Bestselling novelist James Ellroy introduces this year’s collection of the finest mystery writing. Many of the contributors herein are novelists themselves, displaying their talents in short story form: Michael Connelly tells a fatal tale of revenge in “Two-Bagger.” In Joe Gores’s “Inscrutable,” the Feds beat the Mafia at their own game. Stuart Kaminsky demonstrates how horribly wrong things go when a robber gets cocky in “Sometimes Something Goes Wrong.” And Robert B. Parker shows just how important Jackie Robinson’s fans can be in “Harlem Nocturne.” Also featured are veterans of the short story form and favorites of this series. Brendan DuBois’s “A Family Game” introduces a former Mafia...

“…THE JUICIEST BLOODFEST, THE MOST IRONIC CONTE CRUEL, THE SUBTLEST EVOCATION OF WISPY HORROR.” —Washington Post Book World Return, if you dare, to the dark realms of terror with intrepid guide Karl Edward Wagner as he once again seeks out the most fear-inspiring tales of the year. Cower in horror as Jack the Ripper reaches out from the grave to take bloody vengeance on a rock band… even as a “retired” serial killer experiences the perfect end to a perfect life… while an injured woman receives a blood transfusion only to find she has lost control of her will… and a garbage dump spawns a malignant new breed of life—or death… Join Dennis Etchison, Ramsey Campbell, Wayne...