Customer Reviews

Mystery Writers of America Presents The Rich and the Dead

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

 

 

The premise of the original short story anthology THE RICH AND THE DEAD, commissioned by the venerable Mystery Writers of America organization, is a simple one: each story deals with a crime occasioned and/or motivated by great wealth --- either keeping it or acquiring it. The 20 stories selected by editor Nelson DeMille in turn demonstrate a collective wealth of talent and imagination, one that transcends the mystery genre. DeMille, possibly by accident but probably by design, balanced his selections almost equally by authors who are known to the reading public and those who should and will be. The result is a volume full of surprises, both expected and unexpected.

It is wonderfully and joyously difficult to pick one story in THE RICH AND THE DEAD over another. The best one? It's close, but I would have to give the nod to "The Pirate of Palm Beach" by Ted Bell. This tale of a gossip columnist crossing swords with a rakish and wealthy con man features unforgettable characters, laugh-out-loud dialogue, and more twists than you would expect in less than 30 pages. It has "Best Short Story" written all over it.

As will occur with the best of anthologies, my favorite keeps changing, but the nod would have to go to "Bling, Bling" by David DeLee, who, despite being a native New Yorker and living in New Hampshire, somehow captures my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, perfectly in this story about a wealthy but streetwise rapper who may be at the end of his game.

Every story has something to recommend it. Harley Jane Kozak's "Lamborghini Mommy" points up the painful differences between the rich and the super-rich. The story is quite wonderfully told through the voice of a divorced mom who --- horrors! --- has to work and must contend with a false murder rap on top of her fall from grace. The closing sentence of the story, by the way, is one of the best I have read in a long time. The venerable David Morrell is here as well with "The Controller," an instructive tale that teaches, among other things, the difference between a "bodyguard" and a "protective agent." It also features an interesting mystery, one with layers to it, wrapped in the trappings of a thriller.

Of course, when one thinks of a rich criminal these days, Bernie Madoff immediately comes to mind, and Twist Phelan comes up with an extremely well-done variation on that theme with "Happiness," an in-the-room look at what occurs as a family gathers one last time, among the spoils of ill-gotten gain, before their patriarch reports to prison. The author isn't the only twist associated with the story, as various members of the household jockey for positions while U.S. Marshals look on very carefully.

Not all of the stories deal with rich crooks, however, or at least entirely so. Jonathan Santlofer is represented with "Richie and the Rich Bitch," in which the Richie of the tale is a thief for hire who gets ripped off after doing an art heist and decides to do some ripping back. "Richie," which is dark, gritty and has a surprise ending, reminds me of a celluloid feature that Alfred Hitchcock would have loved to direct.

I could keep going. Peter Blauner makes a most welcome return with "Thank God for Charlie," about a fading Hollywood actress who uses and is used. Carolyn Mullen's "Poetic Justice" is a very literary historical tale about a wealthy and abusive factory owner who gets his comeuppance, as does the reader. And I haven't even talked about the stories by Lee Child, Michael Connelly (a Harry Bosch tale, no less!), S. J. Rozan, Nelson DeMille, and a host of others whom I feel badly about failing to mention by name and deserve to be. What higher praise for THE RICH AND THE DEAD can I give than to tell you that you will be richer for having read it?

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

I really love this book. It is chance to read some of the best mystery writing today. The writers range from the well-known to the unknown and I enjoyed them all, especially the story written by new author, Karen Catalona. I predict she has a great writing career ahead of her.

The premise of this anthology is that the ultra Rich can obtain anything they want but also can be the target of others who envy their affluence. The all new twenty contributions are well written and though adhere to the general theme provide a wide diversity. Harry Bosch stars in Michael Connelly's terrific "Blood Washes Off while Connecticut widower Detective Meigs visits vacationing in dreaded Key West in Roberta Isleib's "The Itinerary". Cholly the odious poison pen columnist learns what being a victim is in Ted Bell's "The Pirate of Palm Beach". Trip sees Dizz but this is no high school reunion in the "Precipice" by Daniel J. Hale and Frank Cook's "The Gift" will remind readers of O'Henry. The strong collection closes with a wonderful tale starring the queen of Greenwich Village, "Daphne, Unrequited" and her former husband (written by Angela Zeman). With writers like Harley Jane Kozak, Lee Child and S.J. Rozan, readers will enjoy this fine compilation by the MWA.

