Murder in the Family

Lawrence Block, et.al.'s Murder In The Family packs in high-profile mystery writers whose new presentations have not seen print elsewhere. Mary Higgins Clark probes a father's motivation for revenge, Susan Isaacs presents a chilling portrait of a family which should not be in business, and Dorothy Davis tells of a letter which transforms lives in this excellent collection.

This twelve-story anthology loosely focuses on the title, MURDER IN THE FAMILY. Though the tales are well written, they lack the suspense and cutting edge expected of this famous group of popular authors that contributed to the collection and that of previous short story books produced by the Adams Round Table. For most mystery readers, previous Adams Round Table editions are stronger (see MURDER AMONG FRIENDS, etc.). However, die hard fans of Lawrence Block, Mary Higgins Clark, Stanley Cohen, Dorothy Salisbury Davis, Mickey Friedman, Joyce Harrington, Susan Isaacs, Judith Kelman, Warren Murphy, Justin Scott, Peter Straub, and Whitley Strieber will want to read the tales. Yet even the strongest of loyalists need to keep the expectations a bit lower than usual as the gaggle of writers fall short of what each one usually provides.Harriet Klausner