The Fear of Everything
John McNally
 
Illusions, Delusions and Love – In these nine short stories, John McNally creates realistic tales spiced with mystical, transcendental elements: a magician makes a schoolgirl disappear – and she really does disappear; a sinister, silver-tongued lawyer offers a devilish bargain in a Bagel Xpress; a 36-year-old is jolted when he finds out who is answering his telephone calls; a pre-teen grows up fast under the peculiar tutelage of a mesmerizing old timer; a former banker shakes up his life with a three-way that’s, well, complicated. Everyone is lost, in one way or another, and their stories echo with a wounded loneliness. “The Fear of Everything” is an engrossing, entertaining, enlightening read.