Customer Reviews

Crimes by Moonlight: Mysteries from the Dark Side

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The names Margaret Maron and Max Allan Collins on the cover of "Crimes by Moonlight" caught my eye. After discovering that this was a collection of 20 "Mysteries from the Dark Side", I was hooked. After reading each story, I can say the collection lived up to its promise. This is an excellent and varied collection of short stories by a mixture of well-known and lesser known authors.

I hadn't read anything by the editor of the collection, Charlaine Harris, prior to this. However, I loved her story about vampire Dahlia Lynley-Chivers. It was full of both adventure and humor, and I would love to read more stories about this character. Other great vampire stories in this collection are Parnell Hall's "Death of a Vampire" and Toni L.P. Kelner's "Taking the Long View". Not all of the stories were related to vampires. For example, Elaine Viets' story of second sight was suspenseful, but still included her wonderful sense of humor. I enjoyed the ghost stories by Barbara D'Amato, Mike Wiecek, and Carolyn Hart. I also liked Dana Cameron's story, which started out like a traditional mystery - until a werewolf came along! I enjoyed the collaboration of Max Allan Collins and Mickey Spillane in an unusual Mike Hammer story. There is quite a mixture of different types of stories and settings, so the collection really does have something for everyone.

I have read many collections that have only a couple of good stories, but "Crimes by Moonlight" contains one great story after the other. Fans of vampire and other paranormal stories will love this collection. In addition, those that like the work of contributing authors such as Harley Jane Kozak, Elaine Viets, and Margaret Maron, who aren't usually known for paranormal stories, will love seeing another side of these authors.

These twenty short stories focus on paranormal mysteries that run the urban fantasy gamut with vampires, werewolves, witches, ghosts, seers, mages and Mike Hammer making featured appearances. All of the contributions by The Mystery Writers of America authors are enjoyable tales that sub-genre fans will want to read as the diversity of the supernatural adds to the overall fun. Vampires are right at home in Parnell Hall's amusing "Death of a Vampire" and Charlaine Harris's "Dahlia Underground". Ghosts star in Harley Jane Kozak's "Madeeda", Carolyn Hart's "Riding High" as a marriage counselor and even as a phantom ship in Lou Kemp's "In Memory of the Sibylline". Finally Hammer has a "Grave Matter" (by Max Allan Collins and Mickey Spillane) case with a supernatural taint. This is a strong anthology as everyone contributing showed up in top form providing enjoyable Crimes by Moonlight: Mysteries from the Dark Side collection.

Harriet Klausner

Usually when I read an anthology, I find several that are not to my liking. This time I enjoyed to various degrees eighteen of the twenty stories. Of course my favorite was by Harris, because I am familiar with her writing and characters. Some of the others seemed a bit amateurish, perhaps because the authors were not used to the genre or format.
The only two I found unreadable were by Meyers and Moran.

Crimes by Moonlight: Mysteries From the Dark Side gathers new mystery stories from some of the biggest mystery novelists today, includes a new Sookie story from the author, and features some of the biggest names in crime-writing history - from Carolyn Hart and Barbara D'Amato to Lou Kemp. From a vampire attack to a ghost assigned to help humans in trouble who becomes tangled in a marital dispute, this is packed with outstanding and very different mysteries!

An enjoyable collection of short stories from renown mystery authors. I particularly enjoyed the addition of fantastical elements, most of which were not the over-used vamp/wolf supernaturals. Ghosts, banshees, and stranger things that have no name, all make appearances in the shorts. As this is a group of mystery writers, most of the endings have the twist that readers expect, though some may surprise you. I found that the authors NOT billed on the cover offered the best stories, while some of the popular authors were lacking.

A great read that demonstrates the craft of short stories while keeping the reader thoroughly entertained.

A great read, exactly what you would expect, good selection of stories with a supernatural twist and a mystery background.

Reading this book was like watching an all day marathon of lost episodes of Twilight Zone! Every story was great; many had that twist at the end that makes you really sit up and take notice. I'm now tracking down other works by several of the authors featured here. Wonderful merging of the paranormal and mystery genres, with neither one suffering in the translation, so whether you love hard boiled noir or vamps at midnight, I highly recommend you READ THIS BOOK.

Most of us who have written short stories have probably written as least one dealing with the paranormal. My effort was "Josette" which was in the now defunct Skyline magazine a half dozen years ago (never can tell whom you might meet in a bar). This collection contains 20 short stories by an equal number of authors, at least some of whom are not known for writing about the paranormal. It is a very good collection to have on hand. You can occasionally read one of the short stories when you don't feel up to reading a full novel - in that regard it is a good collection for commuters.

I don't know if I could identify a favorite. There is a short story co-authored by Mickey Spillane, one by Margaret Maron, etc.

I've always been a fan of short stories and these are some of the best (not to mention fun!) I've read in a long time. Buy this book . . . you won't regret it!

I never used to read short stories, but once I read one of Charlaine Harris' anthologies, I was hooked. Death's Excellent Vacation; Many Bloody Returns; Wolfsbane and Mistletoe; Must Love Hellhounds; Strange Brew. I think the first for me was the hellhound one. I can't wait to read more!

I cannot remember all of the titles because I have returned the book to the library, but they all were good. I especially liked seeing favorite authors bring a little paranormal into their mysteries, e.g., Margaret Maron.

One story was especially creepy. It was Tadesville. I don't like stories that are too creepy, like this one, but that it sticks with me is probably a sign of how good it is. Bit hard to understand.