Cops, Crooks & Other Stories in 100 Words by Mark S. Bacon, a Mysterious Review.

Review: 101 tales of Cops, Crooks and Other Stories in 100 Words are presented in this collection of flash fiction by Mark S. Bacon.

Given the title, crime may seem to be the primary focus of this collection, but many of the stories, indeed possibly the majority of them, do not have an obvious criminal element included in the plot. For the most part they feature ordinary people going about their everyday lives doing ordinary things … but with a twist. Regardless, it is rather remarkable that the author is able to introduce a cast of characters, set a stage for them to act upon, and play out a scenario — sometimes involving cops and crooks — in which something unexpected happens, all in exactly 100 words.

(To illustrate how short these stories are, the preceding paragraph is exactly 100 words, excluding punctuation. It's harder to accomplish than one might think.)

Possibly best suited for readers who have a few idle minutes to spare but don't have time for even a Patterson-length chapter, the stories in Cops, Crooks and Other Stories in 100 Words aren't exactly memorable fiction, but they are entertaining in the moment. And that's probably the whole idea behind the concept.

Acknowledgment: the author provided a copy of Cops, Crooks & Other Stories in 100 Words for this review.

Cops, Crooks & Other Stories in 100 Words

A Collection of Flash Fiction by Mark S. Bacon