Deadly Anniversaries

I love anthologies. You can enjoy a fully formed story whenever you have a few spare minutes & It’s such a great way to find new-to-you authors. This volume is in honour of the MWA’s 75th anniversary so it’s only appropriate that all 19 entries have some kind of anniversary to be celebrated. Or not. Because these are crime & mystery writers so don’t go in expecting tales full of roses, cake & karaoke.

The first thing you’ll notice is the stellar line-up of authors. It’s veritable who’s who of the genre including Lee Child, Sue Grafton, Jeffrey Deaver, Meg Gardiner, William Kent Krueger, Laura Lippman & S.J. Rozan to name a few. The wide range of style, location & time period guarantees something for everyone. As usual, show more readers will have different personal favourites & I’ll just mention the ones that stood out for me.

If You Want Something Done Right - by the late, great Sue Grafton. ‘Nuff said.

Ten Years On - a shortie by Laurie R. King featuring May Russell & Sherlock Holmes. I’ve read & loved this series for years so it’s always a pleasure.

Chin Yong-Yun Sets the Date - S.J. Rozan writes the popular Lydia Chin/Bill Smith series but every now & then pens a short story featuring Lydia’s mother, a woman I find frightening & hilarious.

Ten Years, Two Days, Six Hours - the take away message for me was do NOT piss off a woman the day she buries her husband. I’m ashamed to say Wendy Hornsby is a new author for me, something I plan to rectify after reading this.

30 and Out - by Doug Allyn, another author I haven’t read (must crawl out of my cave more often…). A gritty procedural that delivers a gripping & complete story in few pages. And there’s a police dog!

Those were my faves but there’s really not a dud in the bunch. Bring on the next one. show less

A short story collection written by various mystery writers where the plot involves an anniversary of some sort. In “Aqua Vita” by Peter Robinson, a woman plots to kill her husband with poison on their 5th wedding anniversary. Little does she know that the man she wants to be with has other plans.

I absolutely loved “Amazing Grace” by Max Allan Collins, where a woman loses it when her husband eats the last piece of their 50th anniversary cake.

As with any collection, some stories were better than others, but all in all they were entertaining reads.

Each short story occurs on an event anniversary in this anthology compiled by the Mystery Writers of America and edited by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini. Few mystery short stories work well for me because authors simply lack time to build an interesting plot. About three worked really well for me, and a couple of others seemed better than average. I tried one author's series in the past and found I hated her short story just as much as her series. One story alternated between the past and the present--an over-used style I hate more and more each time I encounter it. Overall it is an average to slightly above average mystery short story collection.

All these tales have one thing in common. They are all commemorating an anniversary of one kind or another. But probably not in the manner you would be likely to celebrate. Some have a twisty path, others a surprise ending. Some you will love, others may not be your cup of tea. My favorite was the one by Laurie R. King, especially since she wrote a mystery with Mary Russell as the protagonist. But while you may enjoy some stories more than others, all are certainly worth reading, and thinking about, the next tine you have an anniversary to celebrate.

Deadly Anniversaries edited by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini is a collection of short stories written by award-winning members of the Mystery Writers of America. As per the title, each story is about some type of anniversary. There are historical stories and contemporary mysteries and detective procedurals and scary stories. There is something here for everyone and this may be an opportunity to read a story by an author you have been meaning to sample. The list of authors contains the following: Sue Grafton, Laurie R. King, Lee Child, Margaret Maron, S.J. Rozan, Max Allan Collins, Wendy Hornsby, Jeffery Deaver, Bill Pronzini, Carolyn Hart, Peter Lovesey, Meg Gardiner, Marcia Muller, Julie Smith, William Kent Krueger, Peter Robinson, show more Naomi Hirahara, Doug Allyn, Alison Gaylin and Laura Lippman. This is a collection worth reading by mystery buffs. Highly recommended. Thank you to Hanover Square Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. show less

A variety of well established mystery authors crafted short stories celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Mystery Writers of America. All stories have to do with an anniversary of some sort. Included are Sue Grafton, Bill Pronzini, Peter Robinson, Peter Lovesey and others.

Most of the stories were great. The book opens with a great story from Sue Grafton. While not all there top notch, most were.

This is a welcome tribute to the Mystery Writers of America.

Not Kinsey but as aptly quirky