What do you think?
Rate this book
Crime Stories
This collection features twenty short stories from humorous thriller writer J.A. Konrath. Included are a few hardboiled tales, some noir, some parody and satire, a few straight-out comedy pieces, and a few stories that didn't fit into Konrath's other two collections, Horror Stories and Jack Daniels Stories.The twenty stories The Big Guys - Flash fiction, winner of the Derringer Award.A Fistful of Cozy - A satire of the mystery cozy genre.Cleansing - An ancient crime of biblical proportions.Lying Eyes - Solve it yourself, given the clues.Perfect Plan - Another solve it yourself. Don't you remember One Minute Mysteries and Encyclopedia Brown?Piece of Cake - Another solve it yourself, originally featured in Woman's World.Animal Attraction - Solve it yourself.Urgent Reply Needed - A cautionary tale about dealing with spammers.Blaine’s Deal - A parody of hardboiled noir.Light Drizzle - A light-hearted send-up of hitman stories.An Archaeologist’s Story - How digging up old bones leads to fresh corpses.Don’t Press That Button! - An essay about the gadgets in the James Bond universe, and which you need to buy.Piranha Pool - A writer seeking criticism pays the ultimate price.A Newbie’s Guide to Thrillerfest - Never been to a mystery conference? Here's the in-depth dirt.Inspector Oxnard - He's either brilliant, or too stupid to breathe.One Night Only - A sports fan ends up in jail, all for the love of the game.Could Stephanie Plum Car Really Get Car Insurance? - An essay about Janet Evanovich's famous character.Cozy or Hardboiled? - Take the test to find out which type of book you're reading.Addiction - What's the worst drug you can get hung up on?Weigh To Go - A humor column about health clubs.If you are a more sensitive (or adventurous) reader, this handy scale rates specific categories from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest) to give you some idea if this is your kind of book.CRIME STORIES by JA KonrathBad Language - 5Scary - 5Violent - 5Funny - 7Sexy - 2
145 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2010
225 people are currently reading
432 people want to read
About the author
J.A. Konrath
199 books3,014 followersJoe Konrath has written over twenty novels in the Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels thriller series. They do not have to be read chronologically to be enjoyed, but the order is: Whiskey Sour, Bloody Mary, Rusty Nail, Dirty Martini, Shot of Tequila, Fuzzy Navel, Cherry Bomb, Dead On My Feet, Serial Killers Uncut (with Blake Crouch), Shaken, Stirred (with Blake Crouch), Dying Breath, Everybody Dies, Rum Runner, Last Call, White Russian, Shot Girl, Chaser, Old Fashioned, Bite Force, and Witch Brew. More coming soon.
Wow, that's a lot of Jack.
If you like your thrillers on the dark side, check out the Konrath Dark Thriller Collective, which includes the books The List, Origin, Afraid, Trapped, Endurance, Haunted House, Webcam, Disturb, What Happened To Lori, The Nine, Second Coming, and Close Your Eyes.
Joe also wrote the Stop A Murder mystery puzzle series, where you become the sleuth and solve brain teasers to try and catch a killer.
He also wrote the sci-fi trilogy, Timecaster, Timecaster Supersymmetry, and Timecaster Steampunk. Even if you don't think you like sci-fi, give them a try. They feature Joe's well-known characters from his other series, and are insane.
With Ann Voss Peterson he wrote the Codename: Chandler thrillers, including Flee, Spree, Three, Hit, Exposed, Naughty, Fix (with F. Paul Wilson), Rescue, and Free.
And, finally, he writes erotica under the pen name Melinda DuChamp, also with Ann Voss Peterson. Those books are probably too spicy for you, so only the brave and bold should seek them out.
Joe writes a lot. You should probably read everything.
You can visit Joe and sign up for his newsletter at www.JAKonrath.com/mailing-list.php
Wow, that's a lot of Jack.
If you like your thrillers on the dark side, check out the Konrath Dark Thriller Collective, which includes the books The List, Origin, Afraid, Trapped, Endurance, Haunted House, Webcam, Disturb, What Happened To Lori, The Nine, Second Coming, and Close Your Eyes.
