
The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year: 2024
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $21.49
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Kim Niemi
-
BJ Harrison
About this listen
Anthony Horowitz selects and introduces the best mystery stories from the past year, under the auspices of the world's oldest mystery fiction specialty bookshop.
From a pool of over 3,000 considered stories published last year—anything that touched on crime, mystery, and suspense, from venues as disparate as the Strand Magazine, Dark Yonder, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, the Bellevue Literary Review, and more—these are the twenty best, selected by series editor Otto Penzler and guest editor Anthony Horowitz.
The tales included cover a range of styles, highlighting the diversity of subjects and forms comprising the genre we call mystery fiction. Featuring a mixture of household names, masters of the short form, and newcomers to the field, the collection offers a variety that promises something for every listener. And it's all capped off by a vintage story from the first half of the previous century, sourced directly from the rare book room at the Mysterious Bookshop, the oldest mystery fiction specialty store in the world.
©2024 Otto Penzler (compilation); copyright 2024 by Otto Penzler (foreword); copyright 2024 by Anthony Horowitz (introduction) (P)2024 HighBridge, a division of Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
-
Becoming Sherlock - The Red Circle
- Becoming Sherlock, Book 1
- By: Sarah J. Naughton, Anthony Horowitz
- Narrated by: Alfred Enoch
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We are 40 years into the future, and London is a city in decay. John Watson has returned from medical service in the war in Afghanistan and lives by himself in a run-down part of town. On his way home from work, he stumbles upon a beaten man in the street – unconscious and completely naked. His chances of survival are minimal. The same evening, a passenger plane crashes in Richmond Park. There are several hundred victims, and Watson and the mysterious man are left to their own devices.
-
-
So creative!
- By Joshua B. Wager on 03-11-25
By: Sarah J. Naughton, and others
-
The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2023
- By: Amor Towles - editor, Otto Penzler - editor
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright, Christina Delaine, Terrence Kidd
- Length: 21 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amor Towles selects the best mystery short stories of the year, including tales by Andrew Child, Jeffrey Deaver, and T. C. Boyle. Under the auspices of New York City's legendary mystery fiction specialty bookstore, The Mysterious Bookshop, and aided by Edgar Award-winning anthologist Otto Penzler, New York Times bestseller Amor Towles has selected the twenty most puzzling, most thrilling, and most mysterious short stories from the past year, collected now in one entertaining volume.
-
-
Not For Me
- By 3POnR2 on 03-12-24
By: Amor Towles - editor, and others
-
The Adventure of the Seven Christmas Cards
- A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Story
- By: Anthony Horowitz
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the year comes to a close, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson must set out through snow laden London to investigate the theft of a priceless clock and the receipt of seven macabre Christmas cards. Will they solve the murderous mystery before they too receive the unwanted 'compliments of the season'? Written by esteemed writer, Anthony Horowitz, and originally published in the Daily Mail, this short story is a festive treat for all fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective, Sherlock Holmes.
-
-
57 minutes for one credit?
- By Sandramc on 03-31-25
By: Anthony Horowitz
-
The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024
- By: S.A. Cosby, Steph Cha
- Narrated by: Stacy Gonzalez, Bill Andrew Quinn, John Pirhalla, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his introduction, guest editor S. A. Cosby observes that writing short stories is “a special skill that combines brevity with wit and cleverness and the hint of the existential malaise that imbues crime fiction with its gravitas.” The stories in this collection overflow with gravitas in the most unexpected ways: a cryptic note left on a windshield, a murder for hire meets a game of Mouse Trap, a swipe right on a dating app goes horribly wrong.
-
-
Well written but Sad stories
- By Geoffrey on 04-28-25
By: S.A. Cosby, and others
-
Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop
- By: Otto Penzler - editor
- Narrated by: Jennifer Pickens, Graham Rowat
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The oldest mystery specialty bookstore in the world, The Mysterious Bookshop, has for most of its forty-five-year history commissioned an original short story as a holiday gift for its customers. Written exclusively for the store, the stories were given as a holiday gift to its customers as a thank you for their business, handed out or mailed between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.
