Weird Detectives: Recent Investigations by Paula Guran

Weird Detectives: Recent Investigations Reviews

• 
  Willa

  "Weird Detectives" is an anthology of short paranormal mystery stories. As in most anthologies, some of the stories were great, while there were a few that I wasn't interested in. Also, many of the stories were reprints that have appeared in other anthologies, so if you're buying the book for a particular author's story, check and be sure you haven't already read it.
  
  The standouts for me were:
  
  The Key, by Ilsa J. Bick. A story about a detective trying to figure out who killed a little boy found by a jogger in the park. I loved this one. Full of Jewish mysticism, Kabbalah, demons and angels. I would love to read a whole novel about Jason Saunders, the detective. The story caused me to look for more by Ms. Black, which, for me, is one of the more important reasons for reading an anthology--to discover new authors.
  
  Love Hurts, by Jim Butcher. A story set in Harry Dresden's (The Dresden Files) world. I've read most of The Dresden Files books, so am familiar with the world and the characters. I had read this story before, but it was worth reading again. Harry and Karrin Murphy investigate a case involving three couples, each of whom apparently killed themselves in a suicide pact. And Harry and Murphy almost get caught up in it themselves.
  
  Protective Coloration, by Elizabeth Bear. Three college girls discover that their professor, Dr. Matthew Szczegielniak ("Dr. S.") has another life as a mage.
  
  Star of David, by Patricia Briggs. Stella Christiansen runs an agency that places foster children. When one of those foster children is accused of wrecking his foster parents' home, Stella thinks there must be something else involved. To find out what, she enlists the help of her estranged father, a werewolf.
  
  Signatures of the Dead, by Faith Hunter. Set in the world of Jane Yellowrock, a Cherokee skin walker, this story has Jane and her friend Molly Everhart Trueblood investigating the killing of a family, apparently by vampires. Also involved in the investigation are Molly's husband Evan and a sheriff's detective.
  
  Imposters, by Sarah Monette. Two detectives with the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation look into a rash of suicides.
  
  Deal Breaker, by Justin Gustainis. A story about a man who sold his soul to the Devil for a decade of good luck. The decade is coming to a close, and he comes to investigator Quincy Morris to find a way to get out of the deal.
  
  Death by Dahlia, by Charlaine Harris. Another reprint, this time set in the Sookie Stackhouse "Southern Vampire" universe. A great story about what happens when vampires investigate one of their own. Sookie doesn't appear, but Dahlia has appeared in several of the Sookie books.
  
  Like Part of the Family, by Jonathan Maberry. PI Sam Hunter is hired by a woman who claims that her husband has threatened to kill her. Hunter turns out to be more than he appeared at first glance.
  
  See Me, by Tanya Huff. Tony Foster--the young wizard who first appeared in Huff's "Blood" series, and now in his own series, "Smoke"--and his boyfriend Lee get involved with a prostitute who has been at the scene of two deaths. Tony is one of the directors of a vampire detective television show, and Lee plays the detective on the show. Despite the fact that neither of them are detectives, the wizard and the actor contrive to solve the mystery.
  
  I received this book from NetGalley in return for a review; I was not paid for this review, nor required to post a positive review.
• 
  Benjamin Thomas

  This anthology of 23 stories focuses on the central idea of having a detective/private investigator (or pair of them) trying to solve a case that involves the supernatural. Sometimes the sleuth is supernatural themselves and sometimes the quarry is. Sometimes both. Another focus, as the subtitle would indicate, is that all these stories are fairly recent, having first been published elsewhere in 2008-2011 timeframe for the most part (the book itself was published in 2013). A couple reached back a little further, the earliest being 2004.
  
  As always in a topical anthology, some stories are better than others, but I can honestly say that none of these sucked or pissed me off. In fact, most of them were quite enjoyable with a number of gems among them.
  
