In his introduction to this volume, guest editor Amor Towles pays tribute to the forgotten person of the mystery story—the cadaver. "Male or female, old or young, rich or poor," he writes, "for over a hundred years the cadaver has been accommodating, gracious, and generally on time. There is no other figure in crime who has proven to be more reliable."

Like the cadaver, this anthology series, now in its third year of publication, is also proving reliable, bringing to readers the finest mystery/crime/suspense stories of the year from a variety of sources including mystery and general interest magazines, anthologies, online publications, and literary periodicals.

Among the treasures collected herein are Jeffery Deaver's "Dodge," in which a chess match between a volatile woman and a U.S. marshal takes a surprise twist; "The Landscaper's Wife," a suspense-filled tale by Brendan DuBois that explodes all expectation; and Kerry Hammond's "Strangers at a Table," which offers a darkly witty homage to Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. The collection contains well-known authors such as T.C. Boyle and up-and-comers such as Jessi Lewis; it features tales with famous crime-fighters (Jack Reacher and Sherlock Holmes) and a bonus story from the annals of mystery history by Edith Wharton. In short, these pages promise something for every reader of crime fiction, no matter the particularities of his or her taste.

Amor Towles is the author of New York Times bestsellers Rules of Civility, A Gentleman in Moscow, and The Lincoln Highway. The three novels have collectively sold more than six million copies and have been translated into more than thirty languages. Towles lives in Manhattan with his wife and two children.

CONTENTS Foreword. Otto Penzler Introduction, Amor TowlesDoug Allyn, Blind BaseballEllery Queen Mystery Magazine, May/JuneDerrick Bellinger, The Adventure of the Misquoted Macbeth A Detective’s Life: Sherlock Holmes, ed. by Martin Rosenstock (Titan Books)T. Coraghessan Boyle, PrincessThe New Yorker, November 7Joslyn Chase, Cold Hands, Warm HeartMystery, Crime, and Mayhem: Cold Cases (Knotted Road)Andrew Child, New Kid in TownHotel California, ed. by Don Bruns (Blackstone)Aaron Philip Clark, Death at the Sundial MotelWitnesses for the Dead, ed. by Gary Phillips & Gar Anthony Haywood ((Soho Crime)Jeffery Deaver, DodgeThe Broken Doll (Amazon)Brendan DuBois, The Landscaper’s WifeMystery Tribune, August/SeptemberKerry Hammond, Strangers at a TableMalice Domestic: Murder Most Diabolical (Wildside)Victor Kreuiter, Miller and BellMystery Magazine, AugustDavid Krugler, Two Sharks Walk into a BarMystery Magazine, SeptemberTom Larsen, Pobre MariaAlfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, January/FebruaryAvram Lavinsky, Playing GodBest New England Crime Stories: Deadly Nightshade, ed. by Susan Oleksiw, Christine Bagley, and Leslie Wheeler (Crime Spell Books)Jesse Lewis, EarsAlaska Quarterly Review, Spring/SummerAshley Lister, The Smoking GunnersThe Book of Extraordinary Femme Fatale Stories, ed. by Maxim Jakubowski (Mango)Sean McCluskey, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, WednesdayMickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, Vol. 3, ed. by Michael Bracken (Down & Out Books)Michael Mallory, What the Cat Dragged inThe Strand Magazine, Vol 68Lou Manfredo, SundownEllery Queen Mystery Magazine, March/AprilAnnie Reed, The PromiseMystery, Crime, and Mayhem: Cold Cases (Knotted Road)Anna Round, GlassThe Briarcliff ReviewJoseph S. Walker, Crime SceneMalice in Dallas: Metroplex Mysteries, ed. by Barb Goffman