It's always difficult for me to review a book containing a compilation of various works by a variety of authors. Some stories I like, others not so much. The same hold true for the authors. THE RICH AND THE DEAD contains works by some well know names like Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Nelson DeMille, Ted Bell etc. as well as others with whose works I have not read......until now. Along with my old favorites, thanks to this book, I have been introduced to the writing of new authors (to me at least) like Karen Catalona, Daniel J. Hale and Harley Jane Kozak...authors whose works I will now be sure to read again.

I have no idea if money makes one more devious and evil than the lack of money but in this instance each and every character in the various offerings either has tons of it and is bent on holding on to it....or is being pursued, blackmailed or romanced by someone else who wants to get their hands on it. All in all, every story in this book demonstrates the talent and vivid imagination of the individual authors. Among my favorites were The Pirate of Palm Beach which features a war of wits between a snarky gossip columnist and a rich playboy con artist, The Precipice a tale of surprising twists and rekindled love, The Sadowsky Manuscript, a lesson in the pitfalls present in the competitive world of publishing and my own personal favorite, Lamborghini Mommy whose protagonist is a lady I would enjoy having as a best friend. There is even one period piece in the collection called Poetic Justice that tells the tale of a factory owner and a servant in his home that will appeal to the devotees of historical fiction. Be forewarned, this is not the usual historical fiction fare with love blossoming between the master of the house and a beautiful but poverty stricken woman. He's ruthless and she's out for revenge.

This is the perfect book for someone who likes to read before turning out the light for the evening, but doesn't want to stay up all night to see how the story ends. These stories are short, concise, entertaining and best of all you can finish one in a matter of minutes and get to sleep. Your only problem may be that, like candy, one piece could prove to be addictive and leave you craving more.

"The rich and the dead" is a series of mystery stories surrounding the rich, compiled by writer Nelson DeMille. What attracted me to this book was the premise: there are a variety of stories to choose from, and characters are ever changing. If I don't like something, instead of dropping the book, I can just switch to a different story. In that respect, the format was perfect for me.

Overall, there are about twenty stories in the collection. Authors include Nelson DeMille himself, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Ted Bell, Joseph Goodrich, Daniel J. Hale, Frank cook, and Peter Blaumer, among many others.

Storylines varied. For instance: In Michael Connelly's "Blood washes off," a widow is interrogated by police about the murder of her husband, following the suspect breaking into their house and accusing the husband of duping him out of his investments. In Karen Catalona's "The Sadowsky Manifesto," an owner of a literary agency is contacted by the FBI, after they find out that a mass murderer mailed him the manuscript of his novel. In Daniel J. Hale's "The Precipice," a wife and her acquaintance are abducted on their way back from a wedding reception, left in a cabin, and nearly murdered in an elaborate plot orchestrated by the husband. In David Morrell's "The controller," the founder of a security company suffers a series of assassination attempts, and refuses to trust his own security team.

My favorite stories were probably "The Sadowsky Manifesto," "The Precipice," "Lamborghini Mommy," "Happine$$," and "Papparazzo. " At first I found it hard switching so quickly from one set of characters to another, but got used to it very quickly. I would definitely recommend this book to all the mystery-lovers out there.

This is a collection of twenty short stories based loosely on the mysterious, exciting, sensuous, and occasionally bloody lives of the rich and famous. Nine out of the twenty rate 4 or 5 on my Amazon scale. Read only those nine and the book is a 4.5 overall. Many of the weaker stories rely on the stereotype of the rich as conniving, amoral, and venal; the better stories don't. Do not neglect the author bios at the end. Some of these contributors have had remarkable careers outside letters. Hats off to Nelson DeMille for his editorial contribution. Here are my individual story ratings.

