MatchUp (edited by Lee Childs) is a collection of 11 short stories written by boy/girl pairs of prolific and well-known thriller/mystery writers. It would be fair to say that none of these stories are going to win any short-story awards. BUT, it was entertaining to see writing pairs like Sandra Brown & C.J. Box and Peter James & Val McDermid have a lot of fun with their characters and to know they were writing situations in which they normally would not have involved their characters. A couple of the standout stories for me were those written by Kathy Reichs & Lee Child and Charlaine Harris & Andrew Gross, the first because it did actually have a twist I was not expecting and the second because of the pairing of a woman with supernatural abilities with a (charming) skeptic.

I definitely enjoyed the most those stories that involved characters I was already familiar, and I did add a few books to my to-read list from authors that I’d never heard of and/or would like to read more from. But, mostly this was a so-so read with no real surprises and not very stellar short stories. I tend to recommend collections like this to customers who have finished a series they really love and who are looking for another series to start. This would be a great collection for that purpose. I would completely pass this up if I was someone unfamiliar with the writers involved - it definitely would not be worth picking up if that was the case.

I like how this book combined two thriller writers and their characters in each story. It made me want to consider some authors that I had previously decided weren't for me. All the stories were good.

“Matchup” is a must-have anthology for every mystery reader. It is a collection of eleven unexpected short stories by twenty–two top mystery writers. In this collection, each female author was paired with a male writer, and each diverse pair collaborated on one story. These partnerships produced some outstanding tales with complexity and surprise. I previously read “Faceoff” and thought nothing could beat that anthology, but this one certainly comes close, perhaps even outdoing that book. These partnerships will probably never write together again, making the collection even more intriguing.
A collection such as this allows a fan of mystery books to read and finish a compelling story all in one sitting. It is perfect for plane trips, car rides, appointments, or while waiting for car repairs. (You know where I have been this week.) I always have a couple of anthologies ready to pick up when I leave the house. With this one I have already read a couple of the selections more than once because they were just so off-the-wall interesting.
I received an advance copy of this collection from Simon and Schuster to review, and it makes great reading when waiting for others (CHILDREN) to finish practice, or lessons, or games, or meetings, or after-school events – and the list goes on! I can read these mystery “matchups” again and again and love them each time.

Lots of fun stories by authors who are matched up to maximize their strengths. Fun to take along on a summer trip!

I do not like them, Sam I am.

Short stories, that is. With few exceptions - most notably Ernest Hemingway's "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" and Guy De Maupassant's "The Necklace" - I tend to avoid them like the plague.

Well, okay, that worked until 2014, when I ran across "FaceOff" - a compilation of short stories, each co-written by two well-known members of International Thriller Writers, that pair up characters readers have come to know and love. That one, edited by David Baldacci, was nothing short of a gem. So imagine my excitement when I learned of this one - a follow-up that is set apart by the joining of one male and one female writer. Never thinking I'd be approved, I requested an advance copy at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. To say I was over-the-top excited to get it is an understatement.

Now I've finished. And just like its predecessor, I'm giving it a resounding 5 stars and a strong recommendation that other mystery/thriller lovers give it a go. Does that mean that every single one of the stories in this collection knocks it out of the ball park? No; although I enjoyed them all, some are better than others - and chances are, there'll be a wide variation in the picks of the litter among other readers as well. This book's greatest value in my mind is because of its uniqueness. Where else, for instance, will you see how Lee Child's rough-and-tough Jack Reacher interacts with Kathy Reichs' Temperance Brennan (she of the uber-scientific mind)?

Settings, time periods and concepts are all over the map, from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to a castle in Scotland to ancient Alexandria. There's murder, theft and fantasy. I was delighted to find some of my favorite characters - among them Lucas Davenport, Joe Pickett and the aforementioned Reacher and Brennan - as well as a few others with whom I wasn't familiar (more's the pity, but that's been rectified now).

The whole thing is edited by Child, and at the beginning of each story is a quick peek at the writing process. Some authors knew each other beforehand; others did not. But what comes through loud and clear is that each and every one of them put considerable effort into turning out a great story - no throwing ideas or characters up against the wall to see what sticks here, folks. Every one is well thought out, intriguing and plausible (well, given the particular combination of characters). Some are deadly serious, while others serve up bits of humor. For instance, puns run rampant in “Footloose” by Val McDermid and Peter James, in which dead folks are distinguished by their feet (or the lack thereof). The victims "must be hopping mad," one character deadpans.

