The Best American Mystery Stories 2016

by Elizabeth George, Otto Penzler (Editor), Evan Lewis (Contributor)

 “What you’ll find in this volume are stories that demonstrate a mastery of plotting; stories that compel you to keep turning the pages because of plot and because of setting; stories that wield suspense like a sword; stories of people getting their comeuppance; stories that utilize superb point of view; stories that plumb one particular and unfortunate attribute of a character,” promises guest editor Elizabeth George in her introduction. The Best American Mystery Stories 2016 is a feast of both literary crime and hard-boiled detection, featuring a seemingly innocent murderer, a drug dealer in love, a drunken prank gone terribly wrong, and plenty of other surprising twists and turns.

The Best American Mystery Stories 2016 includes STEVE ALMOND, MEGAN ABBOTT, MATT BELL, LYDIA FITZPATRICK, TOM FRANKLIN, STEPHEN KING, ELMORE LEONARD, KRISTINE KATHRYN RUSCH and others
 
ELIZABETH GEORGE, guest editor, is the New York Times and internationally best-selling author of twenty British crime novels featuring Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his unconventional partner, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers. Her crime novels have been translated into thirty languages and featured on television by the BBC.  

OTTO PENZLER, series editor, is a renowned mystery editor, publisher, columnist, and owner of New York’s The Mysterious Bookshop, the oldest and largest bookstores solely dedicated to mystery fiction. He has edited more than fifty crime-fiction anthologies.

Genres: Short Stories, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Short Story Collection, Anthologies

368 pages, Paperback

Published October 4, 2016

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Susan Elizabeth George is an American author of mystery novels set in Great Britain. Eleven of her novels, featuring her character Inspector Lynley, have been adapted for television by the BBC as The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.

She was born in Warren, Ohio, but moved to the San Francisco Bay Area when she was eighteen months old. She was a student of English, receiving a teaching certificate. While teaching English in the public school system, she completed an advanced degree in psychology.

Her first published novel was A Great Deliverance in 1988, featuring Thomas Lynley, Lord Asherton, a Scotland Yard inspector of noble birth; Barbara Havers, Lynley's assistant, from a very working-class background; Lady Helen Clyde, Lynley's girlfriend and later wife, of noble birth as well; and Lynley's friends Simon and Deborah St. James.

This Elizabeth George is distinct from the other author named Elizabeth George (Christian author).

Series:
* Inspector Lynley

Reviews

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 20th edition of this anthology series includes:

- The Little Men by Megan Abbott - 4/5 - ghost story set in the Golden Age of Hollywood
- Okay, Now Do You Surrender? by Steve Almond - 5/5 - the Manners Mafia is not to be trifled with
- Toward the Company of Others by Matt Bell - 3/5 - mad dog town gonna set you free
- Fool Proof by Bruce Robert Coffin - 4/5 - you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?*
- Safety by Lydia Fitzpatrick - 3/5 - from the perspective of a young boy during a school shooting
- Christians by Tom Franklin - 4/5 - mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys
- A Death by Stephen King - 4/5 - I hear the voice of the mystic mountains, callin' me back home
- For Something to Do by Elmore Leonard - 4/5 - the problem with houseguests is they don't always know when it's time to leave
- The Continental Opposite by Evan Lewis - 4/5 - Hammett's famous private eye returns for another case, this one in post-WWII Portland
- Street of the Dead House by Robert Lopresti - 4/5 - revisits Murders in the Rue Morgue from the perspective of the murderer
- Lafferty's Ghost by Dennis McFadden - 4/5 - when marriage counselors go bad
- Tank Yard by Michael Noll - 4/5 - this is your brain on drugs
- Trash by Todd Robinson - 3/5 - one man's trash...
- Christmas Eve at the Exit: A Sweet Young Things Mystery by Kristine Kathryn Rusch - 3/5 - wife and child on the run
- The Mountain Top by Georgia Ruth - 3/5 - post-economic collapse survivalists
- Mailman by Jonathan Stone - 5/5 - adds a new perspective to "appointed rounds"
- Rearview Mirror by Art Taylor - 3/5 - just can't wait to get on the road again
- Border Crossing by Susan Thornton - 3/5 - Incident at Owl Creek Bridge revisited, with human trafficking victims
- Entwined by Brian Tobin - 4/5 - just an accidental death, until the layers are peeled back
- God's Plan for Dr. Gaynor and Hastings Chiume by Saral Waldorf - 3/5 - murder in Nambia

