Meaning of Blood: and Other Tales of Perversity, award-winning author and Edgar Allan Poe scholar Chuck Caruso combines his deep roots in the American Gothic with his own contemporary sense of macabre humor. These 15 stories of dark fiction range from crime thrillers to western noir to grotesque horror. Each twisted tale displays Caruso's unique blend of wry prose, feverish storytelling, and tragically flawed characters discovering that even the most innocent encounter can lead to death. Or sex. Or both.