The Best American Mystery Stories 4: Bk. 4 [Hardcover]

A sterling collection that should both entertain and serve as an introduction to some formidable new talents --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

"A sterling collection that should both entertain and serve as an introduction to some formidable new talents" Publishers Weekly --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'The short story deals with issues and themes large and small. But it does it succinctly and quickly. The short story is a car for the short track. Put the top down and power into the curves.' From the introduction by Michael Connelly This year's instalment boasts pulse-quickening stories from all reaches of the genre, selected by the one and only Michael Connelly. His choices include the Prohibition-era tale of a scorned lover's revenge, a bar owner's gutsy attempt to outwit the mob and a tale of murder by psychology.This edition features mystery favourites Elmore Leonard, Walter Mosley, James Crumley and Joyce Carol Oates as well as talented up-and-comers, for a diverse collection sure to thrill all readers.

Showcasing the very best of American crime writing, here are twenty stand-out short stories notable for their dark tone, frequent plot twists, and - above all - their outright entertainment value. Dennis Lehane opens 'Until Gwen' in a stolen Dodge Neon with an 8-ball of coke in the glove compartment and a hooker named Mandy in the back seat and accelerates from there, Louise Erdrich's 'Disaster Stamps of Pluto' leads us into a nearly extinct North Dakota town where the dead outnumber the living, Daniel Handler poses a classic 'locked room' mystery in 'Delmonico' while Joseph Raiche's 'One Mississippi' takes a hellish subway journey and David Rachel's 'The Last Man I Killed' follows a path that winds from the Eastern Front in 1945 to a midwestern state university twenty years later.
Selected by award-winning novelist and short story writer Joyce Carol Oates, The Best American Mystery Stories contains tales from bestselling authors and newcomers alike. The veterans demonstrate the skills that have made them masters of the genre, while the (as yet) unknowns clearly mark themselves as talents to watch. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Your father picks you up from prison in a stolen Dodge Neon, with an 8-ball of coke in the glove compartment and a hooker named Mandy in the back seat. Two minutes into the ride, the prison still hanging tilted in the rearview, Mandy tells you that she only hoos part-time...her true calling in life is to write
- from 'Until Gwen' by Dennis Lehane
Twenty crime short stories from: Scott Turow, David Means, Louise Erdrich, Dennis Lehane, Stuart M Kaminsky, Daniel Handler, Edward P Jones, George V Higgins, Richard Burgin, Scott Wolven, Laura Lippman and others --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Michael Connelly is the author of several bestselling titles including CHASING THE DIME, LOST LIGHT and most recently THE NARROWS. He has won many international awards, including the Edgar, and been nominated for many more. Otto Penzler is the owner of the Mysterious Bookshop in New York City and the founder of the Mysterious Press and Otto Penzler Books. He has been the series editor of THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES since its inception in 1997. Otto Penzler is the owner of the Mysterious Bookshop in New York City and the founder of the Mysterious Press and Otto Penzler Books. He received an Edgar Award for The Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection and was honoured by the Mystery Writers of America 1994 with the Ellery Queen Award for his contributions in the publishing field. Donald Westlake, a Mystery Writers of America grand master, has written dozens of novels during his prolific thirty-year career, including his latest thriller, The Hook. His many honours include several Edgar Awards and an Academy Award nomination.