* Google it

[Jeanette · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first story made me glad that I downloaded the entire. After the 4 or 5th story I sped read the first 1/2 of each story to determine if I would even read the rest. I did read them, all except for two. Those seemed too nasty, mean descriptive and vile to dip my foot in further. The Hollywood placement with the Little Men was decent, nearly above average. Most of the rest centered on the most miserable dysfunction and more than a few were cored on the moments before death or annihilation.

I can't imagine having oodles of stories to pick from and determining these were the best. At least 1/2 of these were voids, worse characterizations' depth, terrible dialogue. Sorry, came across more in my creative writing classes of the past decades that surpassed these stories by miles.

Half of these "people" are more demon than human. And these are supposed to be "mystery"?

Kudos to all those on this book's reviews who reviewed each story. I read two or three of these Goodreads reviewers all the way through in detail. Their copy is better than the originals. No joke.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a fan of short stories and having read many of the BASS series, I gave the mystery genre collection a try. After reading the first few selections I decided that I maybe should stick to the regular BASS books.
None of the stories were awful but very few were memorable.
For Something To Do by Elmore Leonard (A well known author with proven chops.)
Mailman by Jonathan Stone had a good twist.
Border Crossing by Susan Thornton - the author did a great job of transitioning between reality and unreality with an ending that made me gasp.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series is always a mixed bag, and I'm not a huge fan of short stories in general. They just never seem satisfying enough. There were some really good ones in here, though. Highlights:

"The Little Men" by Megan Abbot: This had an early 20th century Hollywood, Mulholland Drive kind of vibe that I really liked.

"Okay, Now Do You Surrender?" by Steve Almond: Laugh-out-loud funny and probably my favorite in the book.

"The Tank Yard" by Michael Noll: A little bit trendy with the meth-cooking storyline, but I thought Noll did an excellent job of creating a unlikable character who could still elicit real feeling.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This compilation was special because I enjoyed all 20 stories. While some of them I liked better than others, they were all very engaging, well written, as well as encompassing a diverse selection of themes that constitute great writing within the genre. If you’re a short story and mystery/crime lover I highly recommended the 2016 compilation. My favorite entry was “Entwined” by Brian Tobin.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a collection of mysteries I think it is more likely to have some hit or misses. We all pretty much know what to expect in a best fiction set, but mysteries range across such a gamut of type and style. Your not going to please all the people, or even most of them, much of the time.

The first story is called " The Little Men." Our protagonist, Penny, takes a small rental in a run down motel. She works with the studios as a makeup artist. She has ended a relationship with a higher up at the set but she bares him no ill will, as long as his last maintenance check clears. She is having trouble sleeping though. She wakes in the night and hears what must be mice in the wall, sees strange lights, all in all it's disconcerting. Later when a couple of long time residents, gay gents she believes, tells her the legend of someone committing suicide in her room she feels even more concerned. A bit below average in content.

Steve Almond writes " Ok, Now Do You Surrender " which is more effective. A man finds himself visited by a couple of mob goons. What makes this strange is he is not the type. He owes no debts, he does not deal in vice or crime. What are they asking him about? An argument, of a fit he threw about his wife sending thank you cards after his daughters birthday party. When questioned about this and strongly encouraged to apologize he wonders, did his wife hire gangsters. In the end it's not quite what you expect. Also it seems that Greek yogurt can be a subject of great controversy. Sometimes it seems our children really do want us to stay together.

