The Best American Mystery Stories 2008
edited by George Pelecanos
Houghton Mifflin, October 2008
$28.00 hardcover, $14.00 trade paperback

Reviewing last year’s volume in this well-established series, I praised the general quality but groused about the lack of variety and the failure to include even one real detective story. Guest editor George Pelecanos’ introduction to this year’s collection lets the reader know to expect more of the same: “…[T]here is no obvious direct line from the grandfathers and fathers of crime fiction to the stories in this collection…. Though there are twists and surprises to be discovered, none of these stories are puzzles, locked-room mysteries, or private detective tales.” Again literary magazines are a more frequent source of stories than genre publications—Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine are represented by one story each, Antioch Review by two, and the plethora of noir-themed anthologies by a scattering throughout. The title Best Mainstream Short Stories that Happen to Concern a Crime might be more precise. Definitional quibbles aside, however, this is a superb collection without a single misfire among its 20 entries. It is both quite a bit stronger and more varied than last year’s volume.

James Lee Burke’s curtain raiser “Mist,” about alcoholic Louisiana war widow Lisa and her 12-step sponsor Tookie, is a beautifully executed short story, marked by the author’s magnificent lyrical prose and fueled by anger over the twin horrors of Katrina and Iraq. Is it a detective story? No. Not even the reader-as-detective has a chance at anticipating its secrets. Is it a mystery? Arguably, yes, and the eternal mystery of character—what made Lisa the person she is?—is answered by two surprising revelations. But is it a crime story? Mainly in a political sense.

In the stories that follow, the crimes are more traditional, the treatment anything but. While the mood is almost unrelentingly grim and downbeat, the variety of background and approaches is considerable. The prize of the collection is Kyle Minor’s structural experiment “A Day Meant to Do Less,” in which an embarrassed pastor takes on the task of bathing his disabled mother, told first from his viewpoint, then (after some back story) from hers. The result is extraordinarily affecting and, in a unique way, terrifying. Another successful use of an unusual structure is Scott Phillips’ “The Emerson 1950,” a series of vignettes about a newspaper crime photographer at mid-20th Century. It provides a rare example of a modular procedural in short story form, with various crimes described but not necessarily solved, occasional touches of mystery and detection, and a very darkly comic wind-up.

Others of special merit are Holly Goddard Jones’ “Proof of God,” a collegiate gay coming-of-age murder story that reminded me of some of Vin Packer’s 1950s novels; Alice Munro’s “Child’s Play,” an incisive character study in which a horrific incident at a Canadian summer camp is recalled in adulthood by the anthropologist narrator; and Elizabeth Strout’s “A Different Road,” exploring the effect (not what you might expect) on an older couple of their experience in a hospital bathroom hostage situation.

Though detection is mostly absent, tricky crime story plotting is not. Chuck Hogan’s “One Good One” is a fresh take on the classic situation of the thug protective of his mother, with a nicely managed surprise twist. (Novelist Hogan credits the late Edward D. Hoch with inspiring him to write short stories.) Michael Connelly’s accident reconstruction procedural “Mulholland Drive” is a devious variation on a crime-fiction classic—to say which one would reveal too much. Rupert Holmes’ clever “The Monks of the Abbey Victoria,” with a 1950s TV network background and a lighter, more humorous touch than most of its companions, reminded me at times of Billy Wilder’s film The Apartment and some of the stories of Stanley Ellin.

It’s only fair to point out that there is one genuine whodunit in the book, starring one actual series detective, and an amateur at that. In Jas. R. Petrin’s “Car Trouble,” elderly moneylender Leo Skorzeny, a great character, solves the murder of a car dealer. For espionage buffs, there’s Peter LaSalle’s strongly political “Tunis and Time,” a post-9/11 spy story cum Tunisian travelogue centered on an FBI man with a cover as professor of French literature.

Oddest story of the lot may be Hugh Sheehy’s “The Invisibles,” a psychological suspense bordering on horror, with suggestions of the supernatural. It includes a great piece of cop dialogue: “People break laws all the time. Sometimes I think we have so many just so I can arrest someone if I know I need to.”

