Expect the unexpected and prepare to be entertained . . .
No book published this year will deliver more thrills per page than this one.
Here are twenty of the year’s stand-out crime short stories, showcasing not only the very best of the genre, but also the very best American writing full stop.
George Pelecanos, bestselling author, producer and writer on the HBO hit series The Wire, takes his pick of the past year’s most distinguished tales of mystery, crime, and suspense. James Lee Burke offers a chilling snapshot of the life of a reluctantly recovering drug addict, battling grief for her soldier husband in New Iberia’s old brothel district. Michael Connelly takes us to Mulholland Drive, where a cop examining the wreckage of a fatal collision has a frighteningly life-like crash dummy concealed in his own trunk. Alice Munro resurrects the memory of a sinister childhood friendship after forty years of silence. And Joyce Carol Oates visits not-so-sleepy suburbia, where, years after a newspaper exposes a man’s shady past, his daughters realise the control they have over his future . . .
From white-picket-fenced towns to the grubby grandeur of the Tunisian capital, The Best American Mystery Stories 2008 is a powerful collection certain to delight mystery aficionados as well as lovers of all great fiction.
No book published this year will deliver more thrills per page than this one.
Here are twenty of the year’s stand-out crime short stories, showcasing not only the very best of the genre, but also the very best American writing full stop.
George Pelecanos, bestselling author, producer and writer on the HBO hit series The Wire, takes his pick of the past year’s most distinguished tales of mystery, crime, and suspense. James Lee Burke offers a chilling snapshot of the life of a reluctantly recovering drug addict, battling grief for her soldier husband in New Iberia’s old brothel district. Michael Connelly takes us to Mulholland Drive, where a cop examining the wreckage of a fatal collision has a frighteningly life-like crash dummy concealed in his own trunk. Alice Munro resurrects the memory of a sinister childhood friendship after forty years of silence. And Joyce Carol Oates visits not-so-sleepy suburbia, where, years after a newspaper exposes a man’s shady past, his daughters realise the control they have over his future . . .
From white-picket-fenced towns to the grubby grandeur of the Tunisian capital, The Best American Mystery Stories 2008 is a powerful collection certain to delight mystery aficionados as well as lovers of all great fiction.
Newsletter Signup
By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Reviews
. . . contains several gems . . . The score of contributors include Michael Connelly and James Lee Burke, but also less predictably Alice Munro and Joyce Carol Oates
A showcase series finishes its first decade on a resoundingly high note
. . . many are highly readable . . . In 'Mulholland Drive', detective novelist Michael Connelly offers a hauntingly atmospheric tale of deception and retribution in Los Angeles
Book of the Week
This volume was a far from predictable delight, an excellent and varied that will keep most readers on their toes
This is a real treat for any die-hard mystery and suspense fans . . . not just mystery stories, they're great stories, full stop