Mystery Writers of America Presents Vengeance

by Lee Child (Editor)

When a different kind of justice is needed - swift, effective, and personal - a new type of avenger must take action.

Edited and with an introduction by Lee Child, a new collection of stories which reveals the shocking consequences when men and women take the law into their own hands.

"Vengeance "features new stories by bestselling crime writers including Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, and Karin Slaughter, as well as some of today's brightest rising talents.

The heroes in these stories include a cop who's seen too much, a woman who has been pushed too far, or just an ordinary person doing what the law will not. Some call them vigilantes, others claim they are just another brand of criminal...

Genres: Short Stories, Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Anthologies, Thriller, Mystery Thriller

196 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Lee Child was born October 29th, 1954 in Coventry, England, but spent his formative years in the nearby city of Birmingham. By coincidence he won a scholarship to the same high school that JRR Tolkien had attended. He went to law school in Sheffield, England, and after part-time work in the theater he joined Granada Television in Manchester for what turned out to be an eighteen-year career as a presentation director during British TV's "golden age." During his tenure his company made Brideshead Revisited, The Jewel in the Crown, Prime Suspect, and Cracker. But he was fired in 1995 at the age of 40 as a result of corporate restructuring. Always a voracious reader, he decided to see an opportunity where others might have seen a crisis and bought six dollars' worth of paper and pencils and sat down to write a book, Killing Floor, the first in the Jack Reacher series.

Killing Floor was an immediate success and launched the series which has grown in sales and impact with every new installment. The first Jack Reacher movie, based on the novel One Shot and starring Tom Cruise and Rosamund Pike, was released in December 2012.

Lee has three homes—an apartment in Manhattan, a country house in the south of France, and whatever airplane cabin he happens to be in while traveling between the two. In the US he drives a supercharged Jaguar, which was built in Jaguar's Browns Lane plant, thirty yards from the hospital in which he was born.

Lee spends his spare time reading, listening to music, and watching the Yankees, Aston Villa, or Marseilles soccer. He is married with a grown-up daughter. He is tall and slim, despite an appalling diet and a refusal to exercise.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Jack Reacher’s creator, Lee Child needed to do as editor, was to invite 10 authors to contribute stories. The remaining spots in the anthology would be filled through a blind competition, with judges selecting the winning entries. Naturally, Lee Child would contribute a story of his own, but all the selected authors faced one additional challenge: each story had to incorporate the theme of:

“…vengeance, revenge, getting even, maybe doing a bad thing for a good reason. Or a bad reason.”

That premise alone makes this collection irresistible. As readers, we are invited to discover who seeks vengeance, why they want it, and whether their actions are justified.

The anthology includes many familiar names that mystery lovers will recognize, including Alafair Burke, Dennis Lehane, Brendan DuBois, Karen Slaughter, and Michael Connelly (who features my favorite character, Detective Harry Bosch). The remaining contributors may be less familiar to some readers, but their stories demonstrate why they deserve to be part of this collection.

One of the things I enjoy most about anthologies is the opportunity to sample different authors’ writing styles and discover new voices. Short stories are also wonderfully flexible – readers can read them one after another or slip them in between longer novels.

Not every story resonated with me, and a few featured subject matter that was harder to connect with. Still, each author offers their own interpretation of vengeance and its consequences. The result is a thoughtful, character-driven collection filled with mystery, intrigue and some alluring and brilliantly shocking twists.

[Labijose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Otra Buena recopilación de relatos de los “Mystery writers of America”. Quizás algo inferior a “The blue religión”, pero nada desdeñable. Esta está coordinada por Lee Child, que por supuesto participa. Entre los 21 relatos hay 7 u 8 que hacen que el conjunto merezca como mínimo tres estrellas, pero como en general me han gustado casi todos (con alguna descorazonadora excepción), le doy una puntuación de cuatro, y seguiré leyendo más recopilaciones de esta asociación. Muy recomendable.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, a good collection. Some ups & downs, but mostly quite good. I bought this specifically for 1 story, A Fine Mist of Blood by Michael Connelly #24.5 in the Harry Bosch Universe Chronology.

Table of Contents:
Introduction by Lee Child short, sweet, & to the point.

Fourteenth Juror by Twist Phelan was excellent. This is the second story I've read by him & I want to read more. Perfectly titled & great twist at the end. 5 stars

Lost and Found by Zoë Sharp wasn't written in a way I liked much, but was kind of a good story for all that. 2.5 stars

Mother by Alafair Burke had an excellent twist. 4 stars.

Blind Justice by Jim Fusilli was just bewildering & pointless. 1 star

Consumers by Dennis Lehane well done! Somewhat inevitable, but great for all that. 4 stars

Moonshiner's Lament by Rick McMahan was reminiscent of 'Justified'. Excellent. 4 stars

River Secret by Anne Swardson has the most unique setting & characters. Very well done. 4 stars

Hot Sugar Blues by Steve Liskow was very well played revenge. 4 stars.

