“My name is Wilfred Leland James, and this is my confession.  In June of 1922 I murdered my wife, Arlette Christina Winters James, and hid her body by tupping it down an old well.”

Thus begins the first, and best, story, “1922″ in this Stephen King collection.  None of the stories are bad, but the three that follow- “Big Driver”, “Fair Extension”, and “A Good Marriage”- just can’t compete with the compelling narrative that is “1922″.  Wilfred James kills his wife because she wants to sell off their farm, including the adjoining land willed to her by her late father, and move to the big city.  Plus, Arlette (who was adverse to farm life) really wasn’t the most pleasant person; rather uncouth, rude, crude, and downright mean at times.  Preying upon their teen son, Henry, and his desire to not relocate, especially since he’s sweet on the neighbor girl, Wilfred enlists him to help commit the crime and cover it up.  Their best laid plans, though, as if we shouldn’t expect this, soon go awry.  What follows is a seemingly mild mannered man’s downward spiral into guilt and madness.

It’s kind of a shame that “1922″ is the first story in Full Dark, No Stars, because the stories that follow, though they aren’t bad, just don’t shine as bleakly black and marvelously macabre as “1922″.  They’re good, but “1922″ is the only one I wish King would have made into a full blown novel.  It pulled me in and blew me away.  The rest are interesting, with intriguing premises, but are simply not as compelling or as obsessively readable.

In “Big Driver”, Tess, a mystery writer, finds herself on the wrong road after a speaking engagement in a small town.  What may not be a chance encounter turns into a life and death battle.  With a story like this, dealing with a woman’s brutal rape and her revenge, it could have gone down the wrong road itself, turning into horrible exploitation or really bad grindhouse drivel.  That it doesn’t, and remains classy and suspenseful, proves that Stephen King still knows his stuff.  ”Big Driver” is the best of the rest.

“Fair Extension”, about a man who makes a deal with the Devil for not only to save his life but for the ruination of his best friend, feels like the odd man out in this story collection.  Nestled between “Big Driver” and “A Good Marriage”, which concerns a woman who discovers her husband has a dark, sinister, secret side, “Fair Extension” feels more like a pit-stop, or a bump in the road, than it does anything else.  Padding, I would say.  Good fluff, but fluff nonetheless.

I recommend Full Dark, No Stars on the strength of “1922″ alone, but you won’t be let down by the rest of the tales either.  These are good stories about the darker sides of humanity, and it shines as King still doing what he does best.

4.5 out of 5
John Jason

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