Otto Penzler 
Best American Mystery Stories 2019 

New York Timesbest-selling author of ten genre-bendingnovels Jonathan Lethem helms this collection of the year’s best mystery short fiction. For Jonathan Lethem, ‘;crime stories are deep species gossip.’ He writes in his introduction that ‘;they’re fundamentally stories of power, of its exercise, both spontaneous and conspiratorial; stories of impulse and desire, and of the turning of tables.’ The Best American Mystery Stories 2019 has its full share of salacious intrigue, guilt, and retribution. The twists and bad decisions pile up when a thief picks the wrong target or a simple scavenger hunt takes a terrible turn. What happens when you befriend a death row inmate, or just how does writing Internet clickbait became a decidedly dangerous occupation? ‘;How can we not hang on their outcomes?’ asks Lethem. ‘;Are we innocent ourselves, or complicit?’ Read on to find out. The Best American Mystery Stories 2019 includes Sharon Hunt, Harley Jane Kozak, Mark Mayer, Jennifer Mc Mahon, Joyce Carol Oates, Brian Panowich, Tonya D. Price, Ron Rash, Robb T. White, and others.