Death by Horoscope

by Anne Perry (Editor), Lawrence Block, Simon Brett

Featuring original stories by such contributors as Anne Perry, Lawrence Block, Sharyn McCrumb, Peter Lovesey, Marcia Muller, and Faye Kellerman, a gripping collection combines mystery with astrology and delves into the mystical omens and lethal reckonings that exist in the astral plane and profoundly impact the human heart. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery, Short Stories

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Anne Perry, born Juliet Hulme in England, lived in Scotland most of her life after serving five years in prison for murder (in New Zealand). A beloved mystery authoress, she is best known for her Thomas Pitt and William Monk series.

Her first novel, "The Cater Street Hangman", was published in 1979. Her works extend to several categories of genre fiction, including historical mysteries. Many of them feature recurring characters, most importantly Thomas Pitt and amnesiac private investigator William Monk, who first appeared in 1990, "The Face Of A Stranger".

Her story "Heroes," from the 1999 anthology Murder And Obsession, won the 2001 Edgar Award For Best Short Story. She was included as an entry in Ben Peek's Twenty-Six Lies / One Truth, a novel exploring the nature of truth in literature.

Series contributed to:
. Crime Through Time
. Perfectly Criminal
. Malice Domestic
. The World's Finest Mystery And Crime Stories
. Transgressions
. The Year's Finest Crime And Mystery Stories

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short stories. some were good some not so much.

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked a few of these stories, mostly by the more well known authors like Lawrence Block, but disliked more than I liked. The editing was very poor, many typos and incongruities. Passed the time, but this is definitely not among my favorite anthologies of its kind.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book only 3 stars for a couple of reasons. First, the editing was awful! Or possibly non existent! Secondly only a few of the stores were really good. Some were okay and the rest just terrible. Who knew so many hitmen were into astrology. The Aquarius Mission was unbelievable. It took 3 days to get from Charleston, SC to Cape Canaveral in Florida? Really? These people were on I95. If they were going so slow it took 3 days, they would have been run over before they got out of SC. My favorites were Keller's Horoscope by Lawrence Block, Slaying the Serpent by Jane Lindskold, To Catch a Fish by Marcia Talley and Sharing by Jon L. Breen. If you want to try this one, get it from the library. Don't spend money on it.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I do admit some stories were better than others but I do believe there was a nice variety to keep things interesting. I'll also mention that the book did start off a bit slow but once you get passed that it is a very enjoyable read. Some of the stories I absolutely loved and they left me wanting more which I suppose is the point of these for they are short but they do spark your interest. There's enough of everything to keep it from being boring. Great read!

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

"All signs point to murder in this anthology of astrological mysteries from some of the most popular crime writers in the zodiac, among them Lawrence Block, Peter Lovesey, Peter Tremayne, Jon L. Breen, Edward Marston, Bill Crider, Simon Brett, and the internationally acclaimed, Edgar award-winning author Anne Perry.

Anne Perry also edited this volume of crime and mystery fiction in which the stars--and authors like Jane Lindskold, Lillian Stewart Carl, Mat Coward, P.N. Elrod, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Catherine Dain--entangle the destinies of lovers, adulterers, adventurers, hit men, soldiers, nuns, police detectives, and, of course, astrologers in places like New York, Texas, Las Vegas, the Bahamas, a war-torn England, and the studio lots of Hollywood. While many of the characters in these tales passionately embrace the mysteries of the zodiac, others would dismiss astrological forecasts as amusing or inconsequential poppycock. Such skeptics and scoffers often sadly learn, however, that nothing zodiacal can be taken too lightly. Indeed, the simple questions 'What's your sign?' may prove to be a matter of life or death.

... the sixteen original stories in this collection explore murderous portents and deadly reckonings that lie in the astral plane and wreak havoc in the human heart."
~~from the flaps

This was a quick, easy read -- I took it with me on a campout and read it in 2 days. Only one of the stories sticks in my mind, so I wouldn't nominate this book for the best mystery of the year by any means.

[J.F. Juzwik · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting collection of stories that all involve horoscopes to one degree or another. Most of the stories are good, but there are a couple that are incredibly good. I'm not trying to say that I didn't enjoy this book. It's only that most of the stories are fairly tame. I prefer my crime fiction with a bit of a harder edge. But there are a couple in here that will blow you away. This book is well worth reading, and it's clever how the idea of horoscopes was worked into the tales.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anthology of short story mysteries with astrology as the theme for each story. Not a bad collection of stories with a lot of variety.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed collection of short murder stories centered around astrology by various authors. Some were great but a couple were so-so.

[Sean · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrid, had to read it for a college course. Terrible.

[Stargazer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing.

[Susan]

"Bossman" by P. N. Elrod
"Slaying the Serpent" by Jane Lindskold
"Ghosts" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch