Small towns have their own kind of terror. Is it the isolation or the control a few can have over the entire community? Thomas Tessier has a novel and a novella in one book called Wicked Things, and in both stories small towns are a place of evil and power gone very wrong. The novel, also called Wicked Things, centers on the town of Winship which has had sixteen accidental deaths. The insurance companies are suspicious so Jack Carlson is sent to investigate. There he finds a picture perfect small town, but first impressions can be deceiving and the rot beneath the surface begins to show. There have been disappearances and then there is the south end of town where pleasures are pursued. Jack has no idea who he can trust and it may not be anyone. In the novella, Scramburg, U.S.A., Howie is troubled teenager which is especially upsetting for his parents. The captain of police tries to take care of things by beating him and sending Howie on his way. Afterwards, Howie steals back into town to unleash his revenge. Both stories build into twisting nightmares that hint at something hidden beneath the towns’ facades.