Short Story Wednesday Review: The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2025 --- Editor Don Winslow, Series Editor Steph Cha

The book releases to the public next Tuesday…

 

One of the best things about the annual The Best American Mystery and Suspense series, beyond celebrating numerous authors, their works, and the publications they appeared in, is the tremendous variety of the reads selected for inclusion. There is always complexity of stories, themes, and perspectives. Such is the case with the latest read, The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2025, edited by Don Winslow and series editor, Steph Cha.

 

After introductions by each of the editors, it is on to the twenty reprinted short stories from a variety of sources. Below are some of my personal favorites in order of appearance in the volume as I read the book from front to back.

 

“Neon Women” by Ann Aptker (Private Dicks and Disco Balls) takes readers to the 70’s and Times Square. The junkie is dead in a puddle at the curb as Homicide Lieutenant Sal Barone and private investigator Gussie Diamon survey the scene under the odd neon lighting of the sex shops. She believes the dead guy is Darryl Wickers. She was hired to find him. The cop and the private investigator aren’t going to be able to work together, but Diamond intends to find out what happened and why.

 

All she was supposed to do was drive the car. She has a test in a few more hours. Now Mike is bouncing the guy’s head off the hood in “Grendel” by Craig Francis Coates (Rock and a Hard Place). The hunt to find Pete Turner shows no sign of stopping. Pete Turner owes a debt, actually two separate ones, to the Clancy Gentleman’s Club. Driving for the club means that sometimes you drive around the muscle, Mike. Until he finds him and collects what is owed, they both have to keep working, no matter what.

 

Back in 2001, our narrator wound up in Klamath Falls, Oregon, working for his ex-cousin-in-law. Dale ran the night shift at the Purple Flamingo Casino. He gave him a job, a place to bed down, and more when he showed up in a world of trouble. He very well knows he owes Dale so, of course, he agrees to the small favor Dale requested. In “A Dog’s Year” by Tod Goldberg (The Killing Rain), Dale wants him to drive a certain car sitting in the parking lot to Seattle, give the keys to one specific person, take what is given, spend the night there, and ride the bus back tomorrow. Sounds simple enough.

 

She is well aware that she is not normal. She works very hard to fit in and act like a normal person and it is exhausting and hard. She needs to be at home with her feet up. Instead, she is doing what she has to in “Not A Dinner Party Person” by Stefanie Leder (Eight Very Bad Nights). Despite what she made very clear at work had to happen, folks are not listening. Neither are members of her family who are picking the wrong night to get on her last nerve. Rachel is a sociopath and proud to be one. She is only attending the party for her sister and clearly her sister needs help.

 

Field Training Officer Ladd and his rookie partner, Esteves, are dispatched to the George Jones Museum & Gift Shop. A legendary suit has been stolen in “Outlaw Country” by J. d. O’Brien (Starlight Pulp—unspecified issue). Readers soon learn that Billy Dee stole it as part of a bid for recognition in Nashville. He was trying to distinguish himself as a true outlaw star and not one of the many pretenders that populate the country music scene these days. It is no surprise he didn’t think things through and it is all going wrong in a bad way.

 

Passalong Pete was on the run in Los Angeles and on the streets. Until he wasn’t. The cops think it was a simple hit and run that took him out. It wasn’t in “The Darklight Gizmo Matter” by Gary Phillips (Private Dicks and Disco Balls). That event has also put a target on the back of private investigator Nefra Adams.

 

In the aftermath of her collapsed marriage, Swan is headed to a shipping container at Miracle Wash, twenty miles from Twentynine Palms. Robbie and Karen have a small homestead out there and plan on working on the place at some point. In the meantime, they put a shipping container that is set up to be lived in out on the land. Swan is broke and needed the escape hatch. She has tattoo artist skills and she should be in demand because of the troops at the base as well as the local residents. Things in the high desert are a bit weird from the weird from the start in “Jackrabbit Skin” by Ivy Pochoda (Amazon Originals).

