A terrifying novel of love and slaughter set in London and New Orleans. To serial killer Andrew Compton, murder is an art, the most intimate art. After feigning his own death to escape from a life sentence in prison, he makes his way to America with the intention of bringing his art to new heights. Tortured by his own perverse desires, he inadvertently joins forces with Jay, a dissolute playboy. They set their sights on a young Vietnamese-American runaway, who they deem to be the perfect victim. Moving from the grimy streets of London's Piccadilly Circus to the decadences of New Orleans' French Quarter, Poppy Z. Brite dissects the landscape of torture and invites us into the mind of a serial killer in this riveting, unforgettable masterpiece of horror.

hese two short novels bookend Poppy Z. Brite's cheerfully chaotic series starring two chefs in New Orleans. "The Value of X" introduces G-man and Rickey, who grew up in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward and who are slowly realizing there are only two important things in life: cooking and each other. Rickey's parents aren't quite so taken with the boy's plans and get him an impossible-to-resist place at the Culinary Institute of America.

In "D*U*C*K," Rickey and G-man's restaurant, Liquor, is doing well but there are the usual complications of running a kitchen: egos get bruised, people get fired . . . and then Rickey is jumped in an alley by one of their ex-waiters.

On the mend, Rickey takes a side job to cater the annual Ducks Unlimited banquet, where every course must, of course, include the ducks the hunters have bagged. Rickey's crew are ready to meet the challenge, but Rickey's not sure he can do it all "and" deal with the guest of honor--his childhood hero, former New Orleans Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert.

"Fun foodie fiction, and readers will scarf it down as quickly as a plate of blackened crawfish."--"Publishers Weekly"

Originally published in limited hardcover editions, these two novels are full of the pure joy of love, hard work, and great food and are a tremendous extension (or introduction) to Brite's series.

Praise fo the Rickey and G-man stories:

"A high-end restaurant is...a gift that keeps on giving. The heat, the bickerings and intrigue, the pursuit of perfection, the dodgy money keeping it all afloate: the setting spawns plots...Can the Liquor] franchise sustain itself? The answer is yes."--"New York Times"

"World-class satire and perfect New Orleans lit."--Andrei Codrescu

"Steeped in spicy dialogue and New Orleans] flavor...a behind-the-swinging-door peek into the world of chefs."--"Entertainment Weekly"

Poppy Z. Brite's fiction set in the New Orleans restaurant world includes "Prime," "Liquor," and "Soul Kitchen." She has also published five other novels and three short story collections. She lives with her husband Chris, a chef, in New Orleans.

" O]ne of the best writers of horror in this or any other country." - Peter Straub
"One of the genre's most underrated writers . . . enjoyably nasty." - Poppy Z. Brite
"A must-read for horror fiction fans. . . . Obtain "The Amulet" by any means necessary." - "Too Much Horror Fiction"
"McDowell has a flair for the gruesome." - "Washington Post"
When a rifle range accident leaves Dean Howell disfigured and in a vegetative state, his wife Sarah finds her dreary life in Pine Cone, Alabama made even worse. After long and tedious days on the assembly line, she returns home to care for her corpselike husband while enduring her loathsome and hateful mother-in-law, Jo. Jo blames the entire town for her son's mishap, and when she gives a strange piece of jewelry to the man she believes most responsible, a series of gruesome deaths is set in motion. Sarah believes the amulet has something to do with the rising body count, but no one will believe her. As the inexplicable murders continue, Sarah and her friend Becca Blair have no choice but to track down the amulet themselves, before it's too late . . .
Michael McDowell (1950-1999) is best known for his screenplays to the films "Beetlejuice" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas," but he was also the author of several excellent and underrated Southern Gothic horror novels, of which "The Amulet" (1979) was the first. Originally published as a pulp paperback, now scarce and long out-of-print, McDowell's grimly humorous and delightfully horrific novel returns to print in this edition, which features a new introduction by Poppy Z. Brite.

From the hottest voice in contemporary horror comes a hip, sensual, and totally original reimagining of the haunted house story. Trevor McGee is a survivor. Twenty years ago, his father took the lives of his mother, his brother and himself in an inexplicable explosion of murder and suicide. Now Trevor has returned home to face the demons. . . .

If you can't stand the heat...Get the hell out of New Orleans!
Liquor has become one of the hottest restaurants in town, thanks in part to chefs Rickey and G-man's wildly creative, booze-laced food. At the tail end of a busy Mardi Gras, Milford Goodman walks into their kitchen--he's spent the last ten years in Angola Prison for murdering his boss, a wealthy New Orleans restaurateur, but has recently been exonerated on new evidence and released. Rickey remembers him as an ingenious chef and hires him on the spot.
When a pill-pushing doctor and a Carnival scion talk Rickey into consulting at the restaurant they're opening in one of the city's "floating casinos," Rickey recommends Milford for the head chef position and stays on to supervise. But soon Rickey finds himself medicating a kitchen injury with the doctor's wares, and G-man grows tired of holding down the fort at Liquor alone. As the new restaurant moves toward its opening, Rickey learns that Milford's past is inextricably linked with one of the project's backers, a man whose intentions begin to seem more and more sinister.
Full of the flavor of one of America's greatest cities, "Soul Kitchen" is a sharp commentary on race relations in pre-Katrina New Orleans and a fast ride through the dark side of haute cuisine.

Two years after the opening of Liquor, New Orleans chefs Rickey and G-man are immersed in the life of their restaurant, enjoying a loyal cast of diners, and cooking great booze-laced food. All's well until a bad review in a local paper not-so-subtly hints that their "silent" backer, celebrity chef Lenny Duveteaux, has ulterior motives. When Lenny is accused of serious criminal activity by eccentric D.A. Placide Treat, Rickey and G-man realize it may be time to end their dependence on him.
When Rickey is offered a plum consulting job at a Dallas restaurant, it seems the perfect way to beef up their bank account. But taking the gig will mean a reunion with Cooper Stark, the older chef with whom Rickey shared an unsettling cocaine-fueled encounter back in culinary school, as well as dealing with gung-ho Texas businessman/restaurateur Frank Firestone. At G-man's urging, Rickey finally accepts the offer and revamps Firestone's menu to rave reviews.
Home in New Orleans, Rickey has just settled back into his daily kitchen routine when he receives disturbing information that forces his return to Dallas. As Placide Treat's machinations grow ever more bizarre, G-man learns that there's more to the story--and that Rickey is in Texas-size danger.

New Orleans natives Rickey and G-man are lifetime friends and down-and-out line cooks desperate to make a quick buck. When Rickey concocts the idea of opening a restaurant in their alcohol-loving hometown where every dish packs a spirited punch, they know they're on their way to the bank. With some wheeling and dealing, a slew of great recipes, and a few lucky breaks, Rickey and G-man are soon on their way to opening Liquor, their very own restaurant. But ?rst they need to pacify a local crank who doesn't want to see his neighborhood disturbed, sidestep Rickey's deranged ex-boss, rein in their big-mouth silent partner before he runs amok, and stay afloat in a stew of corruption in a town well known for its bottom feeders.
A manic, spicy romp through the kitchens, back alleys, dive bars, and drug deals of the country's most sublimely ridiculous city, author Poppy Z. Brite masterfully shakes equal parts ambition, scandal, ?le powder, cocaine, and murder, and serves Liquor straight up, with a twist.

In Cthulhu 2000, a host of horror and fantasy's top authors captures the spirit of supreme supernatural storyteller H. P. Lovecraft--with eighteen chilling contemporary tales that would have made the master proud.

- The Barrens by F. Paul Wilson: In a tangled wilderness, unearthly lights lead the way to a world no human was meant to see.
- His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood by Poppy Z. Brite: Two dabblers in black magic encounter a maestro of evil enchantment.
- On the Slab by Harlan Ellison: The corpse of a one-eyed giant brings untold fortune--and unspeakable fear--to whoever possesses it.
- Pickman's Modem by Lawrence Watt-Evans: Horror is a keystroke away, when an ancient evil lurks in modern technology.

PLUS FOURTEEN MORE BLOOD-CURDLING STORIES