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

SMFS Members Published/Recognized in The Best American Mystery Stories 2023

 

Several SMFS list members have stories in or are recognized in The Best American Mystery Stories 2023 edition. Edited by Lisa Unger and Steph Cha, the read is published by Mariner Books and is available in audio, digital, and print formats from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors. The SMFS list members in the book or recognized in it are:

 

Main Full Story Section:

 

Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier with “Ripen.” Originally published in Black Cat Weekly Issue 48, published by Wildside Press.

 

Jacqueline Freimor, with “Foreword.” Originally published in Vautrin - Volume 4, Issue 1, Summer 2022, published by Vautrin.

 

James A. Hearn with "Home Is the Hunter." Originally published in Mickey Finn Volume 3: 21st Century Noir, published by Down & Out Books.

 

Adam Meyer with "Mr. Filbert's Classroom." Originally published in Chesapeake Crimes: Magic is Murder, published by Wildside Press.

 

Annie Reed with "The Blood-Red Leaves of Autumn." Originally published in Always With Us: Mystery, Crime, and Mayhem #9,  published by Knotted Road Press.

 

Joseph S. Walker with "Crime Scene." Originally published in Malice in Dallas: Metroplex Mysteries Volume 1, published by the North Dallas Chapter of Sisters in Crime.

 

Other Distinguished Mystery and Suspense of 2022:

 

Francelia Belton with "Dreaming of Ella." Originally published in Denver Noir, published by Akashic Books.

 

Michael Bracken with "Kissing Cousins." Originally published in Starlite Pulp Review #1, published by Starlite Pulp.

 

Eve Fisher with "The Closing of the Lodge.” Originally published in  Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine: November/December 2022.

 

Barb Goffman with "The Gift."  Originally published in Land of 10,000 Thrills: Bouchercon Anthology 2022, published by Down & Out Books.

 

Delia C. Pitts with “A Deadly First.” Originally published in Festive Mayhem 3: A Limited-Edition Collection of New Mystery and Crime Fiction Stories and Reissued Holiday Favorites.

 

Amazon Description:

“This form has a special kind of magic, the ability to transport you quickly, intensely, to capture character, time, place, and story with immediacy,” writes guest editor Lisa Unger in her introduction. The transporting stories in this year’s The Best American Mystery and Suspense are populated by those who exist on the fringe of our society and want more than what life has dealt them: A haunted veteran turned career criminal is on the run. An injured fighter turned bouncer seeks vengeance for his lost love. An assassin on his last job finds himself questioning his life choices and breaks all the rules to understand his final victim. By turns thrilling and enlightening, each story, according to Unger, “will have you holding your breath, flipping the pages, will leave you thinking about people and why they do the dark, dangerous, frightening things that they do.”

The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023 includes Ashley-­Ruth M. Bernier • William Boyle • S. A. Cosby • Jacqueline Freimor • James A. Hearn • Ladee Hubbard • A. J. Jacono • Adam Meyer • Silvia Moreno-­Garcia • Walter Mosley • Leigh Newman • Joyce Carol Oates • Margaret Randall • Annie Reed • Anthony Neil Smith • Faye Snowden • Jervey Tervalon • Joseph S. Walker • Thaai Walker • Jess Walter