-
-
Very Good
- By T.Coxtamtoes on 12-29-24
-
Eleven Numbers
- A Short Story
- By: Lee Child
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nathan Tyler is an unassuming professor at a middling American university with a rather obscure specialty in mathematics—in short, a nobody from nowhere. So why is the White House calling? Summoned to Washington, DC, for a top-secret briefing, Nathan discovers that he’s the key to a massive foreign intelligence breakthrough. Reading between the lines of a cryptic series of equations, he could open a door straight into the heart of the Kremlin and change the global balance of power forever.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Or on 02-02-25
By: Lee Child
-
Becoming Sherlock - The Red Circle
- Becoming Sherlock, Book 1
- By: Sarah J. Naughton, Anthony Horowitz
- Narrated by: Alfred Enoch
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We are 40 years into the future, and London is a city in decay. John Watson has returned from medical service in the war in Afghanistan and lives by himself in a run-down part of town. On his way home from work, he stumbles upon a beaten man in the street – unconscious and completely naked. His chances of survival are minimal. The same evening, a passenger plane crashes in Richmond Park. There are several hundred victims, and Watson and the mysterious man are left to their own devices.
-
-
So creative!
- By Joshua B. Wager on 03-11-25
By: Sarah J. Naughton, and others
-
The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2023
- By: Amor Towles - editor, Otto Penzler - editor
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright, Christina Delaine, Terrence Kidd
- Length: 21 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amor Towles selects the best mystery short stories of the year, including tales by Andrew Child, Jeffrey Deaver, and T. C. Boyle. Under the auspices of New York City's legendary mystery fiction specialty bookstore, The Mysterious Bookshop, and aided by Edgar Award-winning anthologist Otto Penzler, New York Times bestseller Amor Towles has selected the twenty most puzzling, most thrilling, and most mysterious short stories from the past year, collected now in one entertaining volume.
-
-
Not For Me
- By 3POnR2 on 03-12-24
By: Amor Towles - editor, and others
-
The Adventure of the Seven Christmas Cards
- A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Story
- By: Anthony Horowitz
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the year comes to a close, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson must set out through snow laden London to investigate the theft of a priceless clock and the receipt of seven macabre Christmas cards. Will they solve the murderous mystery before they too receive the unwanted 'compliments of the season'? Written by esteemed writer, Anthony Horowitz, and originally published in the Daily Mail, this short story is a festive treat for all fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective, Sherlock Holmes.
-
-
57 minutes for one credit?
- By Sandramc on 03-31-25
By: Anthony Horowitz
-
The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024
- By: S.A. Cosby, Steph Cha
- Narrated by: Stacy Gonzalez, Bill Andrew Quinn, John Pirhalla, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his introduction, guest editor S. A. Cosby observes that writing short stories is “a special skill that combines brevity with wit and cleverness and the hint of the existential malaise that imbues crime fiction with its gravitas.” The stories in this collection overflow with gravitas in the most unexpected ways: a cryptic note left on a windshield, a murder for hire meets a game of Mouse Trap, a swipe right on a dating app goes horribly wrong.
-
-
Well written but Sad stories
- By Geoffrey on 04-28-25
By: S.A. Cosby, and others
-
Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop
- By: Otto Penzler - editor
- Narrated by: Jennifer Pickens, Graham Rowat
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The oldest mystery specialty bookstore in the world, The Mysterious Bookshop, has for most of its forty-five-year history commissioned an original short story as a holiday gift for its customers. Written exclusively for the store, the stories were given as a holiday gift to its customers as a thank you for their business, handed out or mailed between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.
-
-
Very Good
- By T.Coxtamtoes on 12-29-24
-
Eleven Numbers
- A Short Story
- By: Lee Child
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nathan Tyler is an unassuming professor at a middling American university with a rather obscure specialty in mathematics—in short, a nobody from nowhere. So why is the White House calling? Summoned to Washington, DC, for a top-secret briefing, Nathan discovers that he’s the key to a massive foreign intelligence breakthrough. Reading between the lines of a cryptic series of equations, he could open a door straight into the heart of the Kremlin and change the global balance of power forever.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Or on 02-02-25
By: Lee Child
-
Deadly Anniversaries
- A Collection of Stories from Crime Fiction's Top Authors
- By: Marcia Muller, Bill Pronzini
- Narrated by: Cindy Kay, Emily Woo Zeller, Billie Fulford-Brown, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mystery Writers of America is proud to present Deadly Anniversaries, a collection of crime and mystery stories from some of the best contemporary authors, all of whom have been invited to put their own unique spin on what it means to recognize a certain day or event every year. An anniversary can take many forms, and by the time this group of best sellers and award winners is through, none of us will ever look at anniversaries the same way again. Edited by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini, this collection features original stories from 20 industry giants.
