Mystery Writers of America Presents the Blue Religion

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.

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.