The reader is introduced to Anne Dewitt, the principal of Travis High School (NC) when she has to kill a man who broke into her house and surprised her in the bathroom. And properly disposing of the body does tend to make a person late. And Anne hates being late, being surprised and having her past surface. Then the baseball coach shows surprising depth and knowledge of her past. In these four connected stories, Principal Anne and the baseball coach deal with cheats, misfits, abused students, abusing students, jealous former dates, and their past coming for them. Charlaine Harris provides a nice little collection of stories brought together by characters that are creepy, yet interesting. It will be interesting if there are more stories in this universe.

Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read this book!

I was provided this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Anne DeWitt is a mild mannered principal at a high school who prides herself on her school's excellence. She is also Twila Burnside who used to train government agents to kill, and she still has all her old skills. Add in Holt Halsey, the hunky baseball coach who also happens to be an ex-assassin, and you've got some stories.

This is another strong female protagonist brought to us from Charlaine Harris, up there with Lily Bard. I'd love to see more stories about Anne or even full length books.

4 short stories about Anne a high school principal that isn't what she seems. Anne is a strong character who is a bad ass killer. The read was quick but the stories felt disjointed. I was really hoping to love these stories as a fan of the Sookie Stackhouse series. Thank you Netgalley for an ARC

I absolutely loved this collection of stories about a former professional trainer of spies and special ops teams turned high school principal. The twists were excellent and often unexpected, and the characters were smart and sharp. Harris captures the environment of the small town, Southern school with wicked precision. Anyone who enjoys thrillers will like this book.

This is a series of short stories (four to be exact) revolving around one character named Anne DeWitt. Apparently, a tv series titled Redliners is being produced for next year and is going to be based on the Small Kingdoms short story.

This author is one that I am quite familiar with, for she wrote the Sookie Stackhouse series, which ultimately materialized into a beloved TV show, True Blood. I enjoyed both the TV and book series although they both lost their luster after several seasons/books.

These short stories, however, never grabbed my attention fully. Anne was a somewhat bad-ass character that lacked enough depth for me to feel connected to her. Although each short story was somewhat related and interesting throughout, I felt disconnected to the main character and thus, was a touch disappointed overall. Nonetheless, a recommended set of stories for anyone who is a Charlaine Harris fan.

Thank you to Netgalley/INscribe Digital for my copy and honest review.

My Instagram review of Small Kingdoms and Other Stories can be viewed at the following
link:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx5qqygAgkn/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The review portion of the post reads as follows:

Anne DeWitt has an unusual background for a high school principal. One people probably wouldn't find acceptable if they found out about it. Especially as her experiences lead her to dealing with certain situations in ways the police would find of interest. But Anne has no plans of them finding out.

This book of short stories shares 4 situations Anne finds herself in and how she decides to handle them. You may agree with her methodical approaches. Or you may think she needs help. She does unexpected find someone who is happy to help her in a number of ways. They probably aren't the ways you were thinking of though.

Charlaine Harris has a knack for making the bad things some of her characters do seem almost reasonable, given the circumstances. When reading about Anne I wonder if you will think you'd do the same - or will you be glad you haven't a reason to cross paths with anyone like Anne (you hope).

Charlaine Harris is one of my favourite authors. The pages of her books seem to pass by unnoticed, so I was disappointed to discover that this one is shorter than an average adult novel. Hopefully Anne will be showing up in some of the author's future published works.

If you're looking to experience some adventure from bed, or any other good reason to read, add Small Kingdoms & Other Stories to your TBR pile now. Better yet, go buy a copy to start reading Tuesday.

I'll be thinking about Anne DeWitt for a while. Let me know if you feel the same way.

This book has a collection of short stories that surrounds the action of a school principal with a dark past an a complex moral compass.
A strong female character that could be define as an anti-hero. She would do anything to keep order and discipline in her domain.
Definitely recommend it.

