From Publishers Weekly
Kudos to series editor Otto Penzler and helpers for compiling a short list of 50 candidates for this sixth annual collection-and to guest editor Ellroy for selecting an impressively strong collection of 20 stories that ought to whet readers' appetites for more works by this lineup. In "High School Sweetheart," Joyce Carol Oates shows how far a brilliant premise can carry a writer. Robert B. Parker offers a fine baseball story, "Harlem Nocturne," about Jackie Robinson's off-field difficulties his rookie season. In "Two-Bagger," Michael Connelly also uses a baseball setting for a skillful tale of divided attentions. And Thomas H. Cook takes the gloves off in a yarn that ferrets out the truth behind a fixed boxing match in "The Fix." Perhaps the rarest gem is Brendan DuBois's "A Family Game," in which a bullying baseball dad gets his comeuppance from another parent. James Grady tells a rousing tale of a championship fight held in Montana-but it's the preliminary bout (and its preliminaries) that make "The Championship of Nowhere" one of the anthology's best entries. Clark Howard's "The Cobalt Blues" features a trio of men with absolutely nothing to lose as they plan a daring and (somewhat) altruistic caper that leaves readers chuckling. Darker tales, but very effective ones, come from established pros like Stuart M. Kaminsky, Annette Meyers and Joe R. Lansdale. This is a sterling collection that should both entertain and serve as an introduction to some formidable new talents.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Otto Penzler, who reads three of these stories himself, makes the professional actors look great by comparison, and they deserve it. Don Leslie does a beautiful gravelly job with Scott Wolvern's "The Copper Kings," and you haven't lived until you've heard Barbara Rosenblat start to hiccup as she plays a hysterical and guilty Southern housewife trying to lie her way out of a tight corner in "Maniac Loose," by Michael Malone. Robert B. Parker's "Harlem Nocturne" is damaged by the actor's repeated mispronunciation of a key character's name (Digiacomo). (How hard would it have been to check?) But for mystery fans, the strengths of this entertaining volume will far outweigh the disappointments. B.G. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Series editor Penzler deserves credit for acknowledging in his foreword to this year's installment of the best American mystery stories that several of the selections were written originally for two of his own sports-themed anthologies. He defends their inclusion (volume editor Ellroy made the final choices from a group of 50 stories picked by Penzler) on the grounds of quality, and he's right. Two of the three boxing stories (from Murder on the Ropes), Thomas H. Cook's "The Fix" and James Grady's "The Championship of Nowhere," are among the collection's highlights--stories that use the myth-drenched ring milieu to reflect on the agony of making choices when there are no choices to make. Big names dominate this time (Connelly, Malone, Parker, and Lansdale, among them), and they don't disappoint. In the introduction, Ellroy's typically stylized ruminations on the mystery short story ("Whap--you circumnavigate quicksville") will have fans salivating and leave others scratching their not-quite-hip-enough heads. But he's right, too: these stories pack plenty of whap. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"A sterling collection that should both entertain and serve as an introduction to some formidable new talents."

FROM OUR EDITORS

Guest editor James Ellroy hosts another top-notch installment of Otto Penzler's Best American Mystery Stories series. The contributor's list includes favorites like Robert B. Parker, Stuart Kaminsky, Michael Connelly, and Thomas E. Cook; not to mention less familiar names such as Clark Howard and Annette Meyers. The breadth of selections in this collection is sure to please mystery fans of every persuasion.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Best-selling novelist James Ellroy introduces this year's collection of the finest mystery writing. Many of the contributors are novelists themselves, displaying their talents in the short story form: Michael Connelly tells a fatal tale of revenge in "Two-Bagger." In Joe Gores's "Inscrutable," the Feds beat the Mafia at their own game. Stuart M. Kaminsky demonstrates how horribly wrong things go when a robber gets cocky in "Sometimes Something Goes Wrong." And Robert B. Parker shows just how important Jackie Robinson's fans can be in "Harlem Nocturne."

