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Alfred Hitchcock presenta: los mejores relatos de crimen y suspenso
He aquí un regalo para el lector más exquisito: las veinte historias que los fieles seguidores de la Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, una de las publicaciones más prestigiosas de crimen y suspenso en la escena internacional, votaron como sus favoritas indiscutibles, muchas de las cuales se trasladaron a la pantalla de la mano del gran maestro del suspenso y el terror. Estafadores y delincuentes, investigadores privados y detectives aficionados, las calles de Nueva York y San Francisco, Chicago y Seúl, el Japón del siglo XI y el Londres del siglo XVII: he aquí sólo algunos de los protagonistas de esta fantástica colección. Este volumen, inédito en español, reúne lo mejor de más de cincuenta años de historias extraordinarias.
456 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2006
82 people are currently reading
198 people want to read
About the author
Linda Landrigan
52 books7 followersEditor of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine since 2003.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
January 27, 2019
4.5 stars
"Fifty years is a lot of stories.”
— Linda Landrigan, from the Introduction
No technological dystopia here, but, in its solid storytelling, this anthology often reminded me of the Black Mirror series. (Go watch it!)
For this commemorative fiftieth anniversary edition, the editors reached out to the loyal readers of AHMM to suggest their own favourite stories - those that best represented the illustrious history of the magazine made the cut. Hence the book contains some really impressive tales in the mystery/thriller & crime genre. Each writer gets a brief introduction where their other notable works are highlighted, thereby giving the readers a long reading list.
Here’s the TOC for those interested:
"Fifty years is a lot of stories.”
— Linda Landrigan, from the Introduction
No technological dystopia here, but, in its solid storytelling, this anthology often reminded me of the Black Mirror series. (Go watch it!)
For this commemorative fiftieth anniversary edition, the editors reached out to the loyal readers of AHMM to suggest their own favourite stories - those that best represented the illustrious history of the magazine made the cut. Hence the book contains some really impressive tales in the mystery/thriller & crime genre. Each writer gets a brief introduction where their other notable works are highlighted, thereby giving the readers a long reading list.
Here’s the TOC for those interested:
August 13, 2018
I read a lot of mystery, private detective, police procedural, and general crime fiction, but it’s nearly all novel-length. In my experience, mysteries just don’t work well in short-story form -- unlike science fiction, say, where short stories have been a major part of the market since the 1930s. Still, there have been a number of mystery pulps published over the years, and one of the best (and practically the only survivor) is Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, which began in 1956. And a number of well-known crime and mystery authors got their start there. The thirty-four stories in this fat volume range in their original appearance from 1957 to 2004 and a number were selected based on reader-popularity polls, which is a good method for a project like this. Still, a great many of them, perhaps most of them, depend on gimmicks of the most obvious sort, especially the earlier ones. This is even true of “Not a Laughing Matter,” a 1958 story by the great Evan Hunter.
Also, some of those early efforts simply don’t work anymore, largely because readers’ sensibilities have shifted. The “hero” of Jim Thompson’s “The Frightening Frammis,” for instance, is no longer the endearing tough guy the author hopes to portray. He’s simply casually abusive to every female he comes across. A very poor story that would never be published today. The ending of Jack Ritchie’s “#8” is so obvious, you can see it coming from the opening sentence. On the other hand, talent will usually out and Donald Westlake’s “Good Night! Good Night!,” about the slow, ruminative death of a TV variety show host, is very good indeed. Avram Davidson is usually thought of as a science fiction author, but he also won at least one Edgar, and “The Cost of Kent Castwell,” a riff on New England thriftiness, is easily the wryest and funniest thing here. “A Candle for the Bag Lady,” by Lawrence Block, is also excellent, relating a not-quite-case from early in Matt Scudder’s career. In fact, the murder mystery itself is minimal in this one; what draw you in is Scudder’s conversations with a variety of intriguing people.
Writing styles change considerably as you progress through the book and by the time you get to Martin Limon’s “Pusan Nights,” about a couple of extremely hardcore U.S. Army MPs in Seoul, you’re definitely in the modern age. There’s more meat in the stories and less fancy footwork and razzle-dazzle at the point of resolution. And sometimes there even isn’t a real resolution, just like in Real Life. “Erie’s Last Day,” Steve Hockensmith’s yarn about a rather depressive cop and his more upbeat buddy, is quite good. “Tabloid Press,” a cat-and-mouse story by Janice Law, is even better. “Leaving Nairobi,” by Ed McBain (who was really Evan Hunter wearing a different hat), considers a murder in the countryside of Kenya rather than the 87th Precinct. And I admit I was a bit surprised to find the English/Welsh Rhys Bowen represented here, in the volume’s last story, from 2004. I think of her as a writer of light, somewhat frothy “women’s mysteries,” but “Voodoo” demonstrates her perhaps surprising understanding of certain aspects of New Orleans black culture.
Overall, I was “whelmed,” as Matt Scudder says. Neither over nor under, but somewhere in the middle. While there’s some very good writing in this volume, I think mystery stories at short length simply aren’t for me.
Also, some of those early efforts simply don’t work anymore, largely because readers’ sensibilities have shifted. The “hero” of Jim Thompson’s “The Frightening Frammis,” for instance, is no longer the endearing tough guy the author hopes to portray. He’s simply casually abusive to every female he comes across. A very poor story that would never be published today. The ending of Jack Ritchie’s “#8” is so obvious, you can see it coming from the opening sentence. On the other hand, talent will usually out and Donald Westlake’s “Good Night! Good Night!,” about the slow, ruminative death of a TV variety show host, is very good indeed. Avram Davidson is usually thought of as a science fiction author, but he also won at least one Edgar, and “The Cost of Kent Castwell,” a riff on New England thriftiness, is easily the wryest and funniest thing here. “A Candle for the Bag Lady,” by Lawrence Block, is also excellent, relating a not-quite-case from early in Matt Scudder’s career. In fact, the murder mystery itself is minimal in this one; what draw you in is Scudder’s conversations with a variety of intriguing people.
Writing styles change considerably as you progress through the book and by the time you get to Martin Limon’s “Pusan Nights,” about a couple of extremely hardcore U.S. Army MPs in Seoul, you’re definitely in the modern age. There’s more meat in the stories and less fancy footwork and razzle-dazzle at the point of resolution. And sometimes there even isn’t a real resolution, just like in Real Life. “Erie’s Last Day,” Steve Hockensmith’s yarn about a rather depressive cop and his more upbeat buddy, is quite good. “Tabloid Press,” a cat-and-mouse story by Janice Law, is even better. “Leaving Nairobi,” by Ed McBain (who was really Evan Hunter wearing a different hat), considers a murder in the countryside of Kenya rather than the 87th Precinct. And I admit I was a bit surprised to find the English/Welsh Rhys Bowen represented here, in the volume’s last story, from 2004. I think of her as a writer of light, somewhat frothy “women’s mysteries,” but “Voodoo” demonstrates her perhaps surprising understanding of certain aspects of New Orleans black culture.
Overall, I was “whelmed,” as Matt Scudder says. Neither over nor under, but somewhere in the middle. While there’s some very good writing in this volume, I think mystery stories at short length simply aren’t for me.
July 31, 2021
Un libro con una variedad de autores e historias muy bien armado.
Durante su lectura lo disfruté mucho, porque mi imaginación se disparó, hay algo obviamente muy cinematográfico en cada uno de los relatos.
Sería fantástico que en un futuro se publicara un segundo tomo.
Durante su lectura lo disfruté mucho, porque mi imaginación se disparó, hay algo obviamente muy cinematográfico en cada uno de los relatos.
Sería fantástico que en un futuro se publicara un segundo tomo.
January 5, 2024
Es un libro de relatos policiales. Una sospecha de infidelidad, unos vecinos nuevos o un funeral suponen el detonante para descubrir que el crimen se encuentra más cerca de lo que se cree. Realmente todos los cuentos valen la pena. Hay detectives, policías, asesinos y ladrones.
La mayoría de los cuentos estan ambientados en Estados Unidos en el siglo XX, así que me desagradó que incluyera unos pocos relatos ambientados en otros lugares y épocas porque sentí que cortaban el hilo conductor.
La mayoría de los cuentos estan ambientados en Estados Unidos en el siglo XX, así que me desagradó que incluyera unos pocos relatos ambientados en otros lugares y épocas porque sentí que cortaban el hilo conductor.
March 6, 2019
An outstanding anthology - I particularly liked the author bio at the beginning of their chapter. Introduced me to many new authors that I’d like to read more of.
February 12, 2022
Estaba muy entusiasmada con esta lectura y admito aquí y ahora (con la manita derecha sobre el corazón) que no ha sido una experiencia de lectura sencilla y muy feliz.
📚 En primer lugar porque de los 20 relatos que constituyen este libro solo 4 fueron escritos por mujeres (apenas el 20%), dato que a mí me sorprendió porque la Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine es una revista muy antigua y posicionada entre las y los fanáticos del género de misterio y suspenso ¿De verdad solo 4 autoras merecían integrar este volumen?. Linda Landrigan editora de la revista explica en el prólogo que la decisión de a quién sí y a quién no incluir se dejó a la comunidad lectora de la revista y aún así la explicación me parece corta.
📚Habiendo sacado esto de mi pecho, paso a decirles que la mayoría de los cuentos que más disfruté fueron los escritos por mujeres. Los otros solían tener personajes que reproducían estereotipos o que no lograban mantener la tensión que se requiere en narraciones así.
📚 Acá va mi top 3 de favoritos (que enlistaré del tercer lugar al primero, nada más para "mantener el suspenso" 😅🤭
Tercer lugar: el cuerpo del lenguaje de S.J. Rozan.
Segundo lugar: #8 de Jack Ritchie.
Primer lugar: La gata del O-bon de I.J. Parker.
📚Sobre el libro, como objeto-como cosa bonita, puedo decir que Perla Ediciones está haciendo su trabajo con mucha pasión, compromiso y talento: #SoyFan 🤩🖤
📚 En primer lugar porque de los 20 relatos que constituyen este libro solo 4 fueron escritos por mujeres (apenas el 20%), dato que a mí me sorprendió porque la Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine es una revista muy antigua y posicionada entre las y los fanáticos del género de misterio y suspenso ¿De verdad solo 4 autoras merecían integrar este volumen?. Linda Landrigan editora de la revista explica en el prólogo que la decisión de a quién sí y a quién no incluir se dejó a la comunidad lectora de la revista y aún así la explicación me parece corta.
📚Habiendo sacado esto de mi pecho, paso a decirles que la mayoría de los cuentos que más disfruté fueron los escritos por mujeres. Los otros solían tener personajes que reproducían estereotipos o que no lograban mantener la tensión que se requiere en narraciones así.
📚 Acá va mi top 3 de favoritos (que enlistaré del tercer lugar al primero, nada más para "mantener el suspenso" 😅🤭
Tercer lugar: el cuerpo del lenguaje de S.J. Rozan.
Segundo lugar: #8 de Jack Ritchie.
Primer lugar: La gata del O-bon de I.J. Parker.
📚Sobre el libro, como objeto-como cosa bonita, puedo decir que Perla Ediciones está haciendo su trabajo con mucha pasión, compromiso y talento: #SoyFan 🤩🖤
August 16, 2007
A bunch of old well crafted short mysteries.
August 24, 2012
So fucking good.
October 10, 2018
#94 of 120 books pledged to read during 2018
July 29, 2021
It was OK, not great, and all very dated.
September 11, 2019
I found this collection of short stories pretty underwhelming. There are definitely more duds than standouts. I only picked up two authors I'd care to read further, both of whom are already pretty big names in crime/noir: Lawrence Block and Bill Pronzini.
The best stories (IMO):
*#8, Jack Richie
*Death of a Nobody, Bill Pronzini
*Historical Errors, William Brittain
*A Candle for the Bag Lady, Lawrence Block (hands-down best story in the collection)
*The Takamoku Joseki, Sara Paretsky
*The Search for Olga Bateau, Stephen Wasylyk
*Priests, George C. Chesboro
*Eerie's Last Day, Steve Hockensmith
The best stories (IMO):
*#8, Jack Richie
*Death of a Nobody, Bill Pronzini
*Historical Errors, William Brittain
*A Candle for the Bag Lady, Lawrence Block (hands-down best story in the collection)
*The Takamoku Joseki, Sara Paretsky
*The Search for Olga Bateau, Stephen Wasylyk
*Priests, George C. Chesboro
*Eerie's Last Day, Steve Hockensmith
November 2, 2017
I was underwhelmed by the totality of this volume. Less than half of the selections predated Hitchcock's death so that the majority were more recent entries. There were so many much better early entries that could have been chosen & were glossed over! I stopped reading the magazine a while back, but had I known that they were soliciting suggestions, I would have helped out! Also, why did they NOT include the stories' illustrations? A swing & a partial miss.