  Many of the usual authors that are often included in these sorts of anthologies are represented here as well including Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Neil Gaiman, Charlaine Harris, Elizabeth Bear, P.N. Elrod, Tanya Huff, Carrie Vaughn, and Joe R. Lansdale. I expect good things from these authors and they all delivered once again, even though I had read a couple of them before. Some of their stories here are stand-alone yarns but more often they feature their own well-known series characters.
  However, the main reason I enjoy reading these anthologies is to discover new authors (to me) and I have added several to my “need-to-read-more-from” list including Caitlin R. Kiernan, Dana Cameron, Faith Hunter, and Simon Clark.
  
  As I’ve mentioned in other reviews, I like to enjoy my early Saturday mornings when other family members are sleeping in, by reading a nice short story. It’s my “me” time, and this book worked very well for that, reading one story each week.
• 
  Anton Marks

  My favorite short stories in Weird Detectives and my top 3.
  
  The Key - Ilsa J Black
  
  The Nightside,Needless To Say - Simon R Green
  
  Love Hurts - Jim Butcher
  
  Cryptic Coloration - Elizabeth Bear
  
  The Case Of the Stalking Shadow - Joe R Lansdale
  
  Hecates Golden Eye - P N Elrod
  
  Defining Shadows - Carrie Vaughan
  
  Star of David - Patricia Briggs - This was in my top three for best story in the book - The werewolf character of David Christianson really resonated with me.
  
  Imposters - Sarah Monette
  
  Deal Breaker - Justin Gustinis - Quincy Morris is a Wiley character who is on first name terms with demons from the pit. For a human to outwit The Fallen takes nerves and intellect, that's why this story is in my top two.
  
  Signatures of the Dead - Faith Hunter
  
  Like Part of the Family - Jonathan Maberry - This is el numero uno for me. Hunter is a PI and a werewolf(I think I've got something for lycanthropes). His clients become a part of his non-werewolf pack and he does not take lightly to the members of his pack being threatened. He's a smart, wisecracking and lethal hero who believes in the old-fashioned an eye for an eye
  
  Death By Dahlia - Charlaine Harris
  
  See Me - Tanya Huff
• 
  David Caldwell

  I am not reading the stories in any particular order.Just picking ones that I think I can read in the time I have, so I am just going to review the stories as I read them and then will give my overall review once I am finished.There are 23 stories in this collection.I do like the format of the stories.At the beginging of each story you are given a setup for the case and who the investigators are.At the end you get a brief author's note.I prefer the author note being attached to the story to the usual list at the end of the book since it makes it easier to connect them that way.
  
