As with any anthology, there are hits and misses here for me. Nothing stood out to me as being particularly bad, though. Everything was very well-written and engaging - some plots just didn't speak to me.

Clever, funny and suspenseful stories from a diverse group of excellent writers. I'm always so excited for the new BAMS and this one didnt disappoint.

I really think this is the best mystery, suspense and crime fiction compilation out there. These are the best of the best stories. S.A Cosby and Steph Cha did a great job editing and I enjoyed their forwards. I wish they had stories included in the collection!

Some stand out stories:

Just a Girl by Alyssa Cole: told through text messages, DM's, TikTok posts and comments. A young woman is harassed by a group of Incels after an innocent TikTok post

A Matter of Trust by Frankie Y. Bailey- A married woman must confront the terrible actions of her husband

Rumpus Room by Tananarive Due- A master of horror and short stories. A young woman finds work as a caretaker for an elderly man in Florida. What secrets lie in the casita?

My Savage Year by Jordan Harper- My favorite story of the collection. When a teacher "allegedly" kills his wife and children, a young student becomes obsessed with the case

Baby Trap by Toni LP Kelner- A clever story about a woman trying to take possession of an inherited house in a town ruled by her insane mother in law.

Another great selection of mystery and suspense in this series. I love how mystery stories have changed so much over the years, and this collection offers a wide variety of different kinds of stories. Not every mystery needs to have a murder, and it was fun seeing what kinds of mysteries were here. As usual, there were some great authors I already follow, with some I am not familiar with but will be following after this. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

"The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024" is a captivating anthology that brings together the very best in contemporary mystery and suspense short fiction. Edited by acclaimed authors S.A. Cosby and Steph Cha, this collection features a diverse array of voices and perspectives, offering readers a thrilling and thought-provoking journey through the genre.

With 20 short stories carefully curated from the previous year's publications, this anthology showcases a wide range of styles and themes, from classic whodunits to psychological thrillers. The editors' discerning eye for talent ensures that each story is of the highest caliber, offering a unique and engaging reading experience.

While this anthology may not appeal to those who are not typically fans of the mystery genre, its quality and diversity make it a standout collection that is sure to captivate even the most discerning reader. Whether you're a die-hard mystery buff or simply looking for a compelling read, "The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024" is an excellent choice that is not to be missed.

Whenever an anthology or collection claims to be the “best” of a particular year or genre, I often take it with a grain of salt. That description frequently means that it’s the best collection the editor could get the rights to use without too much trouble. However, in the case of “The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024,” the superlative is well-earned. I expect some duds in any anthology I read, but this collection has only two stories I considered disappointing. All the rest of them were enjoyable, and a few were far superior to what I usually find in places like “Ellery Queen” or “Alfred Hitchcock” magazines.

“The Best American Mystery and Suspense” anthologies have been around since 1997 (although the series was initially titled “The Best American Mystery Stories”). In 2021, former series editor Otto Penzler began publishing his own “best of” anthologies. Steph Cha became the editor of this series, which was also renamed under its current title. Regardless of the title and editor, the format has been the same since 1997. The only criteria for inclusion are that a story must have been initially published in the preceding calendar year (in this case, 2023) and that the author is American or Canadian. Cha reviews hundreds of stories in various collections, magazines, and anthologies each year, including some that authors submit themselves. Some stories in these anthologies originally appeared in literary journals. She selects 50 finalists from that list, and that year’s guest editor (in this case, S.A. Cosby) chooses the 20 “best.” Cosby’s stories have appeared in earlier editions of the anthology, but his only literary contribution here is a brief introduction.

The editors’ definition of “mystery and suspense” is quite broad, and these stories can best be categorized as tales that involve, in some way, the commission or attempted commission of a crime. The stories include a couple of genuine whodunits and a few morality stories of the sort often found in popular mystery magazines. Others include several stories about the effects of crime on “ordinary” people. Some of these are very depressing, even though well written. The stories appear in alphabetical order by the author, so the mood shifts from one story to the next can be jarring.

Besides the usual biographical information about the authors in the book’s afterword, the anthology includes a brief explanation by each author why they wrote their tale. That’s especially helpful for readers of one of my favorites from the anthology, “Possessory Credit,” by Diana Gould. The author, a veteran screenwriter, explains that possessory credit involves giving one person (usually the director) prominent mention for being most responsible for a film, like “Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho.” In this story, a screenwriter gets increasingly jealous when a successful director takes possessory credit for the writer’s work. The writer plots what he thinks is the perfect murder, but things don’t quite go as planned.

