Cupid Shot Me, edited by Frank Butterfield and Meg Perry

[Ulysses]

Cupid Shot Me: Valentine Tales of Love, Mystery & Suspense
Edited by Frank W. Butterfield and Meg Perry
Published by the editors, 2022
Five stars

I’ve been putting off writing this review because it’s so complicated. Anthologies are always difficult, and this is a large and especially rich one, making it harder still. The real answer is to let the stories speak for themselves, as well as the fine introduction by Michael Nava, which really explains why you need to read this book: the quality of the stories and the writing. This is a rich sampler of the less romantic side of contemporary gay fiction. Every single story is a gem of narrative and prose. As Nava points out, short stories are harder than novels, because to be good, they have to have everything the reader wants packed into a relatively small space.

I know the books of all of these authors except for Meg Perry, an oversight I’ll correct soon. Each work in the anthology exemplifies the skill and art of its maker. I found myself freaked out and moved to tears, with occasional laughter. It’s a hugely diverse offering, while at the same time surprisingly coherent. The compiling editors did a fantastic job.

Gregory Ashe’s “Responsible Adults” sets a misleadingly light tone, with his Hazard and Somerset duo chaperoning a high school prom. It is funny and fast-paced, with only flickers of darkness that call to mind the potential for real tragedy. This is the only story in the book that doesn’t deal with a violent death.

“Glen & Tyler Skip Dessert” by J.B. Sanders, “Cabbage Key” by Neil Plakcy, and “Roses are Dead” by Mark Zubro are classic whodunnit stories, each delicious with the narrative flavorings that make the authors’ distinctive style.

On the other hand “Paper Hearts” by Mark McNease, “I’ve Been Inside Your House” by Rick R. Reed, and “Paris” by Marko Realmonte are more psychologically unnerving. McNease delivers up a poignant tale of an aging man thinking back on a lost love; while Reed’s is more of a tale of arrogant youth brought up short by the real dangers of the world. Realmonte’s story completely threw me, a testament to his clever writing worthy of Alfred Hitchcock. A young widower tries to recapture a past happiness, but finds something he could never have imagined.

“This Thing of Darkness” by Greg Herren left me shuddering. There is a flawless logic in its carefully-crafted narrative, but the title is suggestive, so take heed. Brad Shreve’s “Bound to Love” is not quite so dark, but it left me disquieted with its unflinching portrayal of a side of gay life entirely alien to me.

“Speed Murder” by Meg Perry lightens things up, but leaves the reader with a reminder of the realities of being a gay cop, even in a world seething with change. “Let’s Fall in Love” by Frank W. Butterfield, like the first story in the collection, is amusing and filled with love, even when murder enters the room. It was nice to end this anthological adventure on a warm note, as much as I enjoyed the chills that preceded it.