STARRED The Best American Mystery Stories 2009 Edited by Jeffery Deaver. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Mariner, $14 paper (400p) ISBN 978-0-547-23750-3
Like previous anthologies in this ââ'¬Å"best ofââ'¬Â series, the impressive 13th volume favors crime stories over whodunits. As series editor Otto Penzler notes in his foreword, ââ'¬Å"it has become increasingly difficult to find... a new murder method, or an original way to hide a vital clueââ'¬Â (though some may wonder why Deaver passed over Hal Whiteââ'¬â"[s impossible crime puzzler, ââ'¬Å"Murder at the Fall Festival, ââ'¬Â listed in the appendix of ââ'¬Å"Other Distinguished Mystery Stories of 2008ââ'¬Â). Readers interested in psychology will be more than satisfied by such tales as Joyce Carol Oatesââ'¬â"[s ââ'¬Å"Dear Husband, ââ'¬Â a heartrending first-person account of a mother who slaughtered her children, and Tom Bissellââ'¬â"[s ââ'¬Å"My Interview with the Avenger, ââ'¬Â about a vigilante superhero. As always, part of the pleasure derives from exposure to writers who have yet to gain the acclaim they deserve, such as Randy Rohn (ââ'¬Å"The Man Who Fell in Love with the Stump of a Treeââ'¬Â) and Jonathan Tel (ââ'¬Å"Bola de la Fortunaââ'¬Â). (Oct.)-- "Publisher's Weekly" (8/31/2010 12:00:00 AM)