#1New York Times best-selling author of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels, Louise Penny brings her “nerve and skill—as well as heart” (Maureen Corrigan,Washington Post) to selecting the best short mystery and crime fiction of the year.

Writing short stories takes “Skill. Discipline. Knowledge of the form while not being formulaic,” contends Louise Penny in her introduction. “In a short story there is nowhere to hide. Each must be original, fresh, inspired.” Originality is just what’s in store for readers of the twenty clever, creative selections inThe Best American Mystery Stories 2018. There’s no hiding from a Nigerian confidence game, a drug made of dinosaur bones, a bombing at an oil company, a reluctant gunfighter in the Old West, and the many other scams, dangers, and thrills lurking in its suspenseful pages.
 
The Best American Mystery Stories 2018 includes T. C. Boyle, James Lee Burke, Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Charlaine Harris, Andrew Klavan, Martin Limón, Joyce Carol Oates, and others.
 

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LOUISE PENNY, guest editor, is theNew York Times andGlobe and Mail best-selling author of the Chief Inspector Gamache novels, most recentlyGlass Houses. She has been awarded the John Creasey Dagger, Nero, and Barry awards, as well as two each of the Arthur Ellis, Macavity, and Dilys awards.

OTTO PENZLER, series editor, is a renowned mystery editor, publisher, and columnist. He owns The Mysterious Bookshop in New York.

"This essential mystery anthology benefits greatly from an enlightening foreword by Otto Penzler and an elegant introduction by editor Louise Penny...This series continues to belong in most library collections."--Booklist

"Crime aficionados will be entertained."--Publishers Weekly