Gretel's Big Bad Wolf

By C C Blake

Not many people know I was a silent partner in a burlesque show in Houston, Texas from 1978 thru 1983. I did it to help an old buddy from the Army. Seemed a great way to meet girls when work brought me down that way. Turns out it got me up to my neck in trouble a few times, too. Let me tell you about one of them.

This would've happened, oh, somewhere in September of '78. I'd been a silent partner for just five months, sending regular payments Dick Lange's way so he could renovate and keep the doors from shuttering while amassing some talent . . .

Blood Moon Over Houston

The dancer Dolly Dearest (aka Gretel Rockatansky) is a hit, beloved by the attendees. However, one of them has taken his love to extremes, building it into a twisted obsession. The cops won't help, seeing dancers as freak magnets who deserve what they get.

Only Chuck Cave will stand up for her.

As the moon hangs far and full over the mean streets of Houston, a psychopath stalks. Can Cave and Gretel survive the night, or will the wolf lusting for her body and blood have his fill?

Welcome to the Nightmare Show

Gretel and the Wolf is the first entry in Chuck Cave's Burlesque, a series of short thrillers. It is a pulse-pounding standalone starring C.C. Blake's irrepressible troublemaker, Chuck Cave.

Fans of Joe R. Lansdale's Hap and Leonard, Robert Bloch's psychological suspense, and J.A. Konrath's thrillers will find a similar mix of action, danger, and macabre sense of humor.

This edition includes two bonus stories starring the Chuck Cave character.

More twisted tales from Chuck Cave's Burlesque are coming soon

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GN4JLWBR
• ISBN13: 9798233390982
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: Twice Told Tales Press
• Length: 54 Pages
• Weight: 0.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 5.5" x 8.5"