Bad Behavior

Rating:
Summary: One of Clark's Best Mystery Anthologies: 4½ stars
Review: "Bad Behavior," a collaboration by the International Association of Crime Writers, contains 22 mystery stories, as recapped below:

"Thrown-Away Child" by Thomas Adcock -- A young black man seeks to avenge his uncle's untimely death, supposedly caused by a conniving pastor. Not very suspenseful, but well written with a voodooistic New Orleans setting. >> "The Framing Game" by Paul Bishop -- A high school basketball player is framed for stealing a pair of Air Jordans. Simple, yet effective. Good ending. >> "Revenge" by Samuel Blas -- When a man's wife is brutally raped and beaten, he sets out to find the perpetrator. Fast paced, but ending left wide open.

"Like a Bug on a Windshield" by Lawrence Block -- A truck driver fears he may have given a fellow trucker the idea to run other vehicles off the road. This one will definitely have readers looking twice at truckers. >> "Bless This House" by Christianna Brand -- An unsubtle story set in England about a young carpenter, a pregnant virgin, and the woman who lets them stay in her shed. >> "The Gun" by Ann Carol -- A brief interrogation by two detectives of a teen boy who had found a gun in a parking lot. Surprising ending. You might have to read it twice to get it, like I had to.

"Lucky Dip" by Liza Cody -- A homeless girl pickpockets a corpse, unaware of what she's stolen. Very good story, but the ending left me wanting more. >> "Death of the Right Fielder" by Stuart Dybek -- The title says it all: a young right fielder mysteriously dies while playing baseball. Weak ending. >> "The Dare" by Carol Ellis -- A young man is pressured into breaking into a house, and steals a trophy.

"Why Herbert Killed His Mother" by Winifred Holtby -- An amusingly dry story of a mother who dotes on her son too much. >> "The Girl Who Loved Graveyards" by P. D. James -- An orphan girl searches for her father's grave. >> "The Green Killer" by M. E. Kerr -- When a young man's spoiled cousin dies, he's eager to inherit his things. Loose ending, but a good moral about trying--and failing--to be someone you're not.

"Kim's Game" by M. D. Lake -- A summer camp game teaches a girl how to solve a counselor's murder. Well written, though the motive is unanswered. >> "Darker than Just Before the Dawn" by John H. MaGowan -- A woman reads of several serial murders in an out-of-town newspaper. You almost feel sorry for the protagonist, despite her role in the story. >> "Late Developments" by Terry Mullins -- A young man witnesses a mob murder and helps to solve it.

"The Premonition" by Joyce Carol Oates -- A man has a premonition to visit his brother's family during Christmas. Kind of a creepy holiday story. The reader will have to read between the lines to understand what happened to the man's brother. >> "The Maltese Cat" by Sara Paretsky -- A private investigator looks for her client's runaway sister. Longest story here, but pretty good. >> Two young men play a nocturnal death-sport called "The Werewolf Game" (by Mauricio-Jose Schwarz).

"Mother Always Loved You Best" by Barbara Steiner -- A young woman soon realizes her dead twin sister isn't dead. Twisted story; read like a Point Thriller. >> "Just Lather, That's All" by Hernando Tellez -- When a rebel-hunter enters a revolutionaries' barbershop for a shave, the barber debates about killing him. Suspenseful. >> "The Interrogation" by Eric Weiner -- A young woman at an all-girls' school is accused of vandalism by the headmistress. Great, humorously clever ending. >> "Undercover" by Eric Wright -- Set during a world war (not sure which), a substitute teacher is suspicioned of being a spy.

"Bad Behavior" is certainly worth reading if you like mysteries. And it's not just for adult mystery readers either. In fact, about half of the stories here are more teen-oriented, which surprised me. The only small drawback to this collection is that there weren't a lot of "international" stories, except for perhaps "Bless This House," "Lucky Dip," "Why Herbert Killed His Mother," "The Girl Who Loved Graveyards," "Just Lather, That's All," and "Undercover." All the rest take place in various American locales. Still, this is one of Mary Higgins Clark's best mystery anthologies. A definite keeper.

Rating:
Summary: This is a disturbing book, but not S. King
Review: I liked it. It was a good collection of short, disturbing tales. Some stories creeped me out. I mean I was scared. But if you like that kind of a thing, this is for you.