Next we come to " Towards the Company of Others ", a story about a down on his luck fellow who visits desolate neighborhoods in an attempt to strip abandoned houses of anything of value. Scrap metal, copper piping, just what you would expect. On this day he finds something unexpected. He hears a faint cry from the cellar and finds an emaciated boy chained to a cot in a darkened corner of the room. This man is a thief but he is not a criminal. Eventually he frees the boy and gets him to a hospital giving us an easy example of the different definitions of good and bad.

" Fool Proof " is the first story that is a true standout. Billy is a man in prison for along time. He has figured out a plan. With meticulous research he knows when the used barrels of kitchen grease are picked up each week. Over the course of the year he gets his behavior in line, and begins working as a kitchen worker. Eventually he is given more freedom inside the kitchen. His plan is simple, find one person to help him get inside a barrel, have his cousin drive the truck that comes in and once free of the jail his brother can set him free with a big head start. He is only worried about the one prison guard that has it in for him. Fortunately that day it is only Barrett, a guard who treats him with respect, almost like a friend, he comes in contact with. Later we watch the plan come to fruition. Mel the cook who is eager to see an escape work bolts him into the the barbell and marks it for his brother to know which one to unload. Alas, nothing goes as planned. Inexplicably his driver unloads the wrong barrel and Billy, with only twenty minutes of oxygen inside the barrel is doomed. The story ends with Mel the cook and Barrett the " nice " guard contemplating when Billy figured out that he had been double crossed. We learn why Mel marked the wrong barrel for unloading. It seems when you kill a young woman you should no everyone inside the prison who might be related to her.

The next story is called " Safety " and while it is well written it is also simply not enjoyable because of the subject matter. It is painful to read as it addresses a realistic scenario of a school shooting. It is, well written, but it is just too raw a nerve.

Not as well written is a story titled " Christians " in which we follow a woman whose husband is killed and, a couple of decades later, her son is killed by men in the same family. Making it worse is the knowledge that in both cases her menfolk were on the wrong side of right.

A rare Stephen King story published in The New Yorker titled " A Death " is, as might be expected, a standout. We watch Jim Truesdale arrested by the local Sheriff and charged with the murder of a small little girl in town, taken on her way to buy candy with her birthday money. While his hat is found at the murder site he insists he is innocent. Soon enough a trial with a preordained outcome is taking place and the lawman becomes convinced he is not guilty. After all the girls coin is missing and they had searched all over his house, fields, and any path from town to his home. Having been arrested just a couple hours after the crime what could he have done with it were he guilty. Still he was found guilty and hung, the Sheriff, unsure as he was, could not stop the inevitable. Later he received a call from the coroner, the silver dollar had been found.

Another standout titled " For Something to Do " is an old Elmore Leonard short. In this tale a man and his wife are visited by her ex and her cousin. Still living in the big city, while the couple are living in the country farming, they look down on them and mock the gentle farmer. Eventually their bullying turns violent and threats are made. The ex being an ex military, now rising professional boxer makes clear he would like to resume his relationship and dares the man to object. After things go poorly for him physically the man resolves that he must settle the score that very day or he will lose both his wife's, and just as importantly, his own sense of self respect.

From Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine we receive a not great story titled " The Continental Opposite ". Mixing characters from a local mob, a Mother's relationship with her son and second husband, as well as a local detective agency working in a corrupt pairing with local law enforcement the pieces are there for a story but is told in such a dated way as to not appeal.

" Street of the Dead House " offers a real change of pace as our narrator is a great ape. Telling us his story of being captured in the jungle and the taught to understand and communicate clearly with humans using sign language it seems his story will be positive. It turns anything but, however, when a criminal learns of his talent and steals him from the professor to use him for nefarious plans.

" Lafferty's Ghost " is an interesting tale. A man has been dragged to a marriage counselor. He has a real problem with a wandering eye, as well as the rest of his body. He tests his talent by seducing the counselor and is contemplating what this means as he lays in bed with her. They are interrupted by men with guns and it becomes apparent that their are bigger secrets that what he is keeping from his wife.

