Anthologies

A mystery anthology featuring the best short fiction by women writers includes twenty-one original stories by P.M. Carlson, Susan Dunlap, Jeanne Hart, Lia Matera, and others

Includes stories by Sue Grafton, Loren Estleman, Susan Dunlap, Sara Paretsky, Ben Schutz, Max Allan Collins, Jeremiah Healy, and others

Four new titles based on original short stories written by international best-selling authors: Carol Higgins Clark, Nelson DeMille, Sue Grafton, and Julie Smith. Read the short story, assemble the 1,000-piece puzzle, and discover the hidden clues. Then solve the mystery by putting together the pieces in the story and in the puzzle. Slick, book-like packaging and high quality artwork make these puzzles a standout. Beware: the 1,000-piece puzzle is different from the cover!

On the banks of the Truxton River lies Gryphon's Gate, a gated community built by Henry Drysdale where the rich and privileged live, work and play. Tempers flare when Henry's ex- decides to develop the adjoining land and environmentalists, developers, residents and the media clash. Then the violence turns ugly--a dead body is found on the golf course and Detective Diane Robards is called in to investigate. Diane's efforts are thwarted at every turn and as she uncovers the secrets behind the serene facade of Gryphon's Gate, she races against the clock to unmask a ruthless killer.

Noir has always been one of the most popular—and darkest—sub-genres of the mystery field. Following in the footsteps of such masters of the form as James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler, and Dashiell Hammett, some of the top writers of gay mystery explore this territory of amoral tough guys with a cynical view of the world by giving classic noir a gay twist. Edited by award winning author/editors Greg Herren and J.M. Redmann, Men of the Mean Streets changes the face of gay mystery—and the reader may never look at gay life and culture in the same way again.

Originally published a decade ago and now expanded, this book is a homage to the greatest detective story writer of the 20th century, an Anglo-American who took Los Angeles, his adopted home, off the road maps and into the land of legend. For Raymond Chandler, who died in 1959, his literary descendants will do just about anything, and that includes contributing to an anthology honoring him. Thus, in here we find the likes of Sara Paretsky, Robert Crais, Loren D. Estleman, Jonathan Valin, Robert Campbell, Eric Van Lustbader, Simon Brett, Julie Smith, Jeremiah Healy, Roger L. Simon, James Grady, and numerous others creating stories in the style of Chandler and in the voice of Marlowe. But, as editor Byron Preiss remarks, "The contributors of this book are here to honor Chandler, not to steal from him." He also says, "Many would not be the writers they are had not Chandler followed Hammett and Cain down the back alley of fiction into the realm of art." That's certainly a succinctly expressive summation. Moreover, today the idea of the "mean streets" that Chandler wished the best heroes to traverse is one that has, perhaps more than ever before, seized the imagination of the public when it comes to popular entertainment. What's old is new again, as they say, and in this case that means noir. In an introduction by Robert B. Parker--who himself finished the incomplete Chandler novel Poodle Springs (1990)--we learn the essentials of Chandler's life (the British public school education, the wife who was 18 years older than he, etc.). But in the stories essayed here we get the effects of an imagined world that has become an entire universe. Among the many included are tales of the Thelma Todd murder scandal by Max Allan Collins; of Dr. Seuss's missing watercolors by Robert L. Simon; of a pro wrestler called The Crusher by Jonathan Valin; and of the ancient jeweled skull that was the inspiration for Hammett's Maltese Falcon by Dick Lochte. Two new stories, not in the earlier edition of this volume, are by Simon, creator of Moses Wine, and J. Madison Davis, the author of Red Knight and White Rook and president of the North American Association of International Crime Writers. Finally, there is an afterword by Chandler scholar and biographer Frank McShane. And, yes, the real Raymond Chandler is here too, represented by the story "The Pencil," in which that particular writing instrument turns out to be one gift you never want to receive. This book is not quite the real thing; it can't be. But it's as close as you could hope to find. --Otto Penzler From Library Journal Philip Marlowe is arguably the most popular and influential character in American hard-boiled detective fiction. There is a little bit of the wise-cracking, incorruptible Marlowe in just about every detective that followed since he made his debut in Chandler's The Big Sleep in 1939. To commemorate Chandler's 1988 centenary, 25 of today's top mystery writers, e.g., Max Allan Collins, Sara Paretsky, and Loren Estleman, offer their take on Marlowe. The collection is nicely capped with Chandler's own last Marlowe story, "The Pencil." Marlowe's popularity has waned very little, so this should circulate well.

The first best-of collection from the Akashic Noir series assembles some of the greatest crime writers of our time. “All the heavy hitters . . . came out for USA Noir . . . an important anthology of stories shrewdly culled by Johnny Temple.” ― New York Times Book Review , Editors’ Choice “Readers will be hard put to find a better collection of short stories in any genre.” ― Publishers Weekly , Starred Review Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir . Each story is set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the city of the book. Featuring stories by: Dennis Lehane, Don Winslow, Michael Connelly, George Pelecanos, Susan Straight, Jonathan Safran Foer, Laura Lippman, Pete Hamill, Joyce Carol Oates, Lee Child, T. Jefferson Parker, Lawrence Block, Terrance Hayes, Jerome Charyn, Jeffery Deaver, Maggie Estep, Bayo Ojikutu, Tim McLoughlin, Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, Reed Farrel Coleman, Megan Abbott, Elyssa East, James W. Hall, J. Malcolm Garcia, Julie Smith, Joseph Bruchac, Pir Rothenberg, Luis Alberto Urrea, Domenic Stansberry, John O’Brien, S.J. Rozan, Asali Solomon, William Kent Krueger, Tim Broderick, Bharti Kirchner, Karen Karbo, and Lisa Sandlin. From the introduction by Johnny Temple: “From the start, the heart and soul of Akashic Books has been dark, provocative, well-crafted tales from the disenfranchised. I learned early on that writings from outside the mainstream almost necessarily coincide with a mood and spirit of noir, and are composed by authors whose life circumstances often place them in environs exposed to crime . . . This volume serves up a top-shelf selection of stories from the series set in the United States. USA Noir only scratches the surface, however, and every single volume has gems on offer.”