Final Ballot by Brendan DuBois completely different than the last story, but exceedingly well played again. 5 stars

Africa Always Needs Guns by Michael Niemann corruption knows no bounds & sometimes it breaks a person. Great ending. 4 stars

Unremarkable Heart by Karin Slaughter was the worst kind of horror. A dying woman didn't seem like a great center piece to a story, but Slaughter managed to make this intriguing & then twist the knife at the end. 5 stars

It Ain't Right by Michelle Gagnon was a little too undeveloped for it to really hit home. It hints at a lot. 2 stars

Silent Justice by C.E. Lawrence takes the priest's burden to a logical, chilling conclusion. 4 stars

Even a Blind Man by Darrell James was a good tale of redemption even if the plot was far too convenient. 3.5 stars

The General by Janice Law Trecker was pretty obvious from the start. 2 stars

A Fine Mist of Blood by Michael Connelly #24.5 in the Harry Bosch Universe Chronology. Connelly is usually very careful about details, but this time there were a couple of points that didn't make sense. Nothing about how they knew she'd come home. No 2 way communication? They had to be able to hear his side, but they couldn't let him know she was coming? 2 snipers for 1 window without commo? Good story otherwise. 2.5 stars (I read this story first since I want to listen to another novel, but this short story comes first in the chronology which is in my review of the first book.)

Leverage by Mike Cooper was fairly predictable, but still really good in exploring the difference between what is legal & what is right. It also highlighted the inability to communicate. 4 stars

Hotline by Dreda Say Mitchell only had one thing going for it, a Muslim point of view. Otherwise, it was just OK. 2.5 stars

Blood and Sunshine by Adam Meyer highlights the incredible patience it takes to deal with other people's children. The end was disgusting & didn't make much sense mechanically I read it twice & still don't understand how he wasn't seen. which blows the whole thing. 1 star

In Persona Christi by Orest Stelmach was OK, but that's it. 2 stars.

Hollywood I Remember by Lee Child was fairly chilling. 3 stars.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mystery Writers of America have been putting out anthologies since 1953. They are each edited by a member of the group, and all the people whose work is included are also members. These are now published at a rate of about one book per year. Most of the stories in the earliest entries in this series had been previously published; in the more recent volumes, as I write this in 2023, almost all the stories are original to the anthologies in which they appear.

Mystery Writers of America Presents Vengeance, edited by Lee Child, was the 2012 entry in the series. There are twenty-one stories. Child's introduction is mostly concerned with brief pieces of information about each author included. The only comment about the stories states that the authors were told:

Write about vengeance, revenge, getting even, doing a bad thing for a good reason. Or a bad reason.

Most, if not all, the collections in this series include some stories that have little or no relationship to the topic. Most of the stories in this anthology do indeed concern vengeance. Some, such as those by Alafair Burke, Dennis Lehane, and Orest Stelmach have rather tenuous ties to the subject; the story by C. E. Lawrence does not seem to me to have any connection at all to the concept of vengeance. That does not mean that I think that these are bad stories; I just don't understand why these stories are included in this book.

"The Unremarkable Heart" by Karin Slaughter stands out in this collection for several reasons. It is the longest story in the book, it is the only story that had been published previously, and it does seem to me to be concerned with vengeance - except that I don't quite get the point. The central character is a woman, now very ill, whose husband had once, unknown to her, committed at least one serious crime that had terrible consequences. He had spent over twenty years in prison and had now been released on "compassionate probation" to care for his dying wife. He tells her an awful thing at the moment before her death. This is, I believe, intended as his revenge, but revenge for what? His wife had been extraordinarily supportive when he had been accused of his crime and had suffered horribly since then. His behavior seems to me to be merely hurtful rather than a matter of revenge. I may just be missing a point, though, but I really do not see why he deserves - or even wants - vengeance.

Lee Child includes a story that he wrote, one of the shortest stories in the book, "The Hollywood I Remember." This is narrated by a man who had worked in an unusual job, for which revenge of some sort would have been merited. This was included in the list of "Other Distinguished Mystery Stories of 2012" in The Best American Mystery Stories 2013, edited by Lisa Scottoline and Otto Penzler. A good, unpleasant story.

Some of the other brief tales are not as successful. Michelle Gagnon's story "It Ain't Right" is only four pages long. It is narrated by a woman whose husband has to surreptitiously bury a deceased woman as the story begins. The rest of the story tells of how the death occurred and what ensued. Child describes this as "superb," which I think is an overstatement. It is starkly effective, though.

Zoë Sharp's story "Lost and Found" is an overly tricky tale told from two intertwined viewpoints, one designated as "you," the other as "he." A man is stabbed. One of these people is the perpetrator of the stabbing; the other is the victim. But they are actually both perpetrators and both victims. This is deliberately confusing and, in my opinion, not very good. I have liked other things that I have read by Ms. Sharp much better.

I was also disappointed in Jim Fusilli's story "Blind Justice" about loyalty - and lack thereof - among gangsters. A powerful mobster tells another gangster that he wants to make sure that he won't see a third gangster any more. The implication is clear; the result is somewhat different.

In "Hot Sugar Blues" by Steve Liskow, the narrator is the manager, fellow musician, and usually uncredited songwriter for a popular musician, known principally as a blues singer. A young Black woman is interviewing the singing star and mentions that she has heard that the singer stole his first major hit, "Hot Sugar Blues," from an old Black blues singer who lost a lawsuit about the stolen song and then committed suicide. The old man is avenged, in a way that is presented as being clever but which I believe would clearly lead to an arrest.

Two of the stories that I mentioned earlier as not seeming to me to be closely related to the topic of vengeance both share something else in common; they are two of the tales in this book about Catholic priests. "Silent Justice" by C. E. Lawrence tells of a priest who hears the confession of a man who says that he had committed a murder. The priest is shocked, but he can not think of a way that he can take any action without breaking his vows as a priest never to reveal anything that he hears at confession. Then the man returns and the problem becomes more urgent.

