Customer Reviews

The Best of Mystery: 63 Short Stories Chosen by the Master of Suspense

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This is a frighteningly large hardcover. Co-workers asked me if I was reading a textbook. No, instead it's 63 short stories culled from years of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. There's some big names in here, including Ed McBain, Lawrence Block, and Hillary Waugh.

Still, it's an uneven lot, with some true clunkers. Other stories are horribly dated by modern sensibilities with references to prices that stagger the imagination more than the dirty deeds (Sixty cents for a cheeseburger? Only at White Castle...) and a few references to 'Nam and the Cold War. There's even a tale with a science fiction bent about the first manned mission to Mars, but the author has planted tongue firmly in cheek, making it one of the more enjoyable, if quirky, stories in the collection.

There's enough memorable material to make this worth the read. I'd even recommend spacing the stories out, reading a few between other, longer works to prevent burnout. Recommended to any fans of mystery in any genre. You're sure to find something of merit here, especially if you find this on the cheap in a used bookstore since I'm fairly certain it's long out of print.

most of the stories are about 5-10 pages. interesting easy to read stories chosen from the Alfred Hitchcock mystery magazine. The book was put together after Hitchcock's death and stories of course were not written by hitch.

this one is simply the worst so-called Anthology i've ever read. it tried so hard to fool you with such cheating words: "beware--the anthology is not recommended for late night reading. these masterful tales are guaranteed to unnerve."
give me a break! there were actually handful barely readable ones in it, and most of them were garbage-like bad stories in mediocre writing. indeed we have to beware, the anthology is indeed not recommended for late night reading, because if you did, you'd become so upset that one after another, page after page was just so bad and you'd lose your peaceful mind and unnerve your temper since this was just a collection of mediocre garbage.
there were only a few readable:
WINTER RUN
YOU CAN'T BLAME ME
THE COST OF KENT CASTWELL
PSEUDO INDETITY
THAT RUSSSIAN!
BLIND DATE
PRESSURE
THE RUNNING MAN
THE VIETNAM CIRCLE
SADIE WHEN SHE DIED
A VERY CAUTIOUS BOY
A TRY FOR THE BIG PRIZE
NIGHT OF THE TWISTERS
WARRIOR'S FAREWELL
WITH A SMILE FOR THE ENDING
TELEVISION COUNTRY
ART FOR MONEY
NOTHING BUT HUMAN NATURE
MURDER, 1990

that's all. others were just pure junk. but even those i listed above were not in the least thrilling, just barely readable.

I havent finished the book, Im saving it for those long summer days that are filled with nothing to do. For the most part the stories are cool, but some are as dull as dirt. I wont name any stories because I have 2 of these types of books and I may confuse stories from the other and write that they are in here. The big thing for me was the fact that these stories were chosen by Alfred Hitchcock, no he didnt chose some of his favorite stories that he wrote; he chose stories by other authors. The book says that he chose them, but it also states that this book is By:Alfred Hitchcock. I have no clue why, its sort of like hes stealing other authors stories. Anyway this is more an adult book unless you are a very good reader. I purchased this book when I was 14 and I am now 15 and I am able to understand most everything in the book, but there are some big words in it. But I am also one of the best readers in my class(at when reading to myself, I hate reading out loud). So if you are looking for something by Alfred Hitchcock then you might not want this book. If you want something that Mr.Hitchcock liked then you may want this. For the most part the stories are enjoyable and scarry, but dont expect this from all of them.