And then there's my personal favorite, from “Short Story” by Karin Slaughter and Michael Koryta (the longest story in the collection, BTW): As the characters discuss the ungodly frigid weather, one quips, "...the whole witch is cold today. You know what I mean?"

Take a sec. You'll get it.

There's no real point in summarizing all the individual stories here; each has considerable merit, but my point is that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, thereby making this a significant work. Another big benefit, for me at least, is the opportunity to get acquainted with authors I've heard of but for whatever reason never read.

All that said, here's the cast of characters and authors (the whole thing is edited by Lee Childs):

"Honor &..." by Sandra Brown and C.J. Box (Lee Coburn and Joe Pickett)

"Footloose" by Val McDermid and Peter James (Tony Hill and Roy Grace)

"Faking a Murder" by Kathy Reichs and Lee Child (Temperance Brennan and Jack Reacher)

"Past Prologue" by Diana Gabaldon and Steve Berry (Jamie Fraser and Cotton Malone)

“Rambo on Their Minds” by Gayle Lynds and David Morrell (Liz Sansborough and Rambo)

“Short Story” by Karin Slaughter and Michael Koryta (Jeffrey Tolliver and Joe Pritchard)

“Dig Here” by Charlaine Harris and Andrew Gross (Harper Connelly and Ty Hauck)

“Deserves to be Dead” by Lisa Jackson and John Sandford (Regan Pescoli and Lucas Davenport)

“Midnight Flame” by Lara Adrian and Christopher Rice (Lucan Thorne and Lilliane)

“Getaway” by Lisa Scottoline and Nelson DeMille (Bennie Rosato and John Corey)

“Taking the Veil” by J.A. Jance and Eric Van Lustbader (Ali Reynolds and Bravo Shaw)

My final word? Don't miss this one!

Lee Child took 22 well known authors paired two of them together. Each other bringing their out style of writing and merging it with another author. Bring together the most amazing anthology I have read in a long time. Either authors voice was over powering the authors voice and in fact I couldn't tell you where one ended and one began with each new story.

The Match up has something for everyone From Historical to paranormal from Thriller to Crime the authors work so well together you are not sure where one begins and one ends. This Anthology gives readers a chance to try out a new set of authors, stories and genre to find something a little different.

Can I pick just one story out of the out of the collection that I enjoyed more than the others?
The ones that I enjoyed the most were Lee Child and Kathy Reichs brings together Jack Reacher and Dr.Temperance Brennan in Faking a Murder and Lisa Jackson and John Sandford in Deserves to be dead.
Each story brings characters together in unexpected ways. into a story together. What could be better than that?

In a nut shell this series is the perfect beach read you get every genre you are looking for an a more to try out.

Thank you to Netgalley for the Advance Copy.

This one was a real find for me. It has some of my favorite authors in it with amazing combinations. This was an excellent read.

Simon and Schuster and Net Galley allowed me to read this one for review (thank you). It will be published June 13th.

Mr. Child asked various authors to participate in writing a short story with another author. They could chose which of their characters to use. Some of the women even knew who they'd like to work with. Each story in this group is great. Some of witty, some punny; all are full of tension and suspense. This is one anthology where I can say I enjoyed every one of the stories.

Here is the list of stories:

-Lee Coburn and Joe Pickett in “Honor & …” by Sandra Brown and C.J. Box
-Tony Hill and Roy Grace in “Footloose” by Val McDermid and Peter James
-Temperance Brennan and Jack Reacher in “Faking a Murderer” by Kathy Reichs and Lee Child
-Jamie Fraser and Cotton Malone in “Past Prologue” by Diana Gabaldon and Steve Berry
-Liz Sansborough and Rambo in “Rambo on Their Minds” by Gayle Lynds and David Morrell
-Jeffrey Tolliver and Joe Pritchard in “Short Story” by Karin Slaughter and Michael Koryta
-Harper Connelly and Ty Hauck in “Dig Here” by Charlaine Harris and Andrew Gross
-Regan Pescoli and Lucas Davenport in “Deserves to be Dead” by Lisa Jackson and John Sandford
-Lucan Thorne and Lilliane in “Midnight Flame” by Lara Adrian and Christopher Rice
-Bennie Rosato and John Corey in “Getaway” by Lisa Scottoline and Nelson DeMille
-Ali Reynolds and Bravo Shaw in “Taking the Veil” by J.A. Jance and Eric Van Lustbader

As you can see, there are some pretty powerful characters and authors here. You recognize the teamwork when you see the stories. This is almost like getting a birthday present for me. Favorite authors with brand new short stories. How could I not like it?

