The accidents in the book, or many of them, are cribbed from the Darwin awards and similar places. I find this sort of thing fun, because I don't remember the anecdotes that well, and I enjoy rereading them. If you're likely to remember stuff, then you might not like this part of the book. Oh, the reviewer who doubted that the opening sequence could happen, with the kid with the JATO units on his El Camino? It really did happen, several years ago, out in the desert.

Sure, the plot's a bit much, and so are the characters, quoting Roman and Greek philosophers with one another, then discussing firearms. And the Barrett .50 is legal in the states, no reason for Darwin to go borrow one from the Marines. Some of the high explosive ammo, though, isn't.

Anyway, I enjoyed this novel thoroughly, and as long as he stays with suspense novels I'll keep reading him.

While investigating a suspicious auto accident, Dar gets sucked into a huge insurance fraud ring called the Alliance. Using illegal immigrants and the poor they stage what is known as swoop and squat accidents and then file phony claims. Unfortunately, the participants are dying at an alarming rate. The ring is headed by celebrated defense attorney Dallas Trace, a thinly veiled caricature of Gerry Spence and enforced by the Russian mafia. Getting too close to the source, an attempt is made on Minor's life by a Russian sniper team. Minor decides to join forces with the tough but beautiful California Special Investigator Sydney Olson who acts as his bodyguard.

As the book progresses, Minor gets immersed in more and more dangerous situations as the body count surrounding the insurance fraud skyrockets. Simmons pens his story at a steady pace with fascinating insights into the recreation of accidents. This novel has adequate doses of action and intrigue mixed in with passion and emotion to be an entertaining read.

3 stories by Stephen King: "The Reploids", "Sneakers" and "Dedication".

3 stories by Dan Simmons: "Metastasis", "Vanni Fucci is Alive and Well and Living in Hell" and "Iverson's Pits".

1 story by George R. R. Martin: "The Skin Trade".

While the stories by King and Simmons are more or less short, the story by Martin is long, taking up almost half of the volume.

The only (almost) original story is "Metastasis" by Simmons, where a medical experiment lets a man see strange violet creatures (usually invisible) feeding on human beings like vampire slugs, causing cancer.

"Sneakers" is a ghost story, while "Dedication" is about urban witchcraft and "The Skin Trade" is a story about werewolves and investigation.

3 stories by Stephen King: "The Reploids", "Sneakers" and "Dedication".

3 stories by Dan Simmons: "Metastasis", "Vanni Fucci is Alive and Well and Living in Hell" and "Iverson's Pits".

1 story by George R. R. Martin: "The Skin Trade".

While the stories by King and Simmons are more or less short, the story by Martin is long, taking up almost half of the volume.

The only (almost) original story is "Metastasis" by Simmons, where a medical experiment lets a man see strange violet creatures (usually invisible) feeding on human beings like vampire slugs, causing cancer.

"Sneakers" is a ghost story, while "Dedication" is about urban witchcraft and "The Skin Trade" is a story about werewolves and investigation.