Mystery Writers of America Presents the Rich and the Dead

April 4, 2011
Rich people can be both criminals and victims, as shown by the 20 stories in this solid anthology, whose contributors range from bestselling veterans to newcomers. Standouts include Michael Connelly's "Blood Washes Off," in which detective Harry Bosch makes a welcome appearance in the interview room; Harley Jane Kozak's "Lamborghini Mommy," which plays a nice variation on look-alikes; and Roberta Isleib's "The Itinerary," in which widowed Connecticut detective Jack Meigs vacations in Key West, but can't keep his cop instincts from sniffing out crime instead of tourist attractions. Carolyn Mullen's first published fiction, "Poetic Justice," is a wonderfully sly, clever story with literary underpinnings. In Frank Cook's "The Gift," two partners separate and take very different paths to success, but can't separate their fates. Using everything from Ponzi schemes to trophy wives to inherited wealth, these MWA authors prove that money isn't always the right answer.

May 15, 2011

The 20 new stories in this year's Mystery Writers of America's annual anthology focus on financial vicissitudes.

Editor DeMille, a perennial resident on the bestseller lists, is less deft at finding surefire short-story winners, with only two standouts. One of them, seasoned pro Lee Child, turns the tables on a coke dealer with a defective Bic. The other, newcomer K. Catalona, drolly presents a literary agent and his spunky geriatric helper who co-opt a client's manuscript. As for the rest: Angela Zeman takes a society journalist to task; Elaine Togneri establishes a photojournalist in his career; Ted Bell nails a tabloid reporter for stealing; and S.J. Rozan goes one better and offs a tabloid blackmailer between poker hands. A Ponzi scheme fails to enliven a surprisingly dull appearance by Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch. Tim Chapman makes a mom resort to murder. Twist Phelan shows how a father and grandfather's get-rich dreams go awry. DeMille plots insurance fraud in the Hamptons; Carolyn Mullen plots murder for revenge in a mill town. Daniel Hale places diamonds in a Texas cabin; David Morrell sets up a fake murder attempt at Lincoln Center; Joseph Goodrich assuages poverty and loneliness in a Paris cemetery; Roberta Islieb puckishly demeans the tourist potential of Key West. Peter Blauner topples a faded Hollywood star; David DeLee's on-the-skids rap star gains street cred. Frank Cook's scientific breakthrough leads to dementia, and Jonathan Santlofer's deals with the Old Masters.

Not helped by DeMille's lackluster introduction or the generally pedestrian handling of the volume's uninspiring theme.

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February 25, 2008
Mystery Writers of America presents a high-quality anthology of 19 original stories that explore a wide range of police experiences, from newcomer Polly Nelson's superb tale set in 1864 Kansas, “Burying Mr. Henry,” to editor Connelly's powerful and grim Harry Bosch investigation into a young disabled boy's death, “Father's Day.” The sordid mean streets, depicted in Persia Walker's “Such a Lucky, Pretty Girl,” are nicely balanced with the lighter touches of Jon Breen's “Serial Killer,” a darkly comic tale in which two police detectives recount one of their cases to a community college writing class. TV writer Paul Guyot contributes one of the volume's strongest selections, “What a Wonderful World,” about a cop's obsessive search for the killer of a hot dog vendor. This is one of those rare themed anthologies that can be enjoyed at one sitting.

Starred review from March 2, 2009
Bestseller Fairstein (Killer Heat
) has put together a stellar anthology, presented by the Mystery Writers of America, that will appeal both to contemporary noir fans and devotees of Law & Order
. The late Edward Hoch starts things off nicely with “The Secret Session,” a concise whodunit centering on judicial corruption at the appellate level. In Barbara Parker’s deliciously creepy “A Clerk’s Life,” a put-upon law clerk for a major Florida firm stumbles on two murders. Joel Goldman highlights the ethical challenges of criminal defense work in “Knife Fight,” as does Eileen Dunbaugh in “The Letter.” By way of counterpoint, Michele Martinez’s “The Mother” and Morley Swingle’s “Hard Blows” dramatize the challenges prosecutors encounter, even when the defendants they charge are, in fact, guilty. The consistently high quality of the 22 selections will lead many to hope the MWA will sponsor more volumes in this vein.