Other Mystery Anthologies and Anthology Series Worth Hunting Around For
Collections of original and reprinted stories
that don't all necessarily feature private eyes.

(see also The Best Anthologies of Reprints)

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Listed chronologically.

• Boucher, Anthony, editor.
  Four-&-Twenty Bloodhounds...Buy this book
  New York: Carroll and Graf, 1950.
  General anthology includes stories featuring Scott Jordan, Johnny Liddell, John & Suzy Marshall, and "Michael Shayne As I Knew him" by Brett Halliday. Contributors include Ken Crossen, John Dickson Carr, Harold Q. Masur, Frank Kane, James M. Fox, Clayton Rawson, D.B. Olsen, Robert Arthur, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence G. Blochman, Stewart Sterling, August Derleth, Ellery Queen, Brett Halliday, Fredric Brown, George Harmon Coxe, Q. Patrick, Kelley Roos and Stuart Palmer.
  
  
• Shayne, Mike, ed.
  Dangerous Dames: Selected by Mike Shayne...Buy this book
  Dell, 1955.
  Paperback anthology of stories that originally appeared in various pulps and digests, "selected by" Mike Shayne. There's a Brett Halliday story here (though not a Shayne tale, as one might expect), plus goodies from Frank Gruber, Anthony Boucher, Harold Q. Masur, Bruno Fischer, Day Keene and others. Each story features a "dangerous dame."
  
  
• Masur, Harold Q., editor,
  Dolls Are Murder...Buy this book
  Lion Books, 1957
  MWA anthology featuring reprints of stories by Brett Halliday; John D. MacDonald; Raymond Chandler; Ellery Queen; George Harmon Coxe; Bruno Fischer; Georges Simenon; Rex Stout,and Harold Q. Masur.
  
  
• Meredith, Scott and Sidney,
  The Best From Manhunt
  Montreal: Pocket Books, 1958.
  A great little collection drawn from the legendary Manhunt, which humbly notes on the cover that it features "13 of the toughest crime short stories ever written." I don't know about that, but it includes solid tales by Jack Richie, Craig Rice, Even Hunter, Richard Deming and even a Shell Scott story by Richard Prather.
  
  
• Shayne, Mike, ed., with a foreword by Brett Halliday
  Murder in Miami: Selected by Mike Shayne
  Dell, 1959.
  Another paperback anthology of stories that originally appeared in various pulps and digests,"selected by" Mike Shayne. The theme this time around is Miami itself. There's the obligatory Brett Halliday story here, plus solid entries from Rufus King, Robert Arthur, and Talmage Powell.
  
  
• Prather, Richard S., editor,
  The Comfortable Coffin
  Fawcett Gold Medal Books, 1960
  The 13th Mystery Writers of America Anthology, edited and introduced by Shell Scott's creator is, predictably, jam-packed with examples of humourous crime stories including, naturally a Shell Scott romp. Other contributors include Evan Hunter and Erle Stanley Gardner. Prather's stated intention in the intro is to make the reader "smile, and chuckle, and-more than once-laugh out loud.” He succeeds.
   
  
• Margulies, Leo, ed.
  Mike Shayne's Torrid Twelve
  Dell, 1961.
  Paperback anthology of stories that originally appeared in MSMM, including one Mike Shayne tale, "Death Dives Deep", written by Robert Arthur, as well as stories by Hal Ellson, Talmage Powell, Frank Kane, Robert Bloch, Richard Deming, Henry Slesar, and Jonathan Craig, among others.
  
  
• Margulies, Leo, ed.
  Mink Is For a Minx: The Best From Mike Shayne's Mystery Magazine
  Dell, 1964.
  Paperback anthology of stories that originally appeared in MSMM, including one Mike Shayne tale, "Death of a Dead Man", by Dennis Lynds. In fact, the book also boasts two other tales by Dennis, including one under the pseudonym of John Douglas. There are also stories by Hal Ellson, Talmage Powell, Frank Kane, Robert Bloch, Richard Deming, Henry Slesar, and Jonathan Craig.
  
  
• Gorman, Ed, editor.
  The Black Lizard Anthology of Crime Fiction...Buy this book
  Berkeley, California: Black Lizard Books, 1987.
  Awesome collection published by the guys who gave noir a new lease on life in the eightiesIncludes stories from Max Allan Collins, Wayne D Dundee, William Campbell Gault, Edward Gorman, Robert J Randisi, James Reasoner, Loren D. Estleman, Bill Pronzini, Harry Whittington, John Lutz, Jim Thompson, Harlan Ellison, Dennis Lynds, Joe R. Lansdale, Joe Gores and more.
  
