The Deadly Bride and 21 of the Year's Finest Crime and Mystery Stories: Volume II

What a dandy idea! Not only 22 mostly fabulous short stories, but also an update on the state of the art in mystery publishing, both in books and on-line, plus other lists sure to be fascinating reading to devotées of mysterious fiction. Two of the best known in the industry-Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenburg compiled this good-sized volume - some 553 pages, all told. When I say `mostly fabulous' it's because my personal preference doesn't go to horror and super-noir as a couple of these do, so I didn't read them. The ones I did read, however, were fabulous, so I'm presuming the others are of the same high quality. I must admit Simon Brett gets my top prize for his "Cain was Innocent" which nearly had me rolling on the floor, laughing. Anne Perry always delivers, and her incredible "Lost Causes" is no exception. I also greatly enjoyed Robert Levinson's "Chapter 82: Myrna Lloyd is Missing," and Kristine Kathryn Rusch's "Jury Duty." Each of these stories is vastly different from any of the others, yet they all have one thing in common: they're well-written with excellent characterization and an intriguing plot. One of the things I really like about collections such as this one is the opportunity to find new authors, of whom I'd not previously heard, but who have now moved to the top of my want list. If I find even one in a collection, I'm pleased. This one, however, presented me with several. I'll have excellent reading prospects until the next such collection. Or, I can go backwards to the first in this set - "The Missing Detective". How did I miss that one?