Chris Rhatigan has been making a big splash in the world of fiction. He specialises in short fiction and is a real craftsman of the art.

Not only does he put out great work, he's a reviewer and an editor and this puts him at the cutting edge. He's behind Death By Killing, he's the editor at All Due Respect, he's central to Crimeficwriters and he co-edited Pulp Ink.

What I admire in this collection (Watch You Drown) is two-fold. First of all, it's lean and stripped of the unnecessary yet remains juicy and plump at the same time. The stories a rich and the worlds have all the dimensions I could want as a reader.

The second reason is connected with his diversity - the themes, voices, territories and genres are really varied as is the length; he can thrill with a piece of micro-fiction, flash and short without faltering or losing his edge in any of these formats.

It's a really poweful mix you'll find here and I hope that your prepared to jump into its icy waters (for dark and chilled they mainly are) - I guarantee that you'll be woken up with a start and that you'll be diving straight back for more.

Only negative for me is the cover - and that's not the way I judge a book, no way.

Superb and super-cheap.