The BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 2002

CO-EDITED BY JAMES ELLROY

SUMMARY:

James Ellroy joins Otto Penzler in editing and presenting the latest in a series of anthologies from Penzler highlighting the year's best mystery short fiction.

The first hardcover edition consists of a first printing of 75,000 copies and was to be released Oct. 15, though copies began turning up in stores in late September. Ellroy contributes an introduction to the book, and is, himself, mentioned in co-editor Otto Penzler's opening essay.

The collection is described as follows by publisher Houghton Mifflin:

"Our perennially popular anthology is a favorite of mystery buffs and general readers alike. This year, the world-renowned author James Ellroy lends his estimable talent to the series, offering pieces from the likes of Robert B. Parker, Joyce Carol Oates, Michael Connelly, and Stuart Kaminsky. The novels in Ellroy’s L.A. Quartet — The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz — were international bestsellers. His novel American Tabloid was Time’s Best Book of 1995; his memoir, My Dark Places, was Time’s Best Book of the Year and a New York Times Notable Book for 1996."

The book appeared in October 2002 and was published simultaneously in hardcover and paperback editions. Audio cassette and CD audio versions were also released.

Collectors will wish to focus on the hardcover edition (ISBN: 0-618-12494-2) as well as the trade paperback edition (ISBN: 0-618-12493-4). Hardcover first edition string looks like this: "DOC 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1"

CONTENTS

• John Biguenet — "It Is Raining in Bejucal"

• Michael Connelly — "Two Bagger"

• Thomas H. Cook — "The Fix"

• Sean Doolittle — "Summa Mathematica"

• Michael Downs: — "Man Kills Wife, Two Dogs"

• Brendan DuBois — "A Family Game"

• David Edgerley Gates — "The Blue Mirror"

• Joe Gores — "Inscrutable"

• James Grady — "The Championship of Nowhere"

• Clark Howard — "The Cobalt Blues"

• Stuart M. Kaminsky — " Sometimes Something Goes Wrong"

• Joe R. Lansdale — "The Mule Rustlers"

• Michael Malone — "Maniac Loose"

• Fred Melton — "Counting"

• Annette Meyers — "You Don't Know Me"

• Joyce Carol Oates — " The High School Sweetheart"

• Robert B. Parker — "Harlem Nocturne"

• F.X. Toole — "Midnight Emissions"

• Daniel Waterman — "A Lepidopterist's Tale"

• Scott Wolven — "The Copper Kings"

REVIEWS• The first review is in from Kirkus and takes James Ellroy and co-editor Otto Penzler to task for purportedly producing the collection's weakest pieces. Read the review HERE.

• Official Site

• Amazon.com Information/Reviews

• Kirkus Review

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