A story of suspense written serially by thirteen of Florida's most talented writers--including Dave Barry, Carl Hiaasen, and Elmore Leonard--features a riot in Coconut Grove, an appearance by Fidel Castro, and other strange happenings
Original essays from 46 of today's most celebrated writers that explores lit. & the literary life. The reflections range from the craft of writing to the intersection of art & the world. The writers are Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, Nat. Book Award recip., best-selling authors & teachers; novelists, poets, & playwrights. Includes: Russell Banks, Saul Bellow, Carolyn Chute, E. L. Doctorowe, Louise Erdrich, Richard Ford, Gail Godwin, Mary Gordon, Gish Jen, Diane Johnson, Jamaica Kincaid, Barbara Kingsolver, Hans Koning, David Mamet, Walter Mosley, Joyce Carol Oates, Marge Piercy, Annie Proulx, Roxana Robinson, James Salter, William Saroyan, Susan Sontag, Scott Turow, John Updike, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Alice Walker, & Elie Wiesel.
The best-selling author Carl Hiaasen takes the reins for the eleventh edition of this series, featuring twenty of the past year’s most distinguished tales of mystery, crime, and suspense. Laura Lippman introduces us to a suburban soccer mom who moonlights as a call girl and who has a fateful encounter with a former client at her son’s soccer game. Ridley Pearson traces a famous author of horror tales who becomes trapped in a real one after his wife vanishes while jogging. Joyce Carol Oates travels to a New Jersey racetrack where the animals that break down are of the two-legged type. Lawrence Block tells the story of Keller, a hitman for hire who happens to live in Greenwich Village, loves spicy food, and collects stamps as a hobby. And Scott Wolven plunges us into the world of an ex-con who takes a job at a private and very illegal Nevada racetrack where each day millions are won and lost. Mostly lost. As Carl Hiaasen notes in his introduction, “The stories in this collection would do honor to any anthology of short literature. More than transcending the genre of crime, they blow away its nebulous boundaries.” The Best American Mystery Stories 2007 is a powerful collection certain to delight mystery aficionados and all lovers of great fiction.