"A sterling collection that should both entertain and serve as an introduction to some formidable new talents."
— Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Ellroy's typically stylized ruminations on the mystery short story ("Whap — you circumnavigate quicksville") will have fans salivating . . . He's right, too: these stories pack plenty of whap." — Booklist
"The mystery short story is a craft within a craft . . . It hits strong, it's over quick, it induces heat and lingers when it's done," writes James Ellroy in his introduction to The Best American Mystery Stories 2002. As guest editor for this year's edition, Ellroy has selected a score of stories that will chill, thrill, and entertain.
The twenty tales in this sixth volume of The Best American Mystery Stories take us from Chicago to L.A.'s Dodger Stadium, the jungles of South America to the Alabama hometown of Helen Keller, introducing characters who are at once profoundly pitiable and deliciously depraved:
• The lovestruck teenager induced to murder by his underage paramour;
• A violent tough guy with a secret penchant for collecting butterflies;
• Jewel thieves whose craving for hot dogs leads to their downfall;
• The widow whose sly confrontation of her husband's mistress lets her get away with murder.
There are selections here from favorites such as Robert B. Parker, Joyce Carol Oates (making her fifth appearance in the collection), Michael Connelly, Stuart M. Kaminsky, and Thomas H. Cook, as well as newer voices such as Daniel Waterman, Scott Wolven, Fred Melton, and Michael Downs. Together their contributions form a stellar and suspenseful collection of twisted tales sure to leave readers dazzled, dazed, drained, and clamoring for more.
World-renowned author James Ellroy is a master of crime fiction and one of the greatest chroniclers of the dark side of the human heart. The novels in his L.A. quartet — The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz — were international bestsellers and classics of the genre. His American Tabloid was Time's Best Book of 1995, an honor his memoir My Dark Places (also a New York Times Notable Book) took in 1996.
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