Нельсон Демилль: The Best American Mystery Stories 2004

These stories are works of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

“Bet on Red” by Jeff Abbott. First published in High Stakes. Copyright © 2003 by Jeff Abbott. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Stonewalls” by Jeffrey Robert Bowman. First published in The Chattahoochee Review, Winter-Spring 2003. Copyright © 2003 by Jeffrey Robert Bowman. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Height Advantage” by William J. Carroll, Jr. First published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, November 2003. Copyright © 2003 by William J. Carroll, Jr. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Evolution” by Benjamin Cavell. Copyright © 2003 by Benjamin Cavell. First published in Humble, Young Man, Rumble. Reprinted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

“All Through the House” by Christopher Coake. First published in The Gettysburg Review, Summer 2003. Copyright © 2003 by Christopher Coake. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Where Beautiful Indies Dance for You” by Patrick Michael Finn. First published in Ploughshares, Winter 2003–2004. Copyright © 2003 by Patrick Michael Finn. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“How Wendy Tudhope Was Saved from Sure and Certain Death” by Rob Kantner. First published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, April 2003. Copyright © 2003 by Rob Kantner. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Snake Eyes” by Jonathon King. First published in High Stakes. Copyright © 2003 by Jonathon King. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Harvey’s Dream” by Stephen King. First published in The New Yorker, June 30, 2003. Copyright © 2003 by Stephen King. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Smash and Grab” by Michael Knight. First published in StoryQuarterly, issue 39. Copyright © 2003 by Michael Knight. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Bank of America” by Richard Lange. First published in StoryQuarterly, issue 38. Copyright © 2003 by Richard Lange. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Lids” by Tom Larsen. First published in New Millennium Writings. Copyright © 2003 by Thomas R. Larsen. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Low Tide” by Dick Lochte. First published in Flesh and Blood. Copyright © 2003 by Dick Lochte. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“The Incident of the Impecunious Chevalier” by Richard A. Lupoff. First published in My Sherlock Holmes. Copyright © 2003 by Richard A. Lupoff. Reprinted by permission of the author and his agents. Scovil Chichak Galen.

“Doll: A Romance of the Mississippi” by Joyce Carol Oates. First published in The Gettysburg Review, Spring 2003. Copyright © 2003 by The Ontario Review, Inc. Reprinted by permission of The Ontario Review, Inc.

“The Swag from Doc Hawthorne’s” by Jack O’Connell. First published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Copyright © 2003 by Jack O’Connell. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Best Man Wins” by Frederick Waterman. First published in Hemispheres: The Magazine of United Airlines, August 2003. Copyright © 2003 by Frederick Waterman. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Something About Teddy” by Timothy Williams. First published in Plots with Guns. January/February 2003. Copyright © 2003 by Timothy Williams. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“El Rey“ by Scott Wolven. First published in Lost in Front. December 23, 2003. Copyright © 2003 by Scott Wolven. Reprinted by permission of International Creative Management, Inc.

“Green Heat” by Angela Zeman. First published in A Hot and Sultry Night for Crime. Copyright © 2003 by Angela Zeman. Reprinted by permission of the author.

When this series, Best American Mystery Stories, began eight years ago, my estimable editor at Houghton Mifflin gave me no instructions, no rules, no censorious commands, no guidelines, other than that the stories must fit the definition of the title: The mystery/crime/suspense story must be by an American or Canadian and first published in the appropriate calendar year.

It was understood by us both, however, that the point of each anthology is that it contain the best writing produced that year. The reputation of the author, the subject of the story, the place in which it first appeared — none of that carried any weight. It was from the first, and remains, all about the work.

While the criteria for selecting these stories are inevitably subjective, reflecting my taste and that of each edition’s guest editor, the same standards apply to this fiction as to Houghton Mifflin’s legendary sister publication, Best American Short Stories. You know what they are: characterization, narrative drive, clarity of vision, literary style. Make me believe that the people who populate your stories are genuine, force me to wonder what will happen to them next, have interesting events befall them, say it in a way that hasn’t been said a thousand times before, and you’ve got me in the palm of your hand.

Who writes these literary paragons, and where can their adventures be found? Oh, if only that had a brief answer. Distinguished writers produce more than their share of distinguished fiction. Joyce Carol Oates, than whom there is no more distinguished writer working today, makes her seventh appearance in this series with “Doll: A Romance of the Mississippi.” John Updike’s sole foray into mystery fiction made it into the 1999 volume. Elmore Leonard made it a couple of times, and so did Dennis Lehane, Jay McInerney, Walter Mosley, Michael Connelly, Russell Banks, and James Crumley.

Some lesser-known authors of — dare one say it? — equal talent have also graced these pages, sometimes to go on to bigger (if not necessarily better) things.

Tom Franklin’s first book appearance was in the 1999 Best American Mystery Stories with the story “Poachers,” from the excellent, if very little, magazine of literary distinction. Texas Review. It went on to become the title story of a collection published by William Morrow and was followed last year by a novel, Hell at the Gate.

The first time Scott Wolven appeared in a book was in the 2002 edition of BAMS with “The Copper Kings”: he now has a collection under contract at Scribner’s with the superb editor Colin Harrison. Victor Gischler followed his debut in book form with “Hitting Rufus” with a hard-boiled novel, Gun Monkeys, which was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award by the Mystery Writers of America.

In this edition, we may be seeing the launching of several important careers, notably that of Christopher Coake, whose “All Through the House” is one of the most stunning and memorable pieces of fiction in years.

Locating all these outstanding stories is not always easy, as many of the little magazines that publish literary fiction have fairly limited circulation. Happily, Michele Slung, my invaluable colleague, reads voraciously and intelligently and has been able to scout out hundreds of worthy stories, often from the most unlikely sources. Nat Sobel, the best agent in the world, has recommended stories since the inception of this series, and his impeccable taste has made reading none of them-а waste of time. Also, many editors of literary journals have taken the time to nominate work that seems appropriate, which has been hugely helpful.