Mystery Writers of America Presents Vengeance

March 5, 2012
Revenge propels each of the 21 all-original stories in this high-quality anthology mixing headliners such as Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly with lower-profile talent such as C.E. Lawrence and Adam Meyer. Given this common motive, readers will have little trouble anticipating the final resolution as a rule, but the writing is top-notch, especially in Lehane’s “The Consumers,” in which the abused wife of a white-collar criminal turns to a professional to eliminate her spouse. Brendan DuBois’s especially satisfying “The Final Ballot” features an unsophisticated woman’s quest for justice when a powerful politician with national ambitions victimizes her daughter. Lawrence’s “Silent Justice” presents a Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest with a moral dilemma after a young man confesses committing a murder to him. But Meyer delivers the biggest jaw-dropper in “Blood and Sunshine,” about an evil five-year-old boy who torments everyone around him. As with other such theme anthologies, readers will best enjoy these stories a few at a time.

November 15, 2011

Edited by the redoubtable Child, this collection offers 21 original stories featuring acts of vengeance by fed-up folks who take the law into their own hands. Big-name contributors include Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, Karin Slaughter, and Child himself. Most mystery and thriller readers will want this, given the range of authors represented.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.