  
• Pronzini, Bill and Martin H. Greenberg, editors.
  Prime Suspects (1987)
  Suspicious Characters (1987)
  Criminal Elements (1988)
  Homicidal Acts (1988)
  Deadly Doings (1989)
  Felonious Assaults (1989)
  New York: Ivy Books, 1987-1989.
  Series of anthologies published by Ivy Books and featuring reprints from Manhunt, MSMM, AHMM and EQMM. Authors included Gault, Bradbury, Randisi, McBain, Gorman, Westlake, Prather, Grafton, Lutz, Jakes, Estleman, Pronzini, Block, Michael Collins...in other words, a lot of writers nobody ever heard of....Some were PI stories, series and non-series, but the overall quality of the series was pretty high. Just a great, great series. It seems recent anthologies are often more concerned with very specific (and often too-cute-by half) themes rather than quality. Cat mysteries! Rabbi mysteries! Skateboarding mysteries! Skateboarding Rabbi's who own cats mysteries! Gimme a break!
  
  By the way, In 1990, Ivy did print a PI anthology, called P.I. Files, also edited by Greenberg (does this guy sleep?) and Loren Estleman, very much the same sort of format as the others, that's also worth hunting for.
  
  
• Gorman, Ed, editor.
  The Second Black Lizard Anthology of Crime Fiction
  Berkeley, California: Black Lizard Books, 1988.
  
  
• Jakubowski, Maxim
  New Crimes
  London: Robinson Publishing, 1989
  Despite what the blurb says, "The very best in new American and British crime writing", this anthology, first of a series, in fact, also features reprints, some of them almost forty years old. Doesn't matter, though. The selections, from Brits like Barry Fantoni and Mike Ripley, as well as Yanks like Robert Crumley and Andrew Vachss, make it worth your time.
  
  
• Jon E. Lewis, editor
  Red Handed: An Anthology of Radical Crime Stories
  London: Allison & Busby, 1989.
  A collection of crime short stories with a decided left slant, ranging from Jack London and Chester Himes to Gordon DeMarco and Jim Thompson. Interesting collection, and interesting intro, wherein editor Jon E. Lewis states that a "central concern of Dashiell Hammett's works...is the civic corruption which grew up in the wake of Prohibition. As Hammett revealed, corruption had become all-pervasive...In such a world the only guarantor of justice was the shamus or private eye."
  
  
• Jakubowski, Maxim
  New Crimes 2
  London: Robinson Publishing, 1990
  The second volume of this excellent British series include a Mike Dime tale by Barry Fantoni, as well as some choice reprints from Ed Gorman, Paul Buck and Bill Pronzini.
  
  
• Various authors, preface by James Ellroy
  Fallen Angels...Buy this book
  New York: Grove Press, 1993
  Intriguing collection of six classic noir and hard-boiled tales by some of the masters (Chandler, Gault, Ellroy, JimThompson), and the screenplays of their television adaptations, as directed by people like Steven Soderbergh, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, and Phil Joanou, from the 1993 Showtime crime anthology of the same name. See Fallen Angels for more info.
  
  
• Chase, Elaine Raco, editor.
  Partners in Crime
  New York: Signet, 1994.
  Stories of mismatched detectives, by the author of the Roman Cantrell/Nikki Holden mysteries. Includes stories featuring PI's Dan Fortune, Kiernan O'Shaugnessy, and Jenny Gordon.
  
  
• Spillane, Mickey and Max Allan Collins
  Murder Is My Business
  New York: Signet, 1994.
  Excellent anthology of original stories about hired killers, including one featuring co-editor Collins' own Quarry. And the hits just keep on comin'...
  
  
• Woods, Paula A., editor.
  Spooks, Spies and Private Eyes:
  Black Mystery Crime and Suspense Fiction of the 20th Century...Buy this book
  Doubleday, 1995.
  A landmark anthology, as editor Paula Woods, in her intro and aided by a primo selection of short stories and excerpts, traces the development of black mystery and crime writers. Authors include Walter Mosley, Richard Wright, Gar Haywood, John A. Williams, Gary Phillips, and Hugh Horton. Recommended.
  
  
• Turow, Scott, editor.
  Guilty As Charged-A Mystery Writers of America Anthology
  New York: Pocket Books, 1996.
  Stories about the legal system, including tales about Sharon McCone and John Francis Cuddy.
  
  
• Spillane, Mickey and Max Allan Collins
  Vengeance Is Hers
  New York: Signet, 1997.
  Excellent anthology featuring 16 stories by "hard-boiled, hard-hitting women writers," including P.I. tales by Jan Grape, Nancy Pickard, Wendi Lee, L.J. Washburn and S.J. Rozan.
  
