What do you think?
The Big Baby Crime Spree and Other Delusions
Novelist Christine Sneed writes that the stories in Darrin Doyle’s new collection “are full of rich, complicated characters and unique, unusual situations. The dark humor and pathos in these highly imaginative stories reminded me of the brilliant films of David Lynch. If Lynch wrote short fiction, it would doubtless lurk in the same neighborhood as Darrin Doyle’s.” These five stories take us into the delusional minds of characters who are living on the edge (of society, of sanity, of presentability). Ultimately, their needs and desires feel surprisingly, disconcertingly familiar, but we’re confronted in each case with an otherness of perspective that remains unsettling and reminds us of the ordinary distances between people and the difficulty of understanding even ourselves.
108 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2021
About the author
Darrin Doyle
11 books60 followersDarrin Doyle is the author of the novella Let Gravity Seize the Dead (Regal House), the novels The Beast in Aisle 34 (Tortoise Books), The Girl Who Ate Kalamazoo (St. Martin’s Press), and Revenge of the Teacher’s Pet: A Love Story (LSU Press), and the short story collections The Big Baby Crime Spree and Other Delusions (Wolfson Press), The Dark Will End the Dark, and Scoundrels Among Us (Tortoise Books). He lives in Mount Pleasant, Michigan and teaches at Central Michigan University.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 26, 2021
Full Review
Darrin Doyle has an eye for the tragic and the absurd, conveying them in an unpretentious manner that makes for a very engaging read. He presents characters in sad, disturbing, and senseless situations and shows them dealing with them in ways that elicit empathy and laughter. They dream big, some in ways that may be so strange as to border delusional, but are brought down by the cruelty of reality. As odd as many of the situations in the book are, they maintain an emotional verisimilitude. While I didn’t like this book as much as Scoundrels Among Us, it’s still an excellent display of Doyle’s ability as a storyteller that I highly recommend. I very much look forward to his future work.
Darrin Doyle has an eye for the tragic and the absurd, conveying them in an unpretentious manner that makes for a very engaging read. He presents characters in sad, disturbing, and senseless situations and shows them dealing with them in ways that elicit empathy and laughter. They dream big, some in ways that may be so strange as to border delusional, but are brought down by the cruelty of reality. As odd as many of the situations in the book are, they maintain an emotional verisimilitude. While I didn’t like this book as much as Scoundrels Among Us, it’s still an excellent display of Doyle’s ability as a storyteller that I highly recommend. I very much look forward to his future work.
January 28, 2021
I finished this one up yesterday and it is a tiny collection of short stories that sure packs a big punch! Here Doyle shares 5 stories in only about 100 pages and the cover is a good indicator of the fascinating oddities which lie within.
What impressed me and stuck with me most about these stories is how they are each centered on very true-to-life scenarios ... but with a unsettling twist, an element that goes just a few steps too far.
A few examples ...
📖In “The Baby Doll” a man loads his wife and child up for a trip to see her parents, while he stays behind at home working on the ad jingles he is trying so desperately to sell ... and engaging in an illicit affair with a young co-worker which strangely intersects with the discovery of a talking doll in the basement.
📖 In “The Odds” a young man has a penchant for gambling that supports him financially but which also may end up being a matter of life and death.
Short stories as an art form have been growing on me over the past year, in no small part due to Lori Hettler who has sent amazingly unique collections like this one my way. Thank you for the gifted copy, Lori! If you are looking for something different and a bit unsettling in the best way, check out THE BIG BABY CRIME SPREE AND OTHER DELUSIONS, out March 1st from Woodson Press!
What impressed me and stuck with me most about these stories is how they are each centered on very true-to-life scenarios ... but with a unsettling twist, an element that goes just a few steps too far.
A few examples ...
📖In “The Baby Doll” a man loads his wife and child up for a trip to see her parents, while he stays behind at home working on the ad jingles he is trying so desperately to sell ... and engaging in an illicit affair with a young co-worker which strangely intersects with the discovery of a talking doll in the basement.
📖 In “The Odds” a young man has a penchant for gambling that supports him financially but which also may end up being a matter of life and death.
Short stories as an art form have been growing on me over the past year, in no small part due to Lori Hettler who has sent amazingly unique collections like this one my way. Thank you for the gifted copy, Lori! If you are looking for something different and a bit unsettling in the best way, check out THE BIG BABY CRIME SPREE AND OTHER DELUSIONS, out March 1st from Woodson Press!
February 28, 2021
The Big Baby Crime Spree and Other Delusions by Darrin Doyle was the weirdest book of short stories I've ever read (in a good way.)
The collection is part of the American Storytellers Series at Wolfson Press. This series promotes genres of writing that have been neglected by major publishing houses (short stories, novellas, short memoir, and the literary essay, for example.)
There are five stories in the collection; the book overall clocks in at just under 100 pages. I blew through it in a couple of hours. If you're looking for something quick to read, this is definitely a great pick. The stories themselves aren't too long; it's a perfect read if you're a busy person looking for something you can put down and pick back up rather than read straight through.