-
-
Thank you narrators for telling us these stories.
- By Jennifer Baratta She/Her on 09-13-23
By: Marcia Muller, and others
-
The Undignified Melodrama of the Bone of Contention
- Lord Peter Views the Body
- By: Dorothy L. Sayers
- Narrated by: Peter Coates
- Length: 1 hr and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Undignified Melodrama of the Bone of Contention is a short story from Dorothy Sayers' book, Lord Peter Views the Body. In The Undignified Melodrama of the Bone of Contention, Lord Peter Wimsey dives into a heated village dispute over an old will and a mysterious bone. When a bitter inheritance battle turns deadly, Lord Peter steps in to uncover the truth. With his wit and deductive skill, he navigates the underlying tensions, local rivalries, and hidden motives. Dorothy L.
-
-
Nice, short Lord Peter story
- By Amazon Customer on 01-06-25
-
Christmas at the Mysterious Bookshop
- By: Otto Penzler - editor
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine, Matt Godfrey
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Each year, for 17 years, Mysterious Bookshop proprietor Otto Penzler commissioned an original Christmas story by a leading suspense writer. These stories were then produced as pamphlets, just 1,000 copies, and given to customers of the bookstore as a Christmas present. Now, all 17 tales have been collected in one volume.
-
-
Droning on
- By Cathryn B. Stroud on 04-21-24
-
Bibliomysteries Volume 1
- By: Jeffery Deaver, C.J. Box, Ken Bruen, and others
- Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirteen bibliomysteries by best-selling and award-winning authors are contained in this first of volume of a must-listen collection.
-
-
Riddle me this...
- By yenalsekim on 02-14-21
By: Jeffery Deaver, and others
-
Murder in E Minor
- A Nero Wolfe Mystery
- By: Robert Goldsborough
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever since disgraced associate Orrie Cather’s suicide, armchair detective Nero Wolfe has relished retirement in his Manhattan brownstone on West 35th Street. Two years after Cather’s death, only a visit from Maria Radovich - and the urging of Wolfe’s prize assistant, Archie Goodwin - could draw the eccentric and reclusive genius back into business. Maria’s uncle, New York Symphony Orchestra conductor Milan Stevens, formerly known as Milos Stefanovic, spent his youth alongside Wolfe as a fellow freedom fighter in the mountains of Montenegro.
-
-
Murder in E Minor
- By Danny Harr on 08-31-22
-
The Rule of Threes
- A Novella (Special Agent Constant Marlowe)
- By: Jeffery Deaver
- Narrated by: Christina Traister
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Special Agent Constant Marlowe is tasked with taking over the investigation of an obsessed serial killer trolling the small town of Clark Valley in the quiet—and eerie—plains of the Midwest. Two female victims in quick succession, the same brutal MO, and every indication that victim number three is only days away. Also in the killer’s scope is Constant herself. When she interviews a local family who may be potential witnesses, she leads the devil to their doorstep, throwing their lives into chaos.
-
-
OK, but nothing special
- By VEH on 03-10-24
By: Jeffery Deaver
-
Sherlock Holmes
- A Year of Mystery: 1881
- By: Richard Ryan, David Marcum, Derrick Belanger, and others
- Narrated by: Brian D. Belanger
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For all we know, or think we know, about Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, what we don’t know is far, far greater. In the duo’s first case, A Study in Scarlet, we learn that Holmes and Watson met on January 1st, 1881, and subsequently moved into an apartment together at 221b Baker Street. Their first case officially began on March 4th of that year, and it is argued that “The Adventure of the Resident Patient” possibly took place in October of 1881, depending on which version of the story you read. But what happened during the rest of 1881? Or all of 1882?
-
-
Lay off the footnotes!
- By Barred from reviewing on 11-23-23
By: Richard Ryan, and others
-
The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story
- By: John Freeman - editor
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett, Scott Brick, Cassandra Campbell, and others
- Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the past 50 years, the American short story has changed dramatically. New voices, forms, and mixtures of genres have brought this unique US genre a thrilling burst of energy. This rich anthology celebrates this avalanche of talent. Beginning in 1970, it culls together a half century of powerful American short stories from all genres, including - for the first time in a literary anthology - science fiction, horror, and fantasy.
