The Best American Mystery Stories

Brief Description: Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. 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 OatesTable of Contents: Contents Foreword - ix Introduction by Michael Connelly - xiii Doug Allyn The Jukebox King - 1 Christopher Chambers Aardvark to Aztec - 22 Christopher Cook The Pickpocket - 34 John Peyton Cooke After You've Gone - 47 James Crumley Hostages - 62 O'neil de Noux Death on Denial - 68 Pete Dexter The Jeweler - 80 Tyler Dilts Thug: Signi.cation and the (De) Construction of Self - 88 Mike Doogan War Can Be Murder - 96 Brendan Dubois Richard's Children - 115 Elmore Leonard When the Women Come Out to Dance - 137 Robert McKee The Confession - 150 Walter Mosley Lavender - 169 Joyce Carol Oates The Skull - 199 George P. Pelecanos The Dead Their Eyes Implore Us - 215 Scott Phillips Sockdolager - 231 Daniel Stashower The Adventure of the Agitated Actress - 250 Hannah Tinti Home Sweet Home - 270 Scott Wolven Controlled Burn - 289 Monica Wood That One Autumn - 299 Contributors' Notes - 315 Other Distinguished Mystery Stories of 2002 - 327 Review Citations:

Booklist 11/15/2003 pg. 579 (EAN 9780618329656, Paperback)

Publishers Weekly 09/01/2003 pg. 67 (EAN 9780618329656, Paperback) - *Starred Review

Contributor Bio:  Connelly, Michael MICHAEL CONNELLY is a former journalist and the author of over a dozen bestselling books, including the Harry Bosch novels and Blood Work, which was a major motion picture. He has won numerous awards for his journalism, as well as an Edgar Award, a Nero Wolfe prize, a Macavity Award, and an Anthony Award for his books. Michael Connelly lives in Florida. Contributor Bio:  Penzler, Otto Otto Penzler is the proprietor of the Mysterious Bookshop, the founder of the Mysterious Press, the creator of Otto Penzler Books, and the editor of many books and anthologies.