Throughout Wheat's work is sympathy for the underdog and the helpless. The title story in Tales Out of School, her first short story collection, explores how an abused child reacts to unexpected violence. In "Three Time Loser," Cass Jameson finds herself torn between her sympathy for an elderly woman and her job of giving the best defense for a young Jamaican immigrant. "Accidents Will Happen" is told from the viewpoint of an elderly paralyzed woman who is persecuted by a sadistic nurse, but finds her own revenge. In "Crime Scene" a young female cop is encouraged to cry in pity for a murder victim, and in doing so solved the crime. Some of the 19 stories are lighter in tone in theme, including a well-wrought pastiche of Sherlock Holmes and a case involving cats and smuggling.

Contents:

• Tales out of School
• Cousin Cora
• Flake Piece
• Crime Scene
• On the Take
• The Black Hawthorne
• Love Me for My Yellow Hair Alone
• Ghost Station
• Show Me the Bones
• Three-Time Loser
• The Adventure of the Angel’s Trumpet
• Undercover
• The Time of His Life
• "A" Is for Adams
• Cruel and Unusual
• Cat Lady
• Accidents Will Happen
• Too Many Midnights
• The Metal Blessed to Kill