Customer Reviews

The Best American Mystery Stories<tm> 2009

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A top pick! Don't be surprised at the high quality of "mystery" stories in this anthology since the whole series stands up to scrutiny by the best and snarkiest of critics. Every story in the entire series is finely crafted and entertaining, to say the least.

In this case, Suspense Master Jeff Deaver's picks are colorful, pulse-pounding and, as required of any crime novel, WICKED-TWISTED. Page-turners, all. My all-time favorite Joyce Carol Oates never lets me down for a romp through the derelict mind -- and check out this one by lesser known mistress of mystery, James Lee Burke's daughter, Alafair Burke. BUT BUYER BEWARE: If you have a weak heart, make sure you get your aspirin handy and have your defibrillator on alert.

I hesitate to be blunt about this but I must post one little note about the current definition of "MYSTERY" before some Agatha Christie fan comes and posts a critique about this outstanding CRIME anthology and tries to deceive you into thinking it's unworthy.

This entire series a called "Best American Mystery Stories" because - NEWS FLASH - "mystery" has become the official umbrella catch-all word for crime stories!!!!! Thus, in a contemporary mystery story, order is not always restored after a murder; the characters are often psychologically disturbing if not downright DEVIANT - hello? it's a murder mystery!; and the social mores of the protagonists are not exactly mores to be desired!

In other words, these stories are written by the best living crime writers working in today's literary market. As a result, the stories run the gamut. They cover several genres within the overriding genre of "mystery fiction," which is to say they are often hardboiled, sometimes noir - but always suspenseful, prize-worthy, and thought-provoking. Think Doestoevsky, Patricia Highsmith, Cornell Woolrich, etc.

With all due respect, let this be a lesson to you. Take it with a grain of salt (because Series Editor Otto Penzler has published many cozy writers with his Mysterious Press imprint) but for kicks, he is quick to point out that the only "mysteries" he likes that have a cat detective or a recipe in them is where the cat is IN the recipe. ;-)

Happy reading!

This year's Best American Mystery Stories features stories by old favorites like James Lee Burke, Michael Connelly, Joyce Carol Oates and Alice Munro mixed with some newer writers and exciting new talents like Tom Bissell, Alafair Burke, Rob Kantner, Garry Craig Powell and Randy Rohn to name a few. This is one of the most consistently high quality anthologies out there and this year is no exception.

The number of rapes and the amount of violence perpetrated against women and children in this collection is sickening. This collection makes the world seem a very dark place.

I have ordered several of the books in this series, and always find excellent short mystery stories in each of them. They are great when you need a quick read rather than something that will keep you tied to the couch for a couple of days.

I buy this collection every year. Of all the "Best American Short Story" series, the mysteries are the most gripping. Wonderful guest editors every year. Best bedtime reading ever.

I did not get into the stories as quickly as I would have liked. They were good,but slow.

Avid Reader's 5-star review (above) of this collection is helpful and accurate--even though I totally disagree on the star rating. It is possible that the "technical" quality of these stories and the "reading experience" is as high as some say. It is also possible that the distorted, soul-wrenching horror of some "crimes" may blow the readers' minds and they are left with no ability to make a valid evaluation. But `Avid Reader' appears to have made a fair assessment, though from a different perspective than mine.

I read this collection to learn more about what rates as good fiction this year. Lately I've been disappointed in recent story-telling, whether in text or video format. I thought maybe I was expecting the wrong things and failing to appreciate the "progress" made by our current authors. Even though I probably am really failing in those ways, I still must rate this collection as "trash". I won't even say "well written trash".

Part of my standards for evaluation are based on the "Great Conversation" concept that imagines all literature as consisting of contributions to a great conversation spanning all time. Some contributions stand the test of time and earn a place among the "Great Books" (one collection of which is on my book shelf). Other contributions not only don't move the conversation forward, they pollute the atmosphere and harm the society (to the extent that they penetrate it). Some of this trash makes great headway when the authors are named "poet laureate" of the US or when they earn a Nobel prize for literature. It's a judgment call. But I suggest we look at the character and morals and vitae of those who award these prizes to see if we really want our society to be "led" down into the swamp by such people.

Part of my standards are more prosaic. I believe that great literature is needed to help educate the next generation. This education has greatest impact (regarding environmentalism and prejudice) when students are 11 to 14 years old. It has additional impact (regarding values and goals and dreams and careers) when students are 16 to 22 years old. Both these ages are "psychologically vulnerable" to trauma. Experiences that have no significance to 30 year olds can form obsessions and leave mental scars on younger people. I would like "literature" to be made available for use in educating people during the formative years. As a result, stories like those in this collection are NOT suitable.

To be clear: I rate Salmon Rushdie as one of the best authors ever. Not quite Shakespeare, but one who earns a place at the table. Obviously, Rushdie's works are NOT suitable for students in formative years. Yet his works contribute significantly to the great conversation. They deal with important concepts in brilliant ways. Interestingly, only tiny snippets of Rushdie's works need to be cut in order to make them accessible to children. I don't think his books would even be altered very much without those snippets. Yet I still think it is a tragedy that we must "wait" to recommend his books until the students are psychologically healthy and resilient enough. The crime stories in this collection, however, could not be edited at all to make them suitable. The "bad" parts are integral to the whole point of the plots. So, since the stories also do not contribute to any conversation (let alone a "great" one), these stories can't be called much else other than trash.

Most of these stories also warrant criticism for technical reasons. They were not written within a "hypothetical" reality. That is, they are not sci-fi or fantasy. So, in my view, they ought to be "reasonable" in how they present reality. I understand that extreme realities do exist on this planet. Yet many of the stories imply near universal "truths" as they paint their pictures. And what they imply is clear "propaganda". That is, the authors are often so heavy handed in pushing their extreme views about reality that readers who retain their faculties are jolted out of their suspension of disbelief by the absurdities. Other readers, weaned on a steady diet of similar junk, won't notice the propaganda. In fact, they'll cheer the authors for their brilliance and courage in "exploring" these "issues". That may be the most "real" crime in these stories--the abuse done to the credulous readers' minds.

I am a retired intelligence analyst and I spent years detecting "propaganda" and distinguishing truth from falsehood. I could still be wrong about this collection--but I doubt it.