I’ve been reading Charlaine Harris’s books since she began with the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries back in the early 90’s. I’ve read a couple in her Lily bard series, all of the Sookie Stackhouse (aka True Blood on HBO), all of her Harper Connelly series (which I highly recommend!), and The Midnight, Texas trilogy (which is also on TV).


Somehow I completely missed the Cemetery Girl series she did with Christopher Golden, and although I know about her latest, The Gunnie Rose series, I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.

So I was completely surprised when I came across this book on NetGalley. I could not remember reading or hearing about Anne DeWitt. I did some quick research, and found out the first story in this book was published in the November 2013 issue of the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Harris must have written the other stories over the years, either for fun or to include in magazines or anthologies. And somehow I missed them all!


Since I’ve read so many of her other books, you really shouldn’t be surprised that I enjoyed this one. Her style is similar in all of her series. Tight storylines, that are not filled with flowery descriptions, and her characters are well fleshed out, even if Harris isn’t heavy on her dialogue. The characters are brought to life by showing, instead of telling. Which is one of the things every book on how to write, will tell you to master, and Harris definitely has.

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I really need to read more short stories and anthologies. Every time I read one I feel refreshed. It’s such a nice change up from 300 page novel after 300 page novel. Not that I don’t love long novels, I do love me some Stephen King and Joe Hill, but it’s just pleasant to have a breather every now and then.

Also, Anne’s profession of assassin, is always one I enjoy. A strong woman, who knows how to get herself out of dangerous situations, and makes some money on the side while doing it, what’s not to like.

I hope Harris continues to write stories about Anne, or even a full length novel. Either way, I would continue to read Anne’s story.

Really enjoyed this collection of short storiesand am looking forward to reading more. A full book would be great. Well done.

There is no doubt about it, I am a Charlaine Harris fan. I have read pretty much every book of hers in existence, and even if I didn't enjoy the previous book in the series, I will still get the next one. (Although I haven't read the latest Aurora Teagarden because I really disliked All the Little Liars.) So, when I saw this title up on NetGalley I crossed all my fingers and hit the 'request' button. Thankfully, the ARC gods were smiling on me that day.

This, like most Harris novels, starts off with a bang. The opening paragraph is intense, and while I'm not usually a fan of thrillers / mysteries, Harris' writing style never makes me feel like I'm reading in those genres.

It's a collection of four short stories (approximately 100 pages), but it is chock-full of great characters, moral dilemmas and brutal stabbiness.

I quite like that all of the stories don't follow the same rhythm, with some bouncing back into different aspects of Anne's former life. I also really liked the glimpses into how orderly and thorough she is about every aspect in her life, particularly as remaining vigilant is what has kept her alive so far.

I sincerely hope that Harris writes about 100 more of these, as I can see DeWitt fast becoming one of my favourite of her characters.

This review is not going to be long. I am not a huge fan of a review rehashing the entire plot and spoiling it for everyone.

I am a big fan of Charlaine Harris. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a riveting collection of stories. I chuckled as I read it. I enjoyed how the characters grew and interacted with each other in this book. I will definitely purchase more of this series.

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

A series of short stories with a darkly humorous take on making a school the best it can be. Each story is short but cute, and has enough twists to keep things entertaining.

E-book/ARC/Short Story Thrillers: When I got this ARC from NetGalley, I found that I had to do a little research (yes, Google), to figure out what was going on. After all, I've read just about all of Charlaine Harris’ series, (which when the western (?) comes out July 30th in paperback, I will be buying it). The character of Anne is from short stories Harris wrote for Ellery Queen Mystery magazine. If you have read the Midnight Crossing books, Anne is a lot like Olivia, the book, not the TV show. Anne is basically Repairman Jack who rights the wrongs whether she is paid to do it or not. While it was a quick read, I really did not get to know Anne all that well. That being said, I read every word like I do all of Harris’ books. I did see where the short stories are being made into a TV show. I as not happy with Anne’s morality. Yes, she rights some wrongs, but she was judge and jury and gave folks the death penalty of adultery.
Cute thing I noticed. The character changes her name to Anne and the principal she replaces is named Snyder. Think when Buffy ran away from home and renamed herself the simple name of Anne. That was after Principal Snyder was eaten by a demon snake.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks NetGalley!