  
• Penzler, Otto, editor.
  Murder For Love (1996)...Buy this book
  Murder For Revenge (1998)...Buy this book
  Murder and Obsession (1999)...Buy this book
  New York: Random House, 1996-99.
  Penzler has edited this very strong series of modern pulp collections, with original stories by some of the best writers in the biz, including Kent Anderson, James Crumley, Edna Buchanan, James W. Hall, Lawrence Block, Ed McBain and Dennis Lehane. Most of the stories are one-shots, although some do feature recurring series characters.
  
  
• Penzler, Otto, series editor
  The Best American Mystery Stories 1997 (1997; co-edited by Robert B. Parker)....Buy this book
  The Best American Mystery Stories 1998 (1998; co-edited by Sue Grafton)....Buy this book
  The Best American Mystery Stories 1999 (1999; co-edited by Ed McBain)....Buy this book
  The Best American Mystery Stories 2000 (2000; co-edited by Donald Westlake)....Buy this book
  The Best American Mystery Stories 2001 (2001; co-edited by Lawrence Block)....Buy this book
  The Best American Mystery Stories 2002 (2002; co-edited by James Ellroy)....Buy this book
  The Best American Mystery Stories 2003 (2003; co-edited by Michael Connelly)....Buy this book
  The Best American Mystery Stories 2004 (2004; co-edited by Nelson DeMille)....Buy this book
  The Best American Mystery Stories 2006 (2005; co-edited by Joyce Carol Oates).. Buy this book
  The Best American Mystery Stories 2006 (2006; co-edited by Scott Turow).. Buy this book
  The Best American Mystery Stories 2007 (2007; co-edited by Carl Hiaasen).. Buy this book
  The Best American Mystery Stories 2008 (2008; co-edited by George Pelecanos) ....Buy this book
  New York: Mariner Books, 1997-2008.
  Solid annual collections of each year's best from Penzler, with an annual guest editor riding shotgun. Highlights include tales by John Lutz, Stuart Kaminsky, as well as some great yarns by David Ballard, Lawrence Block (Keller), Jay McInerny, Walter Mosley (Socrates), Tom Franklin, Joyce Carol Oates, John Updike, Stephen King, Gregory Fallis, L.L. Thrasher (Zachariah Smith), Doug Allyn, Shel Silverstein, Bentley Dadmun, Jeffery Deaver, Dennis Lehane and Barbara D'Amato
  .
• Hess, Joan, editor
  Funny Bones....Buy this book
  New York: Signet, 1997
  A collection of humourous crime shorts. Includes non-series tales by folks like Gar Anthony Haywood, Susan Dunlap and Nancy Pickard, plus a Lew Fonesca story by Stuart Kaminsky and a Sam McCain yarn by Ed Gorman.
  .
• Wheat, Carolyn, editor
  Murder on Route 66....Buy this book
  New York: Berkeley Prime Crime, 1999
  Interesting anthology of crime stories set along the mythic Route 66. Includes a non-series tale by Charles Knief, an Ivan Monk yarn by Gary Phillips and a Leo Bloodworth story by Dick Lochte.
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• Block, Lawrence, editor,
  Death Cruise....Buy this book
  1999.
  The prime reason for owning this book has to be Benjamin Schutz' "Lost and Found," wherein he wraps up his late, great series featuring private eye Leo Haggerty.
  .
• Mason, Cynthia, and Kathleen Halligan, editors,
  Murder Intercontinental: Twenty Tales of Murder in Exotic Places....Buy this book
  Berkeley Prime Crime, 1999
  An interesting collection of crime fiction in locations around the world, including tales featuring P.I.s Carlos Bannon and Joe Caneili.
  .
• Gorman, Ed & Greenberg, Martin H., editors,
  The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories (2000)....Buy this book
  The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories, Second Edition (2001)....Buy this book
  The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories, Third Edition (2002)....Buy this book
  The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories, Fourth Edition (2003)....Buy this book
  The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories, Fifth Edition (2004)....Buy this book
  The Adventure of the Missing Detective and 25 of the Year's Best Crime and Mystery Stories (2005)....Buy this book
  The Deadly Bride and 19 of the Year's Finest Crime and Mystery Stories (2006) .. Buy this book
  Wolf Woman Bay and 9 More of the Finest Crime and Mystery Novellas of the Year! (2007) ..Buy this book
  Annual treat, featuring some of the best in crime fic, with ten stories from the likes of the late Ed McBain, Sharyn McCrumb, Joyce Carol Oates; Doug Allyn'; Clark Howard, Steve Hockensmith, Dick Lochte and Jeremiah HealyCarroll & Graf/Forge Books, 2000-07.
  An annual, ongoing collection of the best in short crime fiction, competing with Otto Penzler's Best American Mystery Stories series, edited by crime writer Ed Gorman and anthologist Martin Greenberg, with a decidedly international flavour. Besides some great stories from some of the best in the biz, essays assessing the current crime fiction scene around the globe top off the volumes. In 2005, the publishers chose to jazz up the rather generic title by spotlight an individual story, but it's the same great series, and still a class act, all the way.
  
