Books: The Best American Mystery Stories 2013, Edited By Lisa Scottoline & Otto Penzler

(Drivebycuriosity) - I like mystery novels. But often I get tired before I reach the end and I lose my interest. Just a minority of authors is capable to keep the tension over hundreds of pages. The solution are short stories.

I finished just reading "The Best American Mystery Stories 2013", edited By Lisa Scottoline & Otto Penzler (amazon). The anthology collects 20 stories with an average length of about 20 pages. The editors Otto Penzler, who selected a short list of 50 stories,  and Lisa Scottoline, who choose the finalists, did a great job. I liked 12 of them, 2 were ok for me and there were just 6 stories which I could have done without. Stories by David Edgerey Gates, Bill Pronzini, Hannah Tinti and Clark Howard are especially strong and "Crossing" by Andre Kocsis and"Quarry" by Micah Nathan are my favorites.

I enjoyed the broad mixture of topics and the variety of styles which cater many tastes. Most of the stories are crisp and sharp, as short stories should be. Some of the tales are set in the 19th century with a fine literal patina reminding of Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes), others are fast pace contemporary thrillers and deal with today`s issues like terrorism, drugs and more. 

In the moment of writing Amazon.com offers the Kindle version for just $8.52. The collection is highly recommended for connoisseurs of mystery stories and for those who want to get a taste of contemporary thrillers.