Ah, the Christmas season. The scent of roasting chestnuts fills the air, turkeys cook in every oven, and mistletoe hangs quietly above the doors. But beneath this cheerful Yuletide veneer, a seedier reality lurks, as a criminal element continues to ply its dastardly trade in secret, disguised by the joyous songs of carolers young and old... At least, that's the case in the pages of this volume, in which some of crime fiction's biggest names offer a playful take on the holiday's most beloved melodies, including such soon-to-be classics as "Arrested Merry Gentleman," "How Come You're Not Faithful," and "I Saw Mommy Killing Santa Claus." Contributors include: Donna Andrews, Rhys Bowen, Ken Bruen, Reed Farrel Coleman, Max Allan Collins, Thomas H. Cook, Jeffery Deaver, Harlan Ellison, Loren D. Estleman, Jane Haddam, Stuart M. Kaminsky, Andrew Klavan, Peter Lovesey, John Lutz, Katherine Hall Page, Ridley Pearson, Thomas Perry, Nancy Pickard, S.J. Rozan, Charles Todd, Joseph Wambaugh, and Donald E. Westlake, among many others.

“Often an editor’s idea of contemporary southern literature is rooted too deeply in setting and mood. The dozen stories collected in 'Mojo Rising: Contemporary Writers' by Joseph B. Atkins offer a vibrant counterpoint. These eight men and four women take risks with voice, setting, point of view and genre and the payoffs for the reader are enjoyable and edifying. “In “Beg Borrow Steal,” Maurice Carlos Ruffin expertly creates space for the reader to become the protagonist, who spends his time searching for some way other than his feet to move from one place to another. While Sheree Renee Thomas’s charming “Aunt Dissy’s Policy Dream Book” explores the difficult truth that you don’t get what you want because you want it—even with the help of palm readers and dreams. Margaret Skinner transforms our antiquated idea of kin into a nuanced understanding of the American Dream and in doing so, revitalizes two clichés. “This collection proves that the link between southern writers is not regional storytelling, but fearless storytelling.”--Courtney Miller Santo, English Department, University of Memphis, Director of River City Writers Series This is short fiction from the Mojo Triangle, the same magical geographical area that gave us blues, jazz, country music, and rock ‘n’ roll. Included are stories from trendsetting writers such as New York Times bestselling author Ace Atkins, author of two dozen novels, including "The Fallen" (he lives in Oxford, MS); writer Sheree Renee Thomas is editor of the "Dark Matter" anthology, which was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year (she lives in Memphis); William Boyle, who lives in Oxford, MS, is the author of "Gravesend" and numerous short stories; author Julie Smith, who lives in New Orleans, is the author of numerous novels, including "P.I. On a Hot Tin Roof" and "Mean Woman Blues"; she is a graduate of the University of Mississippi; Steven Barthelme is the author of two short story collections, "Hush Hush" and "And He Tells the Little Horse the Whole Story" (he lives in Hattiesburg, MS; Maurice Carlos Ruffin, who lives in New Orleans, is the author of a forthcoming novel to be published by One World/Random House, and the winner of the 2014 Iowa Review Award for fiction; former University of Mississippi journalism professor Jere Hoar, who lives in Oxford, MS, is the author of a novel," The Hit," and a short story collection, "Body Parts"; Corey Mesler, who lives in Memphis and co-owns Burke’s Bookstore, is the author of numerous poems, short stories and novels, including "Memphis Movie"; James L. Dickerson, a longtime resident of Memphis and Nashville who currently lives just outside Jackson, MS, is the author of more than 30 books, including "Mojo Triangle" and "Memphis Going Down"; Margaret Skinner of Memphis, author of "Cold Eye: A Short Story Collection" and two novels published by Algonquin Books, "Old Jim Canaan" and "Molly Flanagan and the Holy Ghost" ; plus an "In Memoriam" to the late Larry Brown, author of the novel "Joe," which was made into a movie starring Nicolas Cage, and "Big Bad Love," which was made into a movie starring Debra Winger; Brown's contribution is an excerpt from his novel, "Fay";and the editor of this book, Joseph B. Atkins, who is the author of a novel, "Casey’s Last Chance." ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joseph B. Atkins, a journalism professor at the University of Mississippi, is a veteran journalist and former congressional correspondent. He has published short stories in various publications and his novella Crossed Roads was a finalist in the Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Awards in New Orleans. In 2015, Sartoris Literary Group published his novel, "Casey’s Last Chance." He has homes in both Memphis and Oxford, Mississippi.

Back Cover Description for Pieces to Purpose What if the toughest moments of your life were the ones that held the key to your true purpose? In Pieces to Purpose , 17 extraordinary women open up about how they turned life’s messiest moments into something meaningful. Each story is a vibrant testament to resilience and growth. These women—creatives, entrepreneurs, visionaries—have stared down life’s wild curveballs and walked away with lessons worth sharing. From heartbreak to healing, every chapter will make you feel seen, understood, and maybe even ready to embrace your own story with fresh eyes. For anyone craving inspiration, hope, or a reminder that purpose can bloom even in the hardest times, Pieces to Purpose delivers. These stories will lift you up, spark your courage, and remind you that some of life’s most beautiful paths begin right at the edge of a challenge.