Other similarly enjoyable stories include Gar Anthony Haywood’s “With the Right Bait.” An elderly man is convinced his younger wife is a gold digger and plans to eliminate her after the couple finishes playing the children’s game of Mouse Trap. The twist ending here is the very last word in the story. “Monster,” by Shannon Taft, involves the murder of a woman whose two sons both had reasons to want her inheritance. The author is an attorney, and the dead woman’s will figures prominently in the story. “Baby Trap” by Toni Kelner is the story of a young widow whose mother-in-law, aided by her relatives in the local police department, wants to gain custody of the widow’s baby. The story involves a major twist and the most satisfying ending in the book.

Several of the authors use unorthodox narrative techniques to tell their stories. These aren’t gimmicks; instead, they make the stories more effective than they would have been with straightforward narration. “Just a Girl” by Alyssa Cole is the story of a teenager who started making TikTok cooking videos during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, when she slams a particularly obnoxious commenter, he takes it personally. He also enlists the help of his buddies in some incel chat rooms to start a real-life campaign of stalking and harassment against the girl. The author tells the story exclusively through social media and chatroom posts. “For I Hungered, and Ye Gave Me” by Barrett Bowlin tells the story of a feral teenager who survives years in the woods by scavenging roadkill. The author tells the story through excerpts from interviews conducted by the Arkansas Highway Patrol of various witnesses. The story is predictable, but the narrative technique gives it much more of a kick.

Two of the more disturbing but compelling stories are “The Book of Ruth” by Mary Thorson and “Holler, Child” by LaToya Watkins. In “Ruth,” a teenager runs off to join a cult. She later returns, but her parents discover the cult isn’t finished with her. The end of this story is especially chilling. In “Holler Child,” a woman who was raped as a teenager discovers that her own teenage son (a result of that assault) may also have raped a girl. This may be the most depressing story in the entire anthology. (It’s also the last story in the anthology.)

“The Mysterious Disappearance of Jason Whetstone” by Karen Harrington is an effective parody of a true-crime TV series. The title character is a professional mediator trying to settle a dispute between two sisters, both authors, who wrote different accounts about the same childhood incident 25 years later. This incident involved a family dinner in which the sisters’ mother believed someone had taken too much pasta sauce. Both daughters have written about the incident, and one accuses the other of plagiarism. Before the mediator can settle the dispute, he disappears. This story is ridiculously bizarre but precisely the sort of backstory you’ll find in an episode of “Dateline.” (The author acknowledges using “Dateline” as an inspiration for her first draft.)

The most disappointing story in the collection is “The Funeral Suit” by Bobby Mathews. It’s a Western and not a very good one. Every year on his birthday, an aging gunfighter has breakfast at the local hotel, and almost every year some upstart shows up to challenge him. This plot is quite similar to John Wayne’s last movie, “The Shootist.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t work as a Western, and the connection to crime stories is very remote. I was also disappointed by “Unknown Caller” by Lisa Unger. The narrator works for a suicide prevention hotline, and she receives several disturbing calls from the same man. The author introduces another storyline about halfway through, told in the third person. However, most readers will soon figure out how the two storylines intersect. This was one of the longer stories in the collection and should have been trimmed considerably.

“The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024” has stories to meet any crime fiction enthusiast’s taste. Those who expect an all-star version of an “Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine” issue may be disappointed. Frankly, with as wide a variety of subject matter, technique, and style as are displayed in this anthology, most readers will quibble with a few of the stories. However, I’ve read many mystery, horror, and science fiction anthologies, and this collection is one of the best overall I can recall. Taken as a whole, these stories may not be the best of the year, but you’ll have a hard time finding 20 better tales.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own

This book is an easy one to recommend. Edited by one of the best thriller writers working today. Good collection that does what it is intended to do- read new works by favorites and discover new voices. Perfection.

This one is perfect for spooky season read and includes 20 short stories. Authors included in the collection are Megan Abbott, Alyssa Cole, Tananarive Due and Lisa Unger (and many more). I enjoyed that each story is part of a beautiful structured standalone tales. The stories share themes, from the darkness of human nature to the complexities of justice and morality.


Thank you Mariner Books and NetGalley for this gifted e-copy.

There were a few stories in this collection that I especially enjoyed (Scarlet Ribbons, Rumpus Room, Body Farm, Possessory Credit, Monster, Unknown Caller). Several of the others felt a bit flat to me. I think I prefer longer-format work to get to know the characters better, but I was impressed by what some of these authors were able to accomplish with such brevity.