Other contributors include two series perennials, Joyce Carol Oates and Scott Wolven; well-known crime novelists Robert Ferrigno and Edgar-winner S. J. Rozan; plus Thisbe Nissen, Nathan Oates, Stephen Rhodes, and Melissa VanBeck. All are to be congratulated, along with editors Penzler and Pelecanos and first-line reader Michele Slung, on being part of a great short story anthology regardless of title or genre.—Jon L. Breen

Elvis and the Dearly Departed
by Peggy Webb
Kensington, September 30, 2008, $22.00

Elvis and the Dearly Departed is a classic Southern cozy with a decidedly idiosyncratic twist: It intermittently changes first-person narrators, one of whom is a basset hound who thinks he is Elvis Presley. The other narrator is the novel’s heroine, Elvis’ owner, Callie Jones, a highly intelligent hairdresser with an attitude. Like so many Southerners, Callie has a large, endearing extended family, including her uncle, who owns and operates a funeral home. When a body disappears from the funeral home, Callie and her cousin Lovie spring into action to retrieve it, tracking their suspect to Las Vegas, where yet another body appears. Webb provides plenty of action, but her strength as a writer emerges in rollicking and humorous portrayal of Callie and her sidekick, Lovie. Think Stephanie Plum and Lola, and you’ll know what to anticipate when you pick up this hilarious book.

And Elvis? Well, he has opinions about everything, but the world according to Elvis is a bit skewed, albeit entertaining. I’m not certain that the Elvis character, narrative and perspective contribute much, if anything, to the book, but perhaps readers will find otherwise. In the end, he ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog with a vivid imagination—but the remainder of Elvis and the Dearly Departed rocks.—Lynne Maxwell

Fickle
by Peter Manus
Virgin Books, September 2008, $15.95

Fickle begins with a terse entry on the “Life is Pulp” website, as its moderator, L.G. Fickel, blogs, “Strange end to a strange evening tonight—at around 8:30 a man committed suicide by jumping in front of the inbound at the Mass Avenue T station.” The entry creates much excitement among the site’s fans, all devotees of noir. The excitement increases as Fickel reveals that the suicide occurred right before her eyes, and escalates as she describes how the police focus on her as their prime suspect. These revelations in turn provoke Fickel’s readers to offer advice and counsel, and to speculate on the nature of the jumper’s demise—was it suicide, or homicide?

A modern example of the epistolary (e-pistolary?) novel, Fickle is told entirely through the blogs of L.G. Fickel and the brash blogger Full Frontal, who also claims to have witnessed the jumper’s death. Manus does a credible job of juggling and evoking the multiple personalities involved, and of creating a sense of immediacy, as new facts and theories are revealed. It is the nature of these revelations that will make or break this book for readers. Some may grow tired of the constant kibitzing, while others might be elated by the constantly shifting terrain. In addition, the possibility that one or more narrators are unreliable will either make the book more perplexing or all the more intriguing, depending on your temperament. Either way, Fickle will keep you turning pages, if only to see what Manus comes up with next.—Hank Wagner

The Resurrection of the Body
by Maggie Hamand
Maia Press, July 15, 2008, $17.59

This is a remarkable book on two counts. First, it was originally written in 24 hours and won the first World One-Day Novel Cup in 1995 (it has since been fleshed out and edited a bit for this 2008 publication). Second, it has one of the most unusual endings I have ever read.

The story begins in a church in east London where vicar Richard Page is conducting Good Friday services. During the silent meditation time, an anguished scream is heard in the vestibule and a man who has just been brutally stabbed in the chest comes crashing through the rear door into the church. Rushed to the hospital, the man soon succumbs to his wound without regaining consciousness. No one knows who he is, where he came from, or who stabbed him.

Several days after his autopsy, the body goes missing from the morgue. Both the police and Page are at a loss to explain how this could have happened, or why. Then, when a parishioner tells Page that she has since seen the same man working as a gardener not far away, the vicar decides to investigate. Noting the parallels between the disappearance of the body and the Resurrection of Christ, a miracle which Page has always believed was symbolic rather than real, he struggles with his faith while trying to make sense of what is happening.

This is a very quick read, not so much because of the length of the book (just over 200 pages), but because of the very short chapters and Maggie Hamand’s crisp prose. The author is a London journalist, short story writer and teacher of creative writing.—Joseph Scarpato, Jr.