Joe also wrote the Stop A Murder mystery puzzle series, where you become the sleuth and solve brain teasers to try and catch a killer.
He also wrote the sci-fi trilogy, Timecaster, Timecaster Supersymmetry, and Timecaster Steampunk. Even if you don't think you like sci-fi, give them a try. They feature Joe's well-known characters from his other series, and are insane.
With Ann Voss Peterson he wrote the Codename: Chandler thrillers, including Flee, Spree, Three, Hit, Exposed, Naughty, Fix (with F. Paul Wilson), Rescue, and Free.
And, finally, he writes erotica under the pen name Melinda DuChamp, also with Ann Voss Peterson. Those books are probably too spicy for you, so only the brave and bold should seek them out.
Joe writes a lot. You should probably read everything.
You can visit Joe and sign up for his newsletter at www.JAKonrath.com/mailing-list.php
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
June 22, 2024
These gave me a good chuckle. Definitely armature writing. But goofy and a little outrageous. So they were pretty fun. But I don't think I would read it again.
January 22, 2025
I really enjoy Konrath's writing usually but this one really missed the mark.
There was sadly not one story that I enjoyed.
There was sadly not one story that I enjoyed.
January 19, 2019
Nope. I didn't care for this at all. the last half wasn't even crime stories. not my cup of tea. I joined a reading challenge and needed a collection of short stories. I was so relieved when it was over.
June 21, 2017
It was more SILLY than mystery
March 31, 2020
Konrath is a fun and inventive writer with a good sense of what makes a story work. Unfortunately the ebook version I had saved on my Kobo was spoiled by way too many spelling, grammatical and editing errors (an "archaeological sight" is mentioned 3 times) which render the finished product amateurish and unpolished. The collection as a whole places an emphasis on Konrath's parodies and non-fiction, and there are just too few straight-up "thrilling" stories. A must-read - the story about spammers getting their just punishment.
November 2, 2020
Okay--
A drawer-cleaning exercise from J.A. Konrath. Some clearly did not find a publisher for a reason. One was funny-- a list of James Bond gadgets with an amazon review.
But the twist in one was "actually, the thief was riding around a gated community in a school bus every night!" Apparently, Konrath never did the research to know that school bus drivers don't drive the bus home to their apartment each night?
And in no less than three of these shorts, the hilarious joke at the end was a rape. Jailhouse rape, rape of an unconscious wife, lots of different kinds of rape. As the punchline to a joke.
Will be avoiding this author in future.
A drawer-cleaning exercise from J.A. Konrath. Some clearly did not find a publisher for a reason. One was funny-- a list of James Bond gadgets with an amazon review.
But the twist in one was "actually, the thief was riding around a gated community in a school bus every night!" Apparently, Konrath never did the research to know that school bus drivers don't drive the bus home to their apartment each night?
And in no less than three of these shorts, the hilarious joke at the end was a rape. Jailhouse rape, rape of an unconscious wife, lots of different kinds of rape. As the punchline to a joke.
Will be avoiding this author in future.
June 20, 2018
Must be a mistake
This collection of very short stories (no more than a few pages) is strange. I never read this author and I was willing to try it, but after this book I am not sure this book is good enough to represent this author. The stories are flimsy to say the least, certainly there is humour in the tales but I do not understand how his other books might be.
But this is not a good introduction.
This collection of very short stories (no more than a few pages) is strange. I never read this author and I was willing to try it, but after this book I am not sure this book is good enough to represent this author. The stories are flimsy to say the least, certainly there is humour in the tales but I do not understand how his other books might be.
But this is not a good introduction.
September 15, 2020
Nope. There were a few stories in the beginning that could be classified as mystery thrillers but the majority were just silly short comedy sketches. A couple read like inside jokes between the author and his writer buddies. Some of them made me chuckle, but that’s not what I came for and frankly, I was relieved when it was over 2.8
November 15, 2017
This is one of those books that I bring out once a year or so to read just before falling asleep. The stories are short, playful without disrespecting its readers, and infused with Konrath's humour - which I enjoy even if it makes me roll my eyes from time to time.
