The stories by the mystery genre's best writers, such as Tony Hillerman, Lawrence Block, P. D James, Ruth Rendell and Ray Bradbury, are compiled into an anthology of twenty-five of the year's most suspenseful stories. Contents: \* Introduction: The Mystery in 1992 by Jon L. Breen \* Someday I'll Plant More Walnut Trees by Lawrence Block \* The Winfield Trade by Jeremiah Healy \* Liar's Dice by Bill Pronzini \* Long Live the Queen by Ruth Rendell \* Lazy Susan by Nancy Pickard \* A Hotel in Bucharest by Robert Barnard \* The Crime of Miss Oyster Brown by Peter Lovesey \* Secrets by June Thomson \* Whatever Has To Be Done by Jan Grape \* Stop, Thief! by Barbara D'Amato \* While She Was Out by Edward Bryant \* True Faces by Pat Cadigan \* The Perplexing Puzzle of the Perfidious Pigeon Poisoner by Charlotte MacLeod \* Cat Got Your Tongue by Barbara Collins and Max Allan Collins \* The Last to Know by Joan Hess \* The Man Who Loved Noir by Loren D. Estleman \* Johnny Halloween by Norman Partridge \* The Maltese Double Cross by Carole Nelson Douglas \* Benny's Space by Marcia Muller \* Settled Score by Sara Paretsky \* The Theft of the Barking Dog by Edward D. Hoch \* A Predatory Woman by Sharyn McCrumb \* Wedding Bells by Michael Z. Lewin \* Proxime Accessit by Reginald Hill \* The Wind from Midnight by Ed Gorman

From traditional mystery stories with devious doings and a plot full of clues to terse thrillers with edge-of-the-seat climaxes to the nail-biting tale of psychological suspense, no field of popular fiction can match contemporary crime writing in diversity, excitement, cunning, or satisfaction. In this stunning collection of the year's best offerings in the genre, armchair detectives, suspense addicts, and crime solvers alike can thrill to new stories by Edward D. Hoch, Carolyn Wheat, Jeffrey Deaver, Stuart Kaminsky, Val McDermid, Laura Lippman, Joyce Carol Oates, and Max Allen Collins, in the unique way only mystery fiction can provide.

A Prisoner of Memory These New York Times-bestselling writers are joined by a prodigious group of veterans and newcomers who promise to intrigue and delight. So sit back and relax in the company of some of the world's finest writers, gathered here to give you many nights of pleasure and thrills. The mystery in 2007 / Jon L. Breen—Obituaries in 2007 / Edward D. Hoch—Mulholland dive / Michael Connelly—Everybody loves somebody / Sandra Scoppettone—Making amends / Jeffery Deaver—A vision in white / Lawrence Block—Pony girl / Laura Lippman—Prayers for the dying / Jeremiah Healy—Devil dog / Dick Lochte—A prisoner of memory / Robert S. Levinson—A saving grace / Patricia Abbott—Cadaver dog / Bryon Quertermous—Anniversary / Hilary Davidson—Something out of the ordinary / Kerry Ashwin—Dead as a dog / Doug Allyn—Dies irae / Dorothy Salisbury Davis—Blues in the Kabul night / Clark Howard—The profane angel / Loren D. Estleman—Bereavement / Tom Piccirilli—Country manners / Brendan DuBois—And then she was gone / Christine Matthews—The guardians / Jim Fusilli—I killed / Nancy Pickard—Substitutions / Kristine Kathryn Rusch—Pickpocket / Marcia Muller—The winning ticket / Bill Pronzini—Valentine, July heat wave / Joyce Carol Oates—Online mystery fiction in 2007 / Sarah Weinman