H/T Todd Mason
"Graveyard Shift" by James Reasoner; "The Long Silence After" by Ed Gorman
Browsing
in the Dawn Treader bookstore in Ann Arbor in January, I grabbed a book
from the shelves entitled HARD-BOILED. It was an anthology published in
1995, edited by Bill Pronzini and Jack Adrian, and published by Oxford
University Press. I took it home and was delighted to find stories by
two of our most faithful reviewers, but that isn't why I'm choosing
these two stories today.
Although the stories are quite
different, they share a theme: men attempting to redress the loss of a
wife through criminal action. Though the outcomes are different, both
stories are rich in atmosphere, tension, and character and a quality I
love: uxoriousness. They rise above many short stories that depend
almost totally on plot. Within a few pages, we know these men---or think
we do. I highly recommend both stories as primers on how to write a
short story as well as stories to be enjoyed.
4 comments:
I believe I bought my copy when it was a new book, before I made the corresponding acquaintance of either writer (though I've met Marcia Muller, though not yet Livia J. Washburn/Reasoner, in a face to face encounter). It could be a good time to revisit the book, if I can locate my copy...
Of course, I read this anthology years ago, probably soon after it came out. Jack Adrian was a good friend of my late friend Bob Adey and I think I met him once through Bob.
I am a few stories from finish the Crippen & Landru collection, DOUBLE CROSSING VAN DINE. Will get to it next week.
Also started a 2024 anthology in the British Library series edited by Martin Edwards, LESSONS IN CRIME: ACADEMIC MYSTERIES.
Those stories sound great, Patti. And if Pronizini's editing, the collection's bound to be good.
Despite publishing 430 books, James Reasoner is still a vastly underrated writer. Ed Gorman, on the other hand, cannot be overrated.
Post a Comment