It happened the night Maggie Wilbourne was to be put to death, the first woman executed by the state of Pennsylvania in modern times. That was when a group of women passionately protesting Maggie’s imprisonment struck. They blew up a local dam, flooding the town of Everton and indirectly inspiring a hellish night of crime and chaos.
Fourteen of today’s most exciting contemporary crime writers will take you to the fictional town of Everton, with stories from criminals, cops, and civilians that explore the thin line between the rich and the poor, the insider and the outsider, the innocent and the guilty. Whether it’s a store owner grimly protecting his property from looters, an opportunistic servant who sees her time to strike, or two misguided youths taking their anger out against any available victim, The Night of the Flood is an intricate and intimate examination of the moment when chaos is released—in both society and the human spirit.
Contributors: E.A. Aymar, Rob Brunet, Sarah M. Chen, Angel Luis Colón, Hilary Davidson, Mark Edwards, Gwen Florio, Elizabeth Heiter, J.J. Hensley, Jennifer Hillier, Shannon Kirk, Jenny Milchman, Alan Orloff, and Wendy Tyson. With a guest introduction from Hank Phillippi Ryan.
To order the book, visit https://downandoutbooks.com/bookstore/aymar-chen-night-flood.
And here's a line from each chapter:
Too much blood has flowed in this town, too many tears have been spilled. Time for us to wash it all away.
Jenny Milchman, page 7
Ken looked toward her.
"Heard you were a crazy bitch."
"Sounds about right," Callie agreed.
E.A. Aymar, page 25
With the window down, I could hear it—the sounds of a town dying.
Wendy Tyson, page 40
Talk and keep your enemies talking.
People rarely pull triggers while they are talking.
Rarely.
J.J. Hensley, page 61
"Not fire," she hisses.
There’s a tremble in that hiss.
"Flood."
Mark Edwards, page 90
He stared at the money again. Everything from the vault and from the tellers’ drawers. Ninety-seven thousand, four hundred and twelve dollars.
It would be a start.
A pretty damn good one.
Alan Orloff, page 101
Few things on God’s green earth really sink my heart into the depths of my gut like the sound of a perfectly good pint glass shattering.
Angel Luis Colon, page 126
As Marta understood it, Maggie Wilbourne had wreaked her revenge on her assailant, a final satisfaction not accorded the dead women of Ciudad Juarez; and that the death prescribed as Maggie’s punishment involved a clean bright room, a sterilized needle in the arm, oblivion. Not darkness. Violation. Terror.
Gwen Florio, page 142
But who gives a shit what people say. We got ourselves a right flood, and I aim to sedate my rage.
Shannon Kirk, page 162
What good’s a disaster if ya don’t get in on the mayhem?
Rob Brunet, page 188
Take your kids and run to higher ground warned a whispery voice; before Miranda could ask who the hell was calling, the line had gone dead.
Hilary Davidson, page 216
Kevin weighed the gun in the palm of his hand. It felt strange and heavy. He thought he’d feel better holding it. A tough guy.
It made him feel weaker.
Sarah M. Chen, page 237
He could sense it, almost smell it. His prey was here. His first kill.
Elizabeth Heiter, page 260
We blew up the dam, and we washed away the sins of this town.
But it's not over.
It will never be over.
Jennifer Hillier, page 281
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