Also featured are veteran short story writers and favorites of this series. Brendan DuBois's "A Family Game" introduces a former Mafia family trying to lead a normal life in the Witness Protection Program. Joyce Carol Oates tells a chilling tale of a crush taken too far in "The High School Sweetheart." A tenant sneaks into the murder crime scene next door in Michael Downs's "Man Kills Wife, Two Dogs." Readers will be captivated by all the stories here, whether by famed novelists or by masters of the short story.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Kudos to series editor Otto Penzler and helpers for compiling a short list of 50 candidates for this sixth annual collection-and to guest editor Ellroy for selecting an impressively strong collection of 20 stories that ought to whet readers' appetites for more works by this lineup. In "High School Sweetheart," Joyce Carol Oates shows how far a brilliant premise can carry a writer. Robert B. Parker offers a fine baseball story, "Harlem Nocturne," about Jackie Robinson's off-field difficulties his rookie season. In "Two-Bagger," Michael Connelly also uses a baseball setting for a skillful tale of divided attentions. And Thomas H. Cook takes the gloves off in a yarn that ferrets out the truth behind a fixed boxing match in "The Fix." Perhaps the rarest gem is Brendan DuBois's "A Family Game," in which a bullying baseball dad gets his comeuppance from another parent. James Grady tells a rousing tale of a championship fight held in Montana-but it's the preliminary bout (and its preliminaries) that make "The Championship of Nowhere" one of the anthology's best entries. Clark Howard's "The Cobalt Blues" features a trio of men with absolutely nothing to lose as they plan a daring and (somewhat) altruistic caper that leaves readers chuckling. Darker tales, but very effective ones, come from established pros like Stuart M. Kaminsky, Annette Meyers and Joe R. Lansdale. This is a sterling collection that should both entertain and serve as an introduction to some formidable new talents. (Oct. 15) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

AudioFile

Otto Penzler, who reads three of these stories himself, makes the professional actors look great by comparison, and they deserve it. Don Leslie does a beautiful gravelly job with Scott Wolvern's "The Copper Kings," and you haven't lived until you've heard Barbara Rosenblat start to hiccup as she plays a hysterical and guilty Southern housewife trying to lie her way out of a tight corner in "Maniac Loose," by Michael Malone. Robert B. Parker's "Harlem Nocturne" is damaged by the actor's repeated mispronunciation of a key character's name (Digiacomo). (How hard would it have been to check?) But for mystery fans, the strengths of this entertaining volume will far outweigh the disappointments. B.G. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

The worst writing in this anthology comes courtesy of its two editors. Penzler disingenuously notes that the reason nearly half of the 20 entries come from other volumes he edited this past year is that he deemed them superb; and in a mere two-and-a-half pages, Ellroy manages to wallow in all his trademark vices, from hyperbole to purple-tinged melodrama. Once past the editors, however, the writing perks up, kicking off with John Biguenet￯﾿ﾽs "It Is Raining in Bejucal," a cautionary fable for lottery winners with old scores to settle. Michael Malone￯﾿ﾽs "Maniac Loose," lacing humor with venom as a widow confronts her husband￯﾿ﾽs mistress, is southern writing at its best. And in the most chilling tale, Fred Melton￯﾿ﾽs "Counting," a kid￯﾿ﾽs skill with a baseball bat, supposedly his ticket off the farm, dooms him instead. Joe R. Lansdale￯﾿ﾽs quirky "The Mule Rustlers" sets its splashy murders in an equally bucolic scene. The story that makes the volume worth its hefty price tag is Clark Howard￯﾿ﾽs "The Cobalt Blues," a deadly glimpse into a radiologist￯﾿ﾽs waiting room where an alliance between patients leads to multiple crimes. Also on hand are a mystery writer￯﾿ﾽs confession (Joyce Carol Oates); two wacked-out teens, each more evil than the other (Annette Meyers); one of Jackie Robinson￯﾿ﾽs finest moments (Robert B. Parker); and half a dozen other forays into baseball and boxing from the likes of Thomas H. Cook, Michael Connelly, Brendan DuBois, and James Grady.