The Best of Mystery (1980) Anthology

These 63 spine-tingling stories originally appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery magazine, and in the words of the master himself, they’ll “make your blood run cold.” Hitchcock coolly serves up cool cops, clever gangsters, bodies stuffed in trunks, kidnappings, adulterous affairs, murder, and espionage, and the resulting thrills are positively delicious. The writers include Ed McBain, whose “Sadie When She Died” features a strange cat-and-mouse game between a sharp detective and the husband of a murdered woman whom the police suspect of having committed the crime. Other tales come from Donald E. Westlake, Bill Pronzini, Patricia Highsmith, Henry Slezar, and Richard M. Ellis.
Includes the following 63 stories:EDWARD D. HOCH—Winter RunHENRY SLESAR—You Can’t Blame MePAULINE C. SMITH—A Flower in Her HairAVRAM DAVIDSON—The Cost of Kent CastwellLAWRENCE BLOCK—Pseudo IdentityJACK RITCHIE—That Russian!HILLARY WAUGH—Galton and the Yelling BoysCHARLES BOECKMAN—Blind DateRODERICK WILKINSON—PressureBILL PRONZINI—The Running ManF. J. KELLY—The Vietnam CircleED MCBAIN—Sadie When She DiedGILBERT RALSTON—A Very Cautious BoyBORDEN DEAL—A Try for the Big PrizeROBERT COLBY—Voice in the NightRON GOULART—Undertaker, Please Drive SlowDONALD E. WESTLAKE—Never Shake a Family TreeBILL PRONZINI—Here Lies Another BlackmailerLAWRENCE TREAT—Dead DuckJOHN LUTZ—Games for AdultsJAMES MICHAEL ULLMAN—Night of the TwistersPATRICIA HIGHSMITH—Variations on a GameWILLIAM LINK and RICHARD LEVINSON—Child’s PlayRICHARD STARK—Just a Little Impractial JokeJEAN POTTS—Murderer #2JACK RITCHIE—The Third CallRUFUS KING—Damon and Pythias and Delilah BrownRICHARD M. ELLIS—Glory HunterPAULINE C. SMITH—Linda Is GoneC. B. GILFORD—Frightened LadyDONALD E. WESTLAKE—Come Back, Come Back. . .JAMES HOLDING—Once Upon a Bank FloorEDWARD D. HOCH—Warrior’s FarewellWENZELL BROWN—Death by MisadventureLAWRENCE BLOCK—With a Smile for the EndingCHARLOTTE EDWARDS—Television CountryDAN J. MARLOWE—Art for Money’s SakeHILLARY WAUGH—Nothing but Human NatureC. B. GILFORD—Murder, 1990PAUL W. FAIRMAN—Panther, Panther in the NightE. X. FERRARS—Perfectly Timed PlotJACK RITCHIE—#8BRYCE WALTON—All the Needless KillingEDWARD D. HOCH—A Melee of DiamondsMARY BARRETT—One for the CrowHENRY SLESAR—Happiness Before DeathBILL PRONZINI—I Don’t Understand ItRON GOULART—News From NowhereKATE WILHELM—A Case of DesperationPAUL TABORI—An Interlude for MurderELEANOR DALY BOYLAN—Death OverdueDONALD E. WESTLAKE—The Best-Friend MurderHELEN NIELSEN—Pattern of GuiltDONALD HONIG—A Real, Live MurdererBRYCE WALTON—Doctor ApolloHOLLY ROTH—The PursuerLAWRENCE PAGE—Final ArrangementsDAVID ELY—CountdownNEDRA TYRE—Murder Between FriendsHENRY SLESAR—Case of the Kind WaitressCARROLL MAYERS—Ghost of a ChanceJAMES HOLDING—The Montevideo SqueezeMARGARET CHENOWETH—The White Moth