Summary and pic from goodreads.com
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
My Review: Back in high school (insert old fogey joke here at your own peril) I loved honors and AP English when we would reach short stories. I loved the compilation textbooks we had. Each story was so interesting and had a really succinct way of capturing life. I still remember reading those stories and occasionally I’ll run in to one of those stories and have one of those happy nostalgic moments that come from encountering something pleasant and familiar.
But somewhere along the way, I lost my passion for most
short stories.
You see, I actually really enjoy reading cool short
stories. There is an art to being able to say what you need to say in a short
amount of time. Anyone can blather on and on about something and eventually get
to their point, but there is something about being able to boil a story down to
its core and still not lose the magic and the good writing. However, for the
most part, I think that most people don’t do that well, and therefore, I don’t
read short story compilations very often.
And then I saw this book, saw that it was a mystery writers’
book (‘cause how fun is that!) and that I recognized a lot of the authors (Mary
Higgins Clark! Lee Child!) and I was intrigued. I am happy to report that I
actually really, really enjoyed it. It was so fun to read all the different
stories. And they are all really different, too. The only theme is that they
are part of the prestigious Mystery Writers of America, and the stories must
take place in New York, so with parameters like that, you know that it will
vary from traditional to vintage to super modern to historical and everything
in between. Now, as with all compilations, some of the stories are better than
others. Some of the authors are better than others (although everyone in this
compilation is a best seller and very prolific, so it’s not like I was reading
drivel ever). With the shortness of the stories the mysteries couldn’t be too
complicated, although some of them were definitely able to get a lot done in a
short amount of time. The great thing about reading a book from authors of this
caliber is that everyone is able to bring something to the table—the stories
were interesting, they were scathing, and it was a really, really fun read. I
loved being able to sit down and just enjoy a few minutes of a small little
mystery. It wasn’t a huge commitment, I didn’t have to remember lots of details
to figure out whodunit, and the writing was good. I also loved that these stories all took
place in New York. They were all really different, and it really showcased the
diversity (both in time and place) of New York and the people there.
One of my favorite stories was “Three Little Words” by
Nancy Pickard. It had a delicious little twist at the end. But don’t miss Mary
Higgins Clark’s story, “The Five Dollar Dress,” either. It’s got a really fun
premise. Actually, I really liked all of the stories.
Seriously, it surprised me how much I enjoyed this. I
expected to enjoy it, mind you, because I like mysteries and I like many of
these authors, but I wasn’t sure about the short story aspect of it. I’m happy
to report that it was just a really fun ride and if you like mysteries and
mystery authors, you should definitely check it out.
My Rating: 4
stars.
1 comment:
I share your reluctance to read short stories, but I am a great fan of mysteries and will definitely read this book. Thanks so much for your review and for causing me to open my mind to reading more than my usual tomes.
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