Clive Cussler signs Mirage at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, AZ

I’m pushing my genre borders this week, reading mystery,  looking for beautiful writing in a category of literature that features conflict with the twist of crime.

The Best American Mystery Stories 2013, edited by Lisa Scottoline

“Bullet Number Two,” by Hannah Tinti

Hawley never makes it to the scene of his intended crime. Crime finds him first. Tinti lingers over descriptions of sand storms in the desert, which inspired this story. This line works on many levels:

The bullet was turning now, spinning its hardness into a dark place and taking him with it.

• “Bound,” by Maurine Dallas Watkins

So much character development in so few pages, Thyrza is an evil chameleon who changes appearance to suit her purpose. Her ugliness is bone deep and it’s no mystery that someone will off her, but who? I’m starting to like this genre.

• “So Near Anytime Always,” by Joyce Carol Oates

It becomes quickly apparent that Desmond Parrish is a stalker. His motives are a mystery but the ending is not a shocker; are we ever shocked by what possesses the loner male? The magic is in the author’s rendering of the sixteen-year-old girl who comes into his crosshairs.

• “Light Bulb,” by Nancy Pickard

This story began with promise, when Judy experienced “…a sinking in her stomach, a setting of a match to an unburned pile of regret.” I love that kind of writing. But as the story unfolded, the emotion was overpowered by stereotype (the preacher who molests, the funny uncle), psychobabble (Alternate Reality Judy), and a freight train of fortuitous events that lead to a tired conclusion.

• “Smothered and Covered,” by Tom Barlow

Pacing, focus, vivid detail, and the skillful weaving of a crime and a back story distinguish this account of a kidnapping from the tale of abuse I found tedious. Anchoring the story to interactions that take place in a diner provides enough narrative distance for readers to piece things together slightly behind the narrator instead of one step ahead. The feelings between the divorced parents of a dead child reliving their experience in a crime that occurs before their eyes is fresh and real.  The ending is a surprise.

• “When They Are Done With Us,” by Patricia Smith

The worst poverty, lack of love, generates the worst crimes. This story puts you inside the head of a mother in the projects and makes you want to murder. I found myself clenching my fists and whispering in my head, “kill the evil spawn.”

• “Quarry,” by Micah Nathan

I love a story where the good guys win. Trouble shows up on the front porch and two brothers draw on moral fortitude and common sense to bury the problem.