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MYSTERIOUS PRESS ANNIVERSARY. ANTHOLOGY. THE: CELEBRATING 25 YEARS
by Editors of Mysterious Press
Mysterious Press, May 2001
336 pages
$25.00
ISBN: 0892967390


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

The Mysterious Press folks are among my favorites in the business; editors Sara Ann Freed and Bill Malloy and publicist Susan Richman are professional, courteous and friendly folks who I've seen at various conventions. And I still owe Bill for coming to the rescue of the Bouchercon committee back in 1994 when we needed help and he was right there for us.

But that's not why I recommend this book; first of all, it's gorgeous. I know, that's not enough reason to spend $25.00, but it has a beautiful silver and black cover with a wonderful Arts & Crafts typeface. More importantly, it's a superior collection of new stories by eighteen of the press's writers, and that's quite a line-up.

I am a bit dismayed to report that it turned out exactly like I thought; the writers I like the best wrote the stories I like the best. There were few surprises and, to be honest, a couple of disappointments. Not all of these novelists qualify as great short story writers and I think that shows. I don't like surprise endings in short stories; there is enough that needs to be accomplished in a short time, and I think surprise endings are a sort of cheat. But so, what, I'm not the editor here and this diverse group is bound to both please and displease any reader.

It came as no surprise that two of the stories I liked the best were written by Marcia Muller and Margaret Maron (and no, that's not because I only like work by women whose initials are "MM".) Muller's "The Impostor" is a great Sharon McCone story about a "professional" party crasher. The Deborah Knott story involves a love affair, a golden retriever and trickery. Joe Gores "Inscrutable" is a great story about the DKA staff helping a friend. The stories by Peter Lovesey and Loren Estleman are excellent contributions to this collection as well.Ý

There are some stories that left me cold or indifferent and only one that I thought was not worthwhile and that was, alas, the story by the newest addition to the Mysterious Press line-up, Beth Saulnier. I guessed the resolution in no time and one major important factor in the story is, I'm almost 100 percent sure, wrong, pure and simple. The story was not the way to end this quality collection. I'm not a fan of Jerome Charyn or James Crumley, (hm, do I not like male writers with the initials JC?) or M.C. Beaton, but if you are, add those to the list of reasons to buy this anniversary anthology.

Reviewed by Andi Shechter, April 2001

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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