Book Review: The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2023

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

As is the case with most anthologies, The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2023 was also a mixed bag. The anthology features twenty-one short mysteries written by contemporary authors and a bonus story by Edith Wharton. I liked that each of the stories began with a brief introduction about the author and enjoyed getting to sample the work of so many authors, many of whom I had never read in the past. Some of the stories also end with a note by the author about the inspiration behind the story. I must mention that the Introduction by Amor Towles, in which he discusses how the “Mystery” genre has evolved, was a fascinating read.

My ratings for the stories are as follows:

The first story, “Blind Baseball” by Doug Allyn (3.5/5), revolves around a tontine insurance scheme. This was a gripping read but ended abruptly. “The Adventure of the Misquoted Macbeth” by Derrick Belanger (4/5) is a mystery featuring Sherlock Holmes and is one of the stories that I thoroughly enjoyed. The circumstances surrounding a mysterious break-in are explored in “Princess” by T.C. Boyle (3.5/5) In “Cold Hands, Warm Heart” by Joslyn Chase (3.5/5), a cold case is reopened after the discovery of a body. In “New Kid in Town”(2.5/5) by Andrew Child, Jack Reacher helps in investigating the disappearance of a young girl.

A resident of a hotel housing near the border sheltering undocumented immigrants takes justice into her own hands in “Death at the Sundial Motel” by Aaron Philip Clark (4/5). A young deputy gets more than he bargained for when he is tasked with assisting a Marshal for the Witness Protection Program in “Dodge” by Jeffery Deaver (4/5). In “The Landscaper’s Wife” by Brendan DuBois (3.5/5), our protagonist finds himself tangled in a complex web of manipulation, blackmail and murder. Co-passengers in a train decide to pass the time guessing solutions to real-life situations they share in the group in “Strangers at a Table” by Kerry Hammond (4/5). “Miller and Bell”(2/5) by Victor Kreuiter follows the story of a career criminal who resorts to his old ways of switching identities to evade those who have an axe to grind with him.

In “Two Sharks Walk into a Bar” by David Krugler (3/5), a hustle results in dire consequences for a pair of pool sharks. In “Pobre Maria: A Capitán Guillén Mystery Of Ecuador”(3/5) by Tom Larsen, a seasoned law enforcement official investigates the suspicious death of the daughter of an influential man. “Playing God” by Avram Lavinsky (3.5/5) takes us through the mysterious circumstances revolving around a man’s suicide. “Ears” by Jessi Lewis(3.5/5) is a heart-wrenching story about a young girl’s bond with her dog. Though there wasn’t much ”mystery “ in the plot, it was a good read. “The Smoking Gunners”(2.5/5) by Ashley Lister follows a murderer apprehended at the scene of the crime as she attempts to justify her actions.

A small-town reporter investigates a murder that was caught on camera by a peeping tom cat, whose owner had a camera fixed on his collar in “What the Cat Dragged In” by Michael Mallory(4/5). In “Sundown” by Lou Manfredo (3/5) we follow the lead detective as he investigates the death of a young woman, often consulting with his grandfather, a retired law enforcement officer, to gain perspective. There’s much more to the kidnapping of the daughter of an affluent man than meets the eye in “Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday” by Sean McCluskey(2.5). A detective is haunted by a promise he made to a murdered young girl’s father in “The Promise” by Annie Reed (3/5). A man tries to help his neighbor after a murder in their apartment building in “Glass” by Anna Round (3/5). A hitman’s latest assignment has him curious about the motive in “Crime Scene” by Joseph S. Walker (3.5).

The final story, “A Bottle of Perrier” by Edith Wharton (3/5) follows a young archaeology scholar on his visit to an archaeologist’s home in the middle of a desert in a foreign country where he finds his friend’s domestic staff’s answers to the owner’s whereabouts vague and misleading.

Overall, I found most of the stories rather predictable and only a handful stood out.

I received a digital review copy from the publisher via Edelweiss+. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.