The Midnight Zone by Lauren Groff (2016)

 All sorts of creatues stalk the pages of Florida, Lauren Groff's short story collection from 2016. Spider, snakes and crocodiles lurk in the heady heat of her adopted state. But it is the black panther in the ‘The Midnight Zone’ we remember most vividly. It's story about motherhood, survival and imagination that is as tense as it is beautiful: Groff's considerable powers at full tilt.