Very cool pairings of characters from literature I love! Creative and kept my interest! Well done anthology!

The idea of having one tv series host another has been done quite often, but this is the first time I have seen it done with authors. Some of authors match well, holding onto their established characters equally well. Others find one character dominating the story. They are fun and interesting but don't give the reader a clear view of any one author and would appeal mainly to readers who are familiar with the characters in these stories.

MatchUp is the follow-up to 2014’s FaceOff, which I haven’t read yet  MatchUp pairs a female thriller writer with a male thriller writer. One of each writer’s main characters will pair up for a bit of mystery solving.

Each story begins with a brief introduction written by Lee Child. This intro gives details of the authors working together on their story and sometimes a bit about each author as well. I enjoyed this look in to the writing of each short story and getting to know the authors too. Look for each story to take you between 30 and 60 minutes to read. This is great way to get a full story when you only have a few minutes to spare for reading.

Now for a quick look at each story.
1. Lee Coburn and Joe Pickett in “Honor & …” by Sandra Brown and C.J. Box – 4 stars. I’ve never read Box before, but Lethal is one of my favorite Brown books. It was nice to see Coburn again and I’ll be adding the Pickett books to my TBR. He sounds like someone I would like to get to know. Their team up was packed with action and left me wanting more.

2. Tony Hill and Roy Grace in “Footloose” by Val McDermid and Peter James – 2 stars. I’ve never heard of these two authors or their characters before and this story didn’t leave me with any inclination to give them a try. I realize these are short stories but this one was missing something. And I found it gross. Normally, blood and gore don’t bother me, but this time it did.

3. Temperance Brennan and Jack Reacher in “Faking a Murderer” by Kathy Reichs and Lee Child – 4 stars. I’ve never read Reichs before but I am a fan of the earlier Reacher books. The story grabbed me and made me miss Reacher. I haven’t enjoyed the last couple of Reacher books, but this short story makes me want to give him one more try. And Reichs will certainly be going on my TBR.

4. Jamie Fraser and Cotton Malone in “Past Prologue” by Diana Gabaldon and Steve Berry – 2 stars. I assume everyone knows Gabaldon for Outlander. I read Outlander and barely managed to finish it. It wasn’t for me. Berry, I’ve never heard of before. I’ve never enjoyed time travel stories, so I didn’t go in to this story with much hope. Time travel still doesn’t do anything for me. I find it too unbelievable and that ruins the whole story for me. My mind wasn’t changed about time travel stories with this one.

5. Liz Sansborough and Rambo in “Rambo on Their Minds” by Gayle Lynds and David Morrell – 4 stars. So many authors that I’ve never heard of before! Lynds and Morrell are two more. My TBR is going to be an even bigger mess ;) How did I not know that Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo was based on the book character created by Morrell? This story was well done. Lots of action and a fulfilling ending.

6. Jeffrey Tolliver and Joe Pritchard in “Short Story” by Karin Slaughter and Michael Koryta – 3 stars. I’ve read Slaughter but not Koryta. Having not read the books that these characters appear in, I found the fact that three of the character’s names started with the letter P confusing. I couldn’t remember who was who half the time. Perhaps if I knew the main characters better, it wouldn’t have been so confusing? However, the story was interesting and I will be checking out book featuring the characters I was introduced to here.

7. Harper Connelly and Ty Hauck in “Dig Here” by Charlaine Harris and Andrew Gross – 3 stars. Vampires. It’s how I discovered Harris, though the Sookie books are the only ones I’ve read. While I’ve come across Gross’ name before I’ve never read any of his work. This story doesn’t involve vampires, but the pace was steady though the story itself was nothing earth shattering.

8. Regan Pescoli and Lucas Davenport in “Deserves to be Dead” by Lisa Jackson and John Sandford – 4 stars. I’m a fan of Jackson’s To Die series and was excited to see Regan paired up with Virgil Flowers. I haven’t read the Flowers books yet, but they’ve been on my TBR for a while. This short story inspired me to get to those soon. I wasn’t sure where this story was going when it started, but boy, oh boy, was it packed with action.