  
• Malloy, William and Sara Ann Freed, editors,
  The Mysterious Press Anniversary Anthology: Celebrating 25 Years...Buy this book
  New York: Mysterious Press, 2001.
  Stories from Joe Gores (DKA). Loren Estelman (Amos Walker) and Marcia Muller (McCone), as well as James Crumley, Ed McBain, Donald E. Westlake, Lindsey Davis, Jerome Charyn, Joe R. Lansdale, Stuart M. Kaminsky, Archer Mayor, Robert Greer, Margaret Maron, M.C. Beaton, Charlotte Carter, and Beth Saulnier, all to help celebrate the 25th anniversay of Otto Penzler's Mysterious Press (now owned by Warners).
  
  
• Pittman, Joseph, and Annette Riffle, editors,
  And the Dying Is Easy: All New Tales of Summertime Suspense...Buy this book
  New York: Signet, 2001.
  Includes P.I., stories by Max Allan Collins (Nate Heller), Andy Straka (Frank Pavlicek), Selma Eichler (Desiree Shapiro) and John Lantigua (Willie Cuesta), as well as stories by the likes of Peter King, Lydia Adamson, Tamar Myers, Peter Tremayne, Judith Van Giesen, k.j.a. Wishnia and my ol' buddy Matt Witten.
  
  
• Penzler, Otto, editor,
  Murderer's Row ...Buy this book
  2001
  Here's a neat twist on an antholgy. Each story is about crime and baseball, and more than a few of 'em are by writers near and dear to readers of this site. Contributors include Lawrence Block (with a Keller story), Max Allan Collins (Nate Heller), Michael Connelly, K.C. Constantine, Elmore Leonard, John Lescroart, Laura Lippman (Tess Monahan), Mike Lupica, Robert B Parker (a rare short story, about a bodyguard assigned to protect Jackie Robinson), Thomas Perry, Henry Slesar and others, with an intro by Penzler and a foreword by Jim Bouton.
  
  
• Penzler, Otto, editor,
  The Mighty Johns and Other Stories ...Buy this book
  New Millenium Press, 2002
  Are you ready for some football??? Penzler quarterbacks this solid anthology of gridiron-themed stories by some of crime fiction's heaviest hitters, including David Baldacci, Lawrence Block, Dennis Lehane, Colin Harrision, James Crumley, Brad Meltzer, Mike Lupica, Brendan DuBois, John Westermann, Peter Robinson, Carol O'Connell, Gary Phillips and Anne Perry, who chips in a rugby story.
  
  
• Penzler, Otto, editor,
  Murder on the Ropes ...Buy this book
  2002
  Another sports-related anthology edited by Otto Penzler, featuring boxing stories this time around. This one features a couple of P.I. stories, too, by the likes of John Shannon, Stuart Kaminsky and Andrew Bergman.
  
  
• Ohmart, Ben, editor,
  It's That Time Again ...Buy this book
  BearManor Media, 2002.
  Now here's an interesting concept: a collection of short stories based on characters from old time radio shows. Unfortunately, this volume covers not just crime and detective shows, but the entire gamut of old-time radio, from Our Miss Brooks and The Bickersons to Tom Mix and Ma Perkins. Still, there are original stories featuring OTR private eyes Candy Matson, Pat Novak, Johnny Dollar and even Richard Rogue of Rogue's Gallery.
  
  
• McMillan, Dennis, editor,
  Measures of Poison ...Buy this book
  Dennis McMillan Publications, 2002.
  Legendary hard-boiled small-press publisher McMillan coughs up this hefty chunk of a collection, featuring twenty-three original stories by top-notch guys like James Crumley, Michael Connelly, Bill Pronzini, Bob Truluck, Michael Connelly, Gary Phillips, his brother Scott, James Sallis, and George P. Pelecanos, plus an unpublished tale by Charles Willeford and an unproduced screenplay by Howard Browne. A lot of the stories are set in the thirties, but there isn't a dog in the bunch.
  
