Dubus is often seen as a master of the short form. Individual struggles with moral consequences play in all the stories. The best story is Rose, which tells the story of a woman confessing her worst sin to a man at a bar. She is the focus of a lot of town gossip and, as usual, most of the gossip only has one element of the whole story right. When she finally disgorges the whole story, it's worse than anything the gossip could have inspired. And it marks her as a truly tragic figure, but one who no one but her confessor will ever truly know. That lonely weight carries throughout all the stories in one way or another. Another good story here is a mystery over the murder of a local attorney. When the town drunk is accused, another attorney reluctantly investigates. It's a modest procedural with a moralistic ending. The stories are good, but not good enough for me to want more from Dubus.

3 1/2 bones!!! ( )

I was a huge Dubus fan in my 30s. He was a man, writing for men, without the macho bullshit. ( )