9. Lucan Thorne and Lilliane in “Midnight Flame” by Lara Adrian and Christopher Rice – 3 stars. Adrian isn’t familiar to me at all, but Rice’s name rings a bell. Their contribution is interesting but not action packed. The deepest of all the stories so far. It reminded me to be thankful for what I have in life, which seems a strange thing to earn from a paranormal story.

10. Bennie Rosato and John Corey in “Getaway” by Lisa Scottoline and Nelson DeMille – 3 stars. I’ve read several Scottoline books thought none of her Rosato books. Demile is a familiar name, but I haven’t read any of his work. I enjoyed the character development of this story. Though it was a short story and I’ve never met these characters before, I felt like I knew them. However, the character development took away from the ending, which I found anti-climactic.

11. Ali Reynolds and Bravo Shaw in “Taking the Veil” by J.A. Jance and Eric Van Lustbader – 3 stars. You guessed it! I’ve never read these authors either. While I liked to their two main characters, their story? Meh! Not terrific but not terrible either.

I spent a lot of time in this review telling you if I had read or not read an author before. Sorry about that! But I found the fact of whether I had read an author before important to my enjoyment of the story. I think these stories would have been even more enjoyable if I knew some of these characters better.

This mashup/collaboration of two authors per story is an interesting if not always cohesive approach. The interactions, while interesting, are sometimes stilted but generally worthwhile.

Take 22 members of the International Thriller Writers Association, divide them into 11 teams, and make sure that there is a male and female on each team. Then have the teams use one of their iconic characters in a mashup story. As an example, there is John Sandford's Virgil Flowers on a fishing trip to Montana where he ends up aiding Lisa Jackson's Regan Pescoli in a murder investigation. The fun is seeing characters from different authors in the same short story. Some of the stories are thrillers while others are more detective tales, and some turn out to be duds when the authors pull the action out of the tale in the end. But, look at the lineup of authors and you are likely to find plenty of tales to enjoy.

This was a great read. Never dull. A few stories that didn't sing off the page, but still entertaining. Will keep you turning the page. Only downside is when you read a story and you want more!

This anthology has it all: super star writers, beloved characters, snappy dialogue, and thrills galore! It was tremendously fun to read short stories that paired authors and their beloved creations with each other. I truly enjoyed every story. This book was the perfect way to kick off my vacation.
I highly recommend Match Up!

What an awesome collection of suspense novels by some of the very best suspense authors. There is something for everyone in this set. I highly recommend to lovers of suspense books.

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Lee Child (editor), and Simon & Schuster for providing me with a copy of this book, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

When asked to take the editorial lead in the latest International Thriller Writers (ITW) anthology, Lee Child jumped at the opportunity. What might be daunting for some--herding twenty-two well-known authors together like feral cats--turned out to be a great pleasure for Child and, in the end, the reader. This compilation pits writers into teams of two to concoct a wonderful series of short stories. Each author was asked to bring their 'A' game and a favourite protagonist, in hopes that having to share the page (and the locale of each story), which ended up being a little more difficult than simply parachuting characters together. Child's other hurdle was to place a male and female author together, a 'matchup' of epic proportions, to see how they could work together. The end result saw readers treated to the 'what if' of forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan working alongside ever-travelling Jack Reacher; bibliophile Cotton Malone living history and the standing stones through which Claire Randall met her beloved in Scotland; and Philly lawyer, Bennie Rosato, crossing paths with the King of Sarcastic Comments, John Corey. Where else would you find a Minnesota cop who wants to fish in the middle of a major crime bust at a cabin in Montana, or a woman who speaks to the dead through their buried bones outside of Alexandria? Child is able not only to find the ideal matches for this anthology, but also sends the reader into a tailspin as they are presented with a number of never before thought-out possible storylines. Child is masterful, though a great deal of praise must go to all who took the time and effort to pen eleven wonderful stories. Surely something of a summer gift for the reader to enjoy poolside.

I have always enjoyed collections such as these, especially when the ITW gang comes out to play. There are so many out there and since the genre is so wide, one is never entirely sure what to expect. Child presents these stories in no particularly themed order, but the end result turns out to be something that is high octane from start to finish. While I tend to gravitate to the crime and legal thrillers, there are many that push outside of my comfort zone, though I cannot find a single story that did not captivate me, even when the narrative flirted with the paranormal. I have a large 'to be read' list, but reading these stories has left me wondering if I ought to check out some new authors and their characters, as they intrigued me, even during the brief encounter of a short story. Pitting sub-genres against one another and character professions that were sure to clash, these authors ironed out the difficulties and left the reader with a polished product, perfectly balanced and ready for easy literary consumption. While I could have read these stories for hundreds of more pages, I realise that there is a limit to the number of submissions and authors used, though I am eager to see what is next for the ITW in the years to come.

