The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2026

A collection of the year’s best mystery and suspense short fiction selected by Edgar-winning author and screenwriter Megan Abbott and series editor Steph Cha.

The Best American series, launched in 1915, is the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction, and it is the most respected—and most popular—of its kind.

Megan Abbott, the Edgar Award-winning author of The Fever, picks the best twenty mystery and suspense stories from the previous year.