Customer Reviews

Best American Mystery Stories of the Century: Signed First Edition

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The stories in it reminded me of the great writers I enjoyed much earlier in the century. I liked the fact that they dated the stories to let the reader know when they were written. I must commend Tony Hillerman for his impressive choices; it couldn't have been an easy job. I can tell you right now, don't expect to read it in one week, not even in a month. I do recommend you savor and enjoy these stories slowly, even repeatedly, over an extended length of time, possibly even between other mysteries. What I mean is, who would WANT to hurry through such classics as James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler, William Faulkner, Susan Glaspell, Stephen Greenleaf, Dashell Hammett, O Henry, Sue Grafton, or Flannery O'Connor? And that's just a drop in the bucket of Who's Who in this 813-page book.

Flannery O'Connor is one of my all time favorites. She has a strong way of making a point; her endings have always taken me by surprise. Her 1965-story The Comforts of Home, about a son still living with his mother and the unwelcome guest she brings home, has the honor of being included. Another great one is, Susan Glaspell's 1917 story, A Jury of Her Peers; a story of a husband who hung himself while still in bed. Then there's a 1905 story by Willa Cather called Paul's Case; about a recently released safe cracker who may or may not go straight. Be sure to read Tony Hillerman's introduction. He tells the reader the difference between literature and mystery and how mystery has evolved. On my keeper shelf it goes!

Regardless of whether you agree with the choices of all the stories selected within this book, it is a great representation of american mystery stories in the 20th century. The inclusion of some of the centuries most prolific mystery writers, (Chandler, Hammett, Cain, MacDonald (Ross & John D.)), famous novelists (Faulkner, Steinbeck, Buck), modern writers (Stephen King, Dennis Lehane, Sue Grafton, etc.), and countless others make this a fantastic collection. Only a "sour grapes" type of personality could not appreciate this book. I guarantee that this collection will have you wanting to read more from some of these authors, and probably expose you to authors you weren't aware of previously. With stories varying from 10 to 40 pages, you can choose how long you want to read. I am an avid mystery reader, and I while there are many great books and stories I have read, I feel this is the best purchase I have made for the assortment of authors, styles, and stories I have been exposed to.

Talk about pressure. The goal is to select fifty-five tales with each twentieth century decade having at least three entries written by American authors to represent the best mystery short stories of the last hundred years. That is what Tony Hillerman and Otto Penzler set out to do and succeeded.

As expected many of the famous classic mystery writers such Hammett, Queen, and Chandler have works included in this tome. Also not surprising is that several of current popular authors such as Block, Paretsky, and Lehane have works contained in the anthology. It will be very startling to some fans that members of the Who's Who of American literature includes names such as O'Henry, Hemingway, Faulkner, Steinbeck, and Thurber. Added to the mix is an explanation on the selection process by Penzler and a brief historical look at how vast the genre has grown from its roots.

Harriet Klausner

The Best American Mysteries Stories of the Century, compiled by Tony Hillerman and Otto Penzler, is a remarkably good anthology. The editors imposed few rules on themselves, other than identifying the best stories. Some years are skipped while others have two or three offerings. They did limit their choices to only one story for a given author, perhaps unfairly penalizing exceptional writers like Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, Harry Kemelman, Ellery Queen, John McDonald, and Ross McDonald.

In general (but with clear exceptions like A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell), the earlier stories are largely puzzle mysteries, ones that challenge the reader to outsmart the author, while the later stories offer more character development and psychological depth. Readers less familiar with puzzle mysteries may find the earlier stories a bit foreign, and might benefit by reading the stories in this collection in reverse chronological order, thereby, beginning with more familiar terrain.

My favorites span the 1930s thru the 1950s, a period in which American authors began that major transformation of the American mystery as best characterized by the writing of Raymond Chandler. With Chandler's guidance, the pulp mystery fiction of earlier decades metamorphosed successfully into what might be called formal literature, writing more concerned with character development and with social issues.

More recent decades include great stories like The Comforts of Home (Flannery O'Connor), The Possibility of Evil (Shirley Jackson), Do With Me What You Will (Joyce Carol Oates), The Parker Shotgun (Sue Grafton), and Poachers (Tom Franklin).

Fortunately for the avid reader of mystery stories, many authors successful in other genre have seemingly been unable to resist trying their hand at the mystery story. In this anthology we find, for example, O. Henry, Willa Cather, John Steinbeck, Pearl Buck, William Faulkner, and Flannery O'Connor.

Not all stories will likely appeal to all readers, but there is a treasure trove of gems in this collection. There are 10 stories dating from 1900-1928, 16 from 1933-1957, 9 from 1962-1978, and 11 from 1981-1990. This is an exceptional anthology.

Some stories you've read, some forgotten, some never heard of before, are the rewards in this fine anthology. Take the time to enjoy this one.

Recently, I used this anthology in an introduction to mystery/suspense course. The extraordinary pricing of the text initially caught my attention (students/parents appreciate any text under $100.00, let alone under $20.00) ... then I checked the table of contents: STELLAR! Everything I needed for American Twentieth Century was here! (Which limited my time at the photocopy machine!! Thank you!!)

