Greatest Hits: Original Stories of Hitmen, Hired Guns, and Private Eyes

by Robert J. Randisi (Editor/Contributor), Lawrence Block (Contributor), James W. Hall (Contributor)

Featuring standout writers of mystery and suspense like Lawrence Block, Jeffery Deaver, James W. Hall, Jeff Abbott, Max Allan Collins, and Lee Child — all of them best-selling authors, most of them winners of Edgar or Shamus awards (or both) — this anthology comes with a chamberful of surefire stories. Loaded with tension, charged with uncertainty, these taut tales bring their unsuspecting or hunted and fearful marks into the deadly sight of a hired killer's gun. The hit men, or women, meanwhile match their criminal wits with police detectives, seasoned private eyes, the resolute everyguy, or amateur sleuths to often unexpected and frequently startling ends.

Every one of the stories here is a hit. Each of them is craftily calibrated and written expressly for this collection, They include new work by the popular, award-winning Ed Gorman, the versatile writer-editor Robert J. Randisi, and the recipient of the first-ever Sherlock Award for best detective, John Harvey. Cunning inventive hit-list authors such as Christine Matthews, Barbara Seranella, Marcus Pelagrimas, and Kevin Wignall further ratchet up the suspense to keep Greatest Hits true to its name, and aim.

Genres: Short Stories, Crime, Mystery, Anthologies

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Robert Joseph Randisi was a prolific American author, editor, and screenwriter, best known for his work in detective and Western fiction. He wrote over 650 books, including The Gunsmith series under the pen name J.R. Roberts, and edited more than 30 anthologies. A co-founder of Mystery Scene magazine, the American Crime Writers League, and Western Fictioneers, he also established The Private Eye Writers of America and created the Shamus Award. Randisi collaborated on novels with Eileen Davidson and Vince Van Patten, and created memorable characters such as Miles Jacoby, Joe Keough, and The Rat Pack. He received multiple lifetime achievement awards and the John Seigenthaler Humanitarian Award.

Reviews

[Rylee Winkler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ultimately I think short stories are not for me because I am not motivated to pick up and start a new one as I would be excited to see where a novel goes. Some of these in here were fantastic while some of them were quite dull - I feel like the ones towards the end were actually pretty darn good because the ones at the beginning were all hit men with consciences which got repetitive.

[Ed [Redacted] · Rating 4 out of 5]

A themed anthology of short stories that all involve hired killers. All anthologies are uneven to some degree, this one less so than others. The vast majority of the stories range from good to very good. Standouts included stories by Lawrence Block, Ed Gorman, Barbara Seranella, Lee Child and Marcus Pelegrimas. There were a couple of ok stories and really only one clunker (Chapter and Verse, by Jeffrey Deaver). All and all a very solid and enjoyable collection.

[Candy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the short stories. Some were okay, some left me thinking "what," others I got straight from the beginning. I love the "The Greatest Trick Of All," by Lee Child. Saw the ending coming, but still enjoyed it. "Retrospective" by Kevin Wignall was okay, but I felt it miss a little something. The others stories were good.

[Dr. Death · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging read. A good primer f
or those who may be entertaining entering the "profession".