From the author of DESERT PLACES and LOCKED DOORS comes this 40,000-word collection of six stories and novellas. PERFECT LITTLE TOWN – Ron and Jessica Stahl are a power couple from California, on a Christmas holiday in Colorado. When they stop for the afternoon in sleepy Lone Cone, they’re charmed by the quaint tourist town. But the folksy hospitality will vanish as the sun drops behind the mountains. The Stahls couldn’t have picked a worse night of the year to get snowed into this perfect little town with a dark, dark secret. SERIAL – The classic horror short I wrote with J.A. Konrath, in which we turn our attention to the twin golden rules of hitchhiking: # 1: Don’t go hitchhiking, because the driver who picks you up could be certifiably crazy. # 2: Don’t pick up hitchhikers, because the traveler you pick up could be a raving nutcase. So what if, on some dark, isolated road, Crazy #1 offered a ride to Nutcase #2? THE NEWTON BOYS’ LAST PHOTOGRAPH – At 25 words, the shortest story I ever wrote. But it packs a wallop. THE METEOROLOGIST – Peter, a disgraced meteorologist and chronic wanderer, has traveled the country for years in his Winnebago, in search of the only thing that gives his life meaning. He’s just arrived in the middle of nowhere—Hokie, Kansas—for the same purpose, but when he meets a waitress named Melanie, another sufferer, he’s faced not only with his first real human contact in years, but perhaps someone who can save him. UNCONDITIONAL – A conversation between two people—devastating, tragic, and beautiful. THE PAIN OF OTHERS – Letty Dobesh, a gorgeous, degenerate thief, is fresh out of the clink and back to her old tricks—in this case, burglarizing suites at a luxury hotel in Asheville, North Carolina. But when she’s surprised by returning guests on her last room of the day, she’s forced to hide in the closet to avoid getting caught, and inadvertently overhears a hitman being contracted to murder the wife of a wealthy lawyer. SIX IN THE CYLINDER also contains introductions to each story by the author, an interview with Blake, excerpts from all four of his novels, and an excerpt of “The Walk” by Lee Goldberg. About the Author: BLAKE CROUCH was born near the piedmont town of Statesville, North Carolina in 1978. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated in 2000 with degrees in English and Creative Writing. Blake is the author of four novels and numerous short stories, including “Serial” which he co-wrote with J.A. Konrath and has been downloaded more than 300,000 times. He lives with his family in southwest Colorado, where he is at work on a new book. His website is www.blakecrouch.com. Praise for Blake Crouch’s ABANDON: ABANDON [is] two separate works of past and present seamlessly melded together into a single novel that demands to be read in one sitting, so you can better appreciate the beauty of Crouch’s storytelling…[O]ne of those books that almost instantly puts you in the mind of a classic. BOOKREPORTER Ambitious…the palpable suspense just keeps building, and many thriller fans—especially those who like a touch of horror—will lose sleep to find out how it all ends. BOOKLIST ABANDON is terrific…a great storyteller hitting his stride. LEE CHILD