Anthony Horowitz selects and introduces the best mystery stories from the past year, under the auspices of the world’s oldest mystery fiction specialty bookshop.
Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free audiobook was provided for an honest review.
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| September 2024; Highbridge; 9781696616836 audio (15h 19m)l ebook, print; mystery |
This anthology consists of 19 short stories of mystery or crime fiction published in the past year, plus a bonus short story from L. Frank Baum (though it isn't set in his world of Oz).
I used to think I didn't like short stories until I read a collection of short stories from the Queens of Domestic Thrillers and then I realized I just hadn't been reading a genre of short stories that I liked. So when I was offered an audiobook of The Best Mystery Stories of the Year to review, I knew I had to listen to it.
I still don't read a lot of short fiction so the only author on the list for this anthology I recognize is Jeffrey Deavers. Though listening to the biographies before each story gives the impressive accolades for many of the authors.
As I was listening to an advance copy, the tracks aren't labeled with the titles of the stories so I won't try to provide theses as I'm sure to mess up the titles or give the wrong author.
The collection of stories runs the gambit of the crime fiction genre. There are the typical detective stories but there are also plenty of what I would call "nontraditional" mysteries - they don't always involve a murder sometimes the mystery is very subtle. Most of the stories are set roughly in the present day, but there are a few historical stories.
A while back, I was talking with the librarian who leads my mystery book club that there doesn't seem to be many mysteries set during the American Revolution. Well, in this collection there is one and while I'm not too fond of the time period, I enjoyed the story.
Another was set during the Vietnam War and involved a Korean Vet who now works as a PI. His case involves hunting down the son of a Senator who the Senator suspects is trying to dodge the draft.
I particularly liked the story that involved a woman in witness protection and was happy to learn that there is a series that features this character (now I just have to figure out which author wrote that story).
My favorite short story was the one about a detective interviewing a suspect in the hospital. I liked the simplicity of the story (in some way it made me think of the play Our Town in its minimalism).
I'm pretty sure there is a story for everyone in this collection.
I don't often listen to mysteries as I sometimes find them hard to follow. As these are short stories it was a little easier. There are two narrators for this anthology: Kim Niemi and BJ Harrison. They do a wonderful job. The only real issue I had was at the end of each story the author gave their inspiration for the short story and sometimes it was difficult to distinguish between the end of the story and the start of the author's note as the narrator's voice didn't change. More than once I found myself going "what?!?" and then realizing the story ended and the author's note had begun.
If you enjoy mysteries or crime fiction in general and want to discover new (or at least new to you) authors, then this is a great anthology to pick up.
Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.
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