The Best American Mystery Stories 2015

by James Patterson

Overview

This anthology of 20 short stories features some of today’s best mystery authors—from Lee Child to Jeffrey Deaver and Joyce Carol Oates.

For the 2015 edition of The Best American Mystery Stories, guest editor James Patterson presents twenty tales with all the tension, drama, and visceral emotion of Oscar-worthy cinema. These stories features characters who must make desperate choices: an imaginative bank-robbing couple, a vengeful high school shooter, a lovesick heiress who will do anything for her man, and many others. In one standout entry, Michael Connelly and Dennis Lehane team up to send legendary detective Harry Bosch after a child abductor.

The Best American Mystery Stories, 2015 includes Tomiko M. Breland, Brendan DuBois, Janette Turner Hospital, Theresa E. Lehr, Doug Allyn, Andrew Bourelle, Joseph D’Agnese, Scott Grand, John M. Floyd, Steven Heighton, Richard Lange, Theresa E. Lehr, Lee Martin, and others.

“These edgy tales strike hard and fast but Leave vivid memories behind.”—Kirkus

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544527966
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	10/06/2015
Series:	Best American Mystery Stories Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	437
Sales rank:	72,752
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

JAMES PATTERSON has created more enduring fictional characters than any other novelist writing today. Since his first novel won the Edgar Award in 1977, James Patterson’s books have sold more than 280 million copies.

OTTO PENZLER is a renowned mystery editor, publisher, columnist, and owner of New York’s The Mysterious Bookshop.
JAMES PATTERSON is the world’s bestselling author, best known for his many enduring fictional characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Michael Bennett, Maximum Ride, Middle School, I Funny, and Jacky Ha-Ha. Patterson’s writing career is characterized by a single mission: to prove to everyone, from children to adults, that there is no such thing as a person who “doesn’t like to read,” only people who haven’t found the right book. He’s given over a million books to schoolkids and over forty million dollars to support education, and endowed over five thousand college scholarships for teachers.  He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family. Learn more at jamespatterson.com.
OTTO PENZLER is a renowned mystery editor, publisher, columnist, and owner of New York’s The Mysterious Bookshop, the oldest and largest bookstore solely dedicated to mystery fiction. He has edited more than fifty crime-fiction anthologies. He lives in New York.

Hometown:

Palm Beach, Florida

Date of Birth:

March 22, 1947

Place of Birth:

Newburgh, New York

Education:

B.A., Manhattan College, 1969; M.A., Vanderbilt University, 1971

Website:

http://www.jamespatterson.com

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/31/2015
The 20 entries in series editor Otto Penzler’s 19th annual best-of mystery compilation share a fine sense of character along with solid plotting and minimal violence. Classism, racism, and revenge all figure in Doug Allyn’s “Snow Angel,” about the death of a logger’s daughter. Tomiko M. Breland’s lean prose powerfully illustrates the past, present, and future of five girls and a teacher involved in a devastating school tragedy in “Rosalee Carrasco.” Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch and Dennis Lehane’s Patrick Kenzie join forces in “Red Eye,” ensuring an instant fan favorite. A never-robbed bank practically invites criminals in John M. Floyd’s amusing heist yarn, “Molly’s Plan.” Sly wit shows in Jeffery Deaver’s “The Adventure of the Laughing Fisherman,” in which a loner emulates Sherlock Holmes. A kidnapping’s aftermath haunts a family—and others—in Janette Turner Hospital’s creepy “Afterlife of a Stolen Child.” Guest editor Patterson has assembled a superb anthology that never disappoints. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"The 20 entries in series editor Otto Penzler’s 19th annual best-of mystery compilation share a fine sense of character along with solid plotting and minimal violence. Classism, racism, and revenge all figure in Doug Allyn’s “Snow Angel,” about the death of a logger’s daughter. Tomiko M. Breland’s lean prose powerfully illustrates the past, present, and future of five girls and a teacher involved in a devastating school tragedy in “Rosalee Carrasco.” Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch and Dennis Lehane’s Patrick Kenzie join forces in “Red Eye,” ensuring an instant fan favorite. A never-robbed bank practically invites criminals in John M. Floyd’s amusing heist yarn, “Molly’s Plan.” Sly wit shows in Jeffery Deaver’s “The Adventure of the Laughing Fisherman,” in which a loner emulates Sherlock Holmes. A kidnapping’s aftermath haunts a family—and others—in Janette Turner Hospital’s creepy “Afterlife of a Stolen Child.” Guest editor Patterson has assembled a superb anthology that never disappoints."—Publishers Weekly, STARRED review


"These short stories lean more toward horror than whodunits, casting long shadows despite their brevity. Editor Patterson singles out stories that have cinematic scope. Jeffery Deaver's "The Adventure of the Laughing Fisherman" gives a tip of the deerstalker to Sherlock Holmes through a protagonist who uses his deductive genius for more sinister ends. In "Molly's Plan," John M. Floyd maps out a nearly impossible bank robbery with a twist ending so ingenious it's tempting to root for the bad guys. The specter of war figures into several tales: a sniper questions his ability to continue in the field; a vet now working in elder care carries out a vendetta; and a woman deranged by war is herself as volatile as an IED. Children are in peril in numerous stories, from abductors, teachers, truly vicious nuns, and sometimes each other. Michael Connelly and Dennis Lehane team up in "Red Eye," sending Harry Bosch to Boston, where he and Patrick Kenzie try to find a missing girl whose abductor keeps to a tight schedule. "The Home at Craigmillnar" is Joyce Carol Oates' chilling take on the abuse scandals in Catholic children's homes, serving up rough justice to Mother Superior decades after her reign of terror. Stories set in Haiti and off the Australian coast brighten up the noir, albeit largely in shades of red. Of particular interest for would-be mystery writers: notes at the end of the book feature brief descriptions of each story's inspiration and development, an illuminating peek into the creative process. Richard Lange's "Apocrypha," a bank heist tale primarily set in a tenement hotel, was rescued from a novel the author couldn't develop, and it's a gritty jewel. These edgy tales strike hard and fast but leave vivid memories behind."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2015-07-30
These short stories lean more toward horror than whodunits, casting long shadows despite their brevity. Editor Patterson singles out stories that have cinematic scope. Jeffery Deaver's "The Adventure of the Laughing Fisherman" gives a tip of the deerstalker to Sherlock Holmes through a protagonist who uses his deductive genius for more sinister ends. In "Molly's Plan," John M. Floyd maps out a nearly impossible bank robbery with a twist ending so ingenious it's tempting to root for the bad guys. The specter of war figures into several tales: a sniper questions his ability to continue in the field; a vet now working in elder care carries out a vendetta; and a woman deranged by war is herself as volatile as an IED. Children are in peril in numerous stories, from abductors, teachers, truly vicious nuns, and sometimes each other. Michael Connelly and Dennis Lehane team up in "Red Eye," sending Harry Bosch to Boston, where he and Patrick Kenzie try to find a missing girl whose abductor keeps to a tight schedule. "The Home at Craigmillnar" is Joyce Carol Oates' chilling take on the abuse scandals in Catholic children's homes, serving up rough justice to Mother Superior decades after her reign of terror. Stories set in Haiti and off the Australian coast brighten up the noir, albeit largely in shades of red. Of particular interest for would-be mystery writers: notes at the end of the book feature brief descriptions of each story's inspiration and development, an illuminating peek into the creative process. Richard Lange's "Apocrypha," a bank heist tale primarily set in a tenement hotel, was rescued from a novel the author couldn't develop, and it's a gritty jewel. These edgy tales strike hard and fast but leave vivid memories behind.

Kirkus Reviews