The Best American Mystery Stories 2003 (The Best American Series) (Paperback)

by Michael Connelly (Editor), Otto Penzler (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Is it possible to publish an anthology of mystery stories without including Joyce Carol Oates? Apparently not, as series editor Otto Penzler says in his foreword to this outstanding compendium: "She has appeared in six of the seven annual volumes.... Nobody makes it into these books based on their fame or popularity, and she is no different. It is about the work, and she simply will not be denied." Oates's "The Skull," a richly mordant, Poe-ish tale of a forensic scientist obsessed with the head bones of a murder victim, might not be the best of the 20 stories, but it's certainly right up there. Other brand names working at their peak include George P. Pelecanos ("The Dead Their Eyes Implore Us") and Scott Phillips ("Sockdolager"), both of whom probe the roots of characters from their respective novels. Writers who deserve to be more famous, like Doug Allyn, O'Neill de Noux and Monica Wood, bring fresh insights to familiar material. By far the oddest entry is Taylor Dilts's "Thug: Signification and the (De) Construction of Self," which manages to combine an essay on deconstruction, complete with footnotes, with an entertaining crime story. As guest editor Connelly says in his introduction, if a novel is an SUV, a short story is a sports car. "I drove seven SUVs before I ever tried a sports car," he admits. "I found the difference amazing." Readers should share that amazement.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
For this annual collection, series editor Penzler first selects what he feels are the best 50 crime stories of the year from the 1,000 to 1,200 possibilities; then the guest editor, Connelly this time around and always a big-name crime writer, chooses from that group the 20 that will appear in the annual volume. High-end literary figures not usually associated with genre fiction often appear--Joyce Carol Oates has turned up in six of the seven volumes--but the mix of well-known and unheralded writers varies from year to year. This year the well-knowns have the floor, with James Crumley, Pete Dexter, Elmore Leonard, Walter Mosley, and George P. Pelecanos all on board and all turning in excellent stories. The highlight, though, goes to Doug Allyn's "The Jukebox King," in which a Detroit bar owner uses the murder of a Mob hit man as a way to parlay himself into the juke racket. This series can be counted on to showcase the best of mainstream crime fiction. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (October 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 061832965X
• ISBN-13: 978-0618329656
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #283,650 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nearly Noir but Nice, January 1, 2004

By	A. Anderson "Book Person" (Walnut Creek (SF Bay Area), CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Otto Penzler (owner of the Mysterious Bookshop and THE editor of mystery stories) chose 50 stories and selected writer Michael Connelly to winnow the list to the final 20. The initial Penzler criterion is broad: any story in which a crime, or threat of crime, is central to the plot. The stories are generally from small literary magazines (although the first comes from the popular Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine) and there isn't really a bad writer in it. Moments of humor are rare (excepting The Adventure of the Agitated Actress, in which the actor playing Sherlock Holmes is required to solve a crime). Dashiell Hammett appears (War Can be Murder by Mike Doogan) as a detective. The Confession, by Robert McKee, is a straightforward mystery while in Controlled Burn, by Scott Wolven, the protagonist is destroyed by guilt and all crime is off-stage. Death on Denial is comfortably clever. I particularly liked Joyce Carol Oates' The Skull, about a forensic sculptor in love with his Pygmalion, and After You've Gone (John Payton Cooke) about a suicidal cop and the intervention by a very strange suicide help line. The Jukebox (Doug Allyn) is a lovely piece set in 1960 but feels like Chandler era tale of the mob. Walter Mosely's Lavender feels like an excerp from a novel and is not his best work. Elmore Leonard makes an appearance with When the WOmen Come Out to Dance (it's got a nice twist but you expect that with Leonard). My hands down favorite is The Pickpocket by Christopher Cook, a tale that looks at the loss of honor and the pleasure of a well-honed skill -- tone and content blend beautifully in this Paris based tale.

The stories are generally well written and a few are gems. Connolley's introduction suggests that mysteries reassure, by bringing some sense to an increasingly senseless world. I couldn't find much support for that view in his selections: most of the time, the reader is left with a sad confirmation of what is wrong with us. Many of the stories have the dark view of noir fiction: personal failures in a failed world. I would have liked a slightly broader range of stories, and a couple reach for a mood they can't quite sustain (Sockdolager) or an improbable plot (Richard's Children) but most are satisfying and well said.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Melange of Mysteries, October 1, 2003

By	Natalie Harwood (Oxford, OH USA) - See all my reviews

A Mélange of Mysteries

This collection offers a smorgasbord of mystery stories as varied as the diversity of America itself. From "The Jukebox King", set in Detroit in the 60's to "The Adventure of the Agitated Actress", a delightful retake of Sherlock Holmes in London, the anthology offers the best of the year. And, as always, Joyce Carol Oates contributes a compelling, beautifully written and enigmatic short story. Worthwhile reading.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kudos to Penzler and Connelly, December 17, 2003

By A Customer

This may be the best collection of stories in the short history of the series. Although I found a few duds among the selections, the overall quality of the writing is significantly better than in most previous years. I attribute this improvement to the large number of stories from sources other than the obvious mystery magazines. Indeed, several of this year's stories are taken from literary magazines. The net result is that readers are treated to good writing as well as engaging crime stories. Kudos to series editor Otto Penzler and guest editor Michael Connelly for recognizing that good crime stories can be found in many literary outlets. I hope this is a trend that continues in future editions.