It won’t hurt,” they told me.
Right there, I was skeptical. Sure, the folks at the Mystery Writers of America seem like nice people. And they like mysteries (which is extra nice). But when they walked in with those nice smiles and asked me to be the editor of this year’s MWA anthology, I knew I was in for some pain—especially when they said it’d be easy.
But then the MWA folks added that one key phrase that every writer longs to hear: “We’ll do all the work for you.”
See how tricky these bastards are?
My reaction was instantaneous: “I’m in.”
Then, in a bit of verbal fine print, they delivered the final piece of news: “You have to invite ten of your friends to write stories.”
Wait. So beyond all this heavy lifting I don’t have to do, I also get to work with ten dear friends, all of whom will use their gorgeous talents to make me look good?
“Count me in. I’ll do your next thirty anthologies.”
And so, this book was born. The theme would be a mystery box. What’s in the box? That was for our writers to decide: a long-lost gun, a personal secret, or Gwyneth Paltrow’s head (just like in Seven). The box could be real (like the gun), or metaphoric (like their heart). But they had to use a box.
All I needed after that were friends—the real secret ingredient—whose talents I have admired for years. Let me say it as clearly as I can: I love every writer in this book. And I owe every writer in this book. They are the ones who solved and then shared their secrets. But what I appreciate most is simply their friendship and generosity.
So thank you to my dear friends Steve Berry, Jim Born, Jan Burke, Joe Finder, Laura Lippman, Katherine Neville, Karin Slaughter, Tom Rob Smith, R. L. Stine, and Charles Todd for volunteering and for sharing. I feel truly honored that each of you said yes. I’m thrilled to have each of you in my life. And I know every editor of these anthologies thinks they have the best group of writers. They are all wrong. We have the best. And that’s not even all.
A huge thanks also goes to Tony Broadbent, Angela Gerst, Joseph Goodrich, Libby Fischer Hellmann, S. W. Hubbard, Mary Anne Kelly, C. E. Lawrence, R. T. Lawton, Catherine Mambretti, Stephen Ross, and Jonathan Stone for doing the hardest things of all: putting themselves out there and sharing their own secrets. To everyone reading this: Go buy all their books. Please.
A special thank-you also goes to incredible miracle workers Barry Zeman of MWA and Larry Segriff of Tekno Books, who kept true to their promises and did all the real work. They are the reasons this book exists, and I thank them for their never-ending patience with me. And yes, it truly was painless.
Special thanks also to all the judges who helped read the volumes of submissions: Peter Blauner, Wendy Hornsby, Annette Meyers, Kris Montee, and T. Jefferson Parker, all of them wonderful writers themselves. Thank you to my secret weapons in publishing: Mitch Hoffman, Lindsey Rose, Jamie Raab, and all my dear friends at Grand Central Publishing. Thank you to Noah Kuttler, who is the best. And finally, thank you to Cori, Jonas, Lila, and Theo, for being the secret in my own mystery box, and for always having faith.