  
• Breen, Jon L. editor,
  Mystery: The Best of 2002...Buy this book
  New York: ibooks, 2003
  Remember those beloved old paperback short story collections from the fifties and sixties, culled from digests like Manhunt, AHMM, EQMM, and MSMM, et al, and "edited by" Alfred Hitchcock and Mike Shayne? Well, with contributions from crime masters like George Pelecanos, Michael Collins and Clark Howard, Jon Breen's new collection of some of the best from 2002 is THAT good. Short, hard, fast. And entertaining as hell. Not to mention relatively cheap, at a mere eight bucks, U.S. Forget those high-priced spreads -- this is the real deal. P.I. fans, in particular, will enjoy the Dan Fortune short story, "Twilight's Last Gleaming," and get a genuine kick out of Mike Doogan's "War Can Be Murder," which has an aging Sergeant "Sam" Hammett stationed in Alaska, playing amateur sleuth. And Pelecanos' sexually-charged "The Dead Their Eyes Implore Us," reprinted from last year's Measures of Poison, is simply to die for.
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• Bland, Eleanor Taylor, editor,
  Shades of Black: Crime and Mystery Stories by African-American Authors...Buy this book
  New York: Berkely Crime, 2004
  Spotty collection of tales by black crime writers, definitely marred by the editor's introduction which suffers from a sort of selective reinterpretation of crime fiction history. But some of the stories are great. Private eye tales are included by Tracy P. Clark, Robert Greer and Penny Micklebury, and there are intriguing non-P.I. tales by Walter Mosley and Gary Phillips.
  
  
• Randisi, Robert J.,
  Murder... and All That Jazz.....Buy this book
  New York: Signet, 2004.
  Another tasty collection, courtesy of Robert Randisi, featuring new stories PWA members and other Edgar-winning authors, including Michael Connelly, Peter Robinson, Robert Ferrigno, Laura Lippman (Tess!), Max Allan Collins (a new eye!), Julie Smith (Talba!), John Lutz, John Harvey, Billy Moody, Ed Gorman, Martin Meyers, and Les Roberts (Milan!).
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• Faherty, Terence, Jonathan Harrington, Betty Webb and Nancy Baker Jacobs,
  Desperate Journeys....Buy this book
  Worldwide Library, 2004.
  Paperback collection of four novellas, including two P.I. tales, one featuring Faherty's Owen Keane and one with Webb's Lena Jones.
  
  
• Ashley, Mike, editor,
  The Mammoth Book of Roaring Twenties Whodunnits ...Buy this book
  Carroll & Graf, 2004.
  Period pieces, old and new, from some of crime's best fictioneers, including Michael Collins (with a new Dan Fortune story), Max Allan Collins, Mat Coward, Peter Lovesy, Robert Randisi, Ed Hoch and Cornell Woolrich.
  
  
• Penzler, Otto, editor,
  The Mighty Johns
  Are you ready for some football? Penzler assembles a solid squad of talent, including Dennis Lehane, Lawrence Block and even Anne Perry who chips in a rugby tale.
  
  
• The Akashic Noir Series
  Brooklyn Noir (2004; edited by Pete Hamill)...Buy this book
  Brooklyn Noir 2: The Classics (2005; edited by Tim McLoughlin)...Buy this book
  Chicago Noir (2005; edited by Neal Pollack)...Buy this book
  San Francisco Noir (2005; edited by Peter Maravelis)...Buy this book
  DC Noir (2006; edited by George P. Pelecanos)...Buy this book
  Dublin Noir (2006; edited by Ken Bruen)...Buy this book
  London Noir (2006; edited by Cathi Unsworth)...Buy this book
  Miami Noir.(2006; edited by Les Standiford)...Buy this book
  Manhattan Noir (2006; edited by Lawrence Block)...Buy this book
  Baltimore Noir (2006; edited by Laura Lippman)...Buy this book
  Twin Cities Noir (2006; edited by Julie Schaper)...Buy this book
  New Orleans Noir.(2007; edited by Julie Smith)...Buy this book
  Los Angeles Noir (2007; edited by Denise Hamilton)....Buy this book
  Wall Street Noir (2007; edited by Peter Spiegelman)... Buy this book
  Bronx Noir (2007; edited by S.J. Rozan)....Buy this book
  Havana Noir (2007; edited by Achy Obejas)....Buy this book
  Detroit Noir (2007; edited by E.J. Olsen and John C. Hocking) ....Buy this book
  Queens Noir (2008, edited by Robert Knightly) ....Buy this book
  Toronto Noir (2008; edited by Armin, Janine, and Nathaniel G. Moore) ....Buy this book
  DC Noir 2 (2008; edited by George Pelecanos)....Buy this book
  Istanbul Noir (2008; edited by Mustafa Ziyalan)...Buy this book
  Paris Noir (2008; edited by Aurélien Masson) ...Buy this book
  San Francisco Noir 2: The Classics (edited by Peter Maravelis) ...Buy this book
  Rome Noir (2009; edited by Chiara Stangalino and Maxim, Jakubowski)...Buy this book
  Portland Noir (2009; edited by Kevin Sampell)...Buy this book
  Delhi Noir (2009; edited by Hirsh Sawhney) ...Buy this book
  Boston Noir (2009; edited by Dennis Lehane)...Buy this book
  Phoenix Noir (2009; edited by Millikin, Patrick)...Buy this book
  Richmond Noir (2010; edited by Andrew Blossom, Brian Castleberry and Tom De Haven)
  Mexico City Noir (2010; edited by Paco Ignacio Taibo II)
  Los Angeles Noir 2: The Classics (2010; edited by Denise Hamilton)
  Orange County Noir (2010; edited by Gary Phillips)....Buy this book....Kindle it!
  Moscow Noir (2010; edited by Natalia Smirnova and Julia Goumen)
  Indian Country Noir (2010; edited by Sarah Cortez and Liz Martinez)
  Lone Star Noir (2010; edited by Bobby Byrd and Johnny Byrd)
  Haiti Noir (2010; edited by Edwidge Danticat, Edwidge)...Buy this book
  Copenhagen Noir (2010; edited by Bo Tao Michaelis)
  New York: Akashic Books, 2004--
  Ex-punk rocker Johnny Temple's feisty and defiantly political little imprint struck gold of the blackest hue with this string of regionalized collections of noir. While the definition of noir may be stretched to the breaking point at times, there's no denying how effective and powerful so many of these collections, which boast some of the best crime writers around (including Ken Bruen, Michael Connelly, Robert Ferrigno, Gary Phillips, Lawrence Block, S.J. Rozan, Steven Torres, Joyce Carol Oates, Loren D. Estleman, P.J. Parrish, Craig Holden, Megan Abbott, James W. Hall, Jim Pascoe, Scott Phillips, Laura Lippman, Reed Farrell Coleman), have proven to be. And there have been a few damn decent P.I. stories sprinkled throughout as well.
  
