Crimes and Misfortunes: The Anthony Boucher Memorial Anthology of Mysteries

by J. Francis McComas (Editor), Gloria Amoury (Contributor), Poul Anderson (Contributor)

CONTENTS
Come into my parlor/ Gloria Amoury--
Dead phone/ Poul and Karen Anderson--
A good imagination/ Robert Bloch--
Donoghan's wife/ R. Bretnor--
Town wanted/ Fredric Brown--
The gentleman from Paris/ John Dickson Carr--
The Moors Murder/ Miriam Allen deFord--
The competitors/ Richard Deming--
The question/ Stanley Ellin--
The adventure of the Adam bomb/ Robert L. Fish--
In the shade of the old apple tree/ Fletcher Flora--
File #4: Lincoln sedan headline/ Joe Gores--
Reunion/ Edward D. Hoch--
Hangover/ John D. MacDonald--
Find the woman/ Ross Macdonald--
The Iranian Farmer Commission/ Frank McAuliffe--
The man who danced/ James McKimmey--
The couple next door/ Margaret Millar--
Memoirs of a mystery critic/ Lenore Glen Offord--
The old lady shows her prejudices/ Lenore Glen Offord--
The reason/ Arthur Porges--
A lot on his mind/ Bill Pronzini--
No parking/ Ellery Queen--
Plan nineteen/ Jack Ritchie--
All of God's children got shoes/ Howard Schoenfeld--
Stan the killer/ Georges Simenon--
Bullet for one/ Rex Stout--
L as in loot/ Lawrence Treat--
Never shake a family tree/ Donald E. Westlake.

Mass Market Paperback

First published March 12, 1971

Reviews

[Linda Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highlights: ingenious ways found to be on top found by funeral home rivals=Competitors/Richard Deming, ingenious revenge a man takes on his cheating wife & her lover(the handyman who fixes up their summer home)=A Good Imagination/Robt Bloch(author of Psycho), a wily old man takes care of those too hungry to wait for their inheritance=In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree/Fletcher Flora, lots of twists for PI Archer while searching for a rich woman's daughter=Find the Woman(later the film Harper)/Ross MacDonald and finding out who stole it was not as straightforward as was thought at first=L is for Loot/Lawrence Treat. Also good: The Adventure of Adam Bomb/Robt L Fish, Hangover/John MacDonald, The Man Who Danced/McKimmey, The Gent from Paris/Carr, All God's Children Got Shoes/Schoenfeld & The Couple Next Door/Millar. It is not often that I find so many enjoyable stories in one collection..a wide variety too.

[Richard Mann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very enjoyable book. It has a variety of stories from many of the luminaries in the mystery field from the 50s and 60s. I had read just under half the stories in other anthologies. The listing here includes a good list of the stories, so I'll skip that. I'm happy to report that almost all the stories are the kind I like--stories with a plot that leads somewhere. No atmospheric, slice-of-life, self-consciously "literary" items here. Sorry I'm not feeling inspired to tell you more about the book just now. Just know that it's a good one, not well known, but it should be.