Press Release for the Best American Mystery Stories 2001 Published By

Press Release

The Best American Mystery Stories 2001 Edited by Lawrence Block and Otto Penzler

• Introduction

"I've been reading short crime fiction for half a century, and writing it for almost that long, and I'm still blown away by how very fine these stories are." — Lawrence Block, from his introduction

Introduction

A probationary cop on the trail of a rapist in the vineyards of the Napa Valley. A priceless work of art stolen from an Irish heritage center in Boston. A young girl becomes obsessed with the murder of a schoolmate. A mortician haunted by the violent death of a beautiful young woman. For The Best American Mystery Stories 2001, guest editor Lawrence Block has picked twenty stories notable for their dark tone, frequent plot twists, and most of all sheer entertainment value.

From the gated communities of San Salvador to the world of professional wrestling, from classic whodunits to modern psychological thrillers, the tales told in this fifth edition of what is rapidly becoming one of the most popular volumes in the Best American series encompass a wide variety of locales, plots, and characters, and represent the very best in short mystery fiction. Highlights include

• "Lobster Night," by Russell Banks, which details a confluence of events that lead to murder in the kitchen of a small-town restaurant.

www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com 1 of 2 Copyright (c) 2003, Houghton Mifflin Company, All Rights Reserved • Clark Howard's "Under Suspicion," which centers on a homicide investigation involving a policeman's daughter. • Joyce Carol Oates's harrowing account of abduction, "The Girl with the Blackened Eye," which marks the fourth time Oates's work has appeared in this collection. • "Easy Street," T. Jefferson Parker's depiction of an FBI agent investigating a series of bank robberies whose perpetrator may be closer to him than he thinks.

The volume also includes stories from prolific mystery writers such as Bill Pronzini, Jeremiah Healy, Peter Robinson, Lee Edgarton, and Nathan Walpow, as well from faces newer to the genre, such as Jennifer Anderson, Steve Hockensmith, John Salter, Roxana Robinson, Kent Nelson, David Means, Thomas Lynch, Michael Hyde, Dan Leone, William Gay, and Michael Downs.

Lawrence Block has been named a grand master by the Mystery Writers of America for his achievements in the world of mystery fiction. He has written more than fifty books, has won several Edgar Allan Poe Awards in both the novel and short story category, and has received numerous Shamus and Maltese Falcon Awards. As this year's guest editor of The Best American Mystery Stories 2001, Block has chosen a truly stellar collection of stories that will send chills down your spine and keep you turning pages well into the night.