-
-
Too dark for my taste
- By Lazy Chicken on 10-03-22
-
MatchUp
- By: Lee Child - editor, Val McDermid, Charlaine Harris, and others
- Narrated by: Laura Benanti, Dennis Boutsikaris, Gerard Doyle, and others
- Length: 15 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this incredible follow-up to the New York Times and USA Today best seller FaceOff, 22 of the world's most popular thriller writers come together for an unforgettable anthology. MatchUp takes the never-before-seen best seller pairings of FaceOff and adds a delicious new twist: gender. Eleven of the world's best female thriller writers, from Diana Gabaldon to Charlaine Harris, are paired with 11 of the world's best male thriller writers.
-
-
All but Two were worth the read
- By Tim on 12-31-17
By: Lee Child - editor, and others
-
The Big Book of Espionage
- Big Book Series
- By: Otto Penzler
- Narrated by: Piper Goodeve, Daniel Thomas May, Alex Wyndham
- Length: 47 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Edgar Award-winning editor Otto Penzler is back with a new anthology that has gathered the intel on the world's greatest secret agents, declassified here for the first time.
-
-
What a great bunch of stories.
- By Kay on 01-15-22
By: Otto Penzler
-
The First Collection of Twelve Stories. Lord Peter Views the Body
- The Fantastic Horror of the Cat in the Bag, the Unprincipled Affair of the Practical Joker, the Bibulous Business of a Matter of Taste and Others
- By: Dorothy L. Sayers
- Narrated by: Peter Coates
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The First Collection of Twelve Stories is a captivating collection featuring the brilliant detective Lord Peter Wimsey in a series of thrilling, often witty mysteries. This illustrated volume includes such unforgettable tales as The Fantastic Horror of the Cat in the Bag, where Wimsey faces a bizarre crime involving a mysterious cat, and The Unprincipled Affair of the Practical Joker, which pits the detective against a cunning adversary with a penchant for dark humor.
-
-
best narrator-- best writer
- By Anonymous User on 04-06-25
-
Fantastic Crimes
- Four Bibliomysteries by Best-Selling Authors
- By: Anne Perry, Christopher Fowler, F. Paul Wilson, and others
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley, Nicole Poole
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This collection includes four book-centered mystery novellas from four masters of the craft: The Scroll, Reconciliation Day, The Compendium of Srem, and The Mysterious Disappearance of the Reluctant Book Fairy.
-
-
Anne Perry story is the best
- By Amazon Customer on 06-04-23
By: Anne Perry, and others
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2023
- By: Amor Towles - editor, Otto Penzler - editor
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright, Christina Delaine, Terrence Kidd
- Length: 21 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amor Towles selects the best mystery short stories of the year, including tales by Andrew Child, Jeffrey Deaver, and T. C. Boyle. Under the auspices of New York City's legendary mystery fiction specialty bookstore, The Mysterious Bookshop, and aided by Edgar Award-winning anthologist Otto Penzler, New York Times bestseller Amor Towles has selected the twenty most puzzling, most thrilling, and most mysterious short stories from the past year, collected now in one entertaining volume.
-
-
Not For Me
- By 3POnR2 on 03-12-24
By: Amor Towles - editor, and others
-
The Best Mystery Stories of the Year: 2021
- By: Lee Child - editor and introduction, Otto Penzler - series editor
- Narrated by: Matt Godfrey, Emily Sutton-Smith
- Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lee Child selects the 20 best mystery short stories of the year, including tales by Stephen King, Sara Paretsky, and many more. Under the auspices of New York City's legendary mystery fiction specialty bookstore, The Mysterious Bookshop, and aided by Edgar Award-winning anthologist Otto Penzler, international best seller Lee Child has selected the 20 most suspenseful, most confounding, and most mysterious short stories from the past year, collected now in one entertaining volume.
-
-
Very disappointing collection.
- By STEFANY C. on 11-27-21
By: Lee Child - editor and introduction, and others
-
The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year: 2022
- By: Sara Paretsky - editor and introduction, Otto Penzler - series editor
- Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May, Rachel Perry
- Length: 22 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Under the auspices of New York City's legendary mystery fiction specialty bookstore, The Mysterious Bookshop, and aided by Edgar Award-winning anthologist Otto Penzler, international bestseller and MWA Grandmaster Sara Paretsky has selected the twenty most puzzling, most thrilling, and most mysterious short stories from the past year, collected now in one entertaining volume.
-
-
Some excellent, many were rejected and most just unfinished.
