Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories

Selected short stories featuring private eyes, cops, amateur sleuths and even aliens attest to the vigor of the mystery genre and the spirited inventiveness of the skilled American (mostly) and English authors represented here. In ``Benny's Space'' by Marcia Muller, San Francisco sleuth Sharon McCone investigates a drug lord's murder while trying to protect her client, a witness to the killing. Bill Pronzini's ``Liar's Dice'' will leave readers leery of playing friendly bar games with strangers; Sharyn McCrumb examines the lives of a child murderer and an investigative reporter in ``A Predatory Woman,'' leaving readers to decide which of the two is referred to in the title. A litter of cat tales includes Carole Nelson Douglas's lighthearted ``The Maltese Double Cross,'' featuring feline PI Midnight Louie in Las Vegas; the suspenseful ``Long Live the Queen'' by Ruth Rendell; and Jeremiah Healy's ``The Winfield Trade,'' starring his Boston PI, John Francis Cuddy. Other contributors include Lawrence Block, Reginald Hill, Sara Paretsky and Nancy Pickard. Jon L. Breen's succinct, inclusive introduction offers an overview of 1992's best; he also offers an annotated list of his choices for the year's 25 best crime novels. (Oct.)