Elbert Queen magazine offers " The Tankyard " and it seems to be stronger than its brethren mystery magazines offering. In this a pizza delivery driver is dating a woman who might be a bit out of his league. Still he is going to school and working two jobs, he also works for the town in the tank yard. What she does not know is that he is also delivering meth with his pizzas. What he does know is her Mother is a recovering drug addict. What he does not know, also, is her Mother is one of his regular customers. When these facts collide romance seems unlikely to last.

In the story " Trash " we meet Will who is glad to have his summer job on a trash truck. His Father, who is in the union, got him the job. It seems quite a few of the older long timers hire college kids to work their shifts and pay them a flat wage. Totally illegal but that's the way it's done. The job is not bad except for the heat and the smell. And the worst smell of all is the section in Chinatown picking up the baking, dripping trash from the Chinese restaurants. On this day Will looks at a bag stretched thin in that heat amongst the piles in the sidewalk, liquid of an unknown origin seeps from the bag. When he picks the bag up it rips a bit and out comes a hand. He notices other bags appear to have other parts. He freezes, making his driver, a veteran nervous telling him to just take the bag and move. Evidently this is not a new thing. When a thin, attractive woman comes out and lifts the slimy bag into the trash truck and encourages him to help with the rest he does so but he decides right then and there that is his last day on the trash route.

Talk about a sad story, " Christmas Eve at the Exit ", another entry from Ellery Queen Magazine, will qualify in spades. We meet Rachel, a young Mother traveling with her small daughter Anne Marie. The little ones great concern is will Santa find them as they have been in a different motel every night. They are on the run, she is tracking under an assumed name, she had, in fact, gone so far as to fake her own death. She is getting help from a network that supports abused women. She is trying to get away from her abusive husband. Things appear to be going smoothly until on Christmas Eve when she treats the two of them to a nice meal she feels like the off duty Santa Claus nursing a cup, of coffee is watching her a little too closely.

A nice story, with a surprising edge is " The Mountain Top." Jeff and Sally have been married fifty years and are enjoying their reclusive life in the mountains. Watching deer and other animals is a thing of great beauty to them. Only as the story develops do we come to realize that this is a world after a traumatic event of some type. This couple gardens, hunts, they work hard to survive. People cooperate, make due, barter, it is a throw back to a different time. When they are visited by a couple of unkempt men from a group of squatters down in the valley the situation quickly becomes life and death.

George is a retired " Mailman" and from that this story gets its title. George is a month or two away from retirement. He does not really look forward to it. His wife passed away a few years ago and he loves his neighborhood, having known some of these families for decades. Recently some folks have moved in and don't fit in, they are not nice, don't socialize. But that's ok. Then a man moves into one of the newly built McMansions. He puts up walls and gates. He never acknowledges his neighbors and gets strange overseas packages everyday. With some detective work that makes him uncomfortable, in forty plus hears George has never broken the rules for mail carriers, he learns that this mystery man is involved in financial crimes with some apparent gangsters from overseas. Deciding to see what he can do to trip him up he is more successful than even he expected to be. But, while he stops the new man in
the neighborhood, he also has an unexpected ending for himself as well.

" Rearview Mirror " is an above average story that is highlighted with a small feature that is beyond your expectation, one that creates a smile without fail. A woman has met a man named Delwood. How did she meet him, well it seems he was robbing the convenience store she was working at, and asked for her number. And, he actually called her, and she actually decided to date him. From there the story is pretty straightforwArd. He stops robbing after getting a nest egg. She wants to spend, he wants to save. Finally she has had about enough, but then something changes again.

" Border Crossing " follows a young woman, kid napped from her family in an interior Mexican village. As they are crossing the border into the United States she knows she must escape. These girls will end up as prostitutes, or worse. Seeing an opportunity we see her getaway, finding her way out onto the highway to be rescued by an American couple heading South. They put her on a bus home and she is thrilled to see her house as she approaches, her Mother will be so happy. Then the story reverts to us hearing a shout telling her to stop. All has taken place in her mind just as she contemplated running. It is not a happy ending.