The Salisbury Manuscripts
by Philip Gooden
Soho, July 2008, $24.95

Philip Gooden, currently the chair of the Crime Writers Association in the UK, is author of several Elizabethan mysteries. In The Salisbury Manuscripts he turns to the 19th century. The story is set in 1873 on Salisbury Plain, in the cathedral with its canons, vergers, and sextons, and in the town itself. The tale is reminiscent of Dickens with its shades of Nicholas Nickleby.

Lawyer Todd Ansell is sent from London to visit a client in Salisbury who wishes to entrust a memoir written by his father to the safe keeping of the law firm. When the client, a residentiary canon named Felix Slater, is murdered, the plot thickens. The pace is deliberate, but never dull. The settings are described in enough detail to create images of the time and place. The characters are convincing Victorians—servants, squires, and clergy, who are connected by complex family relationships, and many well-kept secrets. It is a treat for fans of historical mysteries.—Mary Helen Becker

The Fifth Floor
by Michael Harvey
Alfred A. Knopf, August 28, 2008, $23.95

Classic PI novels follow a formula: A beautiful woman comes to the PI for help, he takes the case and finds himself deep in intrigue and murder. Michael Harvey’s The Fifth Floor, is a superb example of why the formula works. In his talented hands we have a first rate PI mystery that doesn’t stray from the formula, but uses it so effectively that it seems new and exciting.

The PI is Chicago’s Michael Kelly and the beautiful woman is his former lover whose husband, Johnny Woods, periodically beats her up and whose daughter begs Kelly to kill her stepfather. Woods is a “fixer” on the fifth floor of City Hall, the Mayor’s office, and since this is Chicago, politics rule supreme. A murder occurs and Kelly learns that it revolves around a missing book about the great 1871 Chicago fire, and a question over whether the fire was started by Mrs. O’Leary’s cow or by the Mayor’s great grandfather in a land grab plot. The Mayor wants Kelly off the case and applies “fifth floor” pressure, but you can’t keep a good PI down.

Yes, it is formulaic, but the dialogue sparkles, the pace never lets up, the characters come alive (the city itself an intricate character), and the plot twists and turns enough to maintain high suspense. The Fifth Floor is a follow-up to Harvey’s smash debut novel, The Chicago Way. This is an author who knows his city, his criminals, his politicians and, best of all, how to put them on the page for our enjoyment. Highly recommended.—Robert Smith

It Only Takes a Moment
by Mary Jane Clark
William Morrow, July 29, 2008, $24.95

Eliza Blake is a well-known TV news host whose life has become an open book. She’s acquired lots of adoring fans, but also a few detractors who criticize her for not spending more time with her seven-year-old daughter, Janie. As a widowed single parent, Eliza is sensitive to criticism about her mothering; and as such, she is wracked with self-recrimination when Janie is abducted from summer day camp. Two good friends from work, her producer Annabelle and cameraman B.J., come to her aid to solve a crime that will chill all parents to the bone.

Mary Jane Clark’s extensive background as a writer and producer for CBS News gives her insider knowledge about the broadcast news business. This is the second in Clark’s Sunrise Suspense Society series, following When Day Breaks (2007), in which Eliza Blake and her coworkers use the tools of their trade to solve mysteries that touch their lives. It Only Takes a Moment takes only a moment to read, and has the depth of the nightly news, but it still manages unexpected twists that confound conclusions that once seemed obvious.—Verna Suit

Hell Hole
by Chris Grabenstein
St. Martin’s Minotaur, July 2008, $24.95

This latest John Ceepak novel once again features his likable cop sidekick Danny Boyle as narrator. This time Danny runs into a hard-partying group of soldiers home on leave from Iraq and vacationing on the Jersey shore. Soon one of their group, Cpl. Shareef Smith, turns up dead at a roadside rest stop. Local investigators pronounce the soldier’s death a drug-induced suicide, but Danny has his doubts and urges his partner John Ceepak to investigate the case.

Ceepak, known for his cool logic and absolute adherence to the truth, soon finds clues that point not only to murder, but also to the theft of objects from Smith’s car. Still unsure that the two events are even related, Ceepak and Boyle must nonetheless step up the investigation when the obnoxious Sergeant Dale Dixon threatens vigilante justice for his fallen comrade. What they discover eventually pits them against some very powerful people—people who view killing as a necessary evil.

