Mystery Writers of America Presents The Mystery Box - Best Crime Fiction Anthology for Book Lovers | Perfect for Gifts, Book Clubs & Mystery Enthusiasts

The is the latest collection from Mystery Writers of America. Like most collections, you will like some better than others, but well worth the price. The 21 stories deal with a range of topics. There is more than one type of mystery (I have personally written a few). A couple of the stories might make you sleep with the light on. Short story collections can be read at leisure (a good commuter or beach book) and they are a good introduction to authors you might not be familiar with. So, the 21 stories in the order they appear...Jan Burke's "The Amiable Miss Montague" - A man's great aunt, Miss Edith Montague, had a reputation for holding her tongue, never speculating or gossiping. She had a secret for doing that, only revealed after she is killed with a blunt object. The truth will out, and their is an unexpected trove in her estate.Laura Lippman's "Waco 1982" - Marissa is at loose ends after graduating from college and takes a reporter's job on a Texas newspaper. Lou, the editor, has a habit of assigning her to uninspiring stories - if you have lived in a smaller town and read the local newspaper, you know the type story. Events plod along until she is assigned to a seemingly dull story that reveals a very dark secret.Libby Fischer Hellmann's "War Secrets" - Set in 1930s Nazi Germany - Davood Sarand, a brilliant young scientist from Iraq, is in Germany doing weapons research. But he has a secret. He has been hiding a Jewish ethnicity, and now he is under suspicion because he was observed visiting a Jewish girlfriend. What will he do now?C. E. Lawrence's "The Vly" - Set in New York State's Catskill Mountains - a small farming community is near a marshy area called the Vly. It's an area people stay away from, especially at a certain time of year. Slade goes hunting with his cousin Jacob, and they venture into the wrong area and see something that they should have avoided. You might remember Frankie Laine's Riders in the Sky - this is something much more eerie and dangerous.Joseph Finder's "Heirloom" - A couple has purchased the property next door. The property has some secrets known to locals, the reason it has been on the market so long, and Walter is quite happy to reveal everything to the new owners - much to their dismay. There is a little twist to the end of the tale.James O. Born's "The Boca Box" - Detective Paul Tubman thinks that Manny is operating another scam. It seems to be a legitimate weight loss clinic, but there is a mysterious box that holds the last resort. Manny warns against the last resort, and refuses to say what's in the box. There is an old expression about curiosity.S. W. Hubbard's "Mad Blood" - Trent and his little sister Ducky have a father who is abusing their mother. Ducky looks to Trent for protection. Events move towards a climax, and Ducky may be quite wise for her age.Joseph Goodrich's "Dear Mr. Queen" - Christopher Kenilworth is a high school student who is an aspiring mystery writer, but he needs a plot. What better than what he sees around him, with a little literary license (or so he thinks). The story is written in short segments as the plot moves forward from March 2 to May 25, when Christopher submits his final draft.R. T. Lawton's "The Delivery" - A large box delivered to Miss Delilah at the Gladstone Apartments. Everyone is interested in Miss Delilah, at least all the men, and everyone wants an excuse to hang around and try to edge into her apartment. A little twist at the end.Tom Rob Smith's "Mokume Gane" - Set in Japan - Taro Oshiro had a unique way to obtain funding for his startup company. Now he has gone back to the source.Mary Anne Kelly's "Angelina" - Angelina lives in South Ozone Park near the flight path for JFK. Anthony has taken an interest, even leaving her a dog. But there is more to Angelina than meets the eye.Tony Broadbent's "The Remaining Unknowns" - Bobby is on the NYPD Bomb Squad. A suspicious vehicle is parked on the street, and Bobby is the designated point man. Most of the story deals with what goes on in his mind.Steve Berry's "Double Jeopardy" - A man's family has been in an accident. His wife is gone, and his son is in a vegetative state in the hospital. What will he do now?Angela Gerst's "The Secret Life of Books" - Colette is a writer in post World War II France. She is older, and does not go out much. She meets and befriends the young wife of a much older man - a woman who claims to be a big fan. But the young woman has a secret, and that will help Colette solve a crime.Catherine Mambretti's "The Very Private Detectress" - This is a delightful romp set in the late 1850s. A woman who claims to be a widow wants Allan Pinkerton to hire her as a woman detective, but she will provide no information about herself. He's a detective, so he should be able to find the information, right? She presents him with a challenge that has surprising results.Stephen Ross's "The Birdhouse" - Set in World War II England. A wounded serviceman is at a country estate converted to a hospital. He has been reduced to a quadriplegic who has lost his ability to speak. He comes across vital information about a crime and an individual. What can he do now?Charles Todd's "The Honour of Dundee" - Someone has stolen a mysterious box that has no apparent value. They were willing to kill for it. Rutledge is on the case. There are other forms of value besides money.Jonathan Stone's "Hedge" - Commodities trading carried to an extreme. An investigative reporter was pursuing a case undercover when he was kidnapped. Now confined, his mind works through the case.Katherine Neville's "The Lunar Society" - Set in the 1790s in England and the USA. This concerns a secret anti-slavery group. It has some amount of name dropping.R. L. Stine's "High Stakes" - Another delightful romp. A couple is on their honeymoon in the West Indies when they are drawn into a strange, high stakes bet. The outcome just does not come out like people expect.Karin Slaughter's "Remmy Rothstein Toes the Line" - A zany story told as a series of daily reports by Mindy, an Adjudicator sent to verify claims of world records. This one goes in some unexpected directions.