Best American Mystery Stories

20 contemporary short stories judged the finest of the year.

Presents a collection of the best mystery stories written during 2015.

Lisa Scottoline selects a variety of works of American mystery writing as the best of the genre from the year 2013.

Presents a collection of twenty mystery stories, originally published in 2004 and selected by editor Joyce Carol Oates, including work by writers such as Scott Turow, Dennis Lehane, David Means, George V. Higgins, and more.

Here are 20 of the year's stand-out crime short stories, showcasing not only the very best of the genre, but also the very best American writing.

The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume's series editor selects notable works from hundreds of periodicals. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected--and most popular--of its kins.

The Best American Mystery Stories is an annual collection of cutting-edge crime writing from established names and total newcomers. This year's collection includes stories by Jeffery Deaver, Dennis Lehane and Robert Girardi.

A collection of top-selected mystery writing from the past year is culled from a variety of respected sources and offers insight into evolving genre trends.

A collection of top-selected mystery writing from the past year is culled from a variety of respected sources and offers insight into evolving genre trends.

A collection of top-selected mystery writing from the past year is culled from a variety of respected sources and offers insight into evolving genre trends.

An unparalleled treasury of crime, mystery, and murder from the genre's founding century With stories by Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, L. Frank Baum, Edith Wharton, Stephen Crane, and Jack London, The Best American Mystery Stories of the Nineteenth Century is an essential anthology of American letters. It's a unique blend of beloved writers who contributed to the genre and forgotten names that pioneered the form, such as Anna Katharine Green, the godmother of mystery fiction, and the African-American writer Charles W. Chesnutt. Of course, Penzler includes "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," recognized as the first detective story, and with thirty-three stories spanning the years 1824'1899, nowhere else can readers find such a surprising, comprehensive take on the evolution of the American mystery story.

Presents a collection of mystery stories selected from magazines in the United States and Canada.