 

Lyman sticks to his routines as routine is important. He is a janitor. He believes that nobody sees him until they want something done. Even that interaction is just a surface one and not with any depth to it in “Dark Thread, Loose Strands” by Art Taylor (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine—unspecified issue). He believes that everyone has invisible strands pulling them this way or that. A puppet master, of sorts. Which makes the reader wonder if he is responsible for his actions or did somebody/something pulls his strings and cause everything to happen?

 

While those eight were my personal favorites, no doubt yours would vary. I tend to go for a darker grittier tale, but there are plenty in the read that are not nearly as dark.

 

Contributors’ notes follow with the brief bios for the twenty authors reprinted here as well as short explanations of the background of their tales. Those additional details regarding aspects of the stories are a nice touch.

 

The book closes with the alphabetical listing of authors, their story titles, for the 30 works selected for the “Other Distinguished Mystery and Suspense of 2024.

 

While it is great to see credit for the prior publication, it is unfortunate that the editors did not include specific issue information when citing magazines and magazine like anthologies that have multiple issues using the same title. While it is helpful to refer to Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine or Starlight Pulp, to use two examples, it would have been far more helpful to additionally specify the month or number of the issue.

 

That criticism aside, overall, the read is highly entertaining and paints a broad picture of the industry. As always in this series, variety is important. That is very well expressed. There is a lot of good reading reprinted here as well as ideas for other reads.

Strongly recommended.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3JHEboi

 

My digital ARC reading copy came from the publisher, Mariner Books, by way of NetGalley with no expectation of a positive review. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

Short Story Wednesday Review: The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022

The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022 anthology edited by Jess Walter, is not an easy book to review. While all the tales in the book are good ones, some of the short stories are very dark and grim. For this reader, some of the tales were very intense and disturbing as they connected to things in my childhood. If I was not reading for review, I would have quickly skipped those tales and moved on.

After a foreword by series editor Steph Cha that includes the procedure to be considered for the 2033 anthology (deadline 12/3/2022), and an intro by Jess Walter, it is on to the stories. The stories are presented in alphabetical order by author name. Each tale has a listing of where it originally appeared. Unfortunately, when a magazine is listed, it does not include the month.

Hector Acosta leads off with “La Chingona.” Developers have been buying up blocks of Spokane and they have gotten their hands on Hope Apartments. Eviction is coming. Veronica’s only hope is to raise funds via a web cam deal she is doing. Who would have thought wearing a certain mask of a Mexican wrestler would make things so complicated?

62-year-old Henry Pearse is doing okay for a man of his age in “Lucky Thirteen” by Tracy Clark. It is New Year’s Eve, the streets and sidewalks are icy, and he is about to have a guest. A guest that will be very interested in attending Henry’s celebration of the new year.

Hattie Mae wants out of her Daddy’s bar. She wants a certain musician. She wants something else, something she can’t actually quantify, in the powerful tale, An Ache So Divine by S. A. Cosby.

Mercedes Larza is sure that the boy given her by border patrol is not her son. He looks and talks like him. He has the same birthmark and mole cluster. But, she is sure he isn’t her son in “Detainment” by Alex Espinoza.

As predicted, the man made his move once the train rolled out of the station. How long will the voyeur wait to intercede in “Here’s to New Friends” by Jacqueline Freimor is the question.

Todd Goldberg’s “A Career Spent Disappointing People” comes next where it is July and Shane has a problem. Actually, more than one. Not only is it too damn hot as he has to get gone from California, the Honda he was driving has broken down. His swollen foot is a mess thanks to the damage by the bullet. Nothing has been going right lately and things are getting worse now by the minute.

Francis had been gone five days when the police first arrive at the house in “The Very Last Time” by Juliet Grames.  Mrs. Hatcher knows what happened. If she explains, they will never believe her. That is the first of several problems she has in this tale.

“The Wind” by Lauren Groff comes next in a very hard to read story. A mother is determined to do everything she can to save her children and get out of a horrible situation.

