by Joyce Katheryn Faulkner

Joyce Faulkner, author of Losing Patience, ponders the natural and supernatural aspects of mortality in this collection of short fiction. On the surface, these tales are simple ghost stories, quirky mysteries and evocative sagas of bittersweet beginnings and endings. The first taste intrigues and entertains but after you put the book down, the flavor lingers -- luring you back into the labyrinth to discover her deeper meanings.

Faulkner's stories twist a philosophical Rubik's Cube to reveal new perspectives of old realities. She focuses on ethical conundrums -- guilt, forgiveness, fidelity and retribution. Her characters face complex choices about whether to hang on or let go. Their struggles are both bizarre and familiar -- life as we know it turned upside down.