  1.The Key by Ilsa J. Bick. A police detective in Washington,D.C. has to try and solve a murder of a baby with bizarre religious overtones while dealing with the suicide of her former partner.
  2.Deal Breaker by Justin Gustainis. Occult investigator, Quincy Morris,has to help a man who thinks he sold his soul in exchange for success.
  3.The Beast of Glamis by William Meikle.Carnacki uses his electrical pentacle and othertools to deal with a bogle in a Scottish Laird's castle.
  4.The Maltese Unicorn by Caitlan R. Kiernan. This is a wonderful mix of noir and fantasy set in 1930s New York.Definitely not one for the kiddies though.
  5.The Necromancer's Appentice by Lillian Stewart Carl. The apprentice to a famous necromancer has to walk a thin line between heresy and helping a favored lord to the queen when rumors of his involvement in his wife's death casts him from her favor.The best bits are the insults.
  6.The Case of the Stalking Shadow by Joe R. Lansdale. Dana Roberts first case.A mysterious shadow seems to be connected to a strange tree.Truly creepy sory.
  7.Sherlock Holmes and the Diving Bell by Simon Clark.Sherlock and Watson invesigate an immortal creature on the sea floor.Did not work as a Sherlock Holmes story for me.
  8.Mortal Bait by Richard Bowes. An aging private eye gets mixed up as a pawn in a game played by the Fey and Elves.Very nice story.
  9.Imposters by Sarah Monette. Something supernatural is causing people to question their own identities. I would like to see more of these invesigators.
  10.Like Part of the Family by Jonathan Mayberry. A woman turns to a P.I. when her husband can't accept that their marriage is over. A predictable but fun story. Great main character.
  11.Fox Tails by Richard Parks. A story of fox demons set in feudal Japan. Fox demons seem to be the "new" paranormal creature.This story gave me deja vu (must have seen it somewhere before).
  12.Cryptic Coloration by Elizabeth Bear. Three co-eds decide to investigate their college professor who seems to be more than he at first appears. Another great main character.
  13.The Adakian Eagle by Bradley Denton. An interesting tale set in the Aleutian Islands during World War II. Pop (it took me much too long to guess who he really was considering all of the clues given) and an unnamed private have to investigate the murder of a navy man with a little magical help. Very nice addition to the collection.
  14.Star of David by Patricia Briggs. When Stella Christiansen suspects that one of the foster kids that she placed might be more than human, she calls the only monster she knows. Her estranged father is a mercenary and a werewolf.
  15. Death by Dahlia by Charlaine Harris. At the party for the new sheriff, one of the human blood donors turns up dead. Two vampires need to solve the mystery quickly before it causes problems for the entire vampire community.
  16. See Me by Tanya Huff. Tony Foster is working on his vampire detective show when he finds the body of an elderly man with no identification. After a second elderly man with no ID turns up dead, Tony fears for the life of his lover and decides to get to the bottom of the mystery.
  17. Defining Shadows by Carrie Vaughn. Detective Jessi Hardin is called in for the strange cases so when a pair of legs and no upper body is found standing up in a shed, Jessi has to solve the mystery.
  18.Hecate's Golden Eye by P.N. Elrod. Jack Fleming and his partner are hired to recover a stolen family heirloom. The story is set in 1930's Chicago.
  19.Swing Shift by Dana Cameron. The Fangborn (werewolves and vampires) secretly help stop a Nazi spy ring.
  20.Signatures of the Dead by Faith Hunter. This is the prequel story to the Jane Yellowrock (Skinwalker) series as told through Molly Everhart Trueblood's point of view.
  21.The Case of Death and Honey by Neil Gaiman. Upon his deathbed, Mycroft Holmes gives Sherlock his ultimate challenge.
  22.Love Hurts by Jim Butcher. Harry and Murphy track the cause of several double homicides to the State Fair.
  23.The Nightside, Needless to Say by Simon R. Green. Larry Oblivion wakes up dead with no memory of his killer. Naturally he decides to solve the mystery in the time he has left.
  
  This is not an original collection of stories. All of the stories have appeared somewhere else, usually in other collections. So if you are looking for a new story by a favorite author, you might be disappointed. But if you missed one of those stories (or don't mind rereading them) and you want to try some of the other authors, then this is a very nice collection.
• 
  David

  The Key by Ilsa J. Blick - this didn't leave much of an impression
  
  The Nightside, Needless to Say by Simon R. Green - I had already read this so I skipped it.
  
  The Adakian Eagle by Bradley Denton - This story makes me want to learn more about Alaska during WWII.
  
  Love Hurts by Jim Butcher - OK. I don't follow the Harry Dresden series.
  
  The Case of Death and Honey by Neil Gaiman - this didn't leave much of an impression.
  
  Cryptic Coloration by Elizabeth Bear - I give this extra points for the ending.
  
  The Necromancer’s Apprentice by Lillian Stewart Carl - blah
  
  The Case of the Stalking Shadow by Joe R. Lansdale - Good, I should read some of his other works.
  
  Hecate’s Golden Eye by P.N. Elrod - I had already read this so I skipped it.
  
  Defining Shadows by Carrie Vaughn - I hate this story. Killing a manananggal (Filipino vampire that causes miscarriages) isn't murder. If anything, it's like putting down a rabid dog.
  
