"A virtuosic collection of stories followed by the sharp blade of a killer novella as the final act. Gerard Bianco's stories do not creep up on you: they fall upon you like a raptor plummeting, wings folded, golden eye ablaze. Their signature swirl of caustic irony is bitter, often brutal -- a gleam of talons and a sudden cry -- resulting almost always in a small death of the heart." --Dianne Benedict, Author of Shiny Objects Following a devastating fall, Rita finds herself standing outside the dining hall at an independent living facility. She squeezes the handle of her cane, and her knuckles turn white. Her wire-rimmed glasses accentuate the tears she tries to hide. After eighty-two years, and a lifetime of memories, Rita believes she's been abandoned at the mouth of a fiery dragon that will swallow her up--and she is terrified. Gerard Bianco shares a fresh voice in short storytelling, leading the reader through seventeen vividly imagined journeys. When a man purchases a remote log cabin in the Adirondacks, he believes he has found a peaceful haven, until he discovers a stranger dead on his living room rug. A man, looking for a new adventure, joins a unique organization and quickly learns that getting what you want can sometimes lead to unimagined consequences. Two couples set out on a vacation in Maine, only to find their dreamy trip has turned into a getaway nightmare. A Sharp Bend in the Road redefines the art of the short story collection. Seventeen stories, built around absorbing characters, strong conflicts, and sometimes dark and absurdly humorous ingredients, prove that journeying through life is far from predictable.