What would happen if a few years after you killed someone in a horrible accident t you found out that that person was committing horrible crimes. When these came to light does it absolve you of your guilt. This is the story from " Alfred Hitchcock Magazine " called " Entwined ". A young man hits a father as he stumbles off a walkway into the road. Nothing he could have done yet he feels guilt. Remorse, plus unrequited feelings from the mans daughter, a local hottie that he had always lusted over. Then years later he finds out, along with everyone else, the man was a murderer. And worse. The girl, now a middle aged woman who has not aged well reaches out to him and he learns more than he knew, and eventually, to leave her a tiny bit of peace of mind, learns something he decides not to share about that day when her Father stumbled in front of him.

The last story, about a Doctor working in Africa, with aging parents at home, and rabies epidemics in country was convoluted, Long and confusing and did not work for me.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

all stories averaged: 2.8

I am trying to expand my horizons with mystery but I had a few structural issues 1) mystery is a very broad genre and I don't like all that it encompasses. 2) as addressed in the introduction (red flag) my fave subgenre, detective fiction, is less present because they rely on longform narrative. 3) short stories kind of don't work in general with a lot of these? Half the stories fell into two camps: either they set up a story really well, and then it would end feeling like a first chapter rather then a complete story or nothing would happen at all but it would be vaguely creepy so it technically counted as mystery?

This was my first short story collection, so im giving short stories and this series another shot. Already bought 2017 collection. Then I'll know if its the editor, the guest editor, the genre of short stories or short stories in general?

[Alexia · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, the stand out stories are: "The Little Men", "Safety", "Mailman", "Rearview Mirror", and "Entwined". I read this collection slowly, over the span of two months, and the story that has stuck with me the most is "The Little Men".

[Katie Ibach · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these short stories. I don’t always have the time or the focus so these were perfect length. Out of the 20 stories in this collection I’d say about five stories I didn’t much care for. They make me think of Agatha Christie. The twist you have at the end that makes your jaw drop!

[Brad Hodges · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 2016 edition of The Best American Mystery Stories is a fairly good collection, with some big names, but once again there is the ongoing debate with what a mystery story actually is. Series editor Otto Penzler writes: "While I love good puzzles and tales of pure ratiocination, few of these are written today, as the mystery genre has evolved (or devolved, depending on your point of view) into a more character-driven form of literature, with
more emphasis on the “why” of a crime’s commission than a “who” or “how.” It's interesting to note that the only story that has any connection to ratiocination is "Street of the Dead House," by Robert Lopresti, which is "Murders of the Rue Morgue" told from the point of view of the orangutan (this also appeared in The Best Dark Fantasy and Horror 2016).

So what we get is really crime stories, which is fine. There are some heavy hitters in this volume, including Stephen King, writing about a rural murder in "A Death" (I would have thought King would have given us a twist in this story, but the killer is known throughout) and Elmore Leonard, with "Something to Do," about a stand-off between a mild-mannered veterinarian and some scumbags. Chloroform always comes in handy. King, as usual, knows how to open a story: "Jim Trusdale had a shack on the west side of his father’s gone-to-seed ranch, and that was where he was when Sheriff Barclay and half a dozen deputized townsmen found him, sitting in the one chair by the cold stove, wearing a dirty barn coat and reading an old issue of the Black Hills Pioneer by lantern light. Looking at it, anyway."

Another good line is "I hadn't been thinking about killing Delwood. Not really. But you know how people sometimes have just had enough." That's from "Rearview Mirror," buy Art Taylor, about a couple on the move. They meet cute--she's the clerk in a convenience store, and he robs it and she gives him her number. "On September 12, 1994, in my second week of college, I killed Russell Gramercy," begins Brian Tobin's "Entwined," one of the better stories here. The narrator has killed a man accidentally in a car accident, and is of course guilt-ridden. But there's a great twist.

