Who's Your Daddy? And Other Stories

Whether set in the Jamaican past or the Miami present, whether dealing wittily with sexual errantry, inventively with manifestations of the uncanny (when Brother Belnavis tangles with a vampire), or disturbingly with teenage homophobia, Geoffrey Philp's second collection displays again the gold stamp of the born story-teller.

But beyond their capacity to engage and entertain the reader, these are the multi-layered stories of a perceptive and humane observer of contemporary life. In particular, an acute empathy with troubled childhoods and adolescence offers adult readers a rewarding reconnection with the turbulence of earlier selves.

There is great variety here  a lively mash-up of genres and styles. There are stories that work with quietly understated stealth  casual talk around a game of dominoes in 'Beeline Against Babylon' reveals a deep undercurrent of affection between father and son  and stories that have a ragga boldness and laugh-out-loud inventiveness, but throughout them all there runs the signature of an engaging personal voice.

Geoffrey Philp was born in Jamaica. He now lives and works in Miami.