  Mortal Bait by Richard Bowes - blah
  
  Star of David by Patricia Briggs - I had already read this so I skipped it.
  
  Imposters by Sarah Monette - not for me
  
  Deal Breaker by Justin Gustainis - OK, was worth a reread.
  
  Swing Shift by Dana Cameron - I dislike the Fangborn series.
  
  The Beast of Glamis by William Meikle - OK
  
  Signatures of the Dead by Faith Hunter - I had already read this so I skipped it.
  
  Like a Part of the Family by Jonathan Maberry - OK. The usual hard-boiled private investigator with a predictable paranormal twist.
  
  Fox Tails by Richard Parks - I will have to try some of his other works.
  
  Death by Dahlia by Charlaine Harris - I had already read this so I skipped it.
  
  Sherlock Holmes and the Diving Bell by Simon Clark - Sir, you are no Arthur Conan Doyle
  
  See Me by Tanya Huff - I had already read this so I skipped it.
  
  The Maltese Unicorn by Caitlín R. Kiernan - the reason I checked out this book. It lived up to my expectations.
• 
  Riju Ganguly

  Anthologies brought out by Prime Books have two features which place them rather firmly in the “love it or hate it” category. These features are: (a) None of the stories therein are new or fresh, and all had been published in other anthologies before being compiled into the particular collection in question, (b) Being selected from amongst already existing sections, the probability of finding a dud in the collection goes down considerably. The collection under review is a classic example. Apart from an informative & frank “Introduction” from Paula Guran, the anthology has the following works: -
  
  1. “The Key” by Ilsa J. Bick: Very dark. Very Good.
  2. “The Nightside, Needless to Say” by Simon R. Green: Hard-boiled & compact. Very Good.
  3. “The Adakian Eagle” by Bradley Denton: An old favourite. Very Good.
  4. “Love Hurts” by Jim Butcher: A classic from the Dresden Files. Stunning.
  5. “The Case of Death and Honey” by Neil Gaiman: Another old favourite. Brilliant.
  6. “Cryptic Coloration” by Elizabeth Bear: Overwritten. Less-than Average.
  7. “The Necromancer’s Apprentice” by Lillian Stewart Carl: Good.
  8. “The Case of the Stalking Shadow” by Joe. R. Lansdale: Superlative. I MUST find out more cases of Dana Roberts.
  9. “Hecate’s Golden Eye” by P.N. Elrod: Another adventure from the Vampire Files. Good.
  10. “Defining Shadows” by Carrie Vaughn: Promisingly dark stuff. Good.
  11. “Mortal Bait” by Richard Bowes: Total Crap.
  12. “Star of David” by Patricia Briggs: Another old favourite. Stunning.
  13. “Impostors” by Sarah Monette: Original. Very Good.
  14. “Deal Breaker” by Justin Gustainis: A compact and precise story. Very Good.
  15. “Swing Shift” by Dana Cameron: Not as good as the first Fangborn story that I had encountered elsewhere. But, Good.
  16. ‘The Beast of Glamis” by William Meikle: Not his best ‘Carnacki’ story. But, Good.
  17. “Signatures of the Dead” by Faith Hunter: Slightly overwritten. But, Good.
  18. “Like Part of the Family” by Jonathan Maberry: Awesome.
  19. “Fox Tails” by Richard Parks: Fresh concept, wry writing. Very Good.
  20. “Death by Dahlia” by Charlaine Harris: Not belonging to the class of several other stories in this collection. Just OK.
  21. “Sherlock Holmes and the Diving Bell” by Simon Clark: Breath-taking. Brilliant.
  22. “See Me” by Tanya Huff: Not much of a mystery. But, well-written and poignant.
  23. “The Maltese Unicorn” by Caitlin R. Kiernan: Trust one of the most powerful writers of our time to put s fresh spin on a classic from DH, and make it suitably weird & sad! Excellent.
  