The narrator of " In Persona Christi " by Orest Stelmach is another priest. He has a woman from Mexico and her thirteen year old son staying in the rectory with him. The woman's husband had been a prosecuter in Mexico. He was murdered, and the murderers think that his widow might be able to identify them. They come to the rectory, intending to kill all three of the people there.

In both these stories, the priests are faced with agonizing moral decisions. The Mexican would-be murderers may be partly motivated by thoughts of revenge against the family of a man who had tried to bring criminals to justice, but I believe that the fact that the widow might identify the murderers would be more of a motivation for their actions. These are, however, both fine stories.

In Dennis Lehane's story "The Consumers," a woman whose husband beats her hires a hit-man, but that does not seem to be the real concern this story has with revenge. And there is revenge of a kind but it seems chiefly to be the vengeance of God. The person who gets a sort of revenge does not appear to have a motivation given, unless one assumes that that person is mad, which may be what Lehane intends.

One other story here that seems to me not to have much relation to the theme is "The Mother" by Alafair Burke. A twenty-two month old baby had been "sold sexually" by one or both of her parents. The child's father, a former drug addict who denies any involvement in prostituting the child, wants custody of his daughter. A female lawyer representing the state fights against this, agreeing to take custody of the child herself. The father retains custody. The lawyer does not want that, and decides to take further action. Another fine story, but, as I stated, it seems to me to be unrelated to the topic of vengeance.

"Moonshiner's Lament" by Rick McMahan is unquestionably about vengeance. A young man, returned from serving in Vietnam, now has some involvement in distributing moonshine whiskey. He barely escapes an attack in which four of his friends are killed. He seeks revenge, but first he must make sure who the killers were.

In Anne Swardson's tale "River Secret," another man wants to avenge harm done to a friend. The narrator is a man in Paris, a busker who plays a number of instruments. He does not speak, either when working or in his personal life. He has been befriended by a Gypsy woman. A young child, who had kept returning to hear the busker play, is murdered and suspicion falls on the Gypsy, but the narrator suspects someone else. The notes at the end of the book state that this is Swardson's first published work of fiction - an auspicious beginning.

In "Even a Blind Man" by Darrell James, an aging Black man who appears to be blind travels with a devoted dog, that actually is blind. They come from California to Atlanta, searching for someone who the man had just recently learned existed - his granddaughter. He received a message that she needed help. She is in more trouble than the man could have imagined.

Not every act of revenge is a response to a violent crime. "Leverage" by Mike Cooper tells of a man who worked for one company for thirty-seven years and then lost both his job and his pension due to some corporate shenanigans which, his lawyer assures him, were perfectly legal. But legal is not the same as right, and there appears to be one man responsible for his misfortune.

Some crimes are on an even grander scale. The title character in Janice Law's "The General" was the dictator of a country south of the United States before he fled, taking with him a fortune and his young son. "Now he lived in luxurious retirement; in exile, true, and with greatly diminished powers, but with vastly enhanced safety and comfort." His son's best friend in his new life is an old gardener on their estate, another man who had come from their former country. That old man had also had a son, now dead. This is a surprisingly literary tale, somewhat mannered, but good. This too was chosen for the list of "Other Distinguished Mystery Stories of 2012" in The Best American Mystery Stories 2013.

One more story from this anthology also appeared on that list. "The Fourteenth Juror" by Twist Phelan is a tale with multiple surprising turns. Two police officers go to see a judge to discuss a trial at which he had presided, a murder case that had ended with a hung jury. Two of the people involved in that trial have since died, both in suspicious circumstances. Revenge is very much a factor in this story.

"The Hotline" is the rather inappropriate title of a good story by Dreda Say Mitchell. A twenty-nine year old Muslim woman working in a bank in London is turned down for a promotion. That position goes to another applicant, one who is "young and blond." (The Muslim woman is religious and wears a head scarf.) Then a week later, the Muslim woman is laid off. Her immediate supervisor says that he will go to Personnel and fight for her. She soon learns that that supervisor and the woman who got the promotion are having an affair and that her ill fortune had been planned by him.

Michael Niemann's story "Africa Always Needs Guns" is very much different from "The Hotline." The central character is a man who works for the UN Office of International Overnight Services, which may sound routine and dreary but is far from it. He must deal with gun runners in the Congo. His principal antagonist is a thuggish rapist.

That is one of my favorite stories in this collection, as are the remaining three tales. "Blood and Sunshine" by Adam Meyer is narrated by a young man working as an assistant in a camp for young children. The story begins, "Most people don't believe in pure evil, and neither did I until I met five-year-old Dylan Brewster." There is a blurb at the front of the book that refers to this story as "the biggest jaw-dropper" in the book, which I think is exactly right.

I have mentioned three stories that were listed as some of the best mystery stories of 2012. These were all runners-up to the editors' choice of the best twenty such stories. One of the twenty chosen as the very best mystery stories of that year is "A Fine Mist of Blood" by Michael Connelly, which features Connelly's series characters police officers Harry Bosch and Jerry Edgar. Bosch pursues a hunch that a woman who had some peripheral involvement in two seemingly unrelated murder cases might actually be more involved - might, in fact, be a suspect.

Brendan DuBois, one of the masters of the surprising twist, has a story of a different kind, "The Final Ballot." A not very educated woman who runs a small beauty shop in New Hampshire has a daughter in college. The daughter has been assaulted and seriously injured, both physically and emotionally, by the son of a senator. The senator is now hoping to be his party's nominee for the presidency, and he wants this story covered up. His right-hand man makes an agreement with the mother offering money and the assurance that the son will be institutionalized.