Whether you are a professor, teacher, or a just person interested in mystery/suspense, The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century offers a broad examination of the genre (and its subgenres). It addresses (among others):

- "Locked-Room" (i.e. crime committed under seemingly impossible circumstances) via Jacques Futrelle's "The Problem of Cell 13."

- "Hardboiled" (i.e. an American response to Britain's "Cozy" movement ... it is unsentimental in its depiction of violence, sex, and crime) via Dashiell's Hammett's "The Gutting of Coffignal" (I love the brilliant bits of humor in this piece and percussive use of repetition!!) and Raymond Chandler's "Red Wind."

- "Noir" (a subset of "Hardboiled" which features a layperson instead of a detective and often focuses on sex and self-destruction) via James M. Cain "The Baby in the Icebox" (one of my ALL-TIME favorites) and Cornell Woolrich's "Rear Window" (later brought to the big-screen by Alfred Hitchcock).

- Contemporary Suspense via Stephen King's "Quitter's Inc." (later translated to film in Lewis Teague's Stephen King's Cat's Eye).

Moreover, this anthology illustrates the multiple applications of mystery. For instance, it includes logic/math-based works such as Harry Kemelman's "The Nine Mile Walk" (though I have yet to find a student who enjoys this piece ... an episode of Numb3rs may make a great substitute here). Additionally, it addresses feminist works such as Susan Glaspell's "A Jury of Her Peers" and social works such as William Faulkner's "An Error in Chemistry."

One note of criticism: I would have enjoyed a preface to each piece (and not a tiny biographical note in the back of the text). (The editors of the Norton Anthologies are the experts at this ... modeling this work on their outstanding products would make this text invaluable!!) In a perfect world, it would have been great to introduce each short-story with a brief description of where it fits into the mystery/suspense spectrum. As is, it is entirely possible that a person reading this collection could walk-away having never heard of "locked-room" ... and that would be a pity.

This well-compiled text makes an excellent foundation for any mystery/suspense course or personal-learning experience. These are classic works and the price is unbeatable! Highly recommended!

Editors are always a little presumptuous when they use a title starting with "The Best..." The editor of this volume has selected 46 American authors from the 20th century, and included one story by each author. He has included some well known novelists like Faulkner, who were not known for writing short stories or mysteries; and excluded some well known mystery writers who are known for writing short stories, e.g., Marcia Muller, Lawrence Sanders, Michael Collins, etc.

Some of the stories are crime stories rather than mysteries, i.e., you know who pulled the trigger. It is a good collection of stories (in spite of omissions) starting with O. Henry's "A Retrieved Reformation," originally published in 1903, and ending with Dennis Lehane's "Running Out of Dog," originally published in 1999. In Between there are stories by Dashiell Hammett, Ring Lardner, John Steinbeck, Damon Runyon, Raymond Chandler, William Faulkner, Ellery Queen, John D. MacDonald, Ross MacDonald, Joyce Carol Oates, Stephen King, Sue Grafton, and many other writers. The short stories can be read in any order, starting with your favorite authors, and can be read at leisure. It includes stories like Cornell Woolrich's "Rear Window," later made into a motion picture.

Many of the authors included are best known as novelists. It is necessary to track down their short stories in order to have a complete collection of their work, and that can be difficult as many magazines have gone out of existance, and the stories may or may not be included in anthologies.

The collection is a bargain buy with 800 pages of stories. There are short biographical sketches of the authors at the end of the volume. Many of them died young. Jacques Futrelle went down with the Titanic, staying behind after helping women and children into the lifeboats.

Most modern authors do not write many short stories. As one author noted, it takes a significant amount of time and intellectual energy to write a good story, and there is very little financial return. Consequently, it is a rare find when you encounter a short story by an established author.

I just wanted to tell everyone how good this book is. I am a grandson of Harry Kemelman. This might be a biased opinion of the book but oh well. It is very heartwarming to see one of my Grandfathers greatest writings included in this excellent compilation of stories. I would reccomend this book to all who like mysteries. Not only is my grandfathers book great but all of the writers stories in this compilation are of the highest caliber.

I bought this ...and others...as I was having major surgery and wanted some bedside reading. The first 46 stories, except for the Harlan Ellson one!...were an interesting compendium. The final 6...constant gore, sex and more sex...and mystery? NONE! If the book had not included these...all from 1990's I believe, a real treasury. The way it is..90% good; 10% trash; probably a 4 star..not a 3.

This is an almost omnibus size collection of OK to great crime stories. Many people (myself included) would not consider these mystery stories, and at least one of them doesn't even concern a crime of any sort. There are New York Times and [...] reviews available online that echo this sentiment.

As pointed out in the Amazon.com review, it is impossible to please everyone when picking the best of anything. It is hard to argue that Chandler's "Red Wind", for example, is not one of his very best, it is also very hard to believe that Ellery Queen never wrote anything better than "The Adventure of the President's Half Disme" - which is decent, but not great - and an actual mystery. In this collection, the editor's choices sometimes do leave a lot to be desired too.

It also seems clear that Faulkner, Steinbeck, Cather, etc. have been included mainly to elevate the general tone above the pulp reputation of mystery/crime stories. In my opinion, this didn't help the collection at all.

In summary, most of these stories were a good read or better, but don't expect genuine mysteries.

I would recommend The Mysterious West, another mystery anthology edited by Tony Hillerman.