Unusual Suspects: Stories of Mystery and Fantasy

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More About This Book

Overview

All-new from the top names in mystery and fantasy— including a never-beforepublished Sookie Stackhouse story from Charlaine Harris!

This follow-up to Powers of Detection showcases bestselling and award-winning names from Simon Green to Laurie King to Sharon Shinn—with original stories featuring otherworldly investigators trailing uncanny criminals across fantastical realms. From video game characters seeking civil rights and a cave dragon loan shark pondering an investment, to Santa Claus’s Australian vacation and an enemy of Sam Spade’s out for revenge—plus visits to the Nightside and Sookie Stackhouse’s hometown— these stories will take readers around the world on a magical mystery tour.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

This follow-up to Powers of Detection(2006) breaks no new ground, but offers 12 stories with enough well-paced variety to keep readers happy. In Charlaine Harris's notable Sookie Stackhouse tale, "Lucky," one insurance agent's good luck makes him a target. A "resurrected" Humphrey Bogart is murdered in Carole Nelson Douglas's "Bogieman" while Santa Claus investigates the murder of an elf in John Straley's "Weight of the World." On the lighter side, a divorcée gets used to a menagerie of ghostly housemates in Sharon Shinn's "The House of Seven Spirits" and a young woman confronts a cave dragon turned loan shark to solve her father's disappearance in Laura Anne Gilman's "Illumination." Strong tales outnumber the weaker ones by a considerable margin and will satisfy fans of both genres. (Dec.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Library Journal

Charlaine Harris returns to Bon Temps, LA, where Sookie Stackhouse (the main character on HBO's True Blood) is on the case of a mystery involving an insurance man and some missing money in "Lucky," the first of a dozen stories featuring contemporary writers of mystery, horror, fantasy, and combinations thereof. Including contributions by Sharon Shinn ("The House of Seven Spirits") and Simon R. Green ("Appetite for Murder"), this follow-up anthology to Powers of Detection is recommend for fantasy and mystery collections where paranormals are popular.


—Jackie Cassada

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780441016372
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
  • Publication date: 12/2/2008
  • Pages: 320
  • Sales rank: 837,746
  • Product dimensions: 5.10 (w) x 7.90 (h) x 0.90 (d)

Meet the Author

Dana Stabenow

Dana Stabenow is the Edgar Award-winning author of Fire and Ice, So Sure of Death, and several other acclaimed mysteries. She lives in Anchorage, Alaska.

Read an Excerpt

Introduction

Evidently enough of you enjoyed Powers of Detection so much that Ginjer Buchanan at Ace Science Fiction thought a second collection was a good idea. On behalf of all the authors included herein, thank you!

Most of the usual suspects are back, with the addition of Michael Stackpole and Carole Nelson Douglas. Who would want to kill Sam Spade? Carole's got an answer for that, and Michael's got a new take on scapegoats that, okay, I know somebody gets killed and that's a bad thing, but I'm still laughing as I write these words.

Laurie King and Sharon Shinn offer up ghost stories, both with a very high goosebump index. Interesting how the spookiest stories often have the least amount of gore.

Donna Andrews returns to the Westmarch College of Magical Studies and the adventures of Gwynn the apprentice, who this time saves master mage Justinian from a fate worse than death. Charlaine Harris returns to Bon Temps, Louisiana, where the vampires are out by night and the insurance agents by day. What's the difference, really? Sookie Stackhouse knows.

Laura Anne Gilman introduces us to a cave dragon for a loan shark, and Simon Green takes us back into the Nightside for a grim little tale of justice delayed but not denied. Mike Doogan, tongue firmly in cheek, magicks up a traveling salesman story, Michael Armstrong indulges in a little global wishful thinking, and John Straley tells us where Santa Claus really goes during the off season.

Myself, I went back to Mnemosynea, for another tale of Seer and Sword. Turns out I like that world so much the Mage Guild commissioned me to write a Mnemosynean world almanac. I've even got a map now. And I admit, the ending of "A Woman's Work" involves a little wishful thinking of my own.

The great thing about fantastical fiction is its ability to put any ending on a question beginning "What if?" What if Santa goes Down Under on vacation? What if a cave dragon loan shark wants to make good on an investment? What if video games achieve the level of reality, what rights belong to the characters created therein?