A good collection with some stories that I think are poor but also some that I think are very fine.

[Jane Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two short stories were excellent - by Michael Connelly and Darrell James. Most of the rest were just ok.

21 short stories with themes of revenge or vengeance. I hesitate to read short stories. More often than not something doesn’t get developed enough - characters, motivations, plot. Some of my harsh ratings below are because of this. Those same authors would probably get a higher rating from me for their full length novels. But, it can be done. Two of the short stories were excellent. The stories below are in the same order as in the book.

3 stars. THE 14th JUROR by Twist Phelan.
Two police detectives talk to a judge. The ending was too abrupt. I wanted to see specifically what would happen to the recipient of the revenge.

1 star. LOST AND FOUND by Zoe Sharp.
This was a weird combination of second and third person point of views. “You” are being attacked. “He” is doing the attacking. Throughout the story the author switches back and forth between what “You” are thinking and feeling and what “He” is thinking and doing. I was frustrated and confused. This was too subtle for me. I didn’t like the ending. I wanted to know what was going to happen to “He.”

2 stars. THE MOTHER by Alafair Burke.
The main story was pretty good - 3 stars. But the ending was unfinished - 1 star. It left me hanging. A bad guy was discovered, and I have no idea what will happen with him. One storyline is who will have custody of a two-year-old girl who had been raped.

1 star. BLIND JUSTICE by Jim Fusilli.
Angie and Turnip are two guys who interact with organized crime types. Relationships could not be fully shown because there were too many characters. Motivations and actions were vague. I didn’t know who did what or why. I didn’t know what the bad guy did that caused a need for revenge. The revenge was referred to, not shown. At the end one guy asks “Dead or alive?” The other guy says “What do you think?” This ending was too vague.

3 ½ stars. THE CONSUMERS by Dennis Lehane.
A broker sells bad investments causing people to lose money. He also beats his wife. The story was good until the end. A character got revenge, but I wasn’t clear about his motives. I wanted to understand him better.

3 stars. MOONSHINER’S LAMENT by Rick McMahan.
Too much was too vague. I didn’t see motives for Goat’s actions after he left the men in the woods. Then I vaguely knew what happened to the men in the woods. I needed to know more about the bad guy’s motivations and actions.

2 stars. RIVER SECRET by Anne Swardson.
A street musician sees a little girl with her mother. Too much subtlety. Not obvious enough.

3 stars. HOT SUGAR BLUES by Steve Liskow.
A lot of time was spent with things the bad guy musician did which was depressing. His victims were wimps because they were powerless or they didn’t choose their actions well. Someone gets revenge which was ok, but the overall story was depressing.

3 ½ stars. THE FINAL BALLAD by Brendan DuBois.
Good story. It’s about what happens after Beth’s daughter was beaten by the son of a senator.

2 stars. AFRICA ALWAYS NEEDS GUNS by Michael Niemann.
So, so. I couldn’t get into the characters. An investigator needs to examine cargo. The pilot won’t let him.

2 stars. THE UNREMARKABLE HEART by Karin Slaughter.
This didn’t feel like revenge or vengeance. The main character is dying and her main crime was trusting someone she shouldn’t have and saying some mean things to others. As a story it’s ok but it’s depressing about someone dying. There is a shocking surprise at the end.

2 stars. IT AIN’T RIGHT by Michelle Gagnon.
Too subtle. Don’t know what happened. Joe and his wife may have done something bad. I didn’t see any revenge or vengeance in this story. It’s possible my mind wandered and I missed it?

3 stars. SILENT JUSTICE by C.E. Lawrence.
A killer confesses to a priest. Ok story.

4 stars. EVEN A BLIND MAN by Darrell James.
Young girl is in trouble. Her grandfather travels across the country by bus to find her and help her. He pretends to be blind, but he is not. This was very good.

2 stars. THE GENERAL by Janice Law Trecker.
Not a pleasant story. Not enjoyable. The General did evil things when he was in power which are recalled. The ending has some revenge, but it was more sad than good.

4 ½ to 5 stars. A FINE MIST OF BLOOD by Michael Connelly.
Yay! I love Harry Bosch! This is another installment in that series. It was my favorite story in this book. Detective Bosch is investigating a murder. At first I was drawn in because I thought “how in the world is he going to catch this person?” Later there was suspense, and I was worried about Bosch. Then my favorite part was the person who got revenge - that was a surprise. I didn’t expect it. And, we had a complete ending. So to Michael Connelly, thank you, you write so well!

3 stars. LEVERAGE by Mike Cooper.
The subject matter was depressing. Much of the story is about employees of a company being terminated and losing their pensions. One of the employees wants to do something about it. It was ok, but I didn’t feel much. At least the ending was complete.

3 stars. THE HOTLINE by Dreda Say Mitchell.
Ruckshana wears a Muslim head scarf when working at the bank. Her boss lies to her and is behind her firing. It’s an ok story.

3 stars. BLOOD AND SUNSHINE by Adam Meyer.
It was ok but odd. I was frustrated that the author didn’t say what happened to the baby. I’m still troubled by that. Eddie is a college student working at a day care center/camp for kids during the summer. Dillon is a five-year-old who is sneaky and evil. This is a dark story. The good guy gets revenge but did something evil to get it. It left me with an unsettled feeling.