Nice little collection! Obviously I’m a huge S.A. Cosby stan so his editing this group of stories is absolutely what drew me in.

I’m not a bit short story reader. I like to be completely immersed and deep in a book, and tend to struggle achieving that with a short story. While I still grappled with that a bit with this collection, I still found some stories that deeply resonated with me. Will I Still See the Birds When I am Gone was my absolute favorite. Definitely a story that gets deep within your bones. I also enjoyed Baby Trap, Monster, The Body Farm, The Mysterious Disappearance of Jason Whetstone, and With the Right Bait.

All in all I’d definitely recommend the collection. It features a diverse collection of authors and subject matters which makes for a really nice overall read. I likely wouldn’t have selected this had it not been for the editor, but this was a solid read.

THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY AND SUSPENSE 2024 edited by S. A. Cosby contains a "collection of the year's best mystery and suspense short fiction." Unfortunately, I found the few stories I sampled to be quite "dark" and stopped reading. Cosby's own work (Blacktop Wasteland, Razorblade Tears, All the Sinners Bleed) which is excellent, also tends to have some dark elements so perhaps I should not have been surprised, but I did think that an annual collection would include at least a "cozy" or two.

I was today years old when I learned that it's not that I don't like #shortstories it's that i've been reading sub-par short stories 😂

These were amazing - each and every one of them.

S.A. Cosby has written a couple of my most recent #fivestarbooks so I decided to give this a try and I'm so, so glad I did.

The one that stood out to me the most was Just a Girl by @alyssacolelit because holy crap the internet is a terrifying place 🤣 The Body Farm by Abby Geni was also amazing - equal parts disgusting and fascinating.

I very much recommend this #anthology of #mystery and #suspense stories.

I appreciate the "Best of" series as a way to read bite-size pieces of interesting work that introduce me to new writers and showcase strong writing from authors already known to me. The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024, edited by Steph Cha and SA Cosby, did not disappoint! Some pieces were only a few pages long, a couple were slightly longer - but these were a great way to fit in some reading when you are short on time. I was a bit skeptical about whether a mystery or suspense novel could "work" in just a few pages, but more often than not, I found myself nervous, anxious, uneasy, horrified and maybe a bit scared because I was totally immersed in the story. I also enjoyed the wide range of stories and styles covered in this collection. 4.5/5

Many thanks to Mariner Books and NetGalley for the e-arc and the opportunity to get to know some new writers!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

“The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024” is a masterful anthology that brings together the crème de la crème of contemporary mystery and suspense short fiction. Curated by the acclaimed S.A. Cosby, known for his gripping novels like “Razorblade Tears,” and series editor Steph Cha, this collection promises to keep readers on the edge of their seats from the first page to the last.

This anthology is a treasure trove of diverse narratives, each story meticulously selected to showcase the best in the genre. The structure of the book allows for a seamless transition from one thrilling tale to the next, making it a perfect companion for both long reading sessions and quick literary escapes. Each story stands on its own, yet collectively, they paint a vivid picture of the current landscape of mystery and suspense fiction.

The stories in this collection explore a wide range of themes, from the dark underbelly of human nature to the complexities of justice and morality. What sets this anthology apart is its ability to delve into these themes with nuance and depth, offering readers not just entertainment but also thought-provoking insights. The editors have done a commendable job of selecting stories that challenge the reader’s perceptions and keep them guessing until the very end.

One of the standout features of this anthology is the diversity of voices and writing styles. From the gritty and raw to the elegantly crafted, each story brings a unique flavor to the collection. S.A. Cosby and Steph Cha have curated a lineup of authors who are not only masters of their craft but also bring fresh perspectives to the genre. The writing is sharp, evocative, and, most importantly, suspenseful, ensuring that readers are hooked from the first page to the last.

“The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024” is a must-read for fans of the genre. It offers a rich tapestry of stories that are as varied as they are compelling. Whether you’re a longtime aficionado of mystery and suspense or a newcomer looking to dip your toes into the genre, this anthology is sure to satisfy your craving for thrilling, well-crafted narratives.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. A suspenseful and exciting collection of short stories that I thoroughly enjoyed. Very apparent why this is a collection of the best. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was so thrilled to read this. So many authors I love and not a single one disappointed. SA Cosby was the perfect choice to curate this collection.

