year, including some that authors submit themselves. Some stories in these anthologies originally appeared in literary journals. She selects 50 finalists from that list, and that year’s guest editor (in this case, S.A. Cosby) chooses the 20 “best.” Cosby’s stories have appeared in earlier editions of the anthology, but his only literary contribution here is a brief introduction.

The editors’ definition of “mystery and suspense” is quite broad, and these stories can best be categorized as tales that involve, in some way, the commission or attempted commission of a crime. The stories include a couple of genuine whodunits and a few morality stories of the sort often found in popular mystery magazines. Others include several stories about the effects of crime on “ordinary” people. Some of these are very depressing, even though well written. The stories appear in alphabetical order by the author, so the mood shifts from one story to the next can be jarring.

Besides the usual biographical information about the authors in the book’s afterword, the anthology includes a brief explanation by each author why they wrote their tale. That’s especially helpful for readers of one of my favorites from the anthology, “Possessory Credit,” by Diana Gould. The author, a veteran screenwriter, explains that possessory credit involves giving one person (usually the director) prominent mention for being most responsible for a film, like Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. In this story, a screenwriter gets increasingly jealous when a successful director takes possessory credit for the writer’s work. The writer plots what he thinks is the perfect murder, but things don’t quite go as planned.

Other similarly enjoyable stories include Gar Anthony Haywood’s “With the Right Bait.” An elderly man is convinced his younger wife is a gold digger and plans to eliminate her after the couple finishes playing the children’s game of Mouse Trap. The twist ending here is the very last word in the story. “Monster,” by Shannon Taft, involves the murder of a woman whose two sons both had reasons to want her inheritance. The author is an attorney, and the dead woman’s will figures prominently in the story. “Baby Trap” by Toni Kelner is the story of a young widow whose mother-in-law, aided by her relatives in the local police department, wants to gain custody of the widow’s baby. The story involves a major twist and the most satisfying ending in the book.

Several of the authors use unorthodox narrative techniques to tell their stories. These aren’t gimmicks; instead, they make the stories more effective than they would have been with straightforward narration. “Just a Girl” by Alyssa Cole is the story of a teenager who started making TikTok cooking videos during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, when she slams a particularly obnoxious commenter, he takes it personally. He also enlists the help of his buddies in some incel chat rooms to start a real-life campaign of stalking and harassment against the girl. The author tells the story exclusively through social media and chatroom posts. “For I Hungered, and Ye Gave Me” by Barrett Bowlin tells the story of a feral teenager who survives years in the woods by scavenging roadkill. The author tells the story through excerpts from interviews conducted by the Arkansas Highway Patrol of various witnesses. The story is predictable, but the narrative technique gives it much more of a kick.

Two of the more disturbing but compelling stories are “The Book of Ruth” by Mary Thorson and “Holler, Child” by LaToya Watkins. In “Ruth,” a teenager runs off to join a cult. She later returns, but her parents discover the cult isn’t finished with her. The end of this story is especially chilling. In “Holler Child,” a woman who was raped as a teenager discovers that her own teenage son (a result of that assault) may also have raped a girl. This may be the most depressing story in the entire anthology. (It’s also the last story in the anthology.)

“The Mysterious Disappearance of Jason Whetstone” by Karen Harrington is an effective parody of a true-crime TV series. The title character is a professional mediator trying to settle a dispute between two sisters, both authors, who wrote different accounts about the same childhood incident 25 years later. This incident involved a family dinner in which the sisters’ mother believed someone had taken too much pasta sauce. Both daughters have written about the incident, and one accuses the other of plagiarism. Before the mediator can settle the dispute, he disappears. This story is ridiculously bizarre but precisely the sort of backstory you’ll find in an episode of Dateline. (The author acknowledges using “Dateline” as an inspiration for her first draft.)

The most disappointing story in the collection is “The Funeral Suit” by Bobby Mathews. It’s a Western and not a very good one. Every year on his birthday, an aging gunfighter has breakfast at the local hotel, and almost every year some upstart shows up to challenge him. This plot is quite similar to John Wayne’s last movie, The Shootist. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work as a Western, and the connection to crime stories is very remote. I was also disappointed by “Unknown Caller” by Lisa Unger. The narrator works for a suicide prevention hotline, and she receives several disturbing calls from the same man. The author introduces another storyline about halfway through, told in the third person. However, most readers will soon figure out how the two storylines intersect. This was one of the longer stories in the collection and should have been trimmed considerably.

The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024 has stories to meet any crime fiction enthusiast’s taste. Those who expect an all-star version of an Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine issue may be disappointed. Frankly, with as wide a variety of subject matter, technique, and style as are displayed in this anthology, most readers will quibble with a few of the stories. However, I’ve read many mystery, horror, and science fiction anthologies, and this collection is one of the best overall I can recall. Taken as a whole, these stories may not be the best of the year, but you’ll have a hard time finding 20 better tales.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.