3 stars. IN PERSONA CHRISTY by Orest Stelmach.
Maria and her son Manuel flee Mexico and live with a priest in a Connecticut parish. Her husband was killed by bad guys. Several years earlier Father Nathan lost his right arm and right leg and wears prosthetics. The ending was pretty good about someone saving the day and getting some revenge.

3 stars. THE HOLLYWOOD I REMEMBER by Lee Child.
The main character is a killer for hire. He kills prostitutes who threaten to talk/blackmail their clients. Someone wants revenge and to see him in jail. The revenge he gets is unexpected. This was ok at best.

DATA:
Unabridged audiobook reading time: 11 hrs and 58 mins. Swearing language: occasional use of some strong words, but not often. Sexual language: none. Sex scenes: One sex scene was referred to, no details shown. Another sex scene was a woman tied to a bed, being raped by four men. Setting: current day mostly U.S. but there’s also Africa, London and Paris (I think). Book copyright: 2012 for the anthology. Most of the short stories were 2012. One was 2010. Genre: mystery suspense.

[Mike Finn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

‘Vengeance’ is a collection of twenty-one short stories, ten selected by Lee Child, one written by Lee Child and ten selected from anonymised submissions from members of Mystery Writers of America.

I’ve been dipping into the collection for the past couple of weeks and it’s kept me well entertained.

My favourite story and probably the nastiest in the collection was from Karin Slaughter. It reminded me to pull her novel, ‘We Are All Guilty Here’, to the top of my TBR pile.

I gave another seven stories four stars. Only four stories got less than three stars.

I use collections like these to look for writers I haven’t read before. This time, I added books by five authors to my TBR pile:
'Fake’ by Twist Phelan,
‘The Downside’ by Mike Cooper,
'Sweet Ladies of Death’ by Steve Liskow,
‘Legitimate Business’ by Michael Niemann,
and ‘Old Wounds and New’ by Darrell James.

I’ll be looking for more Mystery Writers of America Presents collections.

Below I’ve rated and commented on each of the twenty-one stories.

THE FOURTEENTH JUROR by Twist Phelan ★★★★

A great opening story to a collection about vengeance. Tight, clean writing and a plot that reeled me in, paragraph by paragraph. As Twist Phelan intended, I thought I was being clever and seeing what was really going on in this twisty story. I even felt smug about it. Until I got to the end and realised that I’d been played every step of the way and hadn’t gotten close to guessing the truth. I didn’t feel cheated; I felt entertained. So entertained that I bought ‘Fake’, the first book in her series about corporate spy, Finn Teller.

LOST AND FOUND by Zoë Sharp ★★★

An atmospheric (seedy, dark, doomed and blood-soaked) story with a clever twist and strong imagery. Telling the story using the second-person point of view lessened its impact for me. I understand that it helped enable the plot twists by obscuring identities, but even in a story as short as this, it quickly began to feel laboured. 

THE MOTHER by Alafair Burke ★★

I found this one hard to believe, I liked that the twist at the end was subtle but important. The court scenes worked, But I never got inside the main character’s head.

BLIND JUSTICE by Jim Fusilli ★★

This one wasn’t for me. Most gangster stories aren’t for me, especially ones that treat the violence that they inflict on each other as cute or amusing. The plot had inverted the normal storylines in a way I think was meant to be surprising but wasn’t. The writing was fine, but the tone was glib.

THE CONSUMERS by Dennis Lehane ★★★★

This read like a relatively straightforward revenge story with a possible twist on who is getting revenge on whom and for what. It was the quality of the writing that pulled me in. The story was told with a fluent confidence that let me relax into it because I knew I was in good hands. Most of the time was spent building a picture of Nicole’s life with her abusive-but-sorry-for-it-afterwards rich, dishonest investment banker husband, Alan. There was no clumsy infodumping, and very little telling. 

The picture was built from Nicole’s memories and reflections. From Nicole’s point of view, it was a picture of Alan and his faults, but Lehane turned it into a picture of a couple living in empty, loveless luxury, paid for by preying on others. 

The ending was surprising. The calm, low-key nature of the violence made it somehow more vengeful, more personal than a bloodier scene would have. It was also satisfying in a way that I ought to feel ashamed of but don’t. 

MOONSHINER’S LAMENT by Rick McMahan ★★★

I liked the tone of the storytelling. It brought the period to life and got me inside the protagonist’s head. I liked that he wasn’t just a tough guy, that his desire for revenge was driven by grief rather than machismo and that he was aware that he and the ‘plan’ he intended to implement were both a little crazy. The ending seemed a little sudden to me. I’d have liked to have known what our ‘hero’ did once the adrenaline left him. That I want to know that is probably a sign of a story well told. 

RIVER SECRET by Anne Swardson ★★★

I liked the vivid but low-key storytelling style. It matched the personality of the main character, who presented a calm, harmless surface to the world that masked a born-of-trauma watchfulness and suspicion that eventually turned into cold vengeance. 

HOT SUGAR BLUES by Steve Liskow ★★★★

This one sizzled with tension. I enjoyed how my slowly growing awareness that I was watching something dangerous unfold kept pace with my increasing dislike for the superstar performer. Telling the story as a first-person account from the manager was a masterstroke; it revealed the manager’s character and the performer’s, shared crucial pieces of history, and amplified the sense of watching a predatory performance. The plot was clever, and the revenge was satisfying.

THE FINAL BALOT by Brendan DuBois ★★★

I liked the efficiency of the prose. Tension was established from the first page, and distrust wasn’t far behind it. The plot was horribly plausible, and it seemed unlikely that any vengeance could be achieved. The twist at the end was clever, but I didn’t quite believe it. I think it qualified as retaliation, but it didn’t seem to me to be vengeance. 

