Publishers Weekly
08/21/2023
Though this impressive 20-story anthology features solid contributions from heavy hitters including Walter Mosley and S.A. Cosby, its most memorable entries are from relative newcomers who honor genre traditions while playfully pushing the envelope. Jacqueline Freimor’s “Foreword,” for example, utilizes the introduction to a novel by fictional author Edbert Reid to tell a twisty crime story. Footnotes cite literary studies of Reid’s work and dole out key nuggets of biographical information—including the fact that he was murdered—that artfully unveil the mystery bit by bit. Adam Meyer’s chilling “Mr. Filbert’s Classroom” toys with reader expectations after a school shooting leaves parents and children traumatized and a local sheriff begins to have doubts about the ostensibly heroic intervention that stopped the slaughter. Another standout is Annie Reed’s “The Blood-Red Leaves of Autumn,” a whodunit set on a space station that’s been orbiting Earth for decades waiting for “the world’s politicians and mega-corporations and religious zealots” to reverse catastrophic climate change. Reed delivers on the story’s clever premise with propulsive pacing and a surprise-filled plot. This rich tapestry of promising genre talent bodes well for the future of crime fiction. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
"In this selection of tales exploring crime-sparking marginalization and thwarted desires, guest editor Alafair Burke and debut series editor Steph Cha have created a powerful vehicle for processing 2020’s volatility...Cha and Burke have curated a magical collection that serves as a master class in suspense writing." — Booklist
"To Cha’s great credit, along with her guest editor, novelist Alafair Burke, this year’s edition...not only features many women and writers of color, but also pairs household names like Alex Segura, Lisa Unger and Laura Lippman...with top up-and-comers to paint a clear picture of the genre in 2021." — USA Today
Library Journal
10/06/2023
On the evidence of this collection, mystery and suspense short stories still thrive in the wake of COVID. All the stories in this collection are high-acceptable or better, while half of the 20 entries are superior. The best break free completely from the cliches of earlier crime and detective fiction, and most don't depend on a private investigator or police officer to solve things. Only one does, Jess Walter's startling original "Love Interest," and it inverts all the traditional tropes in its surprising ending. "Mr. Filbert's Classroom" by Adam Meyer is a superior piece of fantasy creeping in under the guise of a police investigation of a school shooting. No surprise, Walter Mosley's "No Exit" and Joyce Carol Oates's "Clues…" are radically different takes on the traditional stuff of crime and suspense fiction; Oates's tale of a woman reflecting on her missing sister, whom she both loves and loathes, is breathtaking. There's also a dead woman tied to a tree in a space station (Annie Reed's "The Blood-Red Leaves of Autumn"), and parallel narratives of two ways reality could go in Margaret Randall's "The Invitation." VERDICT Unger and Cha edit an exceptional selection that clearly shows crime and suspense fiction flourishing still. Mystery lovers will snatch it off the shelf.—David Keymer
