The Best American Mystery Stories 2013
Here’s another strong entry, the seventeenth in the series, in our preeminent mystery story anthology. As always, series editor Penzler makes the initial selection, turning over his 50 favorites to a guest editor—this time it’s Scottoline—to make the final choices. She has done her work well, coming up with a nice mix of big names (Connelly, Oates, Pronzini) and lesser-knowns, who, judging by their contributions here, won’t be lesser known all that much longer. Connelly fans will be thrilled to find a Harry Bosch story, “A Fine Mist of Blood,” in which the LAPD detective tracks a cold case to a very warm conclusion. Best in show this time, though, goes to Eileen Dreyer’s “The Soldier in the Picture,” which takes as its starting point the iconic Eisenstadt photo of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square on V-J Day. It turns out there was something else going on in Times Square that day, just out of range of Eisenstadt’s camera, another sailor meeting his wife, but the occasion was not nearly as happy. It’s a nearly perfect crime story: shocking, resonant, and beautifully crafted. --Bill Ott