SMFS Members Published/Recognized in The Best American Mystery Stories 2024

Several SMFS list members have stories in or are recognized in The Best American Mystery Stories 2024 edition. Edited by S.A. Cosby and Steph Cha, the read is published by Mariner Books. It is available from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors. The SMFS list members that reported their presence in the book are:

 

Main Full Story Section: 

Karen Harrington with “The Mysterious Disappearance of Jason Whetstone.” Originally published in Reckless in Texas: Metroplex Mysteries Volume II, published by the Sisters in Crime North Dallas, edited by SMFS list member Barb Goffman. 

Toni L.P. Kelner with “Baby Trap.” Originally published in School of Hard Knox, published by Crippen and Landru. 

Shannon Taft with "Monster." Originally published in Reckless in Texas: Metroplex Mysteries Volume II, published by the Sisters in Crime North Dallas, edited by SMFS list member Barb Goffman. 

 

Recognized: 

C. W. Blackwell with “Hard Rain on Beach Street.” Originally published in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon Anthology 2023, published by Down & Out Books.

 

Robert Lopresti with “Memorial.” Originally published in Black Cat Weekly #95, published by Wildside Press.   

 

Gabriela Stiteler with “Two Hours West of Nothing.” Originally published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: September/October 2023, published by Dell Magazines, Mercury Press.

 

Joseph S. Walker with “Off the Shelf.”  Originally published in Mickey Finn Volume 4: 21st Century Noir. Published by Down & Out Books, edited by SMFS list member Michael Bracken.

 

Amazon Description:

 

A collection of the year’s best mystery and suspense short fiction selected by New York Times bestselling author S. A. Cosby, author of Razorblade Tears, and series editor Steph Cha.

In his introduction, guest editor S. A. Cosby observes that writing short stories is “a special skill that combines brevity with wit and cleverness and the hint of the existential malaise that imbues crime fiction with its gravitas.” The stories in this col-lection overflow with gravitas in the most unexpected ways: a cryptic note left on a windshield, a murder for hire meets a game of Mouse Trap, a swipe right on a dating app goes horribly wrong. From an eleven-year-old drawn to the neighborhood spookhouse to a scholarship kid at an exclusive boarding school, a nefarious Old West gunman to a Florida woman’s struggle against both outer and inner demons, the characters in The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024 are haunted and haunting, and wholly unforgettable. 

The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024 includes MEGAN ABBOTT • ALYSSA COLE • TANANARIVE DUE • ABBY GENI • JORDAN HARPER • GAR ANTHONY HAYWOOD •TONI LP KELNER • BOBBY MATHEWS • LISA UNGER • and others