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A review by meeners
The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century by Otto Penzler, Tony Hillerman
4.0
n impressively ambitious project, and i appreciated the variations in styles and plots and moods. (though i have to admit that it's those very variations that also irked me at times - felt too much like the editors were straining to "break free" of genre restraints, when really they didn't have to.)
there were quite a few stories i didn't think really deserved the title, but i guess you could cite personal preferences as part of the reason. my favorites were the ones by cain (can't go wrong with a title like "the baby in the icebox"), woolrich (teh suspense!!), jackson (creepy awesome old lady protagonist), westlake (master of the bumbling crook caper), and hammett (best last sentence....EVAR.)
in fact, i'll always be eternally grateful to the editors for introducing me to hammett's "the gutting of couffignal," which is one of those stories that grabs onto you and never lets go once you've finished reading it. so great.
there were quite a few stories i didn't think really deserved the title, but i guess you could cite personal preferences as part of the reason. my favorites were the ones by cain (can't go wrong with a title like "the baby in the icebox"), woolrich (teh suspense!!), jackson (creepy awesome old lady protagonist), westlake (master of the bumbling crook caper), and hammett (best last sentence....EVAR.)
in fact, i'll always be eternally grateful to the editors for introducing me to hammett's "the gutting of couffignal," which is one of those stories that grabs onto you and never lets go once you've finished reading it. so great.