Lee Child and Otto Penzler’s The Mysterious Bookshop Presents The Best Mystery Stories of the Year: 2021 is, as the name implies, a collection of excellent mystery stories published in the previous year. With pieces from authors as well known as Stephen King and Sue Grafton, it is sure to attract attention.
Sue Grafton’s “If You Want Something Done Right…” is a brilliant and disturbing lost piece by a past master of the genre. A man cheats on his wife regularly, annoys her with constant hypochondria, drinks, and plans modifications to his will. As a result his wife finds herself repeatedly planning his death. This is a simple enough set up until she is in a coffee shop and a man approaches her, knowing what it is she has planned. There is a tense moment as he casually explains the reasons this might be a bad idea, before offering to take care of the matter himself while she is on vacation. This is, of course, far from the last of the little twist taken in this story.
This is an entertaining and wickedly unexpected piece in many ways, from an author readers had largely given up seeing more from. While not a part of one of her series, it still includes many of Grafton’s trademark qualities in terms of urgent feeling and twisting plots.
Paul Kemprecos’ “The Sixth Decoy” features his semi-retired detective Aristotle Socarides. A former police officer and part-time private detective, Aristotle finds himself engaged in locating a lost wood carving by Elmer Crowell. The man who purchased it claims he can prove he did so, but the owner died while under investigation and his house burned down. It is only the existence of recent knockoffs that suggests the item in question did not in fact go up in the flames.
Questions about rich criminals are explored within this story, as are questions about justice vs. truth and the law. It also represents a very good introduction to Aristotle Socarides, putting forth a very nice image of the pragmatic but overall good-natured detective. Unlike many in this collection Paul Kemprecos is not known to write short stories so, which makes this a rare opportunity to explore his work without investing one’s time in a full novel.
Interestingly, the editors have chosen to include my favorite murder as a bonus story. This piece, published originally in the late 19th century by Ambrose Bierce, is very much not a story from 2020 but also rather a welcome inclusion. By the same token, every story features a short piece by the author or an editor explaining some small context for their writing.
While a best mystery stories volume can be expected to include many quality works, the editors for this particular piece have outdone themselves. The quality and variety in this collection mean that any reader should find something to enjoy if they appreciate mystery or crime at all. Murder, theft, classic detective and no detective all fit within the short but entertaining volume. Heartily recommended.
(Mysterious Press, 2021)