Death Benefits: clever, economical, wry, 5

The Pirate of Palm Beach: meritless, 0

Thank God for Charlie: weak story, 1

The Sadowsky Manifesto: extremely creative; bravo, 4

Kiddieland: terminally enigmatic, 2

Addicted to Sweetness: clever, bizarre, pointless, 3

Blood Washes Off: weird, satisfying, but still weird, 2

The Gift: creative techno-tale, 4

Bling, Bling: do the right thing, redux, 1

Murder in the Sixth: Paris? Yes. Interesting? No., 2

The Precipice: creative, tense, 5

The Itinerary: two or three coincidences short of excellent, 4

Lamborghini Mommy: well told, realistic, scary, 5

The Controller: truly outstanding. Wow. 5+

Poetic Justice: clever but stereotypical, 3

Happiness: one trite phrase after another, 0

Iterations: wha? 0

Richie and the Rich Bitch: sweet, quick, tight, 4

Paparazzo: clever, cute, creative, 4

Daphne, Unrequited: rambling, confusing, 1

This unabridged CD set contains 11 discs (12 hrs.,33 min.) and features 20 short stories and an introduction by Nelson DeMille (as well as a story by him). The stories are read by various narrators and all deal with rich and privileged characters and the usually negative aspects of their characters.

The Stories:

Death Benefits by Nelson DeMille (read by David Colacci)

The Pirate of Palm Beach by Ted Bell (read by Dick Hill)

Thank God for Charlies by Peter Blauner (Read by Joyce Bean)

The Sadowsky Manifesto by Karen Catalona (Read by Dan John Miller)

Kiddieland by Tim Chapman (Read by Jeff Cummings)

Addicted to Sweetness by Lee Child (Read by Christopher Lane)

Blood Washes Off by Michael Connelly (Read by Sandy Burr and Dick Hill)

The Gift by Frank Cook (Read by Luke Daniels)

Bling, Bling by David DeLee (Read by Joyce Bean)

Murder in the Sixth by Joseph Goodrich (Read by Jeff Cummings)

The Precipice by Daniel J. Hale (Read by David Colacci)

The Itinerary by Roberta Isleib (Read by Phil Gigante)

Lamborghini Mommy by Harley Jane Kozak (Read by Susan Ericksen)

The Controller by David Morrell (Read by Phil Gigante)

Poetic Justice by Carolyn Mullen (Read by Natalie Ross)

Hapine$$ by Twist Phelan (Read by Dan John Miller)

Iterations by S.J. Rozan (Read by Christopher Lane)

Richie and the Rich Bitch by Jonathan Sanlofer (Read by David Colacci)

Paparazzo by Elaine Togneri (Read by Luke Daniels)

Daphne, Unrequited by Angelia Zeman (Read by Susan Ericksen)

I used to be a fan of Nelson de Mille but the quality of his work has deteriorated and his novel The Gate House - a follow up to the splendid Gold Coast - was lamentable.

I can now confirm that he is also lacking in talent as a short story writer and editor.

This collection of crime stories is so dull that it is difficult to believe that the authors are regarded as being among the best contemporary crime writers.

These include people like Michael Connelly, Lee Child and David Morrell, all of whom should be prosecuted for trying to pass off shoddy merchandise as quality goods.

DeMille's own contribution has such an amateurish plot that you can tell how it will end within the first three pages.

Some of the stories, like "The Sadowsky Manifesto" and "The Pirate of Palm Beach", try to be funny and fail while others like "Bling, Bling" and "Addicted to Sweetness" try to be tough but just end up being sadistically violent.

"Addicted to Sweetness" by Lee Child, for example, consists of a description of someone who has double crossed a drug trafficker being soaked in gasoline while his interrogator prepares to set him on fire. "Bling, Bling" by David DeLee is about a failing rap star who shoots his wife in front of a cheering crowd because she "disses" him.

One effort "Blood Washes Off" appears as a interview between a suspect and detective which is supposed to have a sting in the tail. I defy anyone to try and read this particular effort without yawning.

Could DeMille really not find any writers who can create mystery or crime stories with crafty plots or memorable characters as Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine or Robert Goddard used to?