Reviews

The Best American Mystery Stories 2019 by Arthur Klepchukov, Jonathan Lethem, Otto Penzler

katel1970's review against another edition

3.0

This collection was a mixed bag. I wouldn't say any of the stories were actually mysteries. Some thrillers, some suspense, a spy story. A couple were excellent, but just as many were bad enough I had to skim them just to get through them.

hart887's review

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

verumsolum's review against another edition

2.0

There were some good stories in here; there were some less good ones. But, to my mind, this didn't deliver on the title. The cover promised "mystery stories," but the definition of the series author, as he's described it in the foreward, doesn't even use the word mystery outside of the label:

The working definition of a mystery story for this series is any work of fiction in which a crime, or the threat of a crime, is central to the theme or the plot.

And, the presence or the absence of crime says nothing to me about the presence or absence of mystery. If you want an anthology of crime fiction, this is fine, but… it doesn't fit the label, at least as I understood the label.

hkuren's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

ldandridge's review

3.0

Some of the stories in this anthology were great, some weren’t as interesting to me. My favorites (in order of appearance) were:
-“Top Ten Vacation Selfies of YouTube Stars” by Preston Lang
-“Interpreting American Gothic” by Rebecca McKanna
-“Hannah-Beast” by Jennifer McMahon
-“A Box of Hope” by Brian Panowich
-“If You Say So” by Suzanne Proulx