I also liked "Border Crossing," an homage to "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," but on the Mexican border, by Susan Thornton, and the very suspenseful "Christmas Eve at the Exit," by Kristine Kathryn Rush, about a mother and girl on the run from an abusive husband. Also full of suspense is Georgina Ruth's "The Mountain Top," set in the near future when a farmer and his wife deal with a pair of toughs. There's also a Western story in here, "Christians," by Tom Franklin.

I'm hard pressed to name my favorite story. I very much liked Evan Lewis' "The Continental Opposite," which revives Dashiell Hammet's old hard-boiled private eye, and "Fool Proof," by Bruce Robert Coffin, is also something of an homage, both to a part of Les Miserables and a Twilight Zone episode.

But I think the best this year goes to the opening story, "The Little Men," by Meghan Abbott. It's a hard story to summarize, but it's set in old Hollywood and captures the allure of that era. It's not so much the story but the fantastic writing that hooked me. And if you have ever thought you heard something scratching behind the walls, it will get you spooked.

So I guess the days of the whodunit and locked-room mystery are over, but writers are still putting their interesting stamps on the genre, and I'm eager to read them.

[alexander burrus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some stories I loved, others I liked, and a few I woofers how they could possibly be considered the"best". But as the first book in the series for me it left me interested in checking out another year
.
The most worthy of a read in my opinion are
"Okay now do you Surrender"
"Trash"
"Mailman"
"Border Crossing"

[Kassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

No truly outstanding stories this year, but several very good ones. I recommend:
- Megan Abbott, "The Little Men"
- Steve Almond, "Okay, Now Do You Surrender?"
- Matt Bell, "Toward the Company of Others"
- Lydia Fitzpatrick, "Safety"
- Tom Franklin, "Christians"
- Robert Lopresti, "Street of the Dead House"
- Michael Noll, "The Tank Yard"
- Brian Tobin, "Entwined"

[Alice Persons · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of these collections, and they change slant with each guest editor. Ms. George has chosen some excellent stories, many of them quite dark. Portland's Bruce R. Coffin has a story in here that is terrific.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding collection that pushes the limits of what we expect from mysteries. "The Little Men" is a zinger!

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

As some have pointed out, these are not what many of us would call mysteries. Some I enjoyed quite a bit, others I struggled to finish. It took a while to finish as other books kept calling to me.

[Nolan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Little Men by Megan Abbott is a trippy weird story I was never able to come to grips with.

Okay, Now Do You Surrender? by Steve Almond is a story about a troubled marriage and a precocious pre-teen soccer player. If you read it, you’ll see how they dovetail.

Toward the Company of Others by Matt Bell is an interesting story that focuses on a scrapper—someone who rips pipes and wires out of derelict houses.

Fool Proof by Bruce Robert Coffin is a prison escape story that goes dreadfully awry.

Safety by Lydia Fitzpatrick This is the best and most gripping story in the collection thus far. It looks at a school shooting from the perspective of an elementary school student.

Christians by Tom Franklin exposes the hypocrisy of Christians in an old west setting.

A Death by Stephen King is essentially an anti-death penalty rant set in a rural town. It left me singularly unimpressed.

For Something to Do by Elmore Leonard is a story of love triumphing over evil as a young veterinarian and his wife stave off the rage of her old boyfriend.

The Continental Opposite by Evan Lewis left me yawning a bit; it’s a look at modern-day drug wars in Portland.

Street of the Dead House by Robert Lopresti looks at murder from the perspective of an orangutang that uses sign language.

Lafferty's Ghost by Dennis McFadden looks at the tight spot you can get into when you’re having sex with your marriage counselor.

Tank Yard by Michael Noll looks at what happens when crystal met gets in the way of a budding romance.

Trash by Todd Robinson focuses on a hapless trash collector who finds a body subdivided into multiple trash bags in front of a Chinese massage parlor.

Christmas Eve at the Exit by Kristine Kathryn Rusch is the best story in the collection. Maybe it’s the reason you snag this. A single mom escaping an abusive relationship is on the run with her daughter on a Christmas Eve. They stop at an Omaha hotel. The suspense builds and builds. While you’ll read lots of Christmas stories in your life, you’ll not likely find many with the kind of tension and suspense this one has.

