Mystery Anthology: "The Best American Mystery Stories"

01/31/10

Well, it's been a while since I've added a post. Family birthdays, spending time with grandchildren, and the holidays have kept me busy but I promise to try to be more consistent in the future.

I recently read "The Best American Mystery Stories 2009" edited by Jeffery Deaver. The mystery anthologies I've read in the past have all been by women authors while this one was a mix of male and female authors but seemed to be predominantly male. Although there were several stories that I enjoyed reading, I have to say that I prefer the all women anthologies I've read in the past.

Some of the stories I especially liked:

"Beanball" by Ron Carlson: The twists and turns in this story kept surprising me to the very end.

Chuck Hogan's "Two Thousand Volts" also had an ending that surprised me but the story was shorter so we got there a lot faster.

Alice Munro's "Free Radicals" is about a unique form of justice while Joyce Carol Oates' "Dear Husband" is a little too gruesome for me.

One of the more believable and intriguing stories was "G-Men" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and it offers an alternative version of J. Edgar Hoover's death. In fact, after reading this story, I was researching the real manner of his death!

Jonathan Tel's "Bola de la Fortuna" is an example of how a life can be ruined by suspicion and even a "happy ending" may not be so happy after all.

There are other stories in this anthology worth reading but these are the ones that I particularly enjoyed.

If you want to find a new author, I highly recommend checking out some anthologies in genres you particularly enjoy. When I read a story I like, I often look for a book by that author to see if his or her book length writing will also appeal to me.

Happy Reading!

pazt