Master's Choice: Mystery Stories by Today's Top Writers and the Masters Who Inspired Them

Rating:
Summary: Good effort
Review: Block has created an interesting concept in this new anthology series. He contacted several mystery writers asking for what they considered to be their best story as well as the best story they have ever read. The response was overwhelming and the editor collected some of them in this book...

In the first volume of this anthology the adage 'less is more' can be applied to the best stories in the collection. Some of the best include Ed Gorman's EN FAMILLE and Joan Hess's ANOTHER ROOM. Ms. Hess's choice for best short story is Judith Garner's TRICK OR TREAT. It is about four pages long and one of the scariest stories ever written. It is not because of what happens in the story but what may happen. A sample of good writing is when the author forces the reader to use their imagination in order to create their own ending. There can be different interpretations but each one is precious. The imagination is a powerful weapon. The least favorite story in this book is Harlan Ellison's TIRED OLD MAN. The problem with this story is that Ellison describes the incident that inspired his story creating a carbon copy with fictional characters. Who wants to read a story twice?

Rating:
Summary: A great anthology
Review: The premise behind this anthology series is simple. Popular short story writers contribute a tale of their own while selecting a story from someone else who they enjoy. The current author list consists of a who's who of today's mystery writers with such luminaries as Mary Higgins Clark, Joyce Carol Oates, Joe Gores, Carolyn Wheat, Ian Rankin, Evan Hunter, and Sharyn McCrumb. In turn, their choices embody a who's who of literature with such renowned superstars as Poe, Stevenson, Saki, and of course that most prolific writer of all Anonymous.

Each tale is entertaining, fun to read, and expeditiously leads the audience to its companion piece, which is also well written and quite enjoyable. Fans of short story mysteries will gain much delight from the twenty-six entries that make up the wonderfully captivating MASTER'S CHOICE VOLUME II. PS, Mr. Block mentions a story he read in his youth that and now wants to know the title and author. Rings a bell with me, but I thought it was an episode of the Twilight Zone or a similar TV series.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: A Mixed Bag
Review: The title pretty much tells the whole premise behind this book. Mystery stories by today's writers and the stories that inspired them. Like most short story collections some are very good, some not so great. "The Wedding Gig" by Stephen King is interesting, "Murder Two" by Joyce Carol Oates not so interesting. A few, like Harlan Ellison's "Tired Old Man" and Benjamin Appel's "Murder of the Frankfurter Man" are thought provoking. As I said, a mixed bag. On the whole I think the good ones outweigh the not-so-good so if you like short fiction you could do worse than this book.