The Mountain Top by Georgia Ruth is a must-read story about life after the collapse of the U.S. government—a life where communities must rely on one another more than ever.

Mailman by Jonathan Stone looks at a well-beloved member of the neighborhood and a rather interesting career transition.

- Rearview Mirror by Art Taylor is a highly readable story about a couple who may be rifting apart but aren’t yet at the point where they’re ready to dissolve the relationship.

Border Crossing by Susan Thornton is a disturbing sad story that focuses on human trafficking in all its horrors.

Entwined by Brian Tobin is a decent story with a solid ending in which a man blames himself for the death of someone he ran over in a car. But was it really his fault?

God's Plan for Dr. Gaynor and Hastings Chiume by Saral Waldorf wasn’t much of a story. If you like crap endings where the killer does better than the person he killed, give it a read.

The bottom line here is four of these are standout solid reads. The rest, pretty forgettable.

[Mitsuru · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book consists of the skillful writers' stories, so I enjoyed all stories. My favorite stories are "A Death" by Stephen King, "For Something to Do" by Elmore Leonard, "Street of the Dead House" by Robert Lopresti, "Trash" by Todd Robinson, and "Christmas Eve at the Exit" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. I like didactic novels, so my choices may be thoughtless.

PS:
"Fool Proof" by Bruce Robert Coffin has an unexpected development, so I was very attracted, but there is a fuzzy scene about how to sneak into the drum without anyone knowing.

[Erick Mertz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only meh here. A lot of the writing was solid, stories strong, but the loose definition of mystery leaves me wanting more. Only loosely involving a crime?

I’m also aggravated by the inclusion of Steven King. This was a mystery? Good story with a great character at the heart, but there was no mystery involved in the story, only an obvious twist.

Also, there was scarely any genre mystery. No weird. Nothing supernatural. Nothing in the sci-if realm. I hardly believe this is the best mystery fiction of the year.

www.erickmertzauthor.com

[Mary Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty decent collection, though some of the stories really didn't do it for me. This collection had my first ever story by Stephen King and honestly, it was completely forgettable.

My favorite stories of the collection (in order of appearance) were:
Safety by Lydia Fitzpatrick
Street of the Dead House by Robert Lopresti (I still need to read the original Poe story that this was inspired by)
Christmas Eve at the Exit by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
The Mountain Top by Georgia Ruth
Mailman by Jonothan Stone
Entwined by Brian Tobin

[Ex Libris Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Usually I read the Best American Science and Nature Writing, which I always find very interesting. Not so the case with the mystery stories. Out of 20 stories, only 5 or 6 really impressed me. My favorite two stories were The Death by Stephen King (no surprise there) and Entwined by Brian Tobin. Meh.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is always my favorite anthology to read. I love seeing the range of mystery stories, some with surprising twists, some with absolutely gorgeous writing (Tom Franklin) and some that are just terrifying and gave me nightmares. Each one is its own world.

[Stephen Prelewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read regularly from The Best American series each year (mysteries, essays, fiction, science and technology). The 2016 mysteries is another solid entry. I can't imagine every reader will like every selection, but I found most choices very satisfying

[Cybercrone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since George writes good mysteries, I had expected that this book would have stories closer to the average reader's idea of a mystery, but nope, pretty much all of the stories were something else.
Not that they were bad stories,just not what I was wanting and expecting.

[Carlos Diaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent collection of mystery short stories. Some were good; others were just plain OK. Nevertheless, I'm glad I gave the mystery genre a chance. I'll come back to it, for sure. That is all.

[Barb Flory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good collection but I mostly Elizabeth George's introduction.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a overall pretty good collection of polished, interesting stories.

[Melissa Goodnight · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first two stories were just awful, but they got better. The last story was also awful, but the stories in between are worth reading.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not all mysteries

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging collection of mysteries.

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed quite a few of the stories. The Little Men, Fool Proof, Safety, Trash, Mailman and A Death. Others though did not really engage me.