The Best American Mystery Stories 2007 [Paperback]

Otto Penzler (Editor), Carl Hiaasen (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Best American Mystery Stories | Publication Date: October 10, 2007

The best-selling author Carl Hiaasen takes the reins for the eleventh edition of this series, featuring twenty of the past year’s most distinguished tales of mystery, crime, and suspense.

Laura Lippman introduces us to a suburban soccer mom who moonlights as a call girl and who has a fateful encounter with a former client at her son’s soccer game. Ridley Pearson traces a famous author of horror tales who becomes trapped in a real one after his wife vanishes while jogging. Joyce Carol Oates travels to a New Jersey racetrack where the animals that break down are of the two-legged type. Lawrence Block tells the story of Keller, a hitman for hire who happens to live in Greenwich Village, loves spicy food, and collects stamps as a hobby. And Scott Wolven plunges us into the world of an ex-con who takes a job at a private and very illegal Nevada racetrack where each day millions are won and lost. Mostly lost.

As Carl Hiaasen notes in his introduction, “The stories in this collection would do honor to any anthology of short literature. More than transcending the genre of crime, they blow away its nebulous boundaries.” The Best American Mystery Stories 2007 is a powerful collection certain to delight mystery aficionados and all lovers of great fiction.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The 11th volume in this consistently high-quality series features such household names as Joyce Carol Oates and Lawrence Block, but for the most part it's the lesser lights who shine brightest with superb short crime stories that evoke human passions and bring characters to life with a few well-chosen phrases or images. As series editor Otto Penzler again cautions in his foreword, few of the stories revolve on whodunit, the why having become more important in contemporary crime fiction. One of the best of the 20 selections is Chris Adrian's Stab, a chilling tale of childish cruelty, as witnessed by an autistic child. Block himself weighs in with the masterful Keller's Double Dribble, a story of double crosses, white-collar crime and basketball. Another standout is Brent Spencer's The True History, a gripping account of brutality and revenge set during the Texas War of Independence. Cozy and Agatha Christie fans won't find much to suit their particular tastes, but lovers of good writing should be delighted. (Oct.)
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Review

"A standout collection." (Kirkus Reviews )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (October 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618812652
• ISBN-13: 978-0618812653
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #749,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in Bethesda, Maryland, but grew up mainly in northeastern Pennsylvania, though my family is from southern Indiana and northern Kentucky. I'm the author of The Lost Son, a novel, and Are We Not Men?, a collection of short fiction, both from Arcade Publishing, run by the legendary Richard Seaver. My most recent book is Rattlesnake Daddy: A Son's Search for His Father, a memoir about my father's mysterious life and death (The Backwaters Press). My short fiction has appeared in Best American Mystery Stories, The Atlantic Monthly, GQ, Missouri Review, Epoch, and elsewhere. I teach fiction writing and screenwriting at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

I'm married to the writer Jonis Agee. Together we are the indentured servants to two bichons frises and one horse. We live in Ponca Hills, which is on the Missouri River, north of Omaha, Nebraska. For more information, go to brentspencerwriter.com.

(Photo credit: Miriam Berkley)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Always a Winner, November 6, 2007

By 

Daniel J. Seitler "shinybear" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best American Mystery Stories 2007 (Hardcover)

The Best American Mystery Stories series is always one of the year's highlights and the 2007 collection is dark, edgy, innovative and exciting. Many old favorites are onhand but so are many new and exciting writers. Is some of the subject matter disturbing? Absolutely! From animal killing to soccer-mom prostitutes, this is a collection that doesn't play it safe. Yet the consistancy of quality is always there. While I prefered some stories more than others, I found every story in this collection interesting and worth my time. Short stories make perfect reading in today's busy world and this collection is a great way to start getting into them!

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great original and new dark crime stories, October 27, 2007

By 

Avid Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best American Mystery Stories 2007 (Paperback)

if you love cozies, then don't buy this book. get a cup of hot milk and an miss marple and leave now. fleeee! because this is a dark book. but it's a FABULOUS collection if you love dark noir, crime writing by the best of the best, including:

STAB by Chris Adrian! This is my personal favorite -- the smartest most evocative piece I have ever seen from a child's pov. His story, john dufresne's and scott wolven's are disturbing and fresh crime stories from the dark side of humanity and shouldn't be missed! sophistocated readers will also take satisfaction in the entire collection, especially stories by the usual suspects: joyce carol oates, ridley pearson, laura lippman at her darkest. Fresh, original, dark writing here. Transportive stuff -- so transportive that the suspense might just keep you up at night, either that or the excellent caliber of writing!

5.0 out of 5 stars Character driven crime stories, May 5, 2011

By 

Neal C. Reynolds (Indianapolis, Indiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best American Mystery Stories 2007 (Paperback)

Short stories classified as mysteries are totally different than they were back in the 40's. These are not whodunnits, PI adventures, or cop stories. But they are insightful stories mostly from the point of view of criminals. I found each of these well worth reading, but they are inclined to be literary and not thrillers or traditional suspense. Few depend on twist endings. The very best one in the book, in my opinion, was William Gay's "Where Will You Go When Your Skin Cannot Contain You?" The Jeepster is indeed the most unforgettable character you'll find in this collection.Other excellant stories include:Kent Myers "Rodney Valen's Second Life" which starts as a rather tongue-in-cheek narrative which slowly turns weird and insightful into the mind of a 2nd generation poacher.Louise Erdrich's "Gleason", an O'Henry type story of a rich philandering husband who, with his paramour's brother, arranges for his wife's kidnapping so that he can give her sufficient money to support his child by her.Brent Spencer's historical "The True History" set in Texas during the battle with Santa Anna's troops.Lawrence Block's "Keller's Double Dribble", one of a series of stories of a likeable hit man.Peter Blanner's "Going, Going, Gone" which while possibly not truly belonging in this collection is a wrenching story which will especially touch father's and portrays a father's, or indeed parent's, worst nightmare.I could go on and give reasons for liking each of the other stories, but will leave it to those who choose to read this anthology to discover their own favorites.