Hendricks' talent shines brightly in this excellent short story collection. No matter what the subject matter, the writing draws you in. The voice is pitched perfectly. The tone and the pace couldn't be smoother. And there are absolutely no clunkers in this bunch. And there are subjects here you never thought you'd enjoy reading about-- including a tender tale of bestiality, a story of a squatter, the dating habits of Siamese (aka conjoined) twins, strippers in the monkey house, the adventures of mighty Iguana Man, a one-armed alligator, sixteen different kinds of trailer park double indemnity and more. Are all these people slightly twisted or is this just what goes on in the backwoods of Florida? There is in these tales a sense of irony and the sardonic whether it's the iguana dressed for a formal ball or the fact that somehow these people's desperate schemes never really seem to work out quite the way they thought they would. These are not dark takes, however. There is a brightness to them. ( )