Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021

August 30, 2021
The most memorable of the 20 short stories in the strong 2021 edition of this annual anthology don’t involve traditional wrongdoing. Aya de León’s gripping “Frederick Douglass Elementary” features the machinations of a devoted Black California mother, whose seven-year-old son has been the victim of relentless bullying; she’s desperate to get her son into a better school, but she needs to create multiple forged documents to prove that they reside in the right district. Brian Silverman provides an engrossing prequel to his Len Buonfiglio series in “Land of Promise,” which gradually reveals the truth behind an apparently altruistic act. Preston Lang’s “Potato Sandwich Days” is a grim tale of obsession with a bitter ending, premised on a botched promotion by the executives of fast-food franchise Fat Lad, who seriously underestimate the demand for “a nasty mash of potatoes and gloppy white sauce inside a stale roll.” Lang integrates social commentary about American consumerism into an account of the error’s impact on a Fat Lad employee. This is a winning showcase for authors who aren’t household names.

October 1, 2021
In this selection of tales exploring crime-sparking marginalization and thwarted desires, guest editor Alafair Burke and debut series editor Steph Cha have created a powerful vehicle for processing 2020's volatility. Among the highlights: Jenny Bhatt's haunting "Return to India" kicks off the collection, slowly introducing corporate designer Danesh through the interrogations of his coworkers, and, finally, his unrepentant everyman killer. In Charis Jones' "Green-Eyed Monster," Kristin Leponka's "Infinity Sky," Laura Lippman's "Slow Burner," and Lisa Unger's "Let Her Be," love turns to varying shades of envy, control, and revenge. Not to be outdone, greed rears its head when a con turns deadly in Nikki Dolson's "Neighbors." Alison Gaylin's "Where I Belong" and Gar Anthony Haywood's "With Footnotes and References" close with masterful twists. Faye Snowden's ""One Bullet, One Vote" and Ava de Leon's "Frederick Douglass Elementary" confront readers with both the devastating sacrifices Black Americans have made for equality and the daily reminders that the struggle continues. Cha and Burke have curated a magical collection that serves as a master class in suspense writing.

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