I've been a fan of Charlaine Harris' work for a long time. So I naturally had high hopes for this book.
I was not disappointed. This book is set up as four short stories based around Anne and Holt.

This isn't the typical "Sookie Stackhouse" storyline, but it definitely was a success.

Definitely read this book!

Anne DeWitt is not the kind of principal that one wants to cross. Before coming to Travis High she had quite a different job at a very different type of school, and a different name. That was before the incident, of course. She now has her new name, new job, new town, and new life- unless her old one catches up with her. Anne likes her new life, a lot in fact, and she’s willing to do anything to protect it… anything. She may have to put that resolve to the test when her past makes an appearance in her present.

As a long time fan of Charlaine Harris’ work, I was very excited to receive her latest work for review, and I was not disappointed! This is a book of four short stories centered around Anne and another character (introduced in the first story) Holt, and their exploits under new identities and new lives. Both of the main characters are well developed the first story and continue to become more fleshed out as the stories continue on. The secondary characters that are introduced in each story are also interesting and well developed. These stories were very different from my favorite series’ of Harris’ (Midnight, Texas is one of my favorite trilogies!), but it is definitely written with her voice and style. While I certainly wouldn’t say that it is laugh out loud funny, there is some great snark and sass combined with a bit of dark humor from these characters that I found quite enjoyable. I truly didn’t want these stories to end, and hope that there are more to come from this world!

Review will post on my blog on 5/12

I found myself engrossed in these short stories that feature a 'retired' trainer who has a new identity as a head teacher. Anne doesn't really have empathy for anyone and yet I still found her interesting as she goes about her business doing the ordinary mundane things whilst at the same time remaining on guard. Anne knows her previous work makes her a target but has surprisingly found her own niche. These admittedly short stories show her interaction primarily with her staff and pupils and Anne's way of looking after her school whilst dealing with wayward pupils allows the author to showcase a wry sense of humour. Never laugh out loud funny but there's a sly side to the almost sociopathic Anne that is explored in these snippets of her life. My only gripe is that it was short and I honestly would have liked more.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair.

Very readable collection of short stories set around main character, Anne DeWitt. A woman who is not what she seems. The stories themselves are a very quick read and it's easy to get through the collection in a single sitting. The general premise and the author's talent of writing for characters in a small town setting make up for the lack of depth.

Solid page turner.

With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

This collection of short stories centers around high school principal Anne DeWitt, who is not quite what she appears--she's much, much more. A trained killer and a sociopath. Turns out these are great characteristics for academic administration. Anne and the school's baseball coach (both trained to kill by a mysterious militaristic group) deal efficiently with those who threaten them by meting out equal parts vengeance and just deserts to the hapless souls who dare cross them or threaten the success of the school. Both characters are amoral, but sometimes they balance the scales of social justice in their immorality and the reader may find some visceral satisfaction in that.

Full Disclosure--Net Gallery and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

I loved it! This is one of my favorite authors. In each short story you learn something different about Anne and Holt that later ties all the pieces together. It has a dark vigilante aspect that unexpectedly made me laugh so many times. I hope there's more to come!

“On this particular spring Tuesday, Anne DeWitt was thrown off her regular schedule. Between brushing her teeth and putting on her foundation, she had to kill a man”

Good beginning, right? Sadly, this was just about the only thing I liked about this collection of short stories starring Anne DeWitt, former head of a survivalist facility and current high school principal and ocasional vigilante.

Though the premise is not bad, all the characters felt like caricatures and the writing was mediocre and disjointed. The four stories were a quick and easy read but apart from that I didn’t enjoy any of it (characters, writing style, plot...)

Sad I didn’t find another Charlaine Harris series to love after reading and enjoying the Sookie Stackhouse, Harper Connelly and Lily Bard series.