  I really can’t recommend this anthology highly enough. GO, GET IT.
• 
  Shalini Nemo

  No such thing as a perfect anthology, but this is a pretty strong collection. I'd rate the good stories as slightly above average to very good. I was happy to see Jonathan Maberry here, and he doesn't disappoint. The first story by Ilsa J. Bick set the tone and made for a strong start.
  
  The bad ones were just awful, and I couldn't read beyond a page or two. These stories had a very particular style to them which won't appeal to everyone. One had too much purple prose and was irritatingly descriptive (with her husband's eye colors changing from page to page!) and another had teenage girls swooning over a hot lecturer as leads, and the writing was stilted and unnatural. It also had shove-in-your-face diversity, which is very lazy writing. If you include minorities in the background, with no speaking roles and explicitly mentioning their ethnicity, for no other reason than to show how cool and liberal YOUR character is, that's exploitation.
  
  I usually like Neil Gaiman, but his treatment of Sherlock Holmes here I do not like. I cannot see Sherlock Holmes being so idiotic. He beats Death by creating a youth and immortality elixir from honey. Seriously? There's a reason people call it a curse, you know.
  
  Charlaine Harris' story is one I have mixed feelings about. I like the plot, but I can't stand the melodrama and affectations. Yeccchh. How do people read an entire novel of that?!
  
  Nevertheless, I do recommend this as the rest of the stories are engaging and fun.
  
  
  
  
• 
  Jan Crow

  I’ve always been a fan of anthologies. They’re like a buffet of stories; new tastes to tickle the reader’s pallet sending them back for platefuls of tales by new to them authors or steering them away after just a taste. Weird Detectives New Investigations was exactly that to me. The book opens with a story by Ilsa J. Bick, a new author that I’ve not read but will be seeking out. A tattoo is the key to a mystery that investigators must solve. A story by Joe Lansdale, a mystery writer with his story of Dana Roberts, a “Supernormal” investigator also was a highlight to me. An interesting perspective on the paranormal.
  
  There were also stories by some of my favorites. I’ve never read a Charlaine Harris I didn’t like and I’ve never turned down a Jim Butcher. Tonya Huff and Patricia Briggs don’t disappoint either. There was also all my favorite types of characters, wizards, magicians, witches, and of course, detectives.
  
  Of course, there were a few that I didn’t care for. But that’s the beauty of an anthology. They’re not a necessary part of enjoying the book. One can always give the authors another chance, but it’s as if nothing ventured, nothing gained.
  
  If you like mysteries and especially those with the paranormal flavor to them, then read Weird Detectives: Recent Investigations. You won’t be disappointed. It’s just the taste I was seeking.
  
• 
  Darcy

  I was excited to read this one as it had a lot of stories by authors that I love. I thought it would give me a tidbit to tide me over until their new book comes out. Sadly as I started to read these I realized that I have read them before. So I went to the forward and sure enough, all of the stories have been published before. This is a collection of some of the best detective stories in UF in the 2000's. While I enjoyed these stories the first time around I feel like I got the shaft with this one, wish I knew ahead of time they weren't new.
• 
  Ron

  This is a collection of previously published stories brought together as they all deal with detectives of one sort or another. I had read about half the tales before in one anthology or another, but I still enjoyed rereading them and reading the other tales for the first time. If you enjoy detective tales, read this anthology! You will likely find a tale or two that you will enjoy.
  
  Read a NetGallery edition.
• 
  Brett

  One of the best anthologies I have read this year. Most of my favorite authors and a couple new to me. I can't recommend this enough for anyone interested in just what 'Urban Fantasy' is and all of these authors are great. Most have ongoing series that are fantastic and 'must reads' in this genre.
• 
  Jaffa Kintigh

  Where urban fantasy and detective noir come together lies a fertile field to explore the human [and non-human] condition. The detectives themselves are often the fantastical variant. This collection brings together tales of a zombie, 2 vampire, 3 werewolf and 7+ wizarding detectives, among others, providing an external view of the modern human life. Also included are a couple supernatural Sherlock Holmes tales and a handful of ghost tales with a couple stretching all the way back to the Elizabethan era. The crimes are mostly murders which by nature shatter the accepted human social ethics.
  
  This diversity of tales despite a common sub-genre is reflected in my top 3 each meriting 5-stars and in my "honorable mention" 3 earning 4-stars. I've reviewed and rated each of the 23 tales included.
  
  --Jim Butcher's
  "Love Hurts" [5 stars] depicts an intimate look at his Chicago-based wizarding detective, Harry Dresden, as he tries to stop a series of curse-induced love-suicides.
  --Neil Gaiman's
  "The Case of Death and Honey" [5 stars] tells a heart-felt Sherlock Holmes from a vantage beyond both Watson and Holmes.
  --Charlaine Harris'
  "Death by Dahlia" [5 stars] circumstantially places an ancient vampire in the role of detective when a political vampire coronation of sorts is disrupted by a murder.
  --Patricia Briggs'
  "Star of David" [4 stars] tells a familial tale when a werewolf mercenary is called upon by his 40-years estranged daughter.
  Faith Hunter's
  "Signatures of the Dead" [4 stars] pairs an elemental witch and her coven-family with a shapeshifter to solve an Appalachian vampire problem.
  Jonathan Maberry's
  "Like Part of the Family" [4 stars] depicts the canine-like loyalties and ethics of a werewolf evening the playing field in defense of domestic and sexual abuse survivors.
  
  Also included are:
  Bear, Elizabeth--
  "Cryptic Coloration"--3 stars
  Bick, Ilsa J.--
  "The Key"--3 stars
  Bowes, Richard--
  "Mortal Bait"--3 stars
  Denton, Bradley--
  The Adakian Eagle--3 stars
  Elrod, P. N.--
  "Hecate's Golden Eye"--3 stars
  Green, Simon R.--
  "The Nightside, Needless to Say"--3 stars
  Huff, Tanya--
  "See Me"--3 stars
  Kiernan, Caitlin R.--
  "The Maltese Unicorn"--3 stars
  Monette, Sarah--
  "Impostors"--3 stars
  Parks, Richard--
  "Fox Tails"--3 stars
  Vaughn, Carrie--
  "Defining Shadows" [Kitty Norville]--3 stars
  Cameron, Dana--
  "Swing Shift"--2 stars
  Carl, Lillian Stewart--
  "The Necromancer's Apprentice"--2 stars
  Clark, Simon--
  "Sherlock Holmes and the Diving Bell"--2 stars
  Gustainis, Justin--
  "Deal Breaker"--2 stars
  Lansdale, Joe R.--
  "The Case of the Stalking Shadow"--2 stars
  Meikle, William--
  "The Beast of Glamis"--2 stars
  
  
• 
  Zach

  Oh, anthologies how I love/hate thee.
  
  When you read a great anthology there’s almost nothing better. Lots of amazing stories all in one book? Sign me up!
  
  However, for me, they usually end up being a mixed bag of good and bad and this was the case with this book. It started off very strong with the first half of the book being much better than the back half, and of those later stories I didn’t even finish many.
  
  Best of the lot:
  
  The Key: love some good folklore, especially stuff I’m not familiar with.
  
  The Adakian Eagle: I started off unsure about this one but I really ended up liking it. Cool use of a real life person too.
  
  The Case of Death and Honey: Honestly not a lot really happens in this book, and perhaps I’m too big a Gaiman Stan here, but it’s just so lovingly written that it was ok that it was a slower, slight mystery.
  
  The Beast of Glamis: The story itself was very oddly set up. A first person narrator goes to a party and listens to another guy telling a story? And the first person is unnamed and utterly pointless to the story at hand? It seemed like a trick to fill up page total or something. However, I really liked this version of Carnacki and am gonna track down more.
  
  Fox Tails: I am always on the lookout for good samurai era stories and this was very decent.
  
  *BIG GRIPE*: I love occult detective stories and am always on the lookout for more. This book definitely runs the gamut on types of occult detectives but the one that came up ENTIRELY too much was vampire or werewolf detectives. One woulda been fine but maaaan there were too many. And I didn’t like any of them so that didn’t help. DIVERSIFY!
• 
  Saul Escalona

  Weird Detectives
  4.0 stars
  In this collection, I found very interesting and helpful the format of the stories. At the beginging of each story you are given a setup for the case and who the investigators are then at the end of the story you get a brief author's note.
  This way, you can pick the most attracting stories and facilitate further reading of the authors.
  
  There are 23 stories in this collection from which I selected 13 to read;
  
  The Key by Ilsa J. Blick - 4.5 stars
  
  The Nightside, Needless to Say by Simon R. Green - 3.5 stars
  
  Love Hurts by Jim Butcher - 3.5 stars
  
  The Case of Death and Honey by Neil Gaiman- 4.5 stars
  
  The Necromancer’s Apprentice by Lillian Stewart Carl - 3.5 stars
  
  The Case of the Stalking Shadow by Joe R. Lansdale - 3.5 stars
  
  Star of David by Patricia Briggs -4.0 stars
  
  Deal Breaker by Justin Gustainis- 4.5 stars
  
  Signatures of the Dead by Faith Hunter - 3.0 stars
  
  Like a Part of the Family by Jonathan Maberry - 3.0 stars
  
  Fox Tails by Richard Parks - 5.0 stars
  
  Sherlock Holmes and the Diving Bell by Simon Clark - 4.0 stars
  
  The Maltese Unicorn by Caitlín R. Kiernan - 4.5 stars
  
  
• 
  Anandadeep

  Very well-designed collection. Some stories are a little meh, some are ordinary, but most of them are really good and worth the time. The Caitlin Kiernan one particularly is great, the Neil Gaiman one is so-so. Sarah Monette one is also pretty good. Suspense and magic all around. Some are a little too obscure for my taste.
• 
  Stephen Dorneman

  From Holmesian to hard-boiled, this collection of paranormal detectives and crimes has something for every fan of urban fantasy mysteries. Some try too hard to be good mysteries at the expense of both the fantasy and the characters (or vice versa), but a solid offering overall.
• 
  Ryan Kennedy

  Like every anthology I have read these story's were hit and miss, but even given the fact im not a huge mystery fan i found that there were more hits than misses. Keeping that in mind if this genre sounds appealing to you you may enjoy it even more than I did.
• 
  Kat

  An impressive short story collection in that it’s both large and consistently good. I think I only skipped one story. I’m bummed some of these are side characters that don’t have more stories of their own, and look forward to reading some of those that do have more material.
• 
  Natalie

  Not the best, not the worst. The authors I normally read, had read their ss in other anthologies. The authors that were new to me, very good. Found a few new to add to the list.
• 
  Cherie

  Some good stories, some really good stories and some okay stories.
• 
  Heather Romanowski Book Realm Revisions, LLC

  A delightful collection of odd cases and twisted endings
• 
  Vinayak Malik

  A good collection of short stories. Not all are gems but enough to make it a good read
• 
  Rebecca

  Besides some authors I knew I liked, found several stories to interest me in reading other books. Love these collections, especially when I'm familiar with the characters
• 
  Rachel (rachels.geeky.stuff)

  My rating is based on Patricia Briggs story The Star of David
• 
  Óli Sóleyjarson

  Las þessa í von um að finna skemmtilega höfunda. Það tókst. Sarah Monette.
• 
  Jennifer Monsen

  Some stories I loved, some stories I wish I could remove from my brain