“These days the market for short stories is eroding like a thin strip of beach in a hurricane and I think that’s a shame. Some of the greatest crime and mystery writers of all time were masters of the form. It’s a special skill that combines brevity with wit and cleverness and the hint of the existential malaise that imbues crime fiction with its gravitas.“*—excerpt from S.A. Cosby’s introduction.

Steph Cha describes her family’s brush with burglary in her forward and crime fiction superstar S.A. Cosby’s introduction speaks to the power of the short crime story. I continue to be impress with the direction of this series with Steph Cha as Series Editor.

My favorite stories are as follows:

“Scarlet Ribbons” by Megan Abbott: A young girl’s obsession with a local murder house distracts her from the problems facing her own family. The imagery in this story is superb as is the way reoccurring themes create suspense and turn the story from dreamy to nightmarish.

“Just a Girl” by Alyssa Cole: A TikToker shares a misogynistic dating app exchange and a group of toxic men make her a target. The epistolary/hermit crab style of the story works perfectly to tell the tale and show the escalation of the harassment. Fantastic details such as the changes in her social media bio show the protagonist’s arc and serve to characterize the various story people.

“Rumpus Room” by Tananarive Due: A desperate woman takes a stranger up on his job offer, but living in his rumpus room reveals his dark secrets. The generational trauma along with the supernatural elements and strong characterization make the story a gripping read.

“The Body Farm” by Abby Geni: An entomologist uses her special skills to protect her family from the sociopath stalking her wife. Written as a letter to their two young sons, this story is absolutely stunning and beautifully written. This phenomenal tale will live in mind for a long time. 

“My Savage Year” by Jordan Harper: Inspired by Harper’s own experience, the story follows a boy whose biology teacher murdered his wife and children and got away with the crime. The teacher’s secrets have a ripple effect that touches the protagonist and his friend group and continue to haunt him as an adult. The brutal poetry of the writing style and the visceral voice of the protagonist add to the richness of the story.

“The Mysterious Disappearance of Jason Whetsone” by Karen Harrington: The death of an arbiter is linked to his recent case concerning a dispute between two sisters who have differing views about a piece of family history. The story provides distance in its essay style that casually lays out the horrifying elements of the crime. 

“With the Right Bait” by Gar Anthony Haywood: An elderly man plans to have his wife murdered after beating her at a classic board game and before his planned surgery. Haywood uses Mouse Trap brilliantly while creating a delightfully despicable protagonist.

“Baby Trap” by Toni LP Kelner: A widow shares her woes about her problematic mother-in-law on Reddit hoping to find a solution to her inheritance dilemma. The ending is earned through a suspenseful setup.

“Will I See the Birds When I am Gone” by Stanton McCaffery: Told in epistolary style, a boy writes letters to his mother from juvenile detention and after his release. McCafferty nails the protagonist’s voice and emotion, while beautifully showing the various familial relationships and the hopelessness of the protagonist’s life trajectory.

“Unknown Caller” by Lisa Unger: A crisis center worker thinks the only person haunting her is the one she lost to suicide until a mysterious caller starts to stalk her. The safe haven of the crisis hotline nicely contrasts with the nefarious dark web site that encourages people to self harm.

“Holler, Child” by Latoya Watkins: A victim of sexual assault discovers a horrible truth about her cherished son. The vivid voice along with the visceral recount of the protagonist’s trauma makes it impossible not to sympathize with her tragic situation.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Mariner Books, an imprint HarperCollins Publishers, for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

*Please note that my review is based on uncorrected text, and the quoted material might be altered or removed from the final version of the book.

The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024 by S.A. Cosby; Steph Cha is a well rounded collection of stories by various authors. Every one of the short stories kept my interest and made me want to keep reading well into the night! The editors did a good job of picking some new to me authors and some of my favorites and it is always fun to find a new favorite.

Collections of short stories are one of my most recommended books to family and friends. When asked for author recommendations, I always offer up the numerous collections in my personal library, as this is where I find so many wonderful authors that I would never have chosen. Short stories require an author to flex their writing skills, capturing readers in fewer pages than many chapters in a novel. They must immediately immerse readers into a story in progress and bring the characters to life so quickly, all the "meat" of the mystery is revealed in just a few pages. This collection includes the best of the best and will be appreciated by my reading circle as we choose new books to share.

This year’s volume was edited by the great S.A. Cosby and this is definitely an above average anthology, a lot of good stuff in this collection of twenty stories. My two favorites were “Baby Trap” by Toni L.P. Kelner and “Scorpions” by Nick Kolakowski. I had read two of the stories previously, “Just a Girl” by Alyssa Cole and “Unknown Caller” by Lisa Unger, both were published as part of one of those stand-alone shorts collections that Amazon issues from time to time. Both are very good and I enjoyed revisiting them.

Well worth your time.

Oooh, there are great stories in here! This is my third short story anthology from Mariner Books, and it is by far my favorite of the three. The anthology starts off with a bang and doesn’t let go. Admittedly, there are a couple of stories that did ruin the emperor’s groove, but they’re not terrible. I highly recommend picking this book up in October.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024.

I like short story collections because they're short, they're just a mouthful and you can easily figure out whether you like a story or not.

On the other hand, stories in a collection are iffy since they're based on the editor's preferences and what the editor likes I may not like. It's subjective.

The writing was good, no surprise there, and I liked a few stories like Baby Trap and Body Farm, but nothing really stood out for me.

Also, I wouldn't categorize most of these stories as suspenseful or a mystery, like the last story.

Mysteries are my favorite genre but this collection was barely readable. I think the editor spent too much time on SnapChat.