Using a liberal definition of the genre and embracing a wide range of narrative styles, the editors have assembled an impressive array of talent in this first annual collection of the year's best short crime fiction. Joe R. Lansdale skirts the edges of the horror story with his "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road," in which a troubled woman stumbles into a killer's lair and uncovers a neat solution to her own problem. Joan Hess pursues unexpected psychological angles as she follows an apartment dweller through the strange new addition to her tiny domicile in "Another Room." British writer Peter Lovesey pens "The Valuation," a droll tale about a pushy real estate agent who sells a timid woman's home out from under her, or so he imagines. Varying from Bill Pronzini's retro style to the darkly urban view of Andrew Vachss and the downright coziness of Charlotte MacLeod, the quality of storytelling here remains a pleasing constant.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
This latest collection contains the usual bibliography of new collections and anthologies, lists of award winners, and necrology. Included are contributions by the likes of Anne Perry, Donald Westlake, and Marcia Muller, but only two stories also appear in The Best American Mystery Stories 1997 (reviewed above). Libraries will want both.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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