The Best American Mystery Stories 2018

Copyright

Copyright © 2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Introduction copyright © 2018 by Louise Penny

All rights reserved

The Best American Series^® is a registered trademark of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. The Best American Mystery Stories™ is a trademark of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without the proper written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. With the exception of nonprofit transcription in Braille, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is not authorized to grant permission for further uses of copyrighted selections reprinted in this book without the permission of their owners. Permission must be obtained from the individual copyright owners as identified herein. Address requests for permission to make copies of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt material to trade.permissions@hmhco.com or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

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ISSN 1094-8384 (print) ISSN 2573-3907 (e-book)

ISBN 978-0-544-94909-6 (print) ISBN 978-0-544-94922-5 (e-book)

These stories are works of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Cover design by Christopher Moisan © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Cover photograph © Getty Images

Penny photograph © Jean-François Bérubé

“Banana Triangle Six” by Louis Bayard. First published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Copyright © 2017 by Louis Bayard. Reprinted by permission of Louis Bayard.

“Y Is for Yangchuan Lizard” by Andrew Bourelle. First published in D Is for Dinosaur, edited by Rhonda Parrish. Copyright © 2017 by Andrew Bourelle. Reprinted by permission of Andrew Bourelle.

“The Designee” by T. C. Boyle from The Relive Box and Other Stories by T. C. Boyle. First published in the Iowa Review. Copyright © 2017 by T. C. Boyle. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

“Smoked” by Michael Bracken. First published in Noir at the Salad Bar: Culinary Tales with a Bite, edited by Verena Rose, Harriette Sackler, and Shawn Reilly Simmons. Copyright © 2017 by Michael Bracken. Reprinted by permission of Michael Bracken.

“The Wild Side of Life” by James Lee Burke. First published in the Southern Review. Copyright © 2017 by James Lee Burke. Reprinted by permission of James Lee Burke.

“Too Much Time” by Lee Child. First published in No Middle Name. Copyright © 2017 by Lee Child. Reprinted by permission of Lee Child.

“The Third Panel” by Michael Connelly. First published in Alive in Shape and Color, edited by Lawrence Block. Copyright © 2017 by Hieronymous Inc. Reprinted by permission of Michael Connelly.

“Gun Work” by John M. Floyd. First published in Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea, edited by Andrew McAleer and Paul D. Marks. Copyright © 2017 by John M. Floyd. Reprinted by permission of John M. Floyd.

“Cabin Fever” by David Edgerley Gates. First published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Copyright © 2017 by David Edgerley Gates. Reprinted by permission of David Edgerley Gates.

“Small Signs” by Charlaine Harris. First published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Copyright © 2017 by Charlaine Harris. Reprinted by permission of Charlaine Harris.

“Takeout” by Rob Hart. First published in Mystery Tribune. Copyright © 2017 by Rob Hart. Reprinted by permission of Rob Hart.

“Death in the Serengeti” by David H. Hendrickson. First published in Fiction River, edited by Kevin J. Anderson. Copyright © 2017 by David H. Hendrickson. Reprinted by permission of David H. Hendrickson.

“All Our Yesterdays” by Andrew Klavan. First published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Copyright © 2017 by Amalgamated Metaphor. Reprinted by permission of Andrew Klavan.

“PX Christmas” by Martin Limón. First published in The Usual Santas, edited by Peter Lovesey. Copyright © 2017 by Martin Limón. Reprinted by permission of Martin Limón.

“Windward” by Paul D. Marks. First published in Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea, edited by Andrew McAleer and Paul D. Marks. Copyright © 2017 by Paul D. Marks. Reprinted by permission of Paul D. Marks.

“Phantomwise: 1972” by Joyce Carol Oates. First published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Copyright © 2017 by The Ontario Review Inc. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Rule Number One” by Alan Orloff. First published in Snowbound, edited by Verena Rose, Harriette Sackler, and Shawn Reilly Simmons. Copyright © 2017 by Alan Orloff. Reprinted by permission of Alan Orloff.

“The Apex Predator” by William Dylan Powell. First published in Switchblade. Copyright © 2017 by William Dylan Powell. Reprinted by permission of William Dylan Powell.

“Waiting on Joe” by Scott Loring Sanders. First published in Shooting Creek and Other Stories. Copyright © 2017 by Scott Loring Sanders. Reprinted by permission of Scott Loring Sanders.

“Breadfruit” by Brian Silverman. First published in Mystery Tribune. Copyright © 2017 by Brian Silverman. Reprinted by permission of Brian Silverman.

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