Barry is asleep when the guys get him in “No Man’s Land” by James D. F. Hannah. Being the “Real Estate King of Long Island” has had its perks, but winding up on a living room floor and getting kicked everywhere including where no man ever wants to be kicked, is not one of them. The real estate agent is in a world of trouble and not for what you might think considering his occupation.

Lewis Binny’s classic juke box has been stolen as “Return to Sender” by Gar Anthony Haywood begins. Obviously, Binny wants it back. He also has an idea who might have stolen the classic machine, but he is not going to tell that to the St. Louis County Sheriff’s deputy who is taking the report.

Audrie McFadden and Abe had a plan to supplement their income. Things are changing in Alaska. They have to move fast to cash in on the future in “Harriet Point” by Leslie Jones.

Making a good mixed drink is a chemical process. If you know what you are doing, you can make good ones. She likes to make “Stingers” in this tale of the same name by LaToya Jovena.

Joe is enraged and justifiably so in “God Bless America” by Elaine Kagan. Somebody keyed their cars. The cars were outside on the street instead of in the full garage. Connie is too busy cooking food for the holiday and thinking about the past which is stored in the garage.

Nathaniel buys letters in “A Bostonian (in Cambridge)” by Dennis Lehane. He buys letters of rejection as the proprietor of the Larchmont Antique Bookshop near Harvard. The reason he does is tied to his childhood and gradually explained in this complicated story.

Carter got a job handing out flyers in “Remediation” by Kristen Lepionka. In so doing, she saw a few things. She met new people. One of whom changed her life forever.

The Girl Detective is dead. At least that is what is posted on twitter. She does not feel dead. She has a lot to do. But, as she looks, she notices that she can see right through her hand. She needs to know in “Long Live the Girl Detective” by Megan Pillow.

Pugi likes to go on the hunt for men in “Mata Hambre” by Raquel V. Reyes. She likes to go hunting with the narrator. Her target this night is an old flame who is a famous tv guy now in the local area. He is a competitor in a cooking contest that is about to get very interesting for entrants and spectators alike.

Stolen valor is a subject that occasionally pops up in the media. It is the central theme of “Thank You for Your Service” by Mathew Wilson. Kyle came home from serving the country and is having a hard time of it. He comes up with a plan to document the fake vets he sees everywhere and make some money by exposing them via social media.

Janeen Turning Heart needs Virgil’s help. He is the reservation’s enforcer and she has a job for him in “Turning Heart” by David Heska Wanbli Weiden. It is a job he does not want, but it is a job he needs to do for a number of reasons.

For the longest time, father has been the Turkish ambassador to the Russian Federation. His duty to country over family had consequences. As he is apparently having some cognitive issues based on his behavior, secrets and disharmony in the family come to the forefront in “Lycia” by Brendan Williams-Childs.

“Contributors’ Notes” comes next with author bios and an explanation regarding each story from each of the authors. Those explanations cover the author’s intent in the tale, the writing process, and more in an explanation that is often longer than the bio. Those explanations are very interesting and also reflect the obvious diversity in the read.

The book concludes with “Other Distinguished Mystery and Suspense Stories of 2021.” There are thirty authors and their tales are listed along with the markets that published them.

Diversity is prevalent in The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022 and not just in terms of race and gender, though those two are most obvious at a quick glance. Also at work here is diversity in terms of storytelling styles, themes, imagery, and more. The book is a complicated read full of solidly good tales.

It is also a very hard read at times. If you are a certain age and come from a time when nobody intervened when things happened behind closed doors and you carried those signs in public the next day, some of the tales here will land far too close to home.

The tales are about those situations, the choices that are made by and for folks, and as one of the authors eloquently put it how “hurt people hurt people.” That idea pretty much applies to every tale in the book, one way or another. These are tales that make the reader think and not always in a happy way. The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022 is a complicated anthology and one well worth your time.

 

 

My reading copy came from the publisher as a NetGalley ARC.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2022