This book has murder, affairs, and a plot to kidnap babies from a hospital, among other nefarious acts.
My favorite story was "The Baby Doll." At the beginning of the story, the main character sees his wife and four-month-old child off as they go on a trip to Michigan. The main character then gets together with his mistress. He starts to feel guilty and decides to end it with his mistress. Only, she won't go away. We later find out she's been murdered. But by whom?
Aside from the plot, Doyle wrote some beautiful lines that stuck with me. This particular passage from "The Odds" grabbed me:
"I’ve never seen these things as 'bad luck.' They were just occurrences that affected a small group of people within a certain radius. I view life as a big pond, where it’s raining. I’m in a certain area of the pond. The rain is what happens to me, what happens to people around me. Sometimes it sprinkles, sometimes it pours. The raindrops make ripples. We feel these ripples when they hit us, we feel turbulence. At times the ripples overlap so we’re feeling turbulence compounded by other turbulence, but nobody feels everything that's going on in that pond."
That one made me stop and think for a moment. Doyle sprinkles these beautiful passages throughout the stories which is one of the main reasons I love this collection so much.
These stories can be a bit strange at times. There is one story wherein the main character draws countless images of a naked dead woman (who isn't actually dead;) he's haunted by her day in and day out. She makes tons of weird phone calls to him, there's a bodyguard guy who might shoot him at one point...that story was a lot to process all at once. But, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it!
Overall, I'd give this collection four out of five stars. And it releases tomorrow (March 1, 2021)! I encourage you to pick up a copy.
The collection is part of the American Storytellers Series at Wolfson Press. This series promotes genres of writing that have been neglected by major publishing houses (short stories, novellas, short memoir, and the literary essay, for example.)
There are five stories in the collection; the book overall clocks in at just under 100 pages. I blew through it in a couple of hours. If you're looking for something quick to read, this is definitely a great pick. The stories themselves aren't too long; it's a perfect read if you're a busy person looking for something you can put down and pick back up rather than read straight through.
This book has murder, affairs, and a plot to kidnap babies from a hospital, among other nefarious acts.
My favorite story was "The Baby Doll." At the beginning of the story, the main character sees his wife and four-month-old child off as they go on a trip to Michigan. The main character then gets together with his mistress. He starts to feel guilty and decides to end it with his mistress. Only, she won't go away. We later find out she's been murdered. But by whom?
Aside from the plot, Doyle wrote some beautiful lines that stuck with me. This particular passage from "The Odds" grabbed me:
"I’ve never seen these things as 'bad luck.' They were just occurrences that affected a small group of people within a certain radius. I view life as a big pond, where it’s raining. I’m in a certain area of the pond. The rain is what happens to me, what happens to people around me. Sometimes it sprinkles, sometimes it pours. The raindrops make ripples. We feel these ripples when they hit us, we feel turbulence. At times the ripples overlap so we’re feeling turbulence compounded by other turbulence, but nobody feels everything that's going on in that pond."
That one made me stop and think for a moment. Doyle sprinkles these beautiful passages throughout the stories which is one of the main reasons I love this collection so much.
These stories can be a bit strange at times. There is one story wherein the main character draws countless images of a naked dead woman (who isn't actually dead;) he's haunted by her day in and day out. She makes tons of weird phone calls to him, there's a bodyguard guy who might shoot him at one point...that story was a lot to process all at once. But, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it!
Overall, I'd give this collection four out of five stars. And it releases tomorrow (March 1, 2021)! I encourage you to pick up a copy.
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October 31, 2020So thrilled to be working with Darrin to promote his newest collection! If you're not already familiar with Darrin, this book will make you a fan! Reach out via DM if you're interested in reviewing this collection or interviewing Darrin!
December 4, 2020
Review of this wacky little book forthcoming in Southern Review of Books.
December 4, 2020
1.5/5 stars.
ARC review: **Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
The Big Baby Crime Spree and Other Delusions is a compilation of five short horror stories in relation to family, relationships and what you do when things go awry.
Unfortunately I did not enjoy reading this novel as much as I hope I would. I’m all for reading a suspense and horror story as long as there’s also the good parts of storytelling – character empathy, clear writing and direction etc. With some of the stories in this novel I struggled to find these things to grasp onto. I struggled with the writing of this book and how the thoughts were convoluted or unfinished. Most of the time I understood the plotline but had no connection with the characters.
Most of these stories do not finish or have a concrete ending, but hang open for you to interpret and ponder on.
The Kaleidoscope was a story I did enjoy the premise of, however there was no conflict, and the story also cut off with no climax, making you wonder where the point of the story was. However, I did enjoy the very human reaction that the character has to the news revealed to him, and his further awkwardness in not knowing what to do with the situation.
The Baby Doll was a very strange story that ended in the middle of the action with not much sight of resolution, and I was left confused but without the ’wanting to know more’ feeling you have from a good cliff-hanger.
