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California Schemin': The 2020 Bouchercon Anthology
California Schemin’ is a new anthology of thrilling tales by nineteen of the world's best mystery authors. The official anthology of Bouchercon 2020, it is edited by the award-winning Art Taylor and features brand new works by acclaimed and award-winning writers like Scott Turow, Walter Mosley, Anne Perry, Anthony Horowitz, Cara Black, Janet A. Rudolph, and Catriona McPherson. As the name implies, each tale in California Schemin’ features a Californian theme, exploring both the heights of ambition and the depths of depravity in the Golden State's shadowy streets. Filled with twists and turns, intrigue, betrayals, wit, and whimsy, California Schemin’ is the perfect book for any mystery lover.
Included are:
Jennifer Berg, “Schemes in the Dark”
Cara Black, “Cabaret aux Assassins”
David Boop, “Call Before You Die!”
Chris Dreith, “Old Soles”
Dixon Hill, “No Postman, No Doorbell”
Anthony Horowitz, “Camberwell Crackers”
Kim Keeline, “California Fold’em”
R.J. Koreto, “The Hollywood Gangster”
Joyce Kreig, “Last Call at the Zanzibar”
Ellen Clair Lamb, “The Assistant”
Catriona McPherson, “The Finishing Touch”
Walter Mosley, “Fearless”
Anne Perry, “An Affaire of Inconvenience”
Eileen Rendahl, “A Spoonful of Poison”
Christopher Ryan, “Hellhounds: Hollywood Demons”
Linda Townsdin, “Re-entry”
Scott Turow, “Tell Him No”
Gabriel Valjan, “Elysian Fields”
Carrie Voorhis, “The Fandancer’s First Murder”
Included are:
Jennifer Berg, “Schemes in the Dark”
Cara Black, “Cabaret aux Assassins”
David Boop, “Call Before You Die!”
Chris Dreith, “Old Soles”
Dixon Hill, “No Postman, No Doorbell”
Anthony Horowitz, “Camberwell Crackers”
Kim Keeline, “California Fold’em”
R.J. Koreto, “The Hollywood Gangster”
Joyce Kreig, “Last Call at the Zanzibar”
Ellen Clair Lamb, “The Assistant”
Catriona McPherson, “The Finishing Touch”
Walter Mosley, “Fearless”
Anne Perry, “An Affaire of Inconvenience”
Eileen Rendahl, “A Spoonful of Poison”
Christopher Ryan, “Hellhounds: Hollywood Demons”
Linda Townsdin, “Re-entry”
Scott Turow, “Tell Him No”
Gabriel Valjan, “Elysian Fields”
Carrie Voorhis, “The Fandancer’s First Murder”
- GenresShort Stories
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2020
29 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Art Taylor
25 books121 followersArt Taylor won the 2019 Edgar Award for Best Short Story for "English 398: Fiction Workshop," originally published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. He won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel for On the Road with Del & Louise: A Novel in Stories, and his short fiction has won three additional Agatha Awards, an Anthony Award, two Macavity Awards, and three consecutive Derringer Awards. His work has appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Barrelhouse, Needle: A Magazine of Noir, and North American Review, and online at Fiction Weekly, Mysterical-E, PANK, Plots With Guns, Prick of the Spindle, and SmokeLong Quarterly; stories also appear in the Chesapeake Crimes anthologies This Job Is Murder, Homicidal Holidays, and Storm Warning, all from Wildside Press. Art also reviews mysteries for the Washington Post and contributes frequently to both the Washington Independent Review of Books and Mystery Scene. For more information, visit www.arttaylorwriter.com.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 30, 2022
I attended the '99 Bouchercon, held in Philadelphia. It was fantastic and I hope to go again next year to the San Diego event. This anthology is comprised of stories from past winners, Special Guests and others chosen from stories submitted by lesser known writers.
Like any anthology you'll have stand out tales that demonstrate why a particular writer is always hitting the Best Seller lists and carrying away the awards. Others are from writers you've never heard of who will click and become someone who you'll be on the lookout for in stores. This is no different, with a few offerings that were early chapter drafts or short tales featuring characters from a series. Almost all take place in California, but several historical pieces take place in Europe or feature locations far from the Pacific Coast.
To be honest, not a single one wasn't worth the time I spent reading them. Some I with continued as the characters or situations were so good. A couple in here border on the supernatural or have a bit of a science fiction element, but even those are not too far outside the realm of the detective/mystery genre.
Like any anthology you'll have stand out tales that demonstrate why a particular writer is always hitting the Best Seller lists and carrying away the awards. Others are from writers you've never heard of who will click and become someone who you'll be on the lookout for in stores. This is no different, with a few offerings that were early chapter drafts or short tales featuring characters from a series. Almost all take place in California, but several historical pieces take place in Europe or feature locations far from the Pacific Coast.
To be honest, not a single one wasn't worth the time I spent reading them. Some I with continued as the characters or situations were so good. A couple in here border on the supernatural or have a bit of a science fiction element, but even those are not too far outside the realm of the detective/mystery genre.
February 25, 2021
Very good copulation of shorts that can take the mind from current situations. A good read.
July 27, 2021
(A thoroughly bias opinion) I loved it!
March 19, 2023
Anthology of short mystery/crime stories. Nearly every story is a first-class read. You'll be entertained, fooled, and involved in the lives of a great detectives, crooks and unfortunate victims.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews