These stories take place in an upscale suburb of Portland, Oregon, but they could be taken from any number of similar enclaves across the United States. Each of the stories begins with an entry
from the newspaper's police blotter. Elissa Minor Rust fills in the background to these small, odd events-a headless parakeet found in mailbox, a nude jogger, an alarmingly deathlike discarded
teddy bear. Her stories, both humorous and disturbing, dive beneath the clear, hard surface of a community into the murky complexities that swirl beneath.