Kudos, Mr. Child, et al. for such a great anthology. I am hooked to these collections and love the cross-section of story writer that emerges from these classic matchups. Please keep sharpening your skills for the next editorial call out that is sure to arise.

What an absolutely wonderful read!

Matchup is a thriller anthology edited by Lee Child, one of my personal favorites, where 23 of the best of the best thriller writers today have matched up to write a short story.

The fun thing is it’s 11 female and 11 male authors who've teamed up to write a brand new story with their most iconic characters. Wow, does this make for some thrilling crime solving and excellent story telling!

Some of the authors and their characters were already my favorites but there were other authors I had never read, so this was a great introduction to their work—I will definitely be adding some of their works to my to-read pile!

I especially loved the seamless way the stories unfolded. All the authors worked so well together that if I had not known the short stories were collaborations, I could easily have assumed one author wrote each story.

“Faking a Murderer” by Lee Child and Kathy Reichs probably my favorite! I love both Jack Reacher and Temperance Brennan, so it was great to see the two characters work together to solve a murder. “Past Prologue” by Diana Gabaldon and Steve Berry was another great read, especially with the time travel element introduced through Gabaldon’s character Jamie Fraser combined with Berry’s Cotton Malone although I would have loved to have more Jamie Fraser in the story. I’m a huge fan of Lisa Scottoline’s character Bennie Rosato, but I had never read anything by Nelson DeMille. After reading their short story "Getaway”, I’m a fan of both Demille and his character John Corey; it was a great, fast-paced, engaging mystery!

There are others that I can list that I loved: “Short Story” by Karin Slaughter and Michael Koryta, which was another new experience since I’d never read anything by Kortyta but am a huge Slaughter fan; “Dig Here” by Charlaine Harris and Andrew Gross, both authors I’m huge fans of; “Deserves to be Dead” by Lisa Jackson and John Sandford, again two of my favorite authors.

This is a perfect anthology for any thriller fan since you can spend about 20 minutes on one story and get lost in a thrilling adventure! Many stories in the anthology are excellent, none are bad, and all are highly enjoyable and masterfully written!

Definitely 5 Stars of great fun!

I want to thank NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and the authors for providing me with an advanced copy of MatchUp to read in exchange for my fair and honest review.

MatchUp by Lee Child
MatchUp
by Lee Child (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Charlaine Harris (Goodreads Author), John Sandford, Kathy Reichs (Goodreads Author), Eric Van Lustbader, Gayle Lynds (Goodreads Author), Nelson DeMille (Goodreads Author), Lisa Jackson (Goodreads Author) , more…
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Lou Jacobs's review
May 08, 2017 · edit

it was amazing
bookshelves: currently-reading, matchup

What a marvelous anthology of Original stories .... 11 female and 11 male authors are paired together along with their respective iconic characters .... all writers represent the most accomplished of their genre - the Thriller. What results is a chance to pair-up some of the genre's most beloved protagonists .... and in 20 to 40 minutes of reading an enjoyable adventure is unfolded.
Naturally, as with all collections, some stories are "home runs" and others go for "single & doubles" ... but, most are for "extra bases". Where else can you have your beloved characters encounter other iconic characters! .... Dr Temperance Brennan is aided by Jack Reacher .... Liz Sansborough is benefited with the Myth of "RAMBO" .... Bennie Rosato is teamed up with John Corey .... and Lucan Thorne encounted "Lilliane" ... AMAZING!!
This also provides readers with NEW characters and authors to discover .... I received an e-ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review .... What a FUN READ !!! ....

Just like Face Off from 2015, Match Up pairs thriller writers and their characters in a series of short stories. I really enjoyed the interaction of some of my favorite characters with each other and the creative way the authors wove them into their stories. Just like with Face Off I discovered a couple of new authors to read. Highly recommended, especially for fans of the featured authors.

This book is an absolute treasure chest filled with gems! I have never read a book of short stories that was so much fun to read and so skillfully written. The teaming of some of the most accomplished thriller writers is a winning combination. This year they paired male and female writers to jointly write the stories. Every story is excellent! Anyone who loves thrillers will certainly love this book. Highly recommended!

Thanks to the authors and to Simon & Schuster through NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.