In her introduction to The Norton Book of Science Fiction, Ursula K. LeGuin wrote, "In a story where only what ordinarily occurs is going to occur, one can safely use such a sentence as, 'He was absorbed in the landscape.' In a story where only the story tells you what is likely to happen, you had best be careful about using sentences like that."

And of course the great thing about crime fiction, aside from the universal human love of a mystery, is that by the end there is always a resolution, and, sometimes, justice.

Put murder in a fantasy setting, and "If you die, I'll kill you!" becomes a credible threat.

At least in here. Be careful how you go.

—Dana Stabenow

Table of Contents


Introduction Dana Stabenow Stabenow, Dana Lucky Charlaine Harris Harris, Charlaine 1 Bogieman Carole Nelson Douglas Douglas, Carole Nelson 29 Looks Are Deceiving Michael A. Stackpole Stackpole, Michael A. 55 The House of Seven Spirits Sharon Shinn Shinn, Sharon 85 Glamour Mike Doogan Doogan, Mike 111 Spellbound Donna Andrews Andrews, Donna 131 The Duh Vice Michael Armstrong Armstrong, Michael 165 Weight of the World John Straley Straley, John 178 Illumination Laura Anne Gilman Gilman, Laura Anne 189 The House Laurie R. King King, Laurie R. 219 Appetite for Murder Simon R. Green Green, Simon R. 243 A Woman's Work Dana Stabenow Stabenow, Dana 263

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3.5
( 18 )

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Sort by: Showing all of 18 Customer Reviews

  • Posted December 22, 2008

    more from this reviewer

    Unusual Suspects Anthology

    How I love a good surprise. From running upon this gem unexpectedly in the bookstore, to the stories it contains, reading it gave me a lift all around. "Unusual Suspects" is an anthology of twelve stories that blend mystery and fantasy into a delicious confection. The stories range from historical to contemporary urban fantasy, from mages to witches, and from werewolves to vampires to humans. Authors include Charlaine Harris (a new Sookie story!), Carole Nelson Douglas, Simon R. Green (a new Nightside!), Laurie R. King, Dana Stabenow, Sharon Shinn, Laura Anne Gilman, Michael A. Stackpole, Mike Doogan, Donna Andrews, Michael Armstrong, and John Straley.

    If you like mystery, mayhem, and magic...this is a book well worth your time.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted October 23, 2008

    more from this reviewer

    superb twelve new tales focus on the convergence of mystery and suspense inside a fantasy realm

    These superb twelve new tales focus on the convergence of mystery and suspense inside a fantasy realm. The stories are all well written, holding up nicely to its predecessor collection (see POWERS OF DETECTION). Charlaine Harris provides a Sookie entry while Simon R. Green returns to the Nightside and the editor Ms. Stabenow takes her fans back to Mnemosynea for what she describes as a ¿Seer and Sword¿ thriller. The other entries are strong with deep characters such as Laura Anne Gilman¿s loan shark dragon star of ¿Illumination¿. Carole Nelson Douglas¿ ¿Bogieman¿ answers one of the deepest fundamental questions of the universe: who wants Sam Spade dead (than again who does not might be easier to answer)? Likewise John Straley responds to another question of the ages: what does Santa do during his off season? Whether it is Donna Andrews¿s Gwynn the apprentice returning to cast a ¿spellbound¿ on her fans to read her story or Mike Doogan a ¿Glamour¿ satirizing the sub-genre, readers will enjoy this compilation. The remaining four are excellent contributions by top tier authors (Michael A. Stackpole, Sharon Sinn, Michael Armstrong and Laurie R. King).

    Harriet Klausner

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 16, 2009

    Good Book

    I bought this book for one particular short story but as often happens, I eneded up with a couple of new authors I want to look into more.

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  • Posted March 3, 2009

    My kind of stories

    Once upon a time, fantasy was fantasy, and mysteries were mysteries, and never the twain shall meet. Actually that never existed. Read, if you can find them, Poul Anderson's Norwegian-Japanese detective or Isaac Asimov's Lucky Starr book. At any rate these are mysteries, and good ones. It's hard in a an anthology to pick a special one, but House of the seven Spirits is romantic, and funny and spooky. It goes on from there. Good reading

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  • Posted March 2, 2009

    Anthologies are wonderful things.

    I loved this book. It is a follow up to Powers of Detection and both are wonderful additions to your library if you enjoy the supernatural, fantasy or sciece fiction.

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