AFRICA WILL ALWAYS NEED GUNS by Michael Niemann ★★★★

I was impressed by how rigorously this was imagined, how unflinching the depiction of apparently unassailable corruption was, and how clearly drawn Valentin Vermeulen, the beleaguered investigator, was. This is the kind of story where no one comes out clean but where it’s possible, if you have the stomach for getting dirty, to make the world slightly less broken.

I was so taken by the story that I searched for Niemann’s novels and found that he subsequently wrote four novel-length thrillers featuring Valentin Vermeulen.

THE UNREMARKABLE HEART by Karin Slaughter ★★★★★

A brilliantly written, chillingly dark, suspenseful story where the vengeance wrought is evil, and you won’t see it coming. The prose grabbed me from the first sentence. The set-up is original and tense. With each reveal, the situation worsens. The ending is nasty and perfect.

IT AIN’T RIGHT by Michelle Gagnon ★★★

Some marriages have reefs, just below the surface, known but unacknowledged, unexplored, constantly navigated around and hidden from strangers. This is the story of one of those navigations. The storytelling is oblique but evocative. A slight story that, like a splinter, slips into the reader’s imagination and festers. 

SILENT JUSTICE by C. E. Lawrence ★★

This was too slight for me. The riffs on confessions and their consequences were interesting but the priest didn’t seem real to me.

EVEN A BLIND MAN by Darrell James ★★★★

There was a lot packed into this story, and yet it never felt rushed or as if it was pushing information at me. It brought the characters and the situation into focus and then kept sharpening that focus in surprising ways that made the situation darker and the characters more complex. I found Earl Lilly fascinating. I’d like to read more about him. I’m thinking about getting 'Old Wounds and New’ because there's another story about him in it. 

THE GENERAL by Janice Law ★★★★

This was beautifully done. The vengeance was subtle. The hatred involved was palpable. The character of the general was disclosed and, in part, defined by the suspense generated by the gardener’s odd mix of passivity and threat. The pacing was perfect.

A FINE MIST OF BLOOD by Michael Connelly ★★★

A little slice of Harry Bosch doing his thing. This time he’s set on the scent by a new data analysis technique, but his follow-through is all hunch, instinct and deviousness. There wasn’t much by way of mystery, but the ending was engineered to deliver suspense, a surprise or two and a spectacular conclusion.

LEVERAGE by MIke Cooper ★★★★

The cool, reasonable tone of the storytelling contrasts with the main character's deep, even more reasonable rage, making his actions both unpredictable and deeply satisfying. 

The story gives a careful, unexaggerated summary of the damage the law allows a predatory venture capitalist to inflict on whole communities as, without fear or rancour, they asset strip for profit, driving others into poverty. I loved that, despite the harm done to him, the main character’s initial driver is not vengeance but a simple need to comprehend why someone already fabulously rich would behave in this immoral, harmful way to gain a few extra millions. 

His actions, when he finally understood, seemed entirely justified to me.

THE HOTLINE by Dreda Say Mitchell ★★★

This was fun, mostly because it was both clever and unexpected. I enjoyed watching the quiet, accepting, non-confrontational Muslim woman finally find her anger, combine it with her creativity, and her daring to unleash a well-justified revenge.

BLOOD AND SUNSHINE by Adam Meyer ★★

Great opening line: “Most people don’t believe in pure evil, and neither did I until I met five-year-old Dylan Brewster.” Sadly, I found the rest of the story to be too slick for its own good. I didn’t see the twist at the end coming, but by that point, I was no longer invested in the story because I didn’t believe in the main character.

IN PERSONA CHRISTI by Orest Stelmach ★★

Good opening line: “Two days before the killers came for Maria, a gang of teenagers rampaged across church property”. The story reminded me of a 70s Rock Concept Album: a clever structure to the central conceit but with little emotional engagement. This is the second priest in this collection whom I found myself unable to believe in.

THE HOLLYWOOD I REMEMBER by Lee Child ★★★

This opens with “The Hollywood I remember was a cold, hard, desperate place.” The story is being told by a cold, hard, disappasionate man, looking back without regret at his career as a killer. It’s a grim, uncompromising story. The vengeance wrought is also cold, hard and desperate.

[Paul Weiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Who wrote these damn laws anyway?”
“The best politicians money can buy. You know that.”

An anthology of short mysteries, procedurals, and thrillers based on swift and effective justice, revenge (hot or cold), an eye for an eye, getting even, vigilantism – yeah, you got it now, VENGEANCE. Given such a strong and intriguing theme so flush with potential and a list of authors that might well be considered entrants in a suspense thriller who’s who library, I was definitely looking forward to wetting my whistle with this little collection.

Perhaps it was my own fault for placing the bar of expectations at a height that the collection couldn’t possibly clear it. Sure enough, it didn’t! With only two or three notable and worthy exceptions, the list barely held my interest at a level that prompted me to actually finish it.

In a back cover blurb, Publishers Weekly gushed, ”A high-quality anthology … the writing is top-notch.” I beg to differ!

Paul Weiss

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

The problem with editing a thematic collection is that the short stories therein can be formulaic. Child does an excellent job stuffing this anthology with fresh stories with minimal formula writing involved. There was a part in collection when it seemed a tiny repetitive but there were some real stand outs too such as the lehane tale I mentioned in an update and Karin slaughter really outdoing her novel length writing with a dark twisted story that was as compelling as a train wreck yet left an icky after feeling. Lee child's was one of shortest stories in collection yet unsurprisingly among my favourites. The above were a few well creditialled authors but this collection also had some strong stories by authors that were new to me. Reading the review one may think I am being stingy with my star rating for this one but truth is the exceptional stories lifted the avg rating up as I found no stinkers here but there were a few meh stories.

[STEPH · Rating 3 out of 5]

The introduction by Lee Child was quite fun. A proper kick-off to a crazy, heroic and shocking collection of feature stories from different talented writers. Need I say more?

Fourteenth Juror by Twist Phelan - I had to really take a moment to mull over this story because I didn't get it the first time. The twist at the end is satisfying.

Lost & Found by Zoë Sharp - The writing style and tone is a bit different but I liked the idea. The bad guy deserved it.

The Mother by Alafair Burke - Whoa. This one was heartbreaking.

Blind Justice by Jim Fusili - not a fan of this one.

The Consumers by Dennis Lehane - Hmm, bad people deserve bad things, I guess.

Unremarkable Heart by Karin Slaughter - Only Karin can make something dark and and twisted fascinating. Forever a fan.


All the rest of the stories were enjoyable in some levels. Will have to read a full novel of each one to get to know them more.

[Stephanie Griffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

My ratings on a scale of 1-10 for each story in this anthology
THE FOURTEENTH JUROR by Twist Phelan: 6 Cop gets revenge against a judge
LOST AND FOUND by Zoë Sharp: 7 Kinda sad story about men who s.a. boys
THE MOTHER by Alafair Burke: 7 Sudden ending jolted me and disappointed
BLIND JUSTICE by Jim Fusilli: 9 Love the Italian slang from the tough guys
THE CONSUMERS by Dennis Lehane: 5 Rich people die
MOONSHINER’S LAMENT by Rick McMahan: 5 Mystery of who shot 4 moonshiners
RIVER SECRET by Anne Swardson: 5 Small girl spreads joy to a non-speaking musician
HOT SUGAR BLUES by Steve Liskow: 7 Woman makes a thief pay the ultimate price
THE FINAL BALLOT by Brendan DuBois: 9 Fantastic story of a mom getting justice for her daughter
AFRICA ALWAYS NEEDS GUNS by Michael Niemann: 4 UN inspector tries to stop importation of illegal weapons
THE UNREMARKABLE HEART by Karin Slaughter: 0 Hated it. A predator has the last words for his dying wife
IT AIN’T RIGHT by Michelle Gagnon: 3 No explanation of the burial
SILENT JUSTICE by C.E. Lawrence: 7 Priest takes confessions from a killer
EVEN A BLIND MAN by Darrell James: 8 A man with a blind dog connects with a long-lost daughter in Atlanta
THE GENERAL by Janice Law (Janice Law Trecker): 9 A son is shown what kind of man his father really is
A FINE MIST OF BLOOD by Michael Connelly: 5 A detective tracks a serial killer
LEVERAGE by Mike Cooper: 9 Love it! When a man gets laid off because of a corporate takeover, he searches for the man at the top
THE HOTLINE by Dreda Say Mitchell: 6 Woman gets laid off after being overlooked by the boss for a promotion
BLOOD AND SUNSHINE by Adam Meyer: 4 A seriously dangerous child leads a man to finally react violently
IN PERSONA CHRISTI by Orest Stelmach: 7 A priest contemplates the duties of his occupation
THE HOLLYWOOD I REMEMBER by Lee Child: 8 A reflection on crime in LA, in the words of a criminal

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Revenge-I think most of us have yearned for it and occasionally, either on impulse or with malice aforethought, exacted it. Vengeance is an anthology edited by Lee Child, and it tackles this concept from a variety of angles. I found this to be an entertaining collection of tales but to me there were no stand-outs, despite all the famous authors. Obligatory name dropping begins now: Micheal Connelly gives us a new Harry Bosch story (that is what made me buy the book folks) but truthfully Connelly's gifts lean more towards the novel rather than the short story. There are also stories by Alafair Burke, Dennis Lehane, Karin Slaughter, Twist Phelan, and Child himself. A four star rating is really me rounding up every so slightly.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent collection of stories from authors in the revenge field.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Bosch is tasked with looking into some cold case files with his friend and former partner Jerry Edgar, they stumble across a pattern and an individual whose presence around both crime scenes cannot simply be coincidence, or can it? When they go to interview her, Bosch is unnerved that she has all the same answers as years before, even though her story all makes sense and fits together adequately enough. When he looks a little deeper, he finds something else; something that could close the case for good. Alas, it may lead to some messy endings!

Good work, Mr. Connelly on yet another good short story.

[Joe Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories all focused on the theme of Vengeance. Twenty one original authors (including the editor, Lee Child) wrote stories for this anthology and filled it with original short stories that really grab you and give you a reason to read. I am really envious of authors that can give you a gift of story in such short form and still include every nuance necessary to answer all the questions that might come up about the justification for the actions in the story. The form is a miracle in thrift! Another miracle is that Lee Child was able to persuade this great stable of authors to contribute to this book. I was amazed by the range of possibilities for revenge that were explored by these authors. It is also amazing that a stable of stories based on a single theme would cover such a wide variety of plots and actions looking for emotional satisfaction. I was further impressed that "ALL" of these stories were universally engaging and so well written and original that they easily maintained my interest to the point that I would read two or three stories at a single sitting instead of just picking and choosing the few with interesting titles. Not a single entry disappointed me! Easily one of the best short story anthologies of resent history. Kudo's to Mr. Child and his cooperating authors!

[Peacejanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories presented by the Mystery Writers of America and edited by Lee Child. There is nothing here that is earth shaking. It is 20+ short stories by the writers you know and love and some you never heard of. I finally realized that all of the stories are focused on vengeance. (the title of the anthology) I usually enjoy longer works, mystery novels, but now and then, go back to my old love of short stories. These are all delightful - an introduction to some new mystery authors and the comfort of some of my favorites. It is a quick read. I read it in bits and pieces during sports on television and cleaning up the kitchen. If you enjoy mysteries, this is a book for you. The Mystery Writers of America have published several books of short stories, each edited by a famous mystery writer. The book is delightful. If you like new authors, this is an easy way to meet them.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very solid collection, not a dud in the book. Most are decidely good, even the ones I wasn't riveted by, have a worksmanship about them.

Extreme kudos to Karin Slaughter's The Unremarkable Heart. It reminds me of We Need to Talk About Kevin--if that gives an idea of the cheerfulness of this story. After reading it, I wanted to take a shower.

Some of the stories are a little iffy on the topic of "vengeance" though.

[Byju.V · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories with crime as a joining thread. The stories are selected by Lee Child. It includes some famous names and some not so famous names. A decent read for lovers of crime fiction.

[Nona · Rating 1 out of 5]

This novel, a compilation of various writers, is disappointing in that the stories barely get started before they end.
Many of those who wrote for this book requires several chapters to build their story, and are obviously not 'short-story' writers. It brought forward to me the importance of being concise and to the point and the talent of being able to write a short story.
I gave up after a couple of chapters.
Not recommended.

[Pam Tickner · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting concept - a collection of short crime stories from emerging and established authors. Whilst the theme of 'vengeance' for crimes perpetrated was good, I found the stories disturbing in their content. This one was not for me.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a nasty collection of short stories about nasty people doing nasty things to one another, making me feel nasty when I read it. But seriously, I had my doubts about finishing this book. The first half dozen stories were completely foul. And I don't mean that the writing was bad. I mean, the characters and the stories felt soiled in some way. It wasn't until I read Anne Swardson's story "River Secret" that I found something to latch onto, somebody to root for. It was a depressing story, as well, but well-crafted and the characters seemed real. I also enjoyed--and I use that verb with some trepidation, as none of these stories were what you would call enjoyable--Brendan DuBois' "The Final Ballot," "The Unremarkable Heart" by Karin Slaughter(a favorite author of mine), and "The Hotline" by Dreda Say Mitchell. The other stories left me feeling uneasy to one degree or another, often showing otherwise average people pushed to their limits to become monsters when eradicating the monsters. What does that say about mankind? This book pretty much sums it up.

[Tony Warren · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I saw Lee Child's name on this I thought it should be good. Boy was I wrong, what a load of old cobblers. I tried 3 of the stories and gave up on all of them. The rest I did not even want to attempt. Not my sort of reading at all.

[Jim A · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good collection of short stories. As the title indicates, the theme of this anthology is 'Vengeance'. Most of the stories have an interesting twist ending in addition to the vengeance theme.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection of stories. Perfect for an evening by the fire.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It takes some time for me to finish an anthology such as this because I don't enjoy reading one story after another on a such a dark theme. Taken individually, though, there were some great stories, some surprises and a couple I just couldn't finish.
I like the option of setting aside a work that I don't enjoy or makes me uncomfortable without feeling I've wasted a great deal of time on a unlikable plot. I always find an author who is new to me and whose work I want to investigate further.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another crime/mystery anthology with a contribution from my man Michael Connelly. In addition to his story, A Fine Mist of Blood (tight, vintage Bosch with a nice cameo by Jerry Edgar), I also checked out The Mother by Alafair Burke (good and dark and twisty), The Consumers by Dennis Lehane (too preachy), and The Hollywood I Remember by Lee Child (too short and glib, but I really enjoyed his editor's introduction to this collection).

[Doug Allyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this collection. There's a saying in the business, those who can't write poetry write short tales, those who can't write short, write novels. It's not true, of course, but this collection suggests where the idea might come from. I bought it for Michael Connelly. Brendan Dubois and Twist Phelan, who always excel, but wound up loving Rick McMahan's moonshine murder tale even better. The only thing lacking was Steve Earle singing Copperhead Road in the background. Five Stars.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been my "desk" book at work for a very, very long time. I honestly should have just taken it home to finish much sooner. The stories in it were perfect for quick lunch breaks, when I had time to take them. The quality was as high as expected. The stories were all interesting takes on Vengeance. It is always fascinating how many different interpretations there are of the same theme.

[Mancman · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with all collections of stories, there isn’t going to be consistency, and I’m ok with that. Reading different styles so quickly always makes me appreciate what I like about one writer, compared with another.
The loose theme of vengeance ties this collection together, and I felt some contributors have a very different understanding of that word than others.

[Mark Tier · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Mystery writers of America.” You probably think “detective” (as I did). There are a couple of detective stories--but most of them are mysteries, and ingenious and unexpected ones at that. With several stunning O. Henry-type endings. And though I’m not a fan of Lee Child (or should I say, his Jack Reacher), HIS story is a gem.

[Kay Vanatta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not usually a short story fan - but I did enjoy the collected mystery stories.... I liked being able to compare writing styles of the different authors to decide which ones I wanted to explore more. Enjoyable and quick read!