Transgressions: Ten Brand-New Novellas - Hardcover

Lawrence Block; Jeffery Deaver; John Farris; Stephen King; Sharyn McCrumb; Walter Mosley; Joyce Carol Oates; Anne Perry; Donald E. Westlake

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0765308517 ISBN 13: 9780765308511

Publisher: Forge Books, 2005

Synopsis

Forge Books is proud to present an amazing collection of novellas, compiled by New York Times bestselling author Ed McBain. Transgressions is a quintessential classic of never-before-published tales from today's very best novelists. Faeturing:

"Walking Around Money" by Donald E. Westlake: The master of the comic mystery is back with an all-new novella featuring hapless crook John Dortmunder, who gets involved in a crime that supposedly no one will ever know happened. Naturally, when something it too good to be true, it usually is, and Dortmunder is going to get to the bottom of this caper before he's left holding the bag.

"Hostages" by Anne Perry: The bestselling historical mystery author has written a tale of beautiful yet still savage Ireland today. In their eternal struggle for freedom, there is about to be a changing of the guard in the Irish Republican Army. Yet for some, old habits-and honor-still die hard, even at gunpoint.

"The Corn Maiden" by Joyce Carol Oates: When a fourteen-year-old girl is abducted in a small New York town, the crime starts a spiral of destruction and despair as only this master of psychological suspense could write it.

"Archibald Lawless, Anarchist at Large: Walking the Line" by Walter Mosley: Felix Orlean is a New York City journalism student who needs a job to cover his rent. An ad in the paper leads him to Archibald Lawless, and a descent into a shadow world where no one and nothing is as it first seems.

"The Resurrection Man" by Sharyn McCrumb": During America's first century, doctors used any means necessary to advance their craft-including dissecting corpses. Sharyn McCrumb brings the South of the 1850s to life in this story of a man who is assigned to dig up bodies to help those that are still alive.

"Merely Hate" by Ed McBain: When a string of Muslim cabdrivers are killed, and the evidence points to another ethnic group, the detectives of the 87th Precinct must hunt down a killer before the city explodes in violence.

"The Things They Left Behind" by Stephen King: In the wake of the worst disaster on American soil, one man is coming to terms with the aftermath of the Twin Towers-when he begins finding the things they left behind.

"The Ransome Women" by John Farris: A young and beautiful starving artist is looking to catch a break when her idol, the reclusive portraitist John Ransome offers her a lucrative year-long modeling contract. But how long will her excitement last when she discovers the fate shared by all Ransome's past subjects?

"Forever" by Jeffery Deaver: Talbot Simms is an unusual cop-he's a statistician with the Westbrook County Sheriff Department. When two wealthy couples in the county commit suicide one right after the other, he thinks that it isn't suicide-it's murder, and he's going to find how who was behind it, and how the did it.

"Keller's Adjustment" by Lawrence Block: Everyone's favorite hit man is back in MWA Grand Master Lawrence Block's novella, where the philosophical Keller deals out philosophy and murder on a meandering road trip from one end of the America to the other.

About this title

About the Author

ED MCBAIN is also know as Evan Hunter. His writing career has spanned almost five decades, from his first novel, THE BLACKBOARD JUNGLE, in 1954 to the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS to CANDYLAND, written in tandem with his alter ego, Ed McBain, to his most recent novel, THE MOMENT SHE WAS GONE. He is the first American ever to receive the Diamond Dagger, the British Crime Writers Association's highest award. He also holds the Mystery Writers of America's prestigious Grand Master Award. His most recent 87th Precinct novel was MONEY, MONEY, MONEY. Evan Hunter / Ed McBain has lived in Weston, Connecticut with his wife Dragica for the last five years.

Reviews

Starred Review. As editor McBain admits in his introduction, it was a bit of a challenge to persuade 10 superstar authors (well, only nine, since he's also a contributor) to each write an original novella, with its awkward length between 10,000 and 40,000 words, for this excellent crime and suspense anthology, but he's come up with an impressive roster. One can't help wondering how a writer like Donald E. Westlake, who writes so much under several names, can fit in a jolly new story, "Walking Around Money," about his humorous burglar hero Dortmunder . And how does Anne Perry, who now writes three separate series and is probably planning another, move to a completely different period with "Hostages," a touching portrait of a woman caught up in the current Irish troubles who tries to keep her sanity by doing household chores? Walter Mosley, on the other hand, seems to be looking for new ways to get his points across: his "Archibald Lawless, Anarchist at Large: Walking the Line" might be the fuse to light a fire. McBain's own "Merely Hate" lends fresh insight into his 87th Precinct series. The remaining novellas, from the ubiquitous Joyce Carol Oates and the welcome return of Lawrence Block's hit man Keller to the diverse pleasures of Sharyn McCrumb and Stephen King, make this hefty volume pound-for-pound the best reading value of the season. Agent, Jane Gelfman at Gelfman-Schneider Literary. $200,000 marketing budget. (May 10)
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Reading an anthology is a bit like listening to a musical sampler (what record collectors once lovingly called a mix tape); it's always tempting to have your favorite bands cued up one after another, but sometimes you're not in the mood to change moods every few minutes. These 10 brand-new novellas offer longer grooves than short stories, but it's still a valid concern: Can fans of Anne Perry also shake it to Ed McBain? Maybe it's the relief of not having to carry a book by themselves, or maybe it's the fun of trying a rarely used format, but these big-name authors write like the pressure is off. In "Walking around Money," Donald Westlake sidles his thief, Dortmunder, through a deadpan-hilarious tale that should also serve as a Zen how-to for budding writers; in "The Corn Maiden," Joyce Carol Oates offers an impressionistic tabloid thriller about a mean girl who abducts a slow classmate for ritual sacrifice; in "Archibald Lawless, Anarchist at Large," Walter Mosley profiles an irresistible, offbeat hero through a journalism student who answers a want ad for a "scribe"; in "Keller's Adjustment," Lawrence Block's reliable assassin finds himself having existential thoughts about golf communities after 9/11. So how's the mix? It's as if it were made by a good friend who knows just what you like--and even remembers that you like to be surprised once in a while. Keir Graff
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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

JEFFERY DEAVER

Jeffery Deaver has had a rapid and much-deserved rise to the top of the bestseller lists. His novels have always been riveting reads, especially those he wrote about Rune, a woman living and working in New York City. Seen through her eyes, the urban landscape is a wondrous—and sometimes frightening—place indeed. Fans of his work know that this is to be expected, or he can take the most commonplace career or event—news reporting, marriage—and turn it upside down with one of the surprising plot twists that have become his trademark. These days, he writes such bestsellers as Praying for Sleep, A Maiden’s Grave, Hard News, and The Bone Collector, featuring the brilliant quadriplegic detective Lincoln Rhyme and his assistant Amelia Sachs. The Bone Collector was the basis for the successful movie of the same name starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. His readership expands with each new novel, and with each new short story he writes. His most recent novels are The Cold Moon and The Twelfth Card.

Copyright Acknowledgments

Edition details

• Publisher: Forge Books
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0765308517
• ISBN 13: 9780765308511
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 784
• Editor: Ed McBain