- By Dr Rick on 11-23-24
By: Sara Paretsky - editor and introduction, and others
-
The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024
- By: S.A. Cosby, Steph Cha
- Narrated by: Stacy Gonzalez, Bill Andrew Quinn, John Pirhalla, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his introduction, guest editor S. A. Cosby observes that writing short stories is “a special skill that combines brevity with wit and cleverness and the hint of the existential malaise that imbues crime fiction with its gravitas.” The stories in this collection overflow with gravitas in the most unexpected ways: a cryptic note left on a windshield, a murder for hire meets a game of Mouse Trap, a swipe right on a dating app goes horribly wrong.
-
-
Well written but Sad stories
- By Geoffrey on 04-28-25
By: S.A. Cosby, and others
-
The Best American Short Stories 2019
- By: Anthony Doerr, Heidi Pitlor
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff, Heidi Pitlor, Scott Shepherd, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
#1 New York Times best-selling, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Anthony Doerr brings his“stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors” (San Francisco Chronicle) to selecting The Best American Short Stories 2019. Doerr and the series editor, Heidi Pitlor, winnow down twenty stories out of thousands that represent the best examples of the form published the previous year.
-
-
Another great year of Shorts
- By Michael on 01-19-24
By: Anthony Doerr, and others
-
Granny
- By: Anthony Horowitz
- Narrated by: Nickolas Grace
- Length: 3 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twelve-year-old Joe Warden isn’t happy. Sure, he’s rich, but his parents don’t care about him. His grandmother should make everything better, except that Joe’s granny is a nightmare. She’s not just physically repulsive, she’s horribly mean. Everyone thinks she’s just a dotty old woman, but Joe knows the truth. He’s seen behind her mask and glimpsed the wicked glimmer in her eyes – she is pure evil.
-
-
Unbelievable Hilarious
- By Deborah on 01-05-23
By: Anthony Horowitz
-
The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2023
- By: Amor Towles - editor, Otto Penzler - editor
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright, Christina Delaine, Terrence Kidd
- Length: 21 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amor Towles selects the best mystery short stories of the year, including tales by Andrew Child, Jeffrey Deaver, and T. C. Boyle. Under the auspices of New York City's legendary mystery fiction specialty bookstore, The Mysterious Bookshop, and aided by Edgar Award-winning anthologist Otto Penzler, New York Times bestseller Amor Towles has selected the twenty most puzzling, most thrilling, and most mysterious short stories from the past year, collected now in one entertaining volume.
-
-
Not For Me
- By 3POnR2 on 03-12-24
By: Amor Towles - editor, and others
-
The Best Mystery Stories of the Year: 2021
- By: Lee Child - editor and introduction, Otto Penzler - series editor
- Narrated by: Matt Godfrey, Emily Sutton-Smith
- Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lee Child selects the 20 best mystery short stories of the year, including tales by Stephen King, Sara Paretsky, and many more. Under the auspices of New York City's legendary mystery fiction specialty bookstore, The Mysterious Bookshop, and aided by Edgar Award-winning anthologist Otto Penzler, international best seller Lee Child has selected the 20 most suspenseful, most confounding, and most mysterious short stories from the past year, collected now in one entertaining volume.
-
-
Very disappointing collection.
- By STEFANY C. on 11-27-21
By: Lee Child - editor and introduction, and others
-
The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year: 2022
- By: Sara Paretsky - editor and introduction, Otto Penzler - series editor
- Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May, Rachel Perry
- Length: 22 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Under the auspices of New York City's legendary mystery fiction specialty bookstore, The Mysterious Bookshop, and aided by Edgar Award-winning anthologist Otto Penzler, international bestseller and MWA Grandmaster Sara Paretsky has selected the twenty most puzzling, most thrilling, and most mysterious short stories from the past year, collected now in one entertaining volume.
-
-
Some excellent, many were rejected and most just unfinished.
- By Dr Rick on 11-23-24
By: Sara Paretsky - editor and introduction, and others
-
The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024
- By: S.A. Cosby, Steph Cha
- Narrated by: Stacy Gonzalez, Bill Andrew Quinn, John Pirhalla, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his introduction, guest editor S. A. Cosby observes that writing short stories is “a special skill that combines brevity with wit and cleverness and the hint of the existential malaise that imbues crime fiction with its gravitas.” The stories in this collection overflow with gravitas in the most unexpected ways: a cryptic note left on a windshield, a murder for hire meets a game of Mouse Trap, a swipe right on a dating app goes horribly wrong.
