Customer Reviews

The Best American Mystery Stories 2001

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1 star:		(4)

 

 

As other reviewers have noted, the stories in this book, for the most part, are not traditional mysteries.

They are, however, very well written.

It is not necessarily a fun or entertaining read--for the most part, the stories explore the darker side of human nature and American culture--but a worthwhile book that shows that the short story is alive and well.

I should note from the start that I only listened to the nine stories on the CD audio edition, so my comments only reflect roughly half of the book's contents. I have to say that they were a bit of a disappointment overall. One would expect a collection of mystery stories to have some, well, mystery... Instead, the stories are heavy on atmosphere, emphasizing it over plot, and sometimes there is only the slimmest connection to crime at all. Roxana Robinson's "Face Lift" for example, is a curious inclusion by any measure. I'm not any kind of genre purist, nor am I big fan of whodunits, or traditional mysteries-but it seems like the editors were going more for stories with cachet (either a name literary author such as Russell Banks or Joyce Carol Oates, or a name source publication like Esquire), rather than actually finding mysteries that are great reads. I'm also not one who likes to puzzle out the endings to mysteries ahead of time, but I had the endings spotted halfway through the three most "traditional" mysteries of the nine on the CD (which were also my three favorites as it happened). The only story to make me somewhat interested in reading something else by the author was Peter Robinson's "Missing in Action", which had an interesting WWII setting and a light touch. Still, one out of nine isn't a great success rate, and if the other eleven stories are of the same ilk, I'd have to recommend skipping this year's collection.

I was a little irritated when I finished this collection. The stories, on the whole, are fine, and there are several excellent ones. But the collection's title is misleading. The definition of a "mystery story" used by the editors was any story involving a crime, and even that definition gets stretched a bit. For example, under this broad definition, a story about violence among prison inmates, or about the emotional fallout on a woman who was the victim of a sexual assault as a young girl, get included in the collection. That doesn't mean they are bad stories, of course, but "mystery" stories? I understand that limiting the collection of true detective stories may be too restrictive, but in my view a "mystery" story should have an element of suspense - not to put to fine a point on it, but some element of mystery - that a number of these stories lack. Is the field of mystery stories really so moribund that they couldn't fill a collection without broadening the definition so much as to make it meaningless? If you're looking for a collection of good stories loosely connected to crime and violence, this collection's a good bet. Otherwise, it's hardly what it claims to be.

Penzler and Block sold out to the literary establishment on this one. Or maybe it was Michele Slung. Anyway, it seems like they chose any story--no matter how pointless and uninteresting--with a crime in it that appeared in a 'literary magazine'. Trying to brown-nose some credibility perhaps? Anyway, don't read this if you're looking for a good mystery of crime story. Try Gorman's 'World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories'. This one's a waste.

The title of this book is very misleading. I would recommend reading the Editorial Comment before buying the book. Then you will have an idea of what to expect. Basically, the editor says that this volume contains stories of murder (and psychological effects) rather than mystery and suspense. A few of the stories are excellent but the rest just average.

The Best American Mystery Stories of 2001 is a compilation of 20 short mysteries and is edited by Lawrence Block. These stories are a mixed bag by such writers a Joyce Carol Oates, Russell Banks, William Gay, Clark Howard and a host of other writers-the majority of them who are pretty much unknown. The stories are not your typical mysteries and I was a little disappointed in this respect. I missed the point entirely of The Face Lift by Roxana Robinson, and I'm not sure why it was even included with this group. Some I liked more than others including Lobster Night (Russell Banks), Blood Sport (Thomas Lynch), Missing in Action (Peter Robinson) and The Book of Kells (Jeremiah Healy).

What I really enjoyed about The Best American Mystery Stories was the introduction by Lawrence Block. Block recounts the history of short story writing in America. At one time, there were many venues for short stories, and short story writers were very well paid. The short story also allowed many writers to sharpen their skills before tackling a lengthier and more ambitious novel. I listened to this book on CD, and I especially liked those stories read by Block. He lacks a smooth, newscaster-type voice, but his gravelly tone was perfect for these mysteries.

With any collection of stories, some are bound to be stronger than others. I just felt that some better selections could have been made.

Like the previous reviewer, I agree that there are few mysteries to this book. I read last years (2000)collection and really enjoyed it. However, 2001's collection is lacking in suspense, and seems to have the common notes of family/suffering/bleakness. Don't waste your money on the hardcover (like I did) if you are expecting short stories of mysteries and suspense.

I signed in just to warn off fellow readers. I was deeply disappointed
with this book. Like others have noted, the classification of "mystery"
ought to mean *something.* These stories were...macabre, depressing,
lugubrious...I think I'm most mad because they simply weren't ENTERTAINING.
Almost all of them were things I just slogged through...Gad. Otto Penzler
and Lawrence Block should hang their heads in shame.

What a waste of time this series was. It does not in any way fit the title of "Best American Mystery Stories" that it was given. "Short Stories of the Macabre" would be more fitting, but it wouldn't make the series any better.
As far as the audiobook goes, about half of the readers, one in particular, are horrible. Grating, irritating, to say the least.

If you want a good mystery, go elsewhere.

"The Best Mystery Stories of 2001" is a strange collection. Because it was edited by the great Lawrence Block, I expected it to contain a fair number of good hardboiled stories. Alas, that is the one subgenre that gets the short shrift in this collection. I noted that many of these stories first appeared in literary magazines, which may have something to do with why so many of them are written with flowery prose and are a tad shy on gritty street realism. There is also a decided absence of big name mystery authors, with long time great Bill Pronzini being one of the few icons in the collection. As soon as Pronzini's story, a first rate "Nameless" dectective tale, begins, the level of excitement rose for me. Jerimiah Healy is also in this collection, but his Cuddy short story is fairly pedestrian. Big name T. Jefferson Parker delivers "Easy Street," which is among the best in the collection. The others were a mixed bag for me, and I found some of them, like Roxanna Robinson's "The Face Lift," to barely qualify as mystery stories.

Overall, this collection left me wondering. If these really are the "best" mystery short stories being produced today, then the genre could definately use a good jump start.