Boyle’s witty sarcasm serves as an effective counterpoint to Ceepak’s often robot-like responses and also humanizes many of the more horrific aspects of the plot. Two minor criminals lend humor to the story, as does part-time cop Samantha Starky. For longtime readers, the introduction of Ceepak’s nasty father and the insight into Ceepak’s character he provides, should be of interest. All in all, smooth writing and an unpredictable plot should please fans of Anthony award-winner Chris Grabenstein.—Mary V. Welk

One of the most enjoyable facets of editing a magazine like Mystery Scene is the research. Finding photos, writing captions, tweaking articles and reviews, all this requires a lot of rooting about in the history of the genre.

Which is why I recently re-read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

There’s no doubt that this tale of racial and class injustice in the Deep South of the 1930s qualifies as an important book. First published in 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird won the Pulitzer Prize and has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. It is taught in the majority of American schools, and is regularly chosen for “One Book, One City” programs. Recently, librarians voted it the best novel of the 20th century.

Impressive credentials, but dry, very dry. These kind of descriptions don’t convey the sheer pleasure of reading Harper Lee’s novel. Here’s a typical comment from Scout Finch, the book’s narrator, discussing her brother Jem. Atticus Finch is their father.

“The sixth grade seemed to please him from the beginning: he went through a brief Egyptian Period that baffled me - he tried to walk flat a great deal, sticking one arm in front of him and one in back of him, putting one foot behind the other.  He declared Egyptians walked that way; I said if they did I didn’t see how they got anything done, but Jem said they accomplished more than the Americans ever did, they invented toilet paper and perpetual embalming, and asked where would we be today if they hadn’t?  Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I’d have the facts.” 

This excerpt isn’t a vital part of the narrative but that’s the point. Lee doesn’t skimp on any aspect of writing. The narrative voice, characterizations, setting, plot, and moral vision of this novel are all equally important and equally well-done. This isn’t a dry sermon, it’s a living, breathing slice of life.

Be good to yourself, read, or re-read, To Kill a Mockingbird.

The upcoming Fall Issue #101 of Mystery Scene has an interesting article on Harper Lee by Art Taylor which we think you’ll enjoy. It includes opinions from Carolyn Hart, Margaret Maron and Michael Malone — three writers who know about about Southern literature.

–Kate Stine, Editor

Los Angeles Noir
Edited by Denise Hamilton
Akashic Books, May 2007, $15.95
Reviewed by Jackie Houchin for Mystery Scene Magazine

Los Angeles Noir, thirteenth in the city-noir series by Akashic Books, is a collection of devilishly dark tales set in and around the City of Angels. Of the 17 contributors, Michael Connelly is probably the best known. In “Mulholland Drive”, a police procedural about a suspicious accident on the famous road, Connelly coolly illustrates the principal of “what goes around, comes around.”

“Dangerous Days” by Emory Holmes II, is a tangled story about an undercover cop, a drug deal and a snub-nosed Colt .45 Peacemaker named Esmeralda. Holmes nails the black-rap, hood-speak dialect of South Central L.A.

In “Morocco Junction, 90210″, Patt Morrison writes about old money in Beverly Hills and the ultimate cover-up. Her skill in crafting vivid similes is remarkable.

Denise Hamilton’s “Midnight in Silicon Alley”, has all the edgy suspense of her Eve Diamond novels condensed into a tight, immensely satisfying revenge story. It’s perhaps the best story in the book.

In “The Golden Gopher”, Susan Straight paints downtown L.A. in all its decadence and opulence, as her “walking fool” strides through the Garment District, Skid Row, and along Sunset Blvd in search of a funky bar and an old friend.

The verbal cadence of Robert Ferrigno’s “The Hour When the Ship Comes In” perfectly mirrors the slowing steps of a dying man whose last wish is to board the Queen Mary.

The anthology is edited by former journalist and Los Angeles Times reporter Denise Hamilton who has, with present day settings and unlikely locations, moved classic noir into the 21st century. Hamilton cleverly clusters the stories under four headings, and includes a map marking the spot of each crime. Readers will revel in this eclectic collection of murder, desperation and obsession.