'\"[Most of] these stories are portraits, in styles ranging from sly to harrowing, of how crimes occurred ... If you like all your characters living at the end of a story, this may not be the book for you.\" — from the introduction by Scott Turow

Best-selling author Scott Turow takes the helm for the tenth edition of this annual, featuring twenty-one of the past year\'s most distinguished tales of mystery, crime, and suspense.

Elmore Leonard tells the tale of a young woman who\'s fled home with a convicted bank robber. Walter Mosley describes an over-the-hill private detective and his new client, a woman named Karma. C. J. Box explores the fate of two Czech immigrants stranded by the side of the road in Yellowstone Park. Ed McBain begins his story on role-playing with the line \"\'Why don\'t we kill somebody?\' she suggested.\" Wendy Hornsby tells of a wild motorcycle chase through the canyons outside Las Vegas. Laura Lippman describes the \"Crack Cocaine Diet.\" And James Lee Burke writes of a young boy who may have been a close friend of Bugsy Siegel.

As Scott Turow notes in his introduction, these stories are \"about crime — its commission, its aftermath, its anxieties, its effect on character.\" The Best American Mystery Stories 2006 is a powerful collection for all readers who enjoy fiction that deals with the extremes of human passion and its dark consequences.'

"Quality writing from some of the biggest names in the genre marks the 10th collection in this series, though Turow concedes in the introduction that the 21 stories are more crime tales than mysteries. Walter Mosley contributes the collection's standout, 'Karma,' a classic noir exercise that brings the sweat and despair of the characters to life. Jeffery Deaver's 'Born Bad' and Jane Haddam's 'Edelweiss' are also solid entries, with nifty plot twists reminiscent of the TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents and the short stories of Roald Dahl. A number of stories share the same hook, though, which lessens the impact, and the editor's omission of even one fair-play whodunit will disappoint some readers. Series editor Otto Penzler provides his usual cogent, candid foreword." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

This volume brings together the genre's finest from the past year. With stories from mystery veterans and newly discovered talents, this thrilling collection is sure to appeal to crime fiction fans of all tastes.

'The set, boxed in a rich gold metallic, includes The Best American

Mystery Stories 2006, edited by Scott Turow; The Best American Sports

Writing 2006, edited by Michael Lewis; and The Best American Short Stories

2006, edited by Ann Patchett.'

Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the countrys finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundreds of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected — and most popular — of its kind. Assembled by best-selling suspense author Nelson DeMille, The Best American Mystery Stories 2004 contains a spectacular array of stories by mystery veterans and talented newcomers. Follow a chain reaction that saves a womans life, visit a house haunted by a husbands violent killing spree, enter the high-stakes world of Las Vegas gambling, watch the line between reality and dream blur, travel with a bored salesman driven to crime, and much more. Encompassing all aspects of the genre, this years selections are sure to quicken pulses, send chills down the spine, and keep readers continually guessing.

'Otto Penzler is the founder of the Mysterious Bookshops and the Mysterious Press and an Edgar Award winner. He lives in New York City.Scott Turow is the author of numerous best-selling novels, including Presumed Innocent and his latest, Ordinary Heroes. His books have been translated into more than twenty-five languages and have sold more than twenty-five million copies worldwide. A practicing attorney, he is a graduate of Harvard Law School.'

'Foreword • ix

Introduction by Scott Turow • xiv

Karen E. Bender

Theft • 1

C. J. Box

Pirates of Yellowstone • 18

James Lee Burke

Why Bugsy Siegel Was a Friend of Mine • 31

Jeffery Deaver

Born Bad • 45

Jane Haddam

Edelweiss • 63

William Harrison

Texas Heat • 81

Alan Heathcock

Peacekeeper • 93

Emory Holmes II

A.k.a., Moises Rockafella • 112

Wendy Hornsby

Dust Up • 129

Andrew Klavan

Her Lord and Master • 144

Elmore Leonard

Louly and Pretty Boy • 154

Laura Lippman

The Crack Cocaine Diet (Or: How to Lose a Lot of Weight and Change Your

Life in Just One Weekend) • 169

Ed McBain

Improvisation • 180

Mike MacLean

McHenry's Gift • 197

Walter Mosley

Karma • 205

Joyce Carol Oates

So Help Me God • 240

Sue Pike

A Temporary Crown • 266

Emily Raboteau

Smile • 278

R. T. Smith

Ina Grove • 281

Jeff Somers

Ringing the Changes • 309

Scott Wolven

Vigilance • 320

Contributors' Notes • 345

Other Distinguished Mystery Stories of 2005 • 356\n

'