The Best American Mystery Stories 2013 edited by Lisa Scottoline
I like short stories but somehow don't make the effort to seek them out that often. Each year this series has a different editor. The series editor, Otto Penzler selects works from hundreds of sources including magazines, journals, and websites. The annual guest editor then chooses the best from that, usually around 20 stories. The story writers range from best selling authors to the lesser known, but the stories are all extremely well written.
The authors for this year's stories are: Tom Barlow, Michael Connelly, O'Neil de Noux, Eileen Dreyer, David Edgerley Gates, Clark Howard, Andrew Kocsis, Kevin Leahy, Nick Mamatas, Emily St. John Mandel, Dennis McFadden, Micah Nathan, Joyce Carol Oates, Nancy Pickard, Bill Pronzini, Randall Silvis, Patricia Smith, Ben Stroud, Hannah Tinti, and Maurine Dallas Watkins. I was glad to see a couple of Canadian authors in the mix.
There are a nice mix of stories, most set in the present, some historical. Some are very dark, others surprising. Hard to pick a favourite as I liked most of them, but for different reasons.
Sounds like a great lineup - some heavy hitters in that list! I really enjoy short stories too but, like you, don't often think to seek them out.
ReplyDeleteNice mix of plot types too Debbie. I mean to read more of these annual collections and somehow it slips past me.
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