Murder at the Racetrack: Original Tales of Mystery and Mayhem Down the Final Stretch from Today's Great Writers

by Otto Penzler

Lawrence Block, in Keller by a Nose," asks what obsession holds more hazards than betting on the ponies. The answer will surprise you...Max Allan Collins's "That Kind of Nag" proves that it's bad to play the wrong horse, but worse to pick the wrong woman..."The Great, the Good and the Not-So-Good" by H.R.F. Keating warns against old English ladies at the racecourse...Joyce Carol Oates shows how a young woman teams to trust a prize stallion more than her violent lover in "Meadowlands"...and Scott Wolven's "Pinwheel" offers a Japanese lesson in flying horses and honor among thieves."--BOOK JACKET.

Genres: Anthologies, Mystery

384 pages, Hardcover

First published April 10, 2006

About the author

Otto Penzler is an editor of mystery fiction in the United States, and proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, where he lives.

Otto Penzler founded The Mysteriour Press in 1975 and was the publisher of The Armchair Detective, the Edgar-winning quarterly journal devoted to the study of mystery and suspense fiction, for seventeen years.

Penzler has won two Edgar Awards, for The Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection in 1977, and The Lineup in 2010. The Mystery Writers of America awarded him the prestigious Ellery Queen Award in 1994, and the Raven--the group's highest non-writing award--in 2003.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. These stories were hit-or-miss, with 2-3 real standouts, 3-4 real duds, and the rest rather enjoyable. As a horse lover and a very casual fan of racing, I really enjoyed the insights this book provided into this world, both the gambling and the horse/racing sides. Fun and sometimes fascinating.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthology of mystery and mayhem loosely connected to horseracing. I liked one. The others were mostly too dark for me.

[Charles Fischer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually like these mystery/anthology anthologies, but this one was very underwhelming.

[Rena Sherwood]

Review in a bit.

I figured that this would be good for a laugh.

Selections:

* "Introduction" by Our Editor.
* "Keller By a Nose" by Lawrence Bloch. A hit man with a passion for collecting stamps is given the racing tip of his life. Only problem in this gripping and unusual story -- piebald Thoroughbreds are too rare to race.
* "The Return of the Thin White Dude ... Screaming" by Ken Bruen. With a title like that, I was hoping this would have something to do with David Bowie. Fortunately, it does.
* "Zuppe Inglese" by Jan Burke.
* "Yellow Mama's Long Weekend" by Lorenzo Caracetta.
* "That Kind of Nag" by Max Allen Collins.
* "The Odds" by Thomas H. Cook.
* "The Hustle" by Pat Jordan.
* "The Great, the Goid, and the Not-So-Good" by H. R. F. Keating.
* "The Cover Story is Always a Lie" by John Lescroart.
* "Raindancer" by Michael Malone.
* "The Long Shot" by Michele Martinez.
* "Meadowlands" by Joyce Carol Oates.
* "Hotwalking" by Julie Smith.
* "Pinwheel" by Scott Wolven.

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bigger pages and you could just about wrap fish.