The Best American Mystery Stories

I'm not the biggest fan of mystery stories, so I was unsure of how much I would like this collection. I was surprised at how much I liked it. There were a few that I didn't like that much, but most of them were good stories and most were well written. They ranged from ok to good, better, and on up to great stories like Shel Silverstein's story, Edward Lee's twisted story "ICU", and what i think was the best, Robert Girardi's "The Defenestration of Aba Sid", which is his 'anti-Grisham' story. A great deal of the selections here come from books and there is no surprise that both Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine both had three stories in here (the most from any one place). I suppose it's because there aren't many genre magazines anymore, but a few of these stories first appeared in literary magazines. The book is a little longer (around 480 pages) than those in The Best American Short Story series, but mystery stories need a little time to unfold. It's a good selection for the mystery reader (no matter which 'type' of mystery story you like) and for those of us who don't normally read the genre.

"Best American Mystery Stories 2000" lives up to its title. It is a varied collection of (mostly) fine mystery and crime stories, many by up and coming authors. I'll confess that two or three of them didn't work for me, but that's a very small number in a book than contains 20 stories and nearly 480 pages of text. My two favorites were by two of the few old names in the collection. Dennis Lehane spins an excellent down south slice of life tale in "Running Out of Dog," while longtime television writer and children's author, the late Shel Silverstein, chimes in with the light-in-tone but still serious courtroom story "The Guilty Party." Doug Allyn contributes a fine private eye tale with "Miracles! Happen!" while Barbara D'Amato spins an on-the-road yarn with a twist in "Motel 66." Also first rate are Tom Franklin's "Grit," and the down and dirty gangster in the hospital tale "ICU." Basically, there's a mystery story here for just about every type of mystery fan, from hard-boiled detective tales, to crime stories, to amature sleuths to compelling whodunnits? Modern short stories do not get nearly the audience they should, and this is a book that deserves to be read.(Note: The 2000 "Best Mystery Stories" collection is far superior to the 2001 anthology, mostly because it has a better variety of stories).

...This book was a pleasant exception to the anthologies-are-boring rule. It was a fun read and I could not find any story that I didn't like. It was worth every penny. Definitely check it out. I loved it and I'm giving a fiver!

I would have easily given this compilation five stars if I were able to make it through every single story. But unfortunately there were three which I could not finish. They bored me to death!! For the most part though, the majority were excellent mysteries written by many authors I had never even heard of but will now seek out in bookstores. Some of the gems are "Motel 66," by Barbara D'Amato, "The Defenstration of Aba Sid," by Robert Girardi, "ICU," by Edward Lee, and "Wrong Numbers," by Josh Pryor. This should be a definite read for all mystery fans.

Man oh man, this is a great one! If you love a mystery you are gonna swallow this one whole! Buy this book just to read Shel Silverstein's story The Guilty Party. Or fasten your seat belt for ICU. Oh, for pete's sake just go buy the darn book! Right now!