Deadly Housewives [Paperback]

Nevada Barr (Author), Sara Paretsky (Author), Marcia Muller (Author), Denise Mina (Author), Nancy Pickard (Author), Carole Nelson Douglas (Author), Elizabeth Massie (Author), Barbara Collins (Author), Vicki Hendricks (Author), S.J. Rozan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 11, 2006

Wisteria Lane has nothing on the grande dames of mystery. A Bitch In the House for the fiction set, Deadly Housewives is a mystery anthology from fourteen of today's best–loved and bestselling female mystery and suspense writers.

Critically acclaimed mystery writer Christine Matthews has gathered the biggest names in women's mystery and suspense writing today, in this intriguing short story collection. Nevada Barr, Sara Paretsky, S.J. Rozan, Denise Mina, Carole Nelson Douglas, Marcia Muller, Nancy Pickard, Julie Smith, Vicki Hendricks, Suzann Ledbetter, Elizabeth Massie, Christine Matthews, Barbara Collins and Eileen Dreyer have all signed on.

The millions of viewers tuning in every Monday night to see the latest installment of Desperate Housewives are compelling evidence that there's a huge audience hungry for entertainment based on the premise that there's more to suburban housewives than meets the eye. With each never–before published story illuminating a different dark corner of the housewife–psyche, including sex, marriage, careers–left–behind, jealousy, kids, and female friendship, this anthology is perfect for the audience that's made Desperate Housewives must–see T.V. And the murder and mysteries on Wisteria Lane will look like a chorus bake sale compared to the thrills and suspense that these masters of crime writing cook up!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Housewife is certainly not the first word that springs to mind when glancing at the stellar list of contributors to this wide-ranging all-original anthology. Sara Paretsky, Nevada Barr, Marcia Muller, Carole Nelson Douglas, Nancy Pickard, S.J. Rozan and eight other women authors cook up or clean up a host of household problems. Barbara Collins's "Trailer Trashed" takes reality TV to a delightful new low; Denise Mina proves as chillingly adept in "An Invisible Minus Sign" as she is in her novels; Suzanne Ledbetter's "How to Murder Your Mother-in-Law" makes a strong case for justifiable homicide; and Eileen Dreyer's "Vanquishing the Infidel" only loosely qualifies as a crime story, but is perhaps the most heroic of any. There are cheating, abusive and just plain bad husbands and some very clever ways of disposing of them. Editor Matthews provides an amusing introduction. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

Here's something for fans of the television series Desperate Housewives. Mystery writer Matthews has compiled a collection of 14 short stories from a group of celebrated women crime authors. Sarah Paretsky, Marcia Muller, S. J. Rozan, and others examine the inner workings of the female psyche as well as the minutiae of everyday life. The women in these stories battle boredom, infidelity, kids, and ruined careers as they deal with marriage and trying to survive another day. These delightful tales prove that there are many ways to remove a troublesome husband, seek revenge against those who have cheated, and deal with disrespect. Barbara Bibel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; First Edition, Ex-Library edition (April 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060853271
• ISBN-13: 978-0060853273
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,415,879 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Anthology, April 21, 2006

By 

Detra Fitch (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deadly Housewives (Paperback)

Fifteen authors band together to make one of the most deadly mystery anthologies ever! These are not unknown names either. Oh no! All fifteen are known in the mystery genre and all the tales are new, never-before-published.

**** Do not skip reading the book's humorous Introduction. Just by reading it I knew this was going to be a fun book. Many women have considered killing off someone, but these housewives follow through with their thoughts. A few of these stories have unexpected twists or surprise endings. This fun read is perfect for your mountain or beach vacation. ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars strong estrogen driven anthology, April 25, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deadly Housewives (Paperback)

The Introduction sets the tone for this strong anthology. DEADLY HOUSEWIVES opens with letters asking for sage advice on spousal removal including a request from a woman who apparently killed her husband with his bowling trophy, but nonchalantly wants to know how to remove the bloodstains. Fourteen tales later complete what is one of the better compilations in several years. The authors are a female who's who going deep into what makes motivates the gentler sex to turn criminal and is some cases lethal. Each tale is well written as some of the best women mystery-suspense authors on the market provide their insight filled with twists. After reading this superb often amusing short story collection, the secret is out as to who dominates relationships especially family for estrogen rules.

Harriet Klausner

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoy the ride!, May 10, 2006

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadly Housewives (Paperback)

On television the housewives are desperate, but in this page-turner collection of short stories by award-winning women mystery-suspense writers, the housewives are deadly.

Anyone who knows the mystery genre knows the authors in this anthology: Nevada Barr, Barbara Collins, Carole Nelson Douglas, Eileen Dreyer, Vicki Hendricks, Suzann Ledbetter, Elizabeth Massie, Christina Matthews, Denise Mina, Marcia Muller, Sara Paretsky, Nancy Pickard, S. J. Rozan, and Julie Smith.

Resist any temptation to ignore the introduction and head straight for the stories because the introduction sets the tone for the rest of the housewives you'll meet in the pages that follow.

Some of the housewives are bored, others are disgruntled, but all discover nasty ways to respond to what irritates them. I tried to choose a favorite tale, but couldn't. I recommend you read them all, just not necessarily in the order they appear in the book. "Trailer Trashed" makes reality television worse than you thought. "Joy Ride" gives prudent insight on knowing who you're dealing with. "The Next-Door Collector" makes anyone look at the new neighbors a bit differently. "Lawn and Order" shows new ideas about plants and pets-two things that are supposed to help reduce stress. Ten more stories await you, so make sure you block enough time to enjoy them all.

After you've finished the stories, you'll want to read the "little black book" containing extra entries of comments and recipes supplied by the authors. After seeing how these ladies think, however, I don't know if I'd actually allow anything from the recipes into my mouth without a food taster trying it first.

You're in for a real treat as you move from story to story. Be on the lookout for haunting humor, precious pets, hurtful husbands, naughty neighbors, and generation gaps. Enjoy the ride.

Armchair Interviews says: Wow, sounds like a fun read.