  
• Phillips, Gary, and Jervey Tervalon, editors,
  The Cocaine Chronicles . Buy this book
  New York: Akashic Books, 2005
  The editors cut out a fine line of seventeen coke-fuelled crime tales by Lee Child, Ken Bruen, Laura Lippman, Bill Moody, Nichelle Tramble, Jerry Stahl, James Brown, Gary Phillips, and others that''ll snap your head back. The real thing.
  
  
• Jaye, Jessica, and Richard Brewer, editors,
  Meeting Across the River.. Buy this book
  Bloomsbury, 2005.
  Tramps like us, baby we were born to write. A often noirish collection of, as the sub-title goes, "Stories Inspired by the Haunting Bruce Springsteen Song." Contributors include Eddie Muller, Steve Hamilton, David Corbett, Barbara Seranella, William Kent Krueger and Eric Garcia.
  
  
• McBain, Ed, editor
  Transgressions . Buy this book
  New York: Forge, 2005
  A mixed-bag collection of ten novellas (NOT short stories) by some real whiz bang writers, including editor McBain himself (an impressive 87th Precinct tale) , plus Walter Mosley, Joyce Carol Oates, Stephen King, and Anne Perry. Lawrence Block chips in a Keller story, and Donald Westlake unleashes a new Dortmunder yarn. Also available in a ritzy leather-bound edition.
  
  
• Penzler, Otto, editor,
  Murder Is My Racquet...Buy this book
  New York: Mysterious Press, 2005
  Penzler continues his series of sports-themed crime stories by some of the best crime writers around, including Lawrence Block, John Harvey (with a Jack Kiley story), James W. Hall, Stephen Hunter and even future Texas governor wannabe Kinky Freidman..
  
  
• Randisi, Robert J., editor,
  Greatest Hits: Original Stories of Hitmen, Hired Guns and Private Eyes., Buy this book
  New York: Carroll & Graf, 2005.
  Collection of mostly all-new stories, all featuring hitmen (despite the subtitle), from the likes of Lawrence Block (Keller!), Max Allan Collins (Quarry!), Barbara Seranella, Lee Child, Ed Gorman, James W. Hall et al. Sounds good to me...
  
  
• Smith, Anthony Neil, editor
  Plots With Guns: A Noir Anthology...Buy this book
  Dennis McMillan Publications, 2005.
  This rock 'em, sock 'em collection of 24 hard-bitten tales, most of them taken from the late, lamented e-zine/web site (this era's Manhunt) and the rest from “fellow travellers” includes offerings from such heavyweights as Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch's first case!), Kent Anderson, Victor Gischler, Reed Farrel Coleman, Laura Lippman, Eddie Muller, Gary Phillips, Scott Phillips, Jason Starr and Charlie Stella.
  