Book: The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024
Author: S.A. Cosby
Publisher: Mariner Books
Pub Date: October 22, 2024

I highly recommend reading this around Halloween. It’s a perfect spooky season read and includes 20 short stories. Authors include Megan Abbott, Alyssa Cole, Tananarive Due and Lisa Unger just to name a few. These stories will take you on a wild ride through the bumpus room, the body farm, the game The Mouse Trap and a whole lot of morally questionable decisions. Some of my absolute favorites were: Possessory Credit by Diana Gould; My Savage Year by Jordan Harper; With The Right Bait by Gar Anthony Haywood; and Unknown Caller by Lisa Unger. Out of twenty there were only three stories that didn’t appeal to me.

Thank you Mariner Books and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is October 22, 2024.

Being very familiar with the annual collection, I kind of knew what to expect with “The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024” edited by by S.A. Cosby, Steph Cha: a variety of stories that usually reflect a theme from the guest editor, a gathering of both well known and little known authors, and a range of quality from fascinating to so-so to “huh?”. This year the stories do have a bit of a depressing air about them, a lot of reflections of past wrongs coming back to haunt the present.

“Scarlet Ribbons” by Megan Abbott: It seems that every neighborhood has a house where something evil happened, where generations of children test their courage about going in. But what happens if the nightmares are real?

“Matter of Trust” by Frankie Y. Bailey: A murder in broad daylight, a note on a car windshield, and a cowardly best friend lead to a gruesome revelation.

“For I Hungered, and Ye Gave Me” by Barrett Bowlin: A set of interviews around a road accident leads to a surprising conclusion. Weird.

“Just a Girl” by Alyssa Cole: A cautionary tale about how comments on social media can lead to harassment and worse. Really scary but unfortunately too real in today’s society.

“Rumpus Room” by Tananarive Due: A woman running away from her own demons accepts a job offer from a stranger who has demons of his own. A touch of the supernatural and horror around this one.

“The Body Farm” by Abby Geni: How far will one go to protect one’s family and loved ones? What can you do when the police can’t help? Ms. Geni comes up with a unique solution.

“Lovely and Useless Things” by Nils Gilbertson: A prohibition tale of the violence taking place between the anti-saloon folks and a speakeasy. Enjoyable.

“Possessory Credit” by Diana Gould: A screenwriter feels slighted by his director friend, and decides to take matters into his own hands, with unforeseen results. Kind of funny.

“My Savage Year” by Jordan Harper: A teacher murders his whole family and gets away with it, at first, but once the secrets start spilling they don’t stop until revenge is served.

“The Mysterious Disappearance of Jason Whetsone” by Karen Harrington: Two sisters who argue about a rather insignificant incident in their childhood go to a mediator for help, with disastrous consequences. A bit over the top.

“With the Right Bait” by Gar Anthony Haywood: A rich old man with a much younger wife plans her murder as he plays a boardgame of Mousetrap with her before surgery, but will he be able to escape the trap?

“Baby Trap” by Toni LP Kelner: A troublesome mother-in-law goes too far trying to get at her widowed daughter-in-law’s baby. Interesting twist.

“Scorpions” by Nick Kolakowski: A police officer goes to her old childhood friend when she needs an illegal favor, but once you cross that line you cannot really go back.

“The Funeral Suit” by Bobby Mathews: An old gunslinger terrorizes a town on his birthday every year. Not my favorite.

“Will I See the Birds When I am Gone” by Stanton McCaffery: A series of letters from a boy to his mother written from juvie, then his release, then prison again. Depressing.

“Monster” by Shannon Taft: A woman’s mother-in-law gets murdered, and it becomes clear that her husband is the prime suspect. A great setup and twist.

“The Book of Ruth” by Mary Thorson: A daughter returns home from a cult. Also depressing.

“Sarah Lane’s School for Girls” by Rebecca Turkewitz: A student has to choose between friendship and losing a golden opportunity. A story where everyone carries many secrets.

“Unknown Caller” by Lisa Unger: A volunteer at a call-in crisis center has to deal with her own past demons when she is stalked by a mysterious stranger who seems to know her secrets. Predictable but well crafted.

“Holler, Child” by Latoya Watkins: History repeats itself as a rape victim is confronted by the horro of what her son has become. Also depressing.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Mariner Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

There were a few standouts but this was just okay. Perhaps there were too many stories? I almost DNFd this one- it just didn't excite me as much as I kept reading.

I enjoyed reading all the stories contained in this best of mysteries and suspense, as I've read a few of the authors presented other books. Good collection to put on shelf.