A Hot And Sultry Night For Crime [Paperback]

Jeffrey Deaver (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2, 2003

Twenty all-new, sizzling stories by Jeffery Deaver * Loren D. Estleman * John Lutz * Marilyn Wallace * and others. A steamy collection of original stories by mystery's finest authors, set in hot climates where jealousy, greed, and murderous rage reach the boiling point.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In spite of its steamy theme, this original anthology of 20 tales by Mystery Writers of America members seldom sizzles. Only a few stories generate enough heat to warm a reader's heart, starting with Edgar-nominee Deaver's own nicely twisted "Ninety-eight Point Six." Another bright spot is Ronnie Klaskin's "Child Support," in which a woman has to cope with unreliable men. Toni L.P. Kelner's "Old Dog Days" features a retired police chief who manages to turn a hunt for a missing dog into a neat trick. In newcomer Ana Rainwater's arresting "Night Rose," a young woman with a difficult mother celebrates adulthood. Angela Zeman's "Green Heat" brings a Chicago hit man out of the cold and into the sweltering heat of West Virginia, where he gets a surprising education. Some big names prominently displayed on the dust jacket-Loren D. Estleman, John Lutz, Jeremiah Healy-should attract fans of those authors, though their contributions fall short of their best work.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Jeffery Deaver is the author of 16 novels, one of which, The Bone Collector, has been made into a feature film starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. His latest novel, The Blue Nowhere, is currently being adapted to film by Warner Bros. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (December 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425193691
• ISBN-13: 978-0425193693
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,870,781 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars solid and entertaining aimed at the genre generalist, February 4, 2003

By 

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

This review is from: A Hot and Sultry Night for Crime (Hardcover)

The twenty contributions that make up this collection for the most part live up to the title as each tale occurs on a hot and sultry night. The stories run the gamut of crime fiction with a few seemingly more thriller than mystery. The contributors make up some of the top talent in the genre. It is this not surprising that all the tales is solid and entertaining though a few are superb. A HOT AND SULTRY NIGHT is aimed at the genre generalist as it crosses a diverse series of lines. Anyone who prefers a particular sub-genre will most likely find at least a story or two in the anthology, but must decide the economic value.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just great crime stories; great short stories!, August 2, 2006

By 

Gypsy Wife "Gypsy Wife" (Back on Boogie Street) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Hot And Sultry Night For Crime (Paperback)

If you are a lover of well-written short stories, you will definitely enjoy A Hot and Sultry Night for Crime. If you are a lover of mysteries and thrillers, you will also enjoy this collection and you may find yourself exposed for the first time to literary-quality fiction.

This is a group of such superbly crafted short stories that it should be included as required reading for a short story writing workshop. I happen to love mysteries, but both as a writer of short stories and one who has studied enough literary fiction to be a bit of a critic and a compulsive editor, I find that my tastes are sometimes too particular to enjoy some of the more popular authors. And I have been disappointed on many occasions to discover that many best-selling authors of all genres will publish a wonderful first novel, get famous, get sloppy on editing, and it's all downhill from there. I won't name them here, but many of them I just can no longer bear to read because the prose is horridly written or the characters lack any degree of depth with which to hold my interest.

This collection has sent me happily off looking for works by the authors. The tales flow quickly, but I'm spending time re-reading delectible, succinct passages and wonderful turns of phrase. The stories are full of rich, complex characters and lush atmospheric details. Mr. Deaver has edited a collection that makes for super reading for both the literary reader and the mystery genre reader!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific compilation of crime and heat edited by, September 20, 2004

By 

Joymarie "Lover of the Written Word" (United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Hot And Sultry Night For Crime (Paperback)

one of the best in the mystery genre. Jeffrey Deaver starts it off with "Ninety-eight Point Six" a twisted, gnarly story of life at its' grittiest and greediest. It was my favorite; and those that followed tried to keep up and were 95% successful.

For me it was a one day read that was impossible to put down and was tinglingly enjoyable. If you love mystery, variety and diversion, you will love this anthology. A neat Christmas gift for anyone who loves to read and loves to try to guess just what the twist will be.