  
• Connelly, Michael, editor,
  Murder in Vegas: New Crime Tales of Gambling and Desperation...Buy this book
  Forge Books, 2005.
  A solid collection of tough little, high stakes tales by some of the best and brightest writers in the genre, including Michael Collins, John Wessel, Rick Mofina, S.J. Rozan and Jeremiah Healy.
  
  
• Penzler, Otto, editor,
  Murder at the Racetrack... Buy this book
  New York: Mysterious Press, 2006
  Pernzler takes dead aim at the sport of kings with this collection, which sports the long-winded sub-title of "Original Tales of Mystery and Mayhem Down the Final Stretch." Among those jockeying for position are Max Allan Collins (with a new Nate Heller story),Lawrence Block (Keller), Ken Bruen, Jan Burke, Lorenzo Carcaterra, Joyce Carol Oates and Scott Wolven.
  
  
• Penzler, Otto, editor,
  Murder in the Rough... Buy this book
  New York: Mysterious Press, 2006
  Yet another sports-themed anthology from the Penzler factory, this one offers "Original Tales of Bad Shots, Terrible Lies, and Other Deadly Handicaps." Among those playing through this go-round are Ian Rankin, Ken "I hate fuckin' golf." Bruen, Jonathan Gash, William G. Tapply, Laura Lippman, Steve Hamilton, Bradford Morrow, John Sandford, Simon Brett and Lawrence Block.
  
  
• Patterson, James, editor,
  Thriller... Buy this book
  Mira, 2006.
  First collection from new thriller writers organization features Lee Child's first and, so far only, Jack Reacher short story, plus stories by David Morrell, Dennis Lynds, John Lescroart, Chris Mooney, James Grippando, Denise Hamilton, J.A. Konrath, Christopher Rice, Gayle Lynds, and others.
  
  
• Swierczynski, Duane, editor,
  Damn Near Dead: An Anthology of Geezer Noir... Buy this book
  Busted Flush, 2006.
  A collection of murder and mayhem and senior citizens, with an intro by James Crumley and featuring stories by the editorm plus folks like Laura Lippman, Jason Starr, Jeff Abbott and Dave White, who offers a new Jackson Donne story..
  
  
• Randisi, Robert J., editor,
  Hollywood and Crime ...Buy this book
  Pegasus Books, 2007.
  Fifteen"Original Crime Stories Set During the History of Hollywood," as the subtitle puts it, by Michael Connelly, Lee Goldberg, Max Allan Collins, Stuart Kaminsky, Dick Lochte (with a new Leo Bloodworth story), Randisi and all the other usual suspects.
  
  
• Hellman, Libby Fischer,editor,
  Chicago Blues ....Buy this book
  Bleak House Books, 2007
  Crime writers Max Allan Collins, Sean Chercover, Michael Black, Sara Paretsky, Stuart Kaminsky, Kris Nelcott, D.C. Brod, Barb D'Amato and others exercise their right to sing the blues, Chicago style. Edited by Georgia Davis' creator, Hellman.
  
  
• Abbott, Megan, editor,
  Hell of a Woman: An Anthology of Female Noir ..Buy this book
  Busted Flush, 2007.
  A collection of new stories by Sara Gran, Vicki Hendricks, Alison Gaylin, Cornelia Read, Naomi Hirahara, Zoë Sharp, Sandra Scoppettone, Charlotte Carter, Lynne Barrett, Annette Meyers, Vin Packer, Libby Fischer Hellman and more, plus a look at several fairly dangerous dames over the years and an intro by Val McDermid, who's fairly dangerous herself.
  
  
• Penzler, Otto, editor,
  Dead Man's Hand: Crime Fiction at the Poker Table ....Buy this book
  Harcourt, 2007.
  Yet another sports-themed anthology of short crime fiction from Penzler -- if you can call poker a "sport." Still, there's no denying that he's met the ante with stories from the likes of Laura Lippman, Walter Mosley, Peter Robinson, Jeffrey Deaver. Alexander McCall Smith and Michael Connelly.
  
  
• Phillips, Gary, editor,
  Politics Noir: Dark Tales from the Corridors of Power....Buy this book
  New York: Verso, 2008.
  The corridors of power, it turns out, are even nastier than Chandler's fabled mean streets, although this collection frequently makes the case that the two are never far apart. Which makes this book about as in your face as it gets, a no-holds-barred slice of venom aimed at the powers that be and the corruption that is. To be sure, a lot of these dark, nasty stories have nothing to do -- theoretically -- with the current administration, and editor Phillips attempts a fair and balanced tone in his intro, but the actual stories (including his) make it pretty clear which side of the line most of these writers are coming from -- and are all the more powerful for it. Contributors also include Mike Davis, Darrell James, John Shannon, Robert Greer, Twist Phelan, Ken Wishnia, pete Hautman and Sujata Massey. This is primo stuff, angry and pissed off, its bleak cynicism perhaps best summed up by a character in Ken Bruen's contribution: "Call it politics. I call it shite."
  