January 1, 2019
That is the funniest book I've ever read. I laughed my head off. He has such a way of putting things down on paper that makes you think you're there. You've got to read this book. Sure it's about Crimes but it's funny, really funny. Give it a try. You'll like it.
May 18, 2019
I liked the one set in Ancient Rome, while the zoologist riddle was quite obvious for me, but most of the other stories are just stupid gibberish that is in not even related to the crime (investigation/criminal life) genre.
November 5, 2019
A very light and short crime stories collection and other observations. Some with ending twists and humorous developments. A nice break from some heavier reading with quick page turning tales. A different approach to this genre.
May 12, 2021
I really enjoyed this book of short thriller stories. Though brief, they were interesting, well-written, and sometimes gruesome tales. The author includes a short description before each one about why he wrote it and where it was published.
January 13, 2023
First time reading Kinrath
I enjoyed this book of short stories that I borrowed on the Libby app. Check your local library and start reading great books like this for free
This collection was witty and entertaining. I’ll be sure to look at other books by this author.
I enjoyed this book of short stories that I borrowed on the Libby app. Check your local library and start reading great books like this for free
This collection was witty and entertaining. I’ll be sure to look at other books by this author.
February 5, 2023
fun and silly
This collection of short stories did not take itself too seriously and it was a lot of fun to read. I am intrigued to read more by this author as I just stumbled across this looking for a short story collection for a reading challenge.
This collection of short stories did not take itself too seriously and it was a lot of fun to read. I am intrigued to read more by this author as I just stumbled across this looking for a short story collection for a reading challenge.
October 16, 2023
Truly Laugh Out Loud
It's surely not very often that I laugh out loud when reading a book. This, my first encounter with the author, J. A. Konrath, gave me that pleasure several times. He has a way with certain phrases that can just tickle the funny bone . . .
It's surely not very often that I laugh out loud when reading a book. This, my first encounter with the author, J. A. Konrath, gave me that pleasure several times. He has a way with certain phrases that can just tickle the funny bone . . .
May 27, 2017
Enjoyed the history or introduction before each story. J.A. Konrath uses a mix of humor and sharp wit in these stories. A solid read and a great addition to any library of crime stories.
July 5, 2017
Ok read but not as good as his books
I really like his books. These short stories were not appealing to me. I think I will stick to Jack Daniels from now on.
I really like his books. These short stories were not appealing to me. I think I will stick to Jack Daniels from now on.
November 12, 2019
What a waste of time. This was just a silly book none of it was funny or made me want to read anymore, I stopped after 3 stories, surprised I even got that far!
January 27, 2020
Unbelievable crime stories will keep you on edge!
October 26, 2020
This book is mislabeled as crime stories. They, maybe, could be called horror and/or mysteries. Unfortunately they aren't very good; I was unable to finish the book.
August 12, 2022
A piece of crap. And this was the only one that was accepted by the publisher?
March 8, 2023
just found him
Interesting, fast read. I’m a big fan of how he wraps humor in to each of his stories. I will be reading more from him.
Interesting, fast read. I’m a big fan of how he wraps humor in to each of his stories. I will be reading more from him.
December 11, 2023
No, just no.
December 6, 2024
Pretty funny book. I've never read this author before. I liked it.
September 4, 2014
J.A. Konrath’s Crime Stories is a collection of 21 stories and essays. Some are mysteries or crime stories of one type or another, but humor is much more prevalent. Unfortunately, humor tends to be very much an individual taste thing. Konrath’s humor often feels random, and that usually makes me shrug rather than laugh.
Four of the entries are mystery set-ups to be solved, followed by an explanation of what happened. One had a tell that was a giveaway, and a detail that felt like a plot device. One was clever, but a major detail felt contrived. A third relied on trivia rather than reader cleverness. There’s a tale of a baking contest, however, that I really enjoyed–the setup was clever, and it had a nice whimsical flair.
Several of the stories are dark and clever. The first story, about a shark-fishing expedition, is funny enough that I didn’t care that it was predictable. There’s a parody of cozy mysteries that’s over-the-top in its morbid fun; there’s a parody of the insanely insightful Sherlock Holmes-style detective that hit that too-random spot for me. A tale of an abusive husband, his wife, and her father gave me a bit of a shiver.
