Maron's RedHeaded a good one ( )

This is a collection of short stories to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Mystery Writers of America.

There are some stunning photographs of New York in between each short story.

Although Jack Reacher pays a visit to the Big Apple courtesy of Lee Child, my favourite stories were Three Little Words by Nancy Pickard and Me and Mikey by T. Jefferson Parker.

In Three Little Words, Priscilla is told she only has a few weeks to live. One night while out jogging she is stabbed to death. The author lays out the potential murderers and I found myself choosing one then the other and changing my mind again.

Me and Mikey reads like an episode of The Sopranos. The author paints a vivid picture of Little Italy and embraces the Italian emphasis on family.

I'm not really a fan of short stories but the photos alone made this one worth reading.

I received this e-book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

A collection of 17 short stories.

****The Five-Dollar Dress by Mary Higgins Clark - A young woman's grandmother has recently passed away. While going through her things she finds a vital clue to a murder that happened long ago.

*****White Rabbit by Julie Hyzy - A young woman is reading a copy of "Alice in Wonderland" near the Alice in Wonderland statue. A persistent man approaches her and insists on making small talk until he finds out why she chose to read that book near that statue on this particular day.

*The Picture of the Lonely Diner by Lee Child - I didn't understand this one.

***Three Little Words by Nancy Pickard - A young woman with a few weeks left to live makes a bucket list.

***Damage Control by Thomas H. Cook - After finding out about his former foster child's death, a man thinks back to the time they were a family and what led to his decision that she could no longer stay with him and his family.

***The Day After Victory by Brendan Dubois - An old street sweeper is cleaning up after New York celebrates the end of the war when he tries to strike up a conversation with a man in an alcove.

*****Serial Benefactor by Jon L. Breen - In his younger years, when he was a broadway actor, a serial killer took the lives of those who weren't very well-liked within the theatre. Figuring it was someone he knew, this old man has been trying to solve this 'whodunnit' for many, many years.

**Trapped! by Ben H. Winters - Written as a play. The detective tries to find out who killed the producer.

**Wall Street Rodeo by Angela Zeman - A young boy pays $5 to hear a story from an old con man in the hopes the old man will remember where he stashed his fortune.

**Copycats by N. J. Ayres - Three boys who were friends when they were young are deployed in World War II together along with another guy from their neighbourhood. What paths do they take after the war?

**Red-Headed Stepchild by Margaret Maron - A young girl gets revenge on her new step-mother and her daughter.

****Sutton Death Overtime by Judith Kelman - An obnoxious reporter attends a monthly gathering of the top New York mystery writers. After promising not to give anything away to the public about what the writers say, he spills his guts after one woman spews out the plot of her next true-crime novel. I did not like the ending at all.

*Dizzy and Gillespie by Persia Walker - I didn't like this one.

**Me and Mikey by T. Jefferson Parker - Two brothers, who are nothing alike, grow up in a Mafia family.

****Evermore by Justin Scott - Edgar Allan Poe and a bank robber time travel together to pull off a heist.

**Chin Yong-Yun Makes a Shiddach by S.J. Rozan - A mothers youngest son needs her to get in touch with his sister, a private investigator, because his girlfriend has been kidnapped and held for ransom. Instead of getting a hold of the sister, she takes things into her own hands and makes a shiddach in the process.

**The Baker of Bleeker Street by Jeffery Deaver - An Italian baker wants payback.


Overall I liked the book.

I won a hardcover copy through BookLikes from Quirk Books. Thank you. It's an attractive book with nice pictures. ( )

Some very enjoyable stories and a few clunkers which I happily skipped! ( )