From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. As editor McBain admits in his introduction, it was a bit of a challenge to persuade 10 superstar authors (well, only nine, since he's also a contributor) to each write an original novella, with its awkward length between 10,000 and 40,000 words, for this excellent crime and suspense anthology, but he's come up with an impressive roster. One can't help wondering how a writer like Donald E. Westlake, who writes so much under several names, can fit in a jolly new story, "Walking Around Money," about his humorous burglar hero Dortmunder . And how does Anne Perry, who now writes three separate series and is probably planning another, move to a completely different period with "Hostages," a touching portrait of a woman caught up in the current Irish troubles who tries to keep her sanity by doing household chores? Walter Mosley, on the other hand, seems to be looking for new ways to get his points across: his "Archibald Lawless, Anarchist at Large: Walking the Line" might be the fuse to light a fire. McBain's own "Merely Hate" lends fresh insight into his 87th Precinct series. The remaining novellas, from the ubiquitous Joyce Carol Oates and the welcome return of Lawrence Block's hit man Keller to the diverse pleasures of Sharyn McCrumb and Stephen King, make this hefty volume pound-for-pound the best reading value of the season. Agent, Jane Gelfman at Gelfman-Schneider Literary. $200,000 marketing budget. (May 10)
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From Booklist
Reading an anthology is a bit like listening to a musical sampler (what record collectors once lovingly called a mix tape); it's always tempting to have your favorite bands cued up one after another, but sometimes you're not in the mood to change moods every few minutes. These 10 brand-new novellas offer longer grooves than short stories, but it's still a valid concern: Can fans of Anne Perry also shake it to Ed McBain? Maybe it's the relief of not having to carry a book by themselves, or maybe it's the fun of trying a rarely used format, but these big-name authors write like the pressure is off. In "Walking around Money," Donald Westlake sidles his thief, Dortmunder, through a deadpan-hilarious tale that should also serve as a Zen how-to for budding writers; in "The Corn Maiden," Joyce Carol Oates offers an impressionistic tabloid thriller about a mean girl who abducts a slow classmate for ritual sacrifice; in "Archibald Lawless, Anarchist at Large," Walter Mosley profiles an irresistible, offbeat hero through a journalism student who answers a want ad for a "scribe"; in "Keller's Adjustment," Lawrence Block's reliable assassin finds himself having existential thoughts about golf communities after 9/11. So how's the mix? It's as if it were made by a good friend who knows just what you like--and even remembers that you like to be surprised once in a while. Keir Graff
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