For humor value my favorite story is Light Drizzle. In this case the seeming randomness works, as it builds very deliberately on itself, becoming more and more ridiculous. It’s a short tale of an assassin who kills with everyday objects, as a bad day gets worse and worse for him. Cozy or Hardboiled? provides a hilarious, handy checklist to help you figure out what type of mystery you’re looking at, and it made me snort at the end.
There are two short stories about the trials and tribulations of being a writer. Piranha Pool is a great send-up of a writer who keeps trying to find someone who’ll like his story. Addiction is about the ways in which writing takes over one’s life (the humor was a little maudlin for my taste in that one).
A few too many of the stories were kind of ‘meh’ for me, mostly because they just didn’t suit my sense of humor. But again, that’s likely to be very much a matter of personal taste.
Review initially published on my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2014/09/r...
Four of the entries are mystery set-ups to be solved, followed by an explanation of what happened. One had a tell that was a giveaway, and a detail that felt like a plot device. One was clever, but a major detail felt contrived. A third relied on trivia rather than reader cleverness. There’s a tale of a baking contest, however, that I really enjoyed–the setup was clever, and it had a nice whimsical flair.
Several of the stories are dark and clever. The first story, about a shark-fishing expedition, is funny enough that I didn’t care that it was predictable. There’s a parody of cozy mysteries that’s over-the-top in its morbid fun; there’s a parody of the insanely insightful Sherlock Holmes-style detective that hit that too-random spot for me. A tale of an abusive husband, his wife, and her father gave me a bit of a shiver.
For humor value my favorite story is Light Drizzle. In this case the seeming randomness works, as it builds very deliberately on itself, becoming more and more ridiculous. It’s a short tale of an assassin who kills with everyday objects, as a bad day gets worse and worse for him. Cozy or Hardboiled? provides a hilarious, handy checklist to help you figure out what type of mystery you’re looking at, and it made me snort at the end.
There are two short stories about the trials and tribulations of being a writer. Piranha Pool is a great send-up of a writer who keeps trying to find someone who’ll like his story. Addiction is about the ways in which writing takes over one’s life (the humor was a little maudlin for my taste in that one).
A few too many of the stories were kind of ‘meh’ for me, mostly because they just didn’t suit my sense of humor. But again, that’s likely to be very much a matter of personal taste.
Review initially published on my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2014/09/r...
February 9, 2017
I had just finished Konrath's Horror Stories so I had great expectations for this book. Instead I found myself laughing more than anything. It was a great read for humor, but since I was hoping for more of a mystery/thriller read, I felt let down. Still, I would highly recommend this book for some great, unexpected humor. I really enjoyed that part of it.
January 6, 2013
This is a compilation of short stories. They are not all crime stories but they are all entertaining. I especially loved the short stories that had you guess how the crime was figured out. I found myself laughing out loud during a few of the stories. I loved that this was a quick read and still kept me entertained. I do not think that all the stories fit the title of this book and all of them did not appeal to me; however, I think any mystery reader could find some humor in at least a few of these stories. I’m not sure it is worth paying more than the $0.99 on Kindle for it, but it was a great book to borrow from the library.
February 5, 2016
This was another audio book for me, and was narrated by Luke Daniels who does a great job performing these short works by Konrath. I enjoyed most of the stories, and many were both clever and funny, often with a cliched "moral of the story" thrown in as a closng line in many of these short stories. The author usually gave a short explanation of either his creative urge, or the market intended for each story. It was refreshing to hear that not all of these stories were accepted for publication the first time around, but are now a part of the author's collection of "Crime Stories". I like this author and his style and will look for more to read!
September 2, 2010
I enjoyed most of the stories - really liked the Solve It Yourself shorts (remiscient of Encyclopedia Brown). I skipped over one or two - namely DON'T PRESS THAT BUTTON and NEWBIE'S GUIDE TO THRILLERFEST. INSPECTOR OXNARD also wasn't a favorite. I loved LIGHT DRIZZLE, AN ARCHAEOLOGIST'S STORY, and WEIGH TO GO. I think I may download the first book in Konrath's Jack Daniels series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews