Customer Reviews

Killer Year: Stories to Die For...From the Hottest New Crime Writers

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This novel is an excellent collection of short stories fr0m up and coming crime writers that are new to the trade. You have 13 writers who
feature a short story in this book. The novel si edited by one of my favorite authors Lee Child.
The first story that drew my attention in this collection was a "Perfect Gentleman" by Brett Battles. This is a story about murder and
revenge in a foreign country. The next story in the novel was "Killing
Justice" by Allison Brennan. After failed attempts toget child protective
laws passed a mother takes matters into her own hands. Another good story was "Time Of The Green" by Ken Bruen. A con man goes to Ireland to pull a con and gets a surprise. Another story was "Bottom Deal" by Robert Gregory Browne. A former ppoliceman discovers a porno ring linked to a
former associate. There was a short story by Bill Cameron called "Slice Of Pie". A man makes a wrong assumption.
All in all this was a very interesting book. It doesn't take long to read and you will be entertained.

What a fabulous collection!! I bought the book because Gregg Olsen is one of my favorite non-fiction writers. Last year he ventured into the fiction genre and therefore he was included in this anthology. This book introduced me to many other rising stars in the `thriller' arena. I will be buying more books by the authors included in this fine work.

Nothing like getting together to promote a worthwhile cause... Books and the joy that comes from reading them. M. J. Rose states it clear as day, "For an industry losing readers to video games, movies, digital cable, blogs, and a creeping apathy about books..." there is no better book to grab your attention and reel you in than "KILLER YEAR"! The unbelievable talent within this book is amazing! I mean come on it is edited by Lee Child! Good start, right? Then you start reading and you come across authors such Brett Battles and wow! Sean Chercover with introductions and praise from well known and well loved authors such as Tess Geritsen, Ken Bruen, Allison Brennan, Jeffrey Deaver and so many others that you just cannot go wrong when you add this book to your collection!!!!! I hope you enjoy!

We need to thank the International Thriller Writers, and the editor, Lee Child, for putting this collection together. There are a total of 16 stories, 13 by relatively new writers. It is a good way to sample writers. Like most short story collections, the stories vary in length and writing style. Some will appeal to an individual reaker more than others. I liked three of the short stories well enough to order copies of novels written by the authors.

"Teardown," by Marc Lecard, is a fun read with a humorous slant. The main character LoDuco, is a likeable sort that will probably appeal to Evanovich fans. He would fit right in. The author's novel is "Vinnie's Head." The author is originally from Long Island.

"One Serving of Bad Luck," by Sean Chercover, is about private investigator Ray Dudgeon. This is another character you will like, and one I would hope to see more of. He has a knack for making the best out of a bad situation. The author's novel is "Big City, Bad Blood." The author has an interesting background. Like Dashiel Hammett, he started out working as a PI, and has held a number of other jobs during his career. He splits his time between Chicago and Toronto.

The leadoff story, "Perfect Gentleman, by Brett Battles, is about Wade Norris, an American expatriot working as the papasan in a strip club in Angeles City in the Philippines. He looks after the young women working there, and has his own ideas about justice. I like the author's writing style. He novel is "The Cleaner." The author is from California, but has traveled extensively.

There were a number of other stories that I particularly liked, including "Bottom Deal," by Robert Gregory Browne. The main character, Jennings, is an entertainer, card sharp, and addicted gambler (always looking for a game) in Las Vegas, and sometimes may be involved in a little B&E with his friend Scully. He is escaping from tragedy in his past, and has his own way of dealing out some justice.

Readers will find an assortment of stories that they will enjoy.

Better than average anthology. I made a list and finished with four I want to read more. That's not bad.

This interesting anthology predominantly showcases new authors whose first crime-thriller tale was published in 2007. There are also two well written essays; "The Class of Co-opetition" by MJ Rose explains the state of the publishing industry was in trouble even before the recent economic crunch so much so that grandmasters like Lee Child agreed to mentor talented wannabes; Laura Lippman adds a historical "Coda" to the compilation and what led to it. The entries are for most part strong with no clinkers and prove a delightful way to meet some of the rising stars in the crime-thriller genres. The contributions run the gamut of the two genres with the emphasis on crime. The well written tales include a messenger from Rutgers (see "Righteous Son" by Dave White) to the wheelchair philosopher who understands that one is the difference between a burden of love and a bond of love (see "Gravity of Need" by Matthew Sakey) to Jason Pinter's on the mark "The Point Guard" to the knife wielding female in "Runaway" by Derek Nikitas. Although M.J. Rose paints a gloomy pessimistic state for the industry, she is on target with her optimism that talent abounds as affirmed by this anthology in which surely someone sliced off the top of the glass so that it is no longer half but filled to the brim.

Harriet Klausner

This book gave me a chance to sample some writers that I had never heard of. I have purchased books by 2 of the writers since reading their short stories.

Best Regards and Kudos to all.

David

Hyped up and with each story introduced by some great writers, I had high hopes for this. I was drawn in by a mis-leading cover which promotes lots of big names, but it is not until you look at the details that you discover that the actual stories are by new writers, most of which you will never have heard of.
In order to carry this off, the stories would have had to be very good, but sadly they weren't, they do range from the 'not bad' to the 'okay' but there was not one outstanding story that would have had me seeking more work from the author concerned.
Given the cost and the cover hype, this felt like a bit of an unsatisfying rip-off. It will be in the bargain bins within a few months so don't invest any money on it now.

Killer Year is a collection of pretty average stories, most after you've finished you'll be thinking well there's half an hour (or however long you wasted on each one) of my life I'll never get back. A few of the stories are okay but they would be the fillers in a better quality collection accompanying the great stories. Every story in Killer Year is predictable. Predictable can be all right if the journey to the predictable outcome is fun or exciting or has memorable characters, but with the exception of a few, most stories within have pretty weak characters indeed. All stories have a killer of others or a suicider, hence the theme of Killer Year.

I got this collection as I really liked the author Jason Pinter's debut novel The Mark. His story Point Guard was one of the all right ones, but no where near the quality of The Mark. Basic plot is a loser kid is approached by the neighbourhood bully who he is an awe of, to be the gunman in the robbery of a convenience store.

The other all right stories are Death Runs Faster by Duane Swierczynski where a dim witted security guard basic spends most of the story complaining about his life while waiting in line on Christmas Eve for his wage cheque, contemplating the offer from a mate of a cash in hand one of job with the Polish mafia.

The Only Word I Know in Spanish by Patry Francis is the tale of Cody Moran, a kid who when he attended school had the potential academically to be anything. However Cody has given into the peer pressure of the poor neighbourhood and taken to a life of drugs and petty crime. Police give him and his mates a working over before arresting them after an old man is brutally beaten for not leaving the wrong neighbourhood after a teenage gang tells him to get lost. The old man tells the police the boys they brought in were not the same ones. Cody's mother takes the police to court which means every little move Cody will do from that point on, has the watching police are not far away.

Perfect Gentlemen by Brett Battles has a man arriving in a strip joint/brothel in the Philippines. He hires a girl for the duration of his stay then returns with a photo of her boyfriend, says he's from Homeland Security and wants to know where the boyfriend, who he says is a terrorist can be found.

Teardown by Marc Lecard would be the best of the bunch. About a deadbeat who is has a job arranged on a demolition site by his friend so his unemployment benefit wouldn't expire. He takes a nap around midday behind the last standing building on site and wakes up when it is dark. He goes to relieve himself inside the building when a car carrying two thugs and their victim arrive for a torture and execution session.

The rest really aren't worth mentioning as they are of such a poor quality.

Perhaps I am missing the literary subtleties, but I found the stories dull and aimless. Exceptions would be `The Point Guard' and `The only word I know in Spanish'. They are the sort of stories that when you reach the end you scour back over the pages looking for some vital line or sentence you may have missed that made the story make sense or gave it that 'punch'. Alas, not to be. If you were considering a purchase based on the Lee Child connection , you are not buying a Lee Child book. There is not a single story that bears any resemblance to the action packed, researched to the bone world of Reacher. If you are a Reacher fan and are looking for stories in the same thread, wait for the next Reacher novel to come out or wait for the price to drop below $5 for the 2 stories mentioned above. Even if you were prepared to try something different and were'nt looking for Reacher like stories it's still hard to recommend.