Old Crimes

Beloved author Jill McCorkle delivers a collection of masterful stories that are as complex as novels—deeply perceptive, funny, and tragic in equal measure—about crimes large and small.

McCorkle, author of the New York Times bestselling Life After Life and the widely acclaimed Hieroglyphics (“One of our wryest, warmest, wisest storytellers” —Rebecca Makkai), brings us a breathtaking collection of stories that offers an intimate look at the moments when a person’s life changes forever.

Old Crimes delves into the lives of characters who hold their secrets and misdeeds close, even as the past continues to reverberate over time and across generations. And despite the characters’ yearnings for connection, they can’t seem to tell the whole truth. In “Low Tones,” a woman uses her hearing impairment as a way to guard herself from her husband’s commentary. In “Lineman,” a telephone lineman strains to connect to his family even as he feels pushed aside in a digital world. In “Confessional,” a young couple buys a confessional booth for fun, only to discover the cost of honesty.

Profoundly moving and unforgettable, for fans of Alice Munro, Elizabeth Strout, and Lily King, the stories in Old Crimes reveal why McCorkle has long been considered a master of the form, probing lives full of great intensity, longing and affection, and deep regret.

“Jill McCorkle has had an extraordinary ear for the music of ordinary life since the beginning of her career, able to work with the voices we know so well to write these stories about what they will not tell us, what they would rather not tell us, what they hope to tell us, what too often goes unsaid. And this collection is a new wonder.” —Alexander Chee, author of How to Write an Autobiographical Novel

• "A splendid, wide-ranging collection that once again proves McCorkle is a master of the form."
  Jenny Offill, author of Weather
• “Jill McCorkle has had an extraordinary ear for the music of ordinary life since the beginning of her career, able to work with the voices we know so well to write these stories about they will not tell us, what they would rather not tell us, what they hope to tell us, what too often goes unsaid.  And this collection is a new wonder.”
   
  
   
  Alexander Chee, author of How to Write An Autobiographical Novel
• “Each story here is so carefully wrought yet wildly original at the same time, deeply wedded to the real world in all its complexity and detail. It seems to me that each one contains an entire life---and often, a whole novel. What a beautiful book.”
  
   
  Lee Smith, author of Silver Alert
• “With her wry humor, deep understanding of  human connection and disconnection, and a tremendous sense of fun, Jill McCorkle has given us another dazzling collection of stories.”
  Lily King, author of Five Tuesdays in Winter
• "McCorkle is a brilliant storyteller... Wonderfully rich and emotionally complicated stories."
  Kirkus Reviews
• "[A] satisfying collection… McCorkle serves up plenty of humor and heartache… and often pushes her stories toward empathetic and surprising climaxes. McCorkle fans will gobble this up."
  Publishers Weekly
• “Often funny, evenly darkly comic at times, McCorkle's memorable collection calls to mind Alice Munro and Charles Baxter.”
  Booklist