Gorey’s deft and witty use of language is apparent even in these twenty-six-word stories. The book combines two of Gorey’s Thoughtful Alphabets in one volume—never before published in hardcover. Astonishingly brief, captivating, decidedly engaging, for Goreyphiles: here. Its jolly, keen language meanders neatly. One ponders, quietly, rather strange tableaux. Uses verbs winsomely. Excited, you? Zowee!What’s this all about? In the mid-1990s Edward Gorey launched a numbered series of “Thoughtful Alphabets” featuring cryptic twenty-six-word stories wherein the first word begins with A, the last with Z. The first six Thoughtful Alphabets published (numbers 2, 3, 4, 10, 14, and 15) were hand-lettered posters with clip-art illustrations. Numbers XI and XVII, however, emerged as signed limited-edition books featuring—happily for us—Gorey’s own drawings. First published by The Fantod Press but long out of print, these two gems are revived in Thoughtful Alphabets: The Just Dessert and The Deadly Blotter. In each, Gorey’s inimitable drawings weave a tale of suspense and intrigue; the story proceeds as the alphabet progresses.