No Place Like Home by Cindy Rosmus. (Fossil Publications, 76pgs.) $8.00

Cindy Rosmus, the mistress of pulp fiction, checks in with her fourth story collection in less than two years. This very short chap of stories, like Rosmus' previous efforts, carries on the tradition of achey-breaky heart-shaped erotic horror/violence set in the gritty, cesspool of urban, north central New Jersey.

These ten tales of betrayed lovers set against a backdrop of urban blight that holds Rosmus's characters in the grip of claustrophobic rage and emotional dysfunction is not everyone's cup of java. Rosmus's writing style and thematic concerns walks a fine line between pure pulp and literary writing. It's a difficult balance, but one that she has mastered — one that has made her very good at writing a particular brand of story. The title story, "Missing You," and "The President is Dead," are among the notable offerings in this book.

In general, I enjoyed this collection. Cindy Rosmus has a knack for creating insane fictional worlds in which no reasonable person would want to live in reality, but nonetheless no reader can escape once they start reading. That being said,I think this volume, like the previous one, is too skimpy. If Ms. Rosmus had published the last two collections as a single, thicker volume, and perhaps removed a couple of the weaker stories it could have been better.