-
-
Well written but Sad stories
- By Geoffrey on 04-28-25
By: S.A. Cosby, and others
-
The Best American Short Stories 2019
- By: Anthony Doerr, Heidi Pitlor
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff, Heidi Pitlor, Scott Shepherd, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
#1 New York Times best-selling, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Anthony Doerr brings his“stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors” (San Francisco Chronicle) to selecting The Best American Short Stories 2019. Doerr and the series editor, Heidi Pitlor, winnow down twenty stories out of thousands that represent the best examples of the form published the previous year.
-
-
Another great year of Shorts
- By Michael on 01-19-24
By: Anthony Doerr, and others
-
Granny
- By: Anthony Horowitz
- Narrated by: Nickolas Grace
- Length: 3 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twelve-year-old Joe Warden isn’t happy. Sure, he’s rich, but his parents don’t care about him. His grandmother should make everything better, except that Joe’s granny is a nightmare. She’s not just physically repulsive, she’s horribly mean. Everyone thinks she’s just a dotty old woman, but Joe knows the truth. He’s seen behind her mask and glimpsed the wicked glimmer in her eyes – she is pure evil.
-
-
Unbelievable Hilarious
- By Deborah on 01-05-23
By: Anthony Horowitz
-
The Big Book of Victorian Mysteries
- By: Otto Penzler - editor
- Narrated by: Rachael Beresford, Stephen Bowlby, Dan Calley
- Length: 37 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Edgar Award winner Otto Penzler returns with a new anthology of exhilarating mysteries, assembling Victorian society's lords and ladies and most miserable miscreants. Behind the velvet curtains of horse-drawn carriages and amid the soft glow of the gaslights are the detectives and bobbies sniffing out the safecrackers and petty purloiners who plague everything from the soot-covered side streets of London to the opulent manors of the countryside. Brush off your dinner jackets and straighten out your ball gowns for these exciting, glitzy mysteries.
-
-
Good to listen to over the holidays
- By Linda Conover on 01-01-23
-
The Adventure of the Seven Christmas Cards
- A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Story
- By: Anthony Horowitz
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the year comes to a close, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson must set out through snow laden London to investigate the theft of a priceless clock and the receipt of seven macabre Christmas cards. Will they solve the murderous mystery before they too receive the unwanted 'compliments of the season'? Written by esteemed writer, Anthony Horowitz, and originally published in the Daily Mail, this short story is a festive treat for all fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective, Sherlock Holmes.
-
-
57 minutes for one credit?
- By Sandramc on 03-31-25
By: Anthony Horowitz
-
Becoming Sherlock - The Red Circle
- Becoming Sherlock, Book 1
- By: Sarah J. Naughton, Anthony Horowitz
- Narrated by: Alfred Enoch
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We are 40 years into the future, and London is a city in decay. John Watson has returned from medical service in the war in Afghanistan and lives by himself in a run-down part of town. On his way home from work, he stumbles upon a beaten man in the street – unconscious and completely naked. His chances of survival are minimal. The same evening, a passenger plane crashes in Richmond Park. There are several hundred victims, and Watson and the mysterious man are left to their own devices.
-
-
So creative!
- By Joshua B. Wager on 03-11-25
By: Sarah J. Naughton, and others
-
Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop
- By: Otto Penzler - editor
- Narrated by: Jennifer Pickens, Graham Rowat
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The oldest mystery specialty bookstore in the world, The Mysterious Bookshop, has for most of its forty-five-year history commissioned an original short story as a holiday gift for its customers. Written exclusively for the store, the stories were given as a holiday gift to its customers as a thank you for their business, handed out or mailed between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.
-
-
Very Good
- By T.Coxtamtoes on 12-29-24
-
The Best Short Stories 2024
- The O. Henry Prize Winners
- By: Amor Towles - editor, Jenny Minton Quigley - editor
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Kristen DiMercurio, Blair Young, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The prestigious annual story anthology, featuring prize-winning stories by Kate DiCamillo, Jess Walter, Dave Eggers, Allegra Goodman, Jai Chakrabarti, Francisco Gonzalez, and more.
