Things You Need by Kevin Lucia
A traveling salesman who is closer to the end of his road than he realizes finds himself in Clifton Heights, a quiet little town that teeters uneasily between Norman Rockwell quaint....and someplace else. Where shadows whisper and familiar streets lead to places that aren't on any map.
Weary in heart and soul, on the verge of suicide, he's compelled to drive the night streets, seeking something he can't name.
What he finds is Handy's Pawn and Thrift. A cluttered little shop with the sign "We Have Things You Need".
Along with things he didn't want to know.
Kevin Lucia weaves eight tales into the shadowy mosaic of Handy's Pawn and Thrift, a dark night of the soul for a man whose travels have brought him to the end of one line...and the beginning of another in Clifton Heights.
A pure pleasure to read, Lucia's Clifton Heights stories deserve comparison to Charles L. Grant's Oxrun Station tales.
Highly recommended.
