I’ve long been a fan of the annual Best American Short Stories volumes, but this is the first time I’ve ever picked up one of the Best American Mystery and Suspense collections. It definitely won’t be the last. During an especially busy and difficult fall, this book provided much-needed entertainment in small, manageable doses. While I expected escapism and distraction, many of these 20 stories also shed light on big societal issues. As new series editor Steph Cha writes in her introduction, “cr...

Outstanding. Often, in an anthology, I dislike one or more of the pieces. This time, I genuinely considered each one truly excellent. Good job, editors!

Anthologies offer a collection of similar topics, in this case mysteries or stories of suspense. However, I didn’t find this particular collection very mysterious or suspenseful. Some of the stories built some suspense only to fall flat by the ending. Others never built tension at all nor was there a mystery. The only story I enjoyed was by Laura Lippmann. There are better anthologies of mystery and suspense. I am surprised - and disappointed- that this editor considered these twenty stories “th...

Like most collections, there were some stories that I liked better than others. All the authors were skilled at creating a tight narrative, although a few had conclusions that still left me wondering. Loved the different perspectives, vibes, and even time periods of the various short stories.

EXCERPT: Taken from Let Her Be by Lisa Unger - We move away, the bell ringing as we exit. Emily is far ahead of me, out in the night. She doesn't hear him say before the door closes: "They say the brother did it. There was always something off about that boy."I pretend I didn't hear it, don't let it upset me the way it used to. There were endless rumours then - a beautiful young girl dies by accident, and no one wants to accept that. No one wants to accept the randomness of it all. Believe me, I...

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader. The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021 is a well curated annual collection of new short mystery & suspense fiction edited by Alafair Burke & Steph Cha. Released 12th Oct 2021 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on their Mariner imprint, it's 320 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats.There are 20 stories by my count and they're from authors both familiar and new to me. The stories are varied, there were (as always) some which

I love all types of mysteries and suspense stories and I had high hopes for this anthology. All collections like this are going to have stories that are more likable than others. However, for a book that is supposed to have some of the best stories of the year, I was disappointed. Several of the stories have great premises, but then ultimately turn out to be either extremely grim or too bland without much mystery or suspense. There are some high points, though. My favorite is Laura Lippman's Slo...

Alafair Burke is the Guest Editor of the Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021, an anthology of short stories. There are numerous crime authors, many of whom were first time reads, but the notes on the contributors is helpful and provides some insights. The twenty stories provide a variety of topics including bullying, voting and health care. Their settings vary from a spa in Florida, East Village New York and Alabama death row. In judging the “best” stories to include, Alafair uses eight crit...

This is well-written but depressing as hellIf you're expecting tightly wound whodunnits leading to the good guys catching the bad guys, you are reading the wrong book. The bad guy wins in almost every one of these stories, and when he or she doesn't, the good guy doesn't exactly triumph. Most of the stories are told from the criminal's point of view; in some stories, everybody is terrible to some degree. So it's hard to feel satisfied when you're finished. You feel a little grubby instead. But a...

Normally, I love these anthologies. New authors to read? Check. Shorts from authors I already read? Check. Mysteries/suspense/thrillers (my overall favorite genre)? Check. This particular one edited by one of my must-read authors? Check. Sadly, this one failed. The vast majority of these mystery/suspense shorts left me feeling the only mystery was why it was included in a collection of mystery shorts. A few of the stories were really well done, with a nice dose of suspense or a surprise ending.

So honored that my story, “LET HER BE,” was chosen for The Best American Mystery and Suspense, edited by the amazing Steph Cha and Alafair Burke. This collection is filled with stories by stellar writers and I hope you enjoy them!

I don't think short story collections are for me. While there were some stories I really enjoyed ("The Neighbors" and "Let Her Be" come to mind), I was bored by a few. Not a favorite.

“People had a way of making a ghost out of your walking, talking body when you lived past their expectations.” —excerpt from “One Bullet. One Vote.” By Faye Snowden*I really enjoyed the variety of the stories. The contributors notes provide a cool insight into each tale and the list of other distinguished stories help me add to my to-be-read list. Steph Cha’s forward and Alafair Burke’s introduction nicely sets the tone for the anthology. I am super excited for the direction of this series with

My favorite in this collection is Neighbors (audio track #6) by Nikki Dolson.I loved being able to listen to the story & be transported. I never knew what was going to happen next!

"The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021", edited by Steph Cha and Alafair Burke, is an exceptional group of short stories. Sometimes collections can be a hard read, having to shift gears just after getting used to the voice and tempo of the previous tale. Here there are many highlights and not a bad detour can be taken. One or two may have seemed like partials, the beginning of a fuller story, but the quality was universally high.A few of my very favorites: "Everything is Going to Be Okay"

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021. I love mystery and suspense novels, but these types of compilations are always a mixed bag. I was excited for the opportunity to read the ARC but I approach these collections with much trepidation, like stupidly going to investigate a strange noise coming from behind a locked door.My biggest caveat with these anthologies is that most of them aren't suspenseful or mysterious. I understand these are short stories

Read for the Read Harder 2022 prompt: 26. Read a “Best _ Writing of the year” book for a topic and year of your choice. Could also fill the prompt: Read an anthology featuring diverse voices, but I have another book picked for that one. I guess that this was a fine anthology. There were stories that were great and stories that were not. But my main gripe with this is that very few of them were actually mysteries. Sure, it’s mystery and suspense, but the suspense stories weren’t all that suspense...

I wish I could give this book a higher rating, as it was one I was really looking forward to reading. But out of the 20 short stories, I only really enjoyed a small handful of them. I think short stories are a challenging method of story-telling because unless they really captivate you, there isn’t enough time to tell a story well.🤷‍♀️

The Best American Mystery and Suspense is a striking anthology of short stories, not developed around a theme, but pulled from the pages of literary magazines and other anthologies to reflect the best of the year. Steph Cha along with guest editor, Alafair Burke, certainly hit the mark with their first effort in the series. The stories selected show America at a critical time, when discussions of race, ethnicity, gender, orientation, and COVID are at the forefront of the mind, and the writers re...

Nice short stories when you don't want to get too involved or you only have brief amounts of time to read. Not quite what I was expecting, but still a good read.