-
-
First several are Bleak, downers
- By Otis Lake on 04-07-25
By: Amor Towles - editor, and others
-
Deadly Anniversaries
- A Collection of Stories from Crime Fiction's Top Authors
- By: Marcia Muller, Bill Pronzini
- Narrated by: Cindy Kay, Emily Woo Zeller, Billie Fulford-Brown, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mystery Writers of America is proud to present Deadly Anniversaries, a collection of crime and mystery stories from some of the best contemporary authors, all of whom have been invited to put their own unique spin on what it means to recognize a certain day or event every year. An anniversary can take many forms, and by the time this group of best sellers and award winners is through, none of us will ever look at anniversaries the same way again. Edited by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini, this collection features original stories from 20 industry giants.
-
-
Thank you narrators for telling us these stories.
- By Jennifer Baratta She/Her on 09-13-23
By: Marcia Muller, and others
-
The Best Crime Stories Ever Told
- By: Dorothy L. Sayers - editor
- Narrated by: Robin Bloodworth, Suehyla El Attar
- Length: 20 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When acclaimed mystery writer Dorothy L. Sayers first began compiling anthologies of the best crime stories in the 1920s and ’30s, the genre was in the flush of its first golden age. While it is hard to imagine today - after every possible mystery plot has been told, retold, subverted, and played straight again by hundreds of writers over nearly a century - in Sayers’s day there were still twists that had never been seen, and machinations of crime that would shock even jaded Jazz Age fans.
-
-
Lot of duds, some gems
- By Regina on 11-09-13
-
The Big Book of Espionage
- Big Book Series
- By: Otto Penzler
- Narrated by: Piper Goodeve, Daniel Thomas May, Alex Wyndham
- Length: 47 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Edgar Award-winning editor Otto Penzler is back with a new anthology that has gathered the intel on the world's greatest secret agents, declassified here for the first time.
-
-
What a great bunch of stories.
- By Kay on 01-15-22
By: Otto Penzler
-
The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022
- By: Jess Walter - editor, Steph Cha - series editor
- Narrated by: Desean Terry, Lindsey Dorcus, Max Meyers, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A collection of the year’s best mystery and suspense short fiction selected by #1 New York Times bestselling author and guest editor Jess Walter and series editor Steph Cha.
By: Jess Walter - editor, and others
-
Bibliomysteries Volume 1
- By: Jeffery Deaver, C.J. Box, Ken Bruen, and others
- Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirteen bibliomysteries by best-selling and award-winning authors are contained in this first of volume of a must-listen collection.
-
-
Riddle me this...
- By yenalsekim on 02-14-21
By: Jeffery Deaver, and others
-
Master's Choice Volume 1
- Mystery Stories by Today's Top Writers and the Masters Who Inspired Them
- By: Stephen King, Tony Hillerman, W.F. Harvey, and others
- Narrated by: Juliet Mills, Michael Gross
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Listen to mystery stories by today's top writers and the masters who inspired them. The idea for this collection came to Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Lawrence Block when he was asked, "What is your favorite mystery story?" Block compiled this unique collection by posing the same question to some of today's favorite writers of the genre, including Stephen King, Tony Hillerman, and John Lutz.
-
-
Mystery on Bayou Teche
- By Cheryl L. Boswell on 10-25-07
By: Stephen King, and others
-
The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories
- By: Otto Penzler - editor
- Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith, Mark Bramhall, Gildart Jackson, and others
- Length: 46 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Arguably no other character in history has been so enduringly popular as Sherlock Holmes. From his first appearance in Arthur Conan Doyle's 1887 novella A Study in Scarlet, fans have loved reading and listening about him - and writers have loved writing about him. Here, Otto Penzler collects 83 wonderful stories about Holmes and Dr. John Watson, the majority of which will be new to listeners.
-
-
LAME
- By L. D. Miller on 01-13-16
What listeners say about The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year: 2024
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Geoffrey
- 11-18-24
Excellent Collection
The stories in this collection are largely excellent. This is one of the this annual series of mysteries
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- deepdvr_ca
- 03-02-25
Enough stumbling and phone won’t work
These authors are supposed to be the best but these stories are scattered with tropes and cliches. In Backwoods we get so much stumbling and tripping. Protagonist has three guns and knows the bad guys are coming to kill her. Oh oh hands shaking. Should I shoot the evil bad guys? Almost taped but no emergency escape. Give me a break.
In Night Kill oh oh my phone won’t turn on. At least they avoided the no signal trope. Call 911 and do t finish call. Pleasssssssseeeeeee!!!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 11-22-24
What a Disappointment!
Poor stories - no imagination.
Lots of kudos in the intro to each story making the actual stories a bigger disappointment. Save your credit.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful