The Best American Mystery Stories 2004


Nelson DeMille - 2004
    For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundreds of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected — and most popular — of its kind. Assembled by best-selling suspense author Nelson DeMille, The Best American Mystery Stories 2004 contains a spectacular array of stories by mystery veterans and talented newcomers. Follow a chain reaction that saves a woman’s life, visit a house haunted by a husband’s violent killing spree, enter the high-stakes world of Las Vegas gambling, watch the line between reality and dream blur, travel with a bored salesman driven to crime, and much more. Encompassing all aspects of the genre, this year’s selections are sure to quicken pulses, send chills down the spine, and keep readers continually guessing.Bet on red / Jeff Abbott --Stonewalls / Jeffrey Robert Bowman --Height advantage / William J. Carroll, Jr. --Evolution / Benjamin Cavell --All through the house / Christopher Coake --Where beautiful ladies dance for you / Patrick Michael Finn --How Wendy Tudhope was saved from sure and certain death / Rob Kantner --Snake eyes / Jonathon King --Harvey's dream / Stephen King --Smash and grab / Michael Knight --Bank of America / Richard Lange --Lids / Tom Larsen --Low tide / Dick Lochte --The incident of the impecunious chevalier / Richard A. Lupoff --Doll: a romance of the Mississippi / Joyce Carol Oates --The swag from Doc Hawthorne's / Jack O'Connell --Best man wins / Frederick Waterman --Something about Teddy / Timothy Williams --El Rey / Scott Wolven --Green heat / Angela Zeman

The Best American Mystery Stories 1997


Robert B. ParkerMelodie Johnson Howe - 1997
    The controversial follow-up to Into the Bear Pit, this title pulls no punches in discussing the substantial fall-out from the publication of James' first book, the verbal spat with Nick Faldo that led Faldo waging a campaign to have his European Tour colleague removed from the Tournament Committee, and Mark's eventual resignation as Ryder Cup assistant.

The Best American Mystery Stories 2005


Joyce Carol Oates - 2005
    Each volume's series editor selects notable works from hundreds of periodicals. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the very best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected--and most popular--of its kind. The identity club / Richard Burgin --Disaster stamps of Pluto / Louise Erdrich --Delmonico / Daniel Handler --Jack Duggan's law / George V. Higgins --Old boys, old girls / Edward P. Jones --The shooting of John Roy Worth / Stuart M. Kaminsky --Until Gwen / Dennis Lehane --The shoeshine man's regrets / Laura Lippman --When all this was Bay Ridge / Tim McLoughlin --Case closed / Lou Manfredo --Sault Ste. Marie / David Means --Public trouble / Kent Nelson --Officers weep / Daniel Orozco --The last man I killed / David Rachel --One Mississippi / Joseph Raiche --Cruisers / John Sayles --Reconstruction / Sam Shaw --The love of a strong man / Oz Spies --Loyalty / Scott Turow --Barracuda / Scott Wolven --Contributors' notes --Other distinguished mystery stories of 2004

The Best American Mystery Stories 2007


Carl Hiaasen - 2007
    Ridley Pearson traces a famous author of horror tales who becomes trapped in a real one after his wife vanishes while jogging. Joyce Carol Oates travels to a New Jersey racetrack where the animals that break down are of the two-legged type. Lawrence Block tells the story of Keller, a hitman for hire who happens to live in Greenwich Village, loves spicy food, and collects stamps as a hobby. And Scott Wolven plunges us into the world of an ex-con who takes a job at a private and very illegal Nevada racetrack where each day millions are won and lost. Mostly lost.As Carl Hiaasen notes in his introduction, “The stories in this collection would do honor to any anthology of short literature. More than transcending the genre of crime, they blow away its nebulous boundaries.” The Best American Mystery Stories 2007 is a powerful collection certain to delight mystery aficionados and all lovers of great fiction.

The Best American Mystery Stories 2006


Scott Turow - 2006
    If you like all your characters living at the end of a story, this may not be the book for you." -- from the introduction by Scott TurowBest-selling author Scott Turow takes the helm for the tenth edition of this annual, featuring twenty-one of the past year's most distinguished tales of mystery, crime, and suspense.Elmore Leonard tells the tale of a young woman who's fled home with a convicted bank robber. Walter Mosley describes an over-the-hill private detective and his new client, a woman named Karma. C. J. Box explores the fate of two Czech immigrants stranded by the side of the road in Yellowstone Park. Ed McBain begins his story on role-playing with the line "'Why don't we kill somebody?' she suggested." Wendy Hornsby tells of a wild motorcycle chase through the canyons outside Las Vegas. Laura Lippman describes the "Crack Cocaine Diet." And James Lee Burke writes of a young boy who may have been a close friend of Bugsy Siegel.As Scott Turow notes in his introduction, these stories are "about crime -- its commission, its aftermath, its anxieties, its effect on character." The Best American Mystery Stories 2006 is a powerful collection for all readers who enjoy fiction that deals with the extremes of human passion and its dark consequences.

The Best American Mystery Stories 2010


Lee Child - 2010
    Within its pages, literary legends rub shoulders with the hottest new talent. Contributors in the past have included James Lee Burke, Jeffrey Deaver, Michael Connelly, Alice Munro and Joyce Carol Oates.This year's guest editor is Lee Child, the creator of Jack Reacher and a simultaneous bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Best American Mystery Stories 1999


Ed McBain - 1999
    Compiled by the best-selling mystery novelist Ed McBain, this year's edition boasts nineteen outstanding tales by such masters as John Updike, Lawrence Block, Jeffery Deaver, and Joyce Carol Oates as well as stories by rising stars such as Edgar Award winners Tom Franklin and Thomas H. Cook. The 1999 volume is a spectacular showcase for the high quality and broad diversity of the year’s finest suspense, crime, and mystery writing. "Keller's Last Refuge" by Lawrence Block, "Safe" by Gary A. Braunbeck, "Fatherhood" by Thomas H. Cook, "Wrong Time, Wrong Place" by Jeffery Deaver, "Netmail" by Brendan DuBois, "Redneck" by Loren D. Estleman, "And Maybe the Horse Will Learn to Sing" by Gregory Fallis, "Poachers" by Tom Franklin, "Hitting Rufus" by Victor Gischler, "Out There in the Darkness" by Ed Gorman, "Survival" by Joseph Hansen, "A Death on the Ho Chi Minh Trail" by David K. Harford, "An Innocent Bystander" by Gary Krist, "The Jailhouse Lawyer" by Phillip M. Margolin, "Secret, Silent" by Joyce Carol Oates, "In Flanders Fields" by Peter Robinson, "Dry Whiskey" by David B. Silva, "Sacrifice" by L. L. Thrasher, "Bech Noir" by John Updike

The Best American Mystery Stories 2011


Harlan CobenRichard Lange - 2011
    Each volume’s series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected—and most popular—of its kind. The Best American Mystery Stories 2011 includes Lawrence Block, Brendan DuBois, Loren D. Estleman, Beth Ann Fennelly and Tom Franklin, Ed Gorman, Richard Lange, S. J. Rozan, Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins, and others

The Best American Mystery Stories 2012


Robert Crais - 2012
    Each volume’s series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected — and most popular — of its kind.The Best American Mystery Stories 2012 includesPeter S. Beagle, Kathleen Ford, Mary Gaitskill, Lou Manfredo, Thomas McGuane,Gina Paoli, T. Jefferson Parker, Kristine Kathryn Rusch,Charles Todd, Daniel Woodrell, and others

The Best American Mystery Stories 2008


George PelecanosThisbe Nissen - 2008
    As Pelecanos notes in his introduction, the twenty “original and unique voices” in this collection pay homage to the genre’s forebears by taking crime fiction into a thrilling new direction. “But make no mistake,” he says, “we are all standing on the shoulders of writers who came before us and left an indelible mark on literature through craftsmanship, care, and the desire to leave something of worth behind.”

The Best American Mystery Stories 2003


Michael Connelly - 2003
    For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundreds of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind. This seventh installment of the premier mystery anthology boasts pulse-quickening stories from all reaches of the genre, selected by the world-renowned mystery writer Michael Connelly. His choices include a Prohibition-era tale of a scorned lover's revenge, a Sherlock Holmesinspired mystery solved by an actor playing the famous detective onstage, stories of a woman's near-fatal search for self-discovery, a bar owner's gutsy attempt to outwit the mob, and a showdown between double-crossing detectives, and a tale of murder by psychology. This year's edition features mystery favorites as well as talented up-and-comers, for a diverse colleciton sure to thrill all readers.James Crumley Pete Dexter Brendan DuBois Elmore Leonard Walter Mosley Joyce Carol Oates

The Best American Mystery Stories 2002


James EllroyJoe Gores - 2002
    For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundreds of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to the twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind. In his introduction to this year's collection, James Ellroy explores the differences between the novel and the short story. Included here are experts at both forms. Featuring renowned novelists like Stuart Kaminsky, Michael Connelly, Joe Gores, and Robert B. Parker, as well as veterans of this series like Brendan DuBois, Michael Downs, Joyce Carol Oates, and Clark Howard, this edition will delight readers with its wide variety and peerless quality.

The Best American Mystery Stories 2009


Jeffery Deaver - 2009
    Featuring "gritty tales told with panache," this is a "must-read for anybody who cares about crime stories" (Booklist).

The Best American Mystery Stories 2019


Jonathan Lethem - 2019
    The twists and bad decisions pile up when a thief picks the wrong target or a simple scavenger hunt takes a terrible turn. What happens when you befriend a death row inmate, or just how does writing Internet clickbait became a decidedly dangerous occupation? “How can we not hang on their outcomes?” asks Lethem. “Are we innocent ourselves, or complicit?” Read on to find out.Foreword / Otto Penzler --Introduction / Jonathan Lethem --Coach O / Robert Hinderliter --keepers of all sins / Sharon Hunt --Open house / Reed Johnson --damn fine town / Arthur Klepchukov --walk-in / Harley Jane Kozak --Top ten vacation selfies of YouTube stars / Preston Lang --Mastermind / Jared Lipof --That Donnelly crowd / Anne Therese Macdonald --clown / Mark Mayer --Interpreting American Gothic / Rebecca McKanna --Hannah-beast / Jennifer McMahon --archivist / Joyce Carol Oates --box of hope / Brian Panowich --Payback / Tonya D. Price --If you say so / Suzanne Proulx --Neighbors / Ron Rash --Faint of heart / Amanda Rea --Lush / Duane Swierczynski --Inside man / Robb T. White --Burning down the house / Ted White --Contributor's notes --Other distinguished mystery stories of 2018

The Best of the Best American Mystery Stories: The First Ten Years


Otto Penzler - 2013
    Contributors include Russell Banks, James Lee Burke, Brendan DuBois, Lou Manfredo, Ed McBain, Joyce Carol Oates, and many others.