April 10, 2025
A superb anthology covering a wide range of authors, styles and themes. While normally preferring novel length stories I have to say that there were no weak tales in this collection and even some of the 'old hands' delivered something unusual (Ed McBain story set in the Masai Mara?). On top of that I was introduced to some excellent mystery writers I had not come across before. Highly recommended.
March 8, 2024
Como es costumbre cuando leo compilaciones, no leí todo, sobre todo porque tuve el infortunio de leer estas historias en digital, de otro modo creo que hubiese hecho el esfuerzo de leerla más de lo que hice...
De todos modos, las historias aquí compiladas me agradaron más de lo que pensé, la calidad es suprema y los relatos sublimes. Altamente recomendable.
De todos modos, las historias aquí compiladas me agradaron más de lo que pensé, la calidad es suprema y los relatos sublimes. Altamente recomendable.
December 15, 2024
En este compendio de 20 relatos de suspenso; hay detectives, funerales, muertes causadas por vudú, delincuentes, otros que sin serlo se hacen pasar por tal. Temas variados y hasta divertidos, a pesar del tema que tratan y que muchos han llegado a la cinematografía. Un buen libro para disfrutar para quienes gusten de éste género.
January 24, 2018
Some good stories, but a lot of so-so and mediocre ones too. I get the impression that the editor wasn't that well-versed with the caliber of the tales that used to be published in the Alfred Hitchcock Magazine, or the many excellent anthologies published over the last forty years.
January 20, 2022
Una buena cantidad de relatos cortos, muy interesantes todos, con una variedad amplia que abarca bien el genero de suspenso, no todo son policial y ladrones, pero si tienen todos sus dosis de misterio e intriga
September 25, 2023
Excellent
Fifty years of short stories are presented in this book. Some of the stories were better than others, but they were all good. They were from a very varied assortment of authors and a very varied assortment of tales.
Fifty years of short stories are presented in this book. Some of the stories were better than others, but they were all good. They were from a very varied assortment of authors and a very varied assortment of tales.
Currently reading
December 6, 2024Source Libby Ebook.
Well 50 years is a long time . I can see myself puttering through this a story at a time base on my reading whims over a multiyear period. I remember my Aunt reading this magazine.
Currently have read the first two stories
Well 50 years is a long time . I can see myself puttering through this a story at a time base on my reading whims over a multiyear period. I remember my Aunt reading this magazine.
Currently have read the first two stories
July 28, 2025
This is quite possibly the best anthology I've read in a while. All the stories are wonderful, and this introduced me to a lot of authors that I want to check out more. Thank you, Hitchcock, for this collection.
September 3, 2020
I love good mystery shorts, and this did not disappoint. It's interesting how society has changed over the 50 years of these stories.
June 13, 2021
I spent hours of my high school years reading volumes of these stories. Unlike some of my other HS predilections, these short stories hold up across the decades.
April 28, 2024
Cuentos para todos los gustos.
May 21, 2024
No pude terminar este libro, es muy aburrido. Lo abandoné. Hay un par de historias interesantes, pero no me animé a seguir leyendo. Aburrido.
October 27, 2024
A fine anthology.
May 24, 2011
I enjoy reading mysteries and like to read short stories because they are great for times when you can't get into a complex story. However, I also really like this type of collection because it exposes me to authors I have not read and lets me find new authors to read. There was only one story in this collection that I did not finish.
May 8, 2008
This has a few good short stories by some of the greats; charles willeford, sara paretsky, stephen wasylyk, ed mcbain, but many are pretty weak. if you like noir with substance, go somewhere else. sorry to say.
October 5, 2007
Very uneven in quality, which is why I can't give it three stars. Not a lot of mystery stories, either. See my review here: http://trebro.livejournal.com/274658....
August 2, 2009
A solid collection of stories for 50 years worth. I'm a big fan of the series (book and TV) so it was a nice addition to my collection.
October 29, 2011
This book took some time, lots of short stories, I believe I liked all except one. Lots of different authors, with small note about each. Read some authors I would never read before. Good book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews