After just three years, The Best American Mystery Stories series has made its name as the foremost mystery anthology, earning raves from such diverse sources as Joyce Carol Oates and Entertainment Weekly. Now grand master Donald E. Westlake continues the series' impressive tradition with The Best American Mystery Stories 2000. Among the selections are "Grit," from Tom Franklin's Edgar Award-winnign collection, Poachers, in which an enterprising bookie gets his due; Jeffery Deaver's "Triangle," in which jealousy and possessiveness turn deadly; Shel Silverstein's "The Guilty Party," in which a judge carries out ironic justice; and "Running Out of Dog," in which Dennis Lehane explores the dark side of friendship. From fifty exceptional stories chosen by series editor Otto Penzler, Westlake has selected the twenty best, for a collection that will delight mystery buffs and casual readers alike.

Contents:

• Miracles! Happen! by Doug Allyn
• Ghosts by David Beaty
• Spring Rite by Tom Berdine
• Annie’s Dream by Bentley Dadmun
• Motel 66 by Barbara D’Amato
• Jumping with Jim by Geary Danihy
• Triangle by Jeffery Deaver
• The Instruments of Peace by Edward Falco
• Grit by Tom Franklin
• Compass Rose by David Edgerley Gates
• The Defenestration of Aba Sid by Robert Girardi
• The Island in the River by Chad Hilley
• ICU by Edward Lee
• Running Out of Dog by Dennis Lehane
• Sheep by Thomas H. McNeely
• Dead Rock Singer by Martha Moffett
• Wrong Numbers by Josh Pryor
• Guilty Party by Shel Silverstein
• Forgetting the Girl by Peter Moore Smith
• Water Dog God by Brad Watson