  
• Robinson, Todd, editor,
  Hardcore Hardboiled ....Buy this book
  Kensington, 2008
  Duh. I get it. This is supposed to be HARD. The Thuglit boys and some of their pals get hard, presenting some of the best (and hardest) crime stories from some of the best-known writers in the genre -- guys like Bruen, Chercover, Gischler, Swierczynski, Stella, McLean, etc. Yeah, in these stories guys cuss up a storm, various implements are shoved into various parts of the body they're not supposed to go into, and plenty of bodily fluids are let loose. As Otto Penzler points out in his surprisingly mocking intro, you were expecting tea with the vicar? Todd knows hard.
  
  
• Jakubowski , Maxim, editor,
  The Mammoth Book of the World's Best Crime Stories..Buy this book....Kindle it!
  Constable & Robinson, 2009.
  An impressive slab of a book, collecting crime stories from all over the world, and boasting some of the world's greatest crime and mystery authors, including John Mortimer, Ruth Rendell, Howard Engel, Ian Rankin, Boris Akunin, Mark Billingham, Giorgio Faletti, Jo Nesbo and Jeffrey Deaver. There are forty stories here, everything from noir to whodunnits, and the settings include Italy, Cuba, Scandinavia, Russia, USA, Japan, Germany, Mexico, France, Italy, Spain, the UK and Canada. What better way to learn about other countries than by finding out how they bump each other off?
  
  
• Santlofer, Jonathan, & S.J. Rozan, editors,
  The Dark End of the Street....Buy this book....Kindle it!
  Bloomsbury USA, 2010.
  The subtitle says it all. "New Stories of Sex and Crime by Today's Top Authors." Includes stories by Lawrence Block, Lee Child, Michael Connelly (with a Mickey Haller story), Laura Lippman, Val McDermid, Janice Lee, Francine Prose, etc.
  
  
• Parker, T. Jefferson, ed.,
  Hook, Line and Sinister....Buy this book
  Countryman Press, 2010.
  Editor Parker lands 16 original stories from William G. Tapply, Dana Stabenow, John Lescroart, Brian M. Wiprud, Don Winslow, Melodie Johnson howe, Michael Connelly, Ridley Pearson, C.J. Box, and James W. Hall, among others -- all guaranteed to ber more fun than cutting bait. Proceeds go to two charitable groups, Casting For Recovery, which helps women cancer survivors to heal body and soul through fly-fishing, and Project Healing Waters, which does the same for our returning veterans.
  
  
• Abbott, Patricia, and Stephen Weddle, editors,
  Discount Noir..Kindle it!
  Untreed Reads, October 2010.
  Shopping is murder, and can get even uglier than the shoppers at WalMart at two in the morning. Don't believe me? Check out these flash fiction tales of MegaMart murder and mayhem by such savvy customers as Patricia Abbott, Ed Gorman, Bill Crider, John McFetridge, James Reasoner, Todd Mason, Sandra Scoppettone, Stephen D. Rogers, Sandra Seamans, Donna Moore, Keith Rawson and Gerald So, among others.
  
  
• Cranmer, David, and Elaine Ash, editors,
  Beat to a Pulp: Round One...Buy this book
  Beat to a Pulp, 2010.
  Twenty-seven chunks of pulp, ranging from noir, crime and hardboiled to ghost, western, fantasy and sci-fi. Features stories from Patricia Abbott, Charles Ardai, Ed Gorman, Robert J. Randisi, James Reasoner, and Stephen D. Rogers, plus a foreword by Bill Crider and great cover art by James O'Barr.
  
  
• Child, Lee, editor,
  Vengeance...Buy this book...Kindle it!
  Muholland Books, 2012.
  Darker collection than usual from the Mystery Writers of America, focussing, naturally, on tales of revenge. Contributors include Alafair Burke, Michael Connelly, Mike Cooper, Brendan DuBois, Jim Fusilli, Dennis Lehane, Steve Liskow, Twist Phelan, Zoe Sharp, Karin Slaughter and of course editor Child himself.
  
  
• Cranmer, David, & Matthew P. Mayo, editors,
  Beat to a Pulp: Round Two...Buy this book
  Beat to a Pulp, 2012
  Second go-round of essential new pulp tales by Bill Pronzini, Charles Ardai, James Reasoner, Bill Crider, Patricia Abbott, Vin Packer, and more.