The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories: 5: Fifth Annual Collection (World's Finest Mystery & Crime Stories) [Hardcover]

Ed Gorman (Author), Martin H. Greenberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 2004 | Series: World's Finest Mystery & Crime Stories

Editors Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg have scoured the world to present the biggest and most consistently entertaining collection of crime and suspense stories from across the globe. Their first-rate picks are a diverse and exciting mix of stories by big names, award winners, and fresh voices. The anthology will have the year's Edgar Award -winning stories, Silver Dagger Award-winning stories from the U.K., and spine-tingling tales from writers who might soon win those awards themselves.
This volume is a feast of more than thirty gripping tales from bestselling authors, including Doug Allyn, Jeff Abbott, Marion Arnott, Rhys Bowen, Liza Cody, Shelley Costa, Mat Coward, Judith Cutler, Catherine Dain, Carol Anne Davis, Brendan DuBois, Elizabeth Foxwell, David Edgerly Gates, Jeremiah Healy, Edward D. Hoch, Clark Howard, Robert Levinson, Dick Lochte, John Lutz, Antony Mann, Sharyn McCrumb, Joyce Carol Oates, Chris Rippen, Peter Robinson, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Marcia Talley. This is the anthology of choice for every fan of suspense fiction whether they love cozies, hardboiled, or any shade in between.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gorman and Greenberg's hefty and satisfyingly diverse anthology gathers 32 crime stories first published in 2003, along with six succinct introductory surveys of the mystery scene for that year. The opener, Kathyrn Rusch's low-key yet arresting "Cowboy Grace Kristine," tells of a wallflower who leaves town to make a new life, only to be tracked down for a crime she didn't know she was involved with. Anthony Mann's hilarious "Esther Gordon Framlingham" sends up the genre, as a writer desperately attempts to sell his agent on a new mystery series concept, offering, among other ideas for a hero, "A dominant Neanderthal male at the time of the Cro-Magnon." The agent responds: "Marlene Trent's Ug Oglog novels. You mean to say you don't know them?" Other stories range from Elizabeth Foxwell's gritty "No Man's Land," set in the female ambulance corps in WWI, and David Edgerly Gates's western thriller "Aces & Eights," to Liza Cody's postmodern "Woke Up This Morning." A few tales are less compelling, such as Edward Hoch's "The Face of Ali Baba," in which the hunt for an Osama bin Laden figure uses trivial clues from the Arabian Nights. Veteran crime writers Jeremiah Healy, Joyce Carol Oates, Sharyn McCrumb, Clark Howard and John Lutz also highlight this impressive new addition to the series.
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Review

Praise for The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories Series

"Something for every mystery taste. An excellent value for the money."
---Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"This is an entertaining and valuable guide to a strong and diverse genre."
---Publishers Weekly on the Fourth Annual Collection

"This anthology contains enough high-quality reading material to sustain any genre addict's habit."---Publishers Weekly (starred review) on the Third Annual Collection

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition edition (October 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765311461
• ISBN-13: 978-0765311467
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,918,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)