The Best American Mystery Stories 2002

Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundreds of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to the twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind.In his introduction to this year's collection, James Ellroy explores the differences between the novel and the short story. Included here are experts at both forms. Featuring renowned novelists like Stuart Kaminsky, Michael Connelly, Joe Gores, and Robert B. Parker, as well as veterans of this series like Brendan DuBois, Michael Downs, Joyce Carol Oates, and Clark Howard, this edition will delight readers with its wide variety and peerless quality.Includes the following 20 stories:JOHN BIGUENET - It Is Raining in BejucalMICHAEL CONNELLY - Two-BaggerTHOMAS H. COOK - The FixSEAN DOOLITTLE - Summa MathematicaMICHAEL DOWNS - Man Kills Wife, Two DogsBRENDAN DUBOIS - A Family GameDAVID EDGERLEY GATES - The Blue MirrorJOE GORES - InscrutableJAMES GRADY - The Championship of NowhereCLARK HOWARD - The Cobalt BluesSTUART M. KAMINSKY - Sometimes Something Goes WrongJOE R. LANSDALE - The Mule RustlersMICHAEL MALONE - Maniac LooseFRED MELTON - CountingANNETTE MEYERS - You Don't Know MeJOYCE CAROL OATES - The High School SweetheartROBERT B. PARKER - Harlem NocturneF. X. TOOLE - Midnight EmissionsDANIEL WATERMAN - A Lepidopterist's TaleSCOTT WOLVEN - The Copper Kings