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Murder Among Friends
The bestselling and award-winning authors of the Adams Round Table present a provocative collection that explores the bonds-and boundaries-of friendship.
- GenresAnthologiesShort Stories
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 30, 2018
CONTENTS
▪️"Introduction" - Justin Scott
▪️"Let's Get Lost" - Lawrence Block
▪️"Haven't We Met Before?" - Mary Higgins Clark
▪️"A Night in the Manchester Store" - Stanley Cohen
▪️"Hank's Tale" - Dorothy Salisbury Davis
▪️"The Diamond G-String" - Mickey Friedman
▪️"Compliments of a Friend" - Susan Isaacs
▪️"Taking Out Mr. Garbage" - Judith Kelman
▪️"Collaboration" - Warren Murphy
▪️"The Hungry Sky" - Justin Scott
▪️"The Geezers" - Peter Straub
▪️"Show Us the Way" - Whitley Strieber
This is a surprisingly poor mystery anthology. No editor is credited; possibly no one was willing to admit it.
The blurb on the back cover says:
The bestselling and award-winning authors of The Adams Round Table present a provocative collection that explores the bonds - and boundaries - of friendship.
Some of the stories do relate to the topic. "The Diamond G-String" by Mickey Friedman, "Compliments of a Friend" by Susan Isaacs, and "A Night in the Manchester Store" by Stanley Cohen all have friendship as an important factor. However, friendship does not seem to me to be more than peripheral to "Haven't We Met Before" by Mary Higgins Clark, "Taking Out Mr. Garbage" by Judith Kelman, and "The Hungry Sky" by Justin Scott.
Leaving aside the issue of whether or not the stories adhere to the stated theme, they vary widely in quality. I think Kelman's "Taking Out Mr. Garbage" is dreadful. It is the story of women who have united to discuss what they would like to do to one man who has bilked them all out of money by pretending a romantic interest in each of them. They spend years plotting absurd strategies; now they have decided to take real action. I think this is badly written and unbelievable.
I have never liked mysteries with talking animals. Justin Scott's "The Hungry Sky" isn't really even a mystery. I can't understand why it is in this anthology.
Those are the two stories that I strongly dislike. My choice of the best story in the book is Stanley Cohen's "A Night in the Manchester Store." Two men, long acquainted but never close friends, spend a night in a large department store, having hidden at closing time.
I also like "Let's Get Lost" by Lawrence Block, part of Block's Matthew Scudder series. This is set mostly at a time when Scudder was still a police officer. He is asked for help in covering up a killing.
The remaining stories range from poor to acceptable.
▪️"Introduction" - Justin Scott
▪️"Let's Get Lost" - Lawrence Block
▪️"Haven't We Met Before?" - Mary Higgins Clark
▪️"A Night in the Manchester Store" - Stanley Cohen
▪️"Hank's Tale" - Dorothy Salisbury Davis
▪️"The Diamond G-String" - Mickey Friedman
▪️"Compliments of a Friend" - Susan Isaacs
▪️"Taking Out Mr. Garbage" - Judith Kelman
▪️"Collaboration" - Warren Murphy
▪️"The Hungry Sky" - Justin Scott
▪️"The Geezers" - Peter Straub
▪️"Show Us the Way" - Whitley Strieber
This is a surprisingly poor mystery anthology. No editor is credited; possibly no one was willing to admit it.
The blurb on the back cover says:
The bestselling and award-winning authors of The Adams Round Table present a provocative collection that explores the bonds - and boundaries - of friendship.
Some of the stories do relate to the topic. "The Diamond G-String" by Mickey Friedman, "Compliments of a Friend" by Susan Isaacs, and "A Night in the Manchester Store" by Stanley Cohen all have friendship as an important factor. However, friendship does not seem to me to be more than peripheral to "Haven't We Met Before" by Mary Higgins Clark, "Taking Out Mr. Garbage" by Judith Kelman, and "The Hungry Sky" by Justin Scott.
Leaving aside the issue of whether or not the stories adhere to the stated theme, they vary widely in quality. I think Kelman's "Taking Out Mr. Garbage" is dreadful. It is the story of women who have united to discuss what they would like to do to one man who has bilked them all out of money by pretending a romantic interest in each of them. They spend years plotting absurd strategies; now they have decided to take real action. I think this is badly written and unbelievable.
I have never liked mysteries with talking animals. Justin Scott's "The Hungry Sky" isn't really even a mystery. I can't understand why it is in this anthology.
Those are the two stories that I strongly dislike. My choice of the best story in the book is Stanley Cohen's "A Night in the Manchester Store." Two men, long acquainted but never close friends, spend a night in a large department store, having hidden at closing time.
I also like "Let's Get Lost" by Lawrence Block, part of Block's Matthew Scudder series. This is set mostly at a time when Scudder was still a police officer. He is asked for help in covering up a killing.
The remaining stories range from poor to acceptable.
March 31, 2021
Como en toda antología hay cuentos buenos (¿Nos conocemos de alguna parte de Mary Higgins Clark, El cielo voraz de Justin Scott y Una noche en tiendas Manchester de Stanley Cohen), el resto es perfectamente olvidable.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews