The ability of authors and editors to find very specific and unusual themes around which to create a book astounds me. With Expletive Deleted, the editor has collected stories all of which treat some aspect of the Anglo-Saxon expletive sometimes referred to as the F-bomb when it pops out unexpectedly on network television. Decorum forces me to speak in generalities so I can only say that the stories range from amusing Find Me by Anthony Neil Smith where a private detective looks for a missing girl and has interesting encounters with the people he interviews to the seriously disturbed Like a Lady by Charlie Huston where a robber has an unusual girlfriend. You will also find the story Twenty Dollar Future by John Rickards, a poignant story of war-torn Africa where the word does not make an appearance but rather describes a state of being.

Truly excellent crime writers are represented here so don't dismiss it as a piece of sleaze. If you crime writing and don't find a good sized helping of sex and profanity then this is a clever book of short stories that is bound to have more than one story you will enjoy.