The Art of the Dead was the story I struggled with the most. The constant quotes and references did not seem to have any connection while reading, and they broke up the flow. The constant references to Death were confusing and had me very lost in relation to the characters; I did not understand what was happening or who the characters were, how they related to the protagonist or their motivations. The writing was confusing and it lacked clear direction or clarity on events/characters/thoughts. The following sentence is an example of how the story is filled with too many adjectives and descriptive language to make sense:
“ “I’ve never modeled,” she says. Her eyes are canisters of worry, fear, and hopes of string-free, acid-soaked sex with a local legend. I swipe, swipe, swipe – my initial attack, my mountain-lion-on-the-sheep-of-the-canvas method, my decade-without-a-father fury – and the colors morph into an orderly nonsense before my eyes.”
The Odds was written better and the character’s reasoning was well explained.
The Big Baby Crime Spree is the last story of this book and really left me with the feeling that I wasn’t too impressed with these stories on a whole. The writing didn’t let us get used to the characters, and there are gaps in the plot that we are expected to fill that don’t make sense.
In reading these stories I also struggled with the language and the way the characters almost all felt the same throughout the stories, there’s no change of voice in each protagonist.
ARC review: **Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
The Big Baby Crime Spree and Other Delusions is a compilation of five short horror stories in relation to family, relationships and what you do when things go awry.
Unfortunately I did not enjoy reading this novel as much as I hope I would. I’m all for reading a suspense and horror story as long as there’s also the good parts of storytelling – character empathy, clear writing and direction etc. With some of the stories in this novel I struggled to find these things to grasp onto. I struggled with the writing of this book and how the thoughts were convoluted or unfinished. Most of the time I understood the plotline but had no connection with the characters.
Most of these stories do not finish or have a concrete ending, but hang open for you to interpret and ponder on.
The Kaleidoscope was a story I did enjoy the premise of, however there was no conflict, and the story also cut off with no climax, making you wonder where the point of the story was. However, I did enjoy the very human reaction that the character has to the news revealed to him, and his further awkwardness in not knowing what to do with the situation.
The Baby Doll was a very strange story that ended in the middle of the action with not much sight of resolution, and I was left confused but without the ’wanting to know more’ feeling you have from a good cliff-hanger.
The Art of the Dead was the story I struggled with the most. The constant quotes and references did not seem to have any connection while reading, and they broke up the flow. The constant references to Death were confusing and had me very lost in relation to the characters; I did not understand what was happening or who the characters were, how they related to the protagonist or their motivations. The writing was confusing and it lacked clear direction or clarity on events/characters/thoughts. The following sentence is an example of how the story is filled with too many adjectives and descriptive language to make sense:
“ “I’ve never modeled,” she says. Her eyes are canisters of worry, fear, and hopes of string-free, acid-soaked sex with a local legend. I swipe, swipe, swipe – my initial attack, my mountain-lion-on-the-sheep-of-the-canvas method, my decade-without-a-father fury – and the colors morph into an orderly nonsense before my eyes.”
The Odds was written better and the character’s reasoning was well explained.
The Big Baby Crime Spree is the last story of this book and really left me with the feeling that I wasn’t too impressed with these stories on a whole. The writing didn’t let us get used to the characters, and there are gaps in the plot that we are expected to fill that don’t make sense.
In reading these stories I also struggled with the language and the way the characters almost all felt the same throughout the stories, there’s no change of voice in each protagonist.
December 30, 2022
Doyle is at the top of his game in this collection. There’s a character who bets on whether his grandmother will survive a surgery. Another asserts she can make a complete outfit out of four square feet of burlap. The premises of these stories are sly and jaw-dropping. The sentences are like those super sharp knives that are better for you because they cut quicker and cleaner. Characters behave badly but with such sophisticated daftness that it’s somehow all good. Extremely funny and emotionally resonant. I love these stories.
May 6, 2023
Doyle's writing continues to produce the invasive feeling that he can see inside of me, which is truly a credit to his skill. I love his characters, his dialogue, his insight, how he connects ideas together. His writing is intoxicating, I am throwing my book across the room and cackling and crumpling in on myself. I feel one thousand things. I am thankful writing like this exists.
May 11, 2021
Characterization: 3/5.
Writing Style: 3/5.
Thematic Potency: 4/5.
Pacing: 3/5.
Verdict: 3/5. Wicked to the core. Just be prepared to trek across some winding prose to reach the heart of the stories.
Writing Style: 3/5.
Thematic Potency: 4/5.
Pacing: 3/5.
Verdict: 3/5. Wicked to the core. Just be prepared to trek across some winding prose to reach the heart of the stories.
January 21, 2022
Full of my favorite type of absurd humor and ridiculous plotlines!
February 26, 2021
I received an Arc in exchange for a review and was pleasantly surprised by quality of the storytelling. Definitely a title I’d apply the classic, “don’t judge a book by its cover”; it’s that bad. I loved the well edited erasure the most.
TBD
TBD
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews