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My opportunities to read Iain Rowan's work had been only a few so far, just the occasional story found in a magazine or in an anthology. I still remember, with awe, the outstanding "Driving in Circles," which appeared in the fifth installment of the Nemonymous anthologies. And the name stuck in my mind.

Being always busy reading horror and supernatural stories (or dark fantasy,if you like that term better) I have little time left, unfortunately, for the darkest genre of fiction, crime or noir, especially in the novel format. But when the possibility arose to get my hands on a collection of tales by Iain Rowan (although, this being an e-book, my hands were not on an actual volume but simply on a Kindle reader...) I seized it at once. And, believe me, I was not disappointed.

Rowan is a very fine writer, one of those authors endowed with the ability to hook the reader in just a few sentences and keep him nailed until the very last word.

The book assembles eleven tales, all fine examples of modern crime stories, gripping and perceptive, probing the dark secrets of the human soul, just like an old Alfred Hitchcock movie.

My favourite is the opening story "One Step Closer," a tense, perfect tale depicting a bank robbery as described by a customer who has nothing left to lose.

The ingenuously crafted plot of "The Chain" tells the story of a blackmail where a man is the victim of a complicated set up, while in the smooth "A Walk in the Past" a killing job doesn't end up as planned.

"One of Us" is a sinister story featuring an illegal immigrant forced to use her medical knowledge to obtain the legal papers she needs.

The clever "Two Nights' Work" is about a con based on the value of an old painting, while in the very enjoyable "Easy job" a burglar gets punished beyond his imagination.

"Fake" provides evidence that a person with something to hide can be easily led to feel guilty and the splendid "Moths" portrays the erotic obsession for a deadly woman and its tragic consequences.

In the strong, intriguing title story "Nowhere to Go," a psychologically disturbed man witnesses a murderous assault by means of a webcam, but things are not what they appear to be...

Crime enthusiasts must not miss the book: this is noir at its very best.

Mario Guslandi lives in Milan, Italy, and is a long-time fan of dark fiction. His book reviews have appeared on a number of genre websites such as The Alien Online, Infinity Plus, Necropsy, The Agony Column and Horrorwold.