The Best American Mystery Stories : 1999

As a rule, stories in collections are often uneven and dissatisfying. Not so this group from 1998. I stumbled on it looking for Tom Franklin’s new book, Poachers, a collection of Franklin’s stories. Franklin was mentioned in a recent issue of American Libraries in the “Word of Mouth” section as one of those writers whose characters could only be described as “gritty.”
“Gritty” is an understatement for the three brothers in “Poachers.” Raised haphazardly by an old hermit who dabbles at running his general store in a swampy, backwaters area of the South following the suicide of the boys’ father, the three live a hand-to-mouth existence by poaching. When they kill a new game warden who tries to interfere with their show more activities, even the local sheriff, Gladsoe, knows that they are in trouble. Rumor has it that David Frank, a legendary game warden and ex-poacher himself (he went straight because staying within the law was more of a challenge than breaking it) will have revenge. Frank is never seen, but the boys soon have fatal accidents.
Other stories include a riveting investigation ("A Death on the Ho Chi Minh Trail" by David Harford) by an army CID warrant officer in Vietnam. A soldier has been killed on what appears to have been a routine ambush during a patrol. But several anomalies stand out: Even though the body was riddled with bullet holes, there was no blood on his shirt, nor any holes. And the area where the ambush was supposed to have occurred showed little damage, even though the patrol had reported a vigorous firefight. Then there was a great deal of missing war materiel, including two star scopes and lots of plywood. The ending is moving and tragic.
Another poignant story, “Sacrifice" by L.L. Thrasher, begins with Jeni, a seven-year-old child being referred to a private detective by the police department. It seems that the little girl has lost her doll, Jennifer. She said the doll had had another name, Megan, and it’s the sound of this name that drives the mother into a panic when the detective shows up at their door, humoring the girl that he will help locate the lost doll. The mother slams the door and immediately bundles the little girl into a car and drives away. Suspecting something, Zachariah Smith, our detective, follows in his car and contacts the police to check up on the mother. It seems that several years before, the mother had had two daughters, but the other girl had been found dead of a bullet wound in a car near a hospital . After following the car into Idaho, driving in seemingly random directions, Zachariah is finally recognized by the mother, who then lets the child out of the car and races it over a cliff. Her motivation is quite a shock.
A terrific selection of excellent mysteries. show less

Introduction by Ed McBain who also 'guest' edited this & read, not only this piece, but a couple of other stories. It was interesting with a good quick history & types of crime stories. He promises innovation, discovery, & wit, but I didn't find a lot of the first two in this collection, although it wasn't bad. I guess I've just read too many crime stories.

"Bech Noir" by John Updike read by McBain was pretty new & well done. Sick & twisted, though. I liked it a lot, although the end was a bit of a let down. I found the math that made their team to be fun.
He was 74, she was 26 - add together, divide by 2 & they were 50, the prime of their life.
LOL!

"Netmail" by Brendan DuBois is pretty dated because it relies on technology that wouldn't show more fool anyone now, but it was still quite good. Kind of obvious, although it was fun getting there.

"An Innocent Bystander" by Gary Krist who also read this. Not bad, but obvious from the start. If I had to pick 1 word to describe this story, it would be "inevitable".

"Keller's Last Refuge" by Lawrence Block, who also read this, was excellent. Keller all the way. I love the low-key, every day way that he deals with his job. It almost sounds like a public service.

"Sacrifice" by L. L. Thrasher read by McBain started off interesting & swiftly became obvious & a true horror story. Very good. Loved the main character.

"Secret, Silent" by Joyce Carol Oates read by Kristen Killian was just kind of weird. I guess I just missed what really happened or the point or something. Anyway, it didn't do anything for me.

"The Jailhouse Lawyer" by Phillip M. Margolin read by McBain was obvious from really early on.


The following stories appear in the paperback version, but weren't in this audio book:
"Redneck" by Loren D. Estleman,
"And Maybe the Horse Will Learn to Sing" by Gregory Fallis,
"Poachers" by Tom Franklin,
"Hitting Rufus" by Victor Gischler,
"Out There in the Darkness" by Ed Gorman,
"Survival" by Joseph Hansen,
"A Death on the Ho Chi Minh Trail" by David K. Harford,
"In Flanders Fields" by Peter Robinson,
"Dry Whiskey" by David B. Silva,
"Safe" by Gary A. Braunbeck,
"Fatherhood" by Thomas H. Cook,
"Wrong Time, Wrong Place" by Jeffery Deaver

So it looks like they left out over half the stories. Well, I got it for free from the library, so I can't complain too much. show less