First Thrills: High-Octane Stories from the Hottest Thriller Authors

A collection of 24 short stories from International Thriller Writers, Inc., introduced by Lee Child with an afterword by Steve Berry. A few of the authors are familiar favorites (Jeffery Deaver, Karin Slaughter, Stephen Coonts, Ken Bruen, Alex Kava, and John Lescroart) but most are being newly-introduced by this publisher. Many are very good, some are very coarse and gory, and there's even one surprising science fiction story by an established spy-thriller writer! A good and entertaining mix ( )

This anthology contains the writings of 12 bestsellers with 13 new writers, all of whom are associated with the International Thriller Writers, Inc. organization. Although quick reads for the most part, several of these short stories are rather pedestrian and predictable for anyone who reads widely. Unfortunately, Editor Lee Child’s “The Bodyguard” is among these: good fast-paced action with a weak ending. But balancing this assembly is Marc Paoletti’s “Chloe,” which is not a tale for the squeamish: the son of a wise guy thought his life as a lawyer was shitty, until he needed to help his father on the crapper.

The 25-story collection starts with a humorous bang under Greg Hurwitz’s “The Thief.” The boyish POV kept reminding me of William Faulkner’s technique in novels such as As I Lay Dying. The narrator’s thoughts and comments fit a young boy; however, the ending twist seems a bit misplaced since a true money-grubbing scoundrel would hardly forget his own wallet. Nevertheless, another first-person POV that doesn’t work as well is J.T. Ellison’s “Killing Carol Ann.” The narration and motivation for murder are muddled.

To fuel an historical interest: Heather Graham’s “When Johnny Comes Marching Home,” is a twisted tale about how the South will rise again—without arms. “My Father’s Eyes” by Wendy Corsi Staub is a delicious reunion with a Massachusetts axe murderer. And, a San Francisco carnival in the 1930s jumps to life in Kelli Stanley’s rendering of “Children’s Day.”

Riding on literary coattails: A vengeful ghost á la Jacob Marley appears in Ryan Brown’s “Suspended.” Here, both the protagonist and the reader are left hanging. Rebecca Cantrell’s “On the Train” smacks of “Waiting for Godot” aboard a Nazi extermination train, although this story has a gay ending. And, the Montagues and Capulets are alive and feuding in Michigan’s UP as Swedes and Finns in Karen Dionne’s “Calling the Shots.” Very funny, ainna?

The book features short author bios and web addresses for aficionados who might find a writer particularly thrilling to pursue. On the other hand, the insertions could be the publisher suggesting that if a high-octane story runs out of gas, try another one by this writer. ( )

Meh. Short stories just don't seem to work very well in the thriller department. This is the second collection of new authors from the International (america) Thriller Writers association, and even with the inclusion of several 'big name' authors, none of the stories are that thrilling.

The usual sorts of themes are covered; greed, heists and revenge, love gone wrong, abuse and more revenge. There are a fair fw cops and vigillantes but also a few stories from the bad side. A few honest arrows and many more disturbed souls. None of them really have time or space to grip you as a character, and after a day or two I can't remember any of the stories particularly - this probably says all it needs to about this collection. Not that the new authors are bad, they just aren't any better than the established names, and so this collection fails to showcase the new talent, because even people whom you know can write gripping high octane tales, don't manage to do so in the limited space.

It's a good idea, and I like the concept of the writers association behind it, but for me this didn't really work. ( )

A collection of short stories by famous authors such as Lee Child, Jeffrey Deaver, etc. and unknowns who are breaking into the suspense genre. Overall, I felt the quality of the stories were higher than typical for a short story collection. Really enjoyed them. ( )