Dangerous Women

by Otto Penzler

The acclaimed authors in this anthology are collectively responsible for dozens of "New York Times" bestsellers. Legendary editor Otto Penzler owns the Mysterious Bookshop in New York and is founder of the Mysterious Press and Otto Penzler books.

Genres: Short Stories, Mystery, Thriller, Anthologies, Audiobook, Fiction, Mystery Thriller

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2005

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

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent collection! There were a few dogs, but that's to be expected. For the most part, these stories were short & to the point. The point being the thrill of very dangerous women. Some were good, others bad, & some just insane, but they were memorable.

Introduction by Otto Penzler was interesting. A bit long.

Improvisation by Ed McBain was a great start to this collection. Just how cold can a person be? 4 stars

Cielo azul by Michael Connely is one I've read before. It was just as good the second time around. 4 stars

Give me your heart by Joyce Carol Oates was creepy as hell. Remind me never to tick off that lady! 4 stars

Karma by Walter Mosley would have been better if Leonid was more likable. Still, he doesn't deal with very nice people & the way he makes his way through this story is great. 4 stars

Dear Penthouse Forum (a first draft) by Laura Lippman shows that some people will do anything to get published. Shudder! 4 stars

Rendezvous by Nelson DeMille was good & terrifying. It would have been better if the guns had been handled well. 3 stars

What she offered by Thomas H. Cook was plain haunting. 5 stars

Her lord and master by Andrew Klavan was extremely kinked & creepy. How much power does the sub have in the relationship? Wow. Perfect ending!!! 5 stars

Mr. Gray's folly by John Connolly was a horror story, not really a mystery. Still, it was good. 4 stars

A thousand miles from nowhere by Lorenzo Carcaterra was like a strip tease done perfectly. 5 stars

Witness by J.A. Jance could have been pretty good. The twist was there, but so poorly revealed & summed up that it fell flat. I've tried one book by her & dropped it before I got to the halfway mark. Glad I didn't waste more time on it & this was short. 1 star

Soft spot by Ian Rankin was great. Perfectly played with a great ending. 5 stars

Third party by Jay McInerny didn't make a lick of sense to me. 1 star

Last kiss by S.J. Rozan was another creepy one with a fantastic lady bent on revenge. 4 stars

Sneaker wave by Anne Perry was OK, but too long & the ending wasn't surprising in the least. 2 stars

Louly and Pretty Boy by Elmore Leonard was typical of him. I've read it before & enjoyed it again. 4 stars

Born bad by Jeffery Deaver was good with quite a twist. It should have ended quicker, though. 3 stars

[Bryan457 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Improvisation by Ed McBain - 3 stars. The singles scene. Pickup line, "So what do we do for a little excitement tonight?" Answer, "Why don't we kill somebody?"

Cielo Azul by Michael Connelly - 3 stars. Harry Bosch and Terry McCaleb obsess over the identity of a murdered Jane Doe.

Give me your heart by Joyce Carol Oates - 3 stars. The indiscretions of a renowned theological doctor come back to haunt him 24 years later in the form of a stalker. As they say, "Hell hath no fury . . ."

Karma by Walter Mosley - 3 stars. A gritty story of revenge, involving criminal fixer and P.I. Leonid McGill. X rated.

Dear Penthouse forum (a first draft) by Laura Lippman - 4 stars. Chilling! A chance encounter with a beautiful stranger at the airport is the stuff of dreams for a young man like Andy. R rated.

Rendezvous by Nelson DeMille - 4 stars. My favorite so far. A Long range patrol in Vietnam is stalked by a deadly female sniper.

What she offered by Thomas H. Cook - 3 stars. Jack, an author with a depressingly bleak outlook on life, meets a dangerous woman. She offers him mystery, intimacy, love, a suicide pact. R rated.

Her lord and master by Andrew Klavan - 3 stars. The 2nd hand tale of an erotic BDSM relationship. It's all fun and games till someone dies. X rated.

Mr. Gray’s folly by John Connelly - 3 stars. Supernatural horror. Something influences and changes the women who live in the house.

A thousand miles from nowhere by Lorenzo Carcaterra - 4 stars. A relentless woman pursues the man who killed her beloved sister 20 years ago.

Witness by J.A. Jance - 3 stars. A new bride tells an old friend a tale of abuse, control and domination by her new husband. But all is not as it seems.

Soft spot by Ian Rankin - 2 stars. A prison censor becomes obsessed with the wife of one of the inmates. R rated.

Third party by Jay McInerney - 1 star. One night in Paris, trying to forget the woman he deliberately betrayed, Alex hooks up with a Jaded "couple" who also seem to be working out relationship betrayal issues. X rated.

The last kiss by S.J. Rozen 3 stars. I don't think she liked lawyers very much. R rated.

Sneaker wave by Anne Perry - 2 stars. Three sisters have issues involving the husband of the eldest of the three.

Louly and pretty boy by Elmore Leonard - 2 stars. A young girl gets fascinated, obsessed even, with depression era desperado Pretty Boy Floyd.

Born bad by Jeffery Deaver - 4 stars. It's such a shame when a child rejects their parents, rejects their lifestyle, morals and way of life. Sometimes they are just born bad. At first the twist at the end made me mad, but the author did such a good job with it that this ended up being one of my favorite stories in this book.

[David Macpherson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hard part about an anthology about dangerous women is to make sure it doesn't dip into misogyny. Unfortunately a few the stories did dip into women hating. On the other hand, some of the tales were awesome. Jeffrey Deaver's story that ends it is great, I loved it, and that was the smart way to end the book. The story before that one, called Sneaker Wave was just awful though, I didn't know if I was goingto make it through, All in all, a pretty good collection, just afew lousy ones

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

With the exception of a couple of good stories, most of this book is male authors writing long descriptions of how good women’s legs look. Skip this one.

[Olga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skip the ones written by men who fantasise about every woman getting on her knees in front of him. Such a cliche. Over and over. Cmon. 🤦🏼‍♀️

[Justine Olawsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly entertaining mystery/suspense anthology of short stories featuring dicey dames, badass broads, and checkered chicks who wreak mayhem and dismay wherever they tread - usually told from the point of view of the hapless people (mostly men, but also a few women) who get in their way.

I discovered this book because of Andrew Klavan, who mentioned that he and his agent had a falling out over Klavan's short story "Her Lord and Master" - which was eventually published in this collection. I like everything Klavan writes, and so I enjoyed his brutal S&M adventure with a horrific, yet humorous, twist; but, this story was by no means the only standout in such an excellent compendium.

What is most noteworthy is that the stories are so very different from each other. This is not a work of various James M. Cain tribute bands. Rather, each writer brings his or her own worldview into how women can be dangerous. Sometimes it is in the very vulnerability of these fierce females that their entrancing power lies. Sometimes they are hardboiled. Sometimes they are entirely innocent - yet still dangerous. Sometimes the story is a twisty-goo of layered expressions of feminine danger.

Variously funny, spooky, kinky (thanks, Klavan), creepy, suspenseful, chilling, depressing, adventurous - this is really a collection that will please the reader who enjoys dipping into many styles and genres on a theme. I was feeling kind of bad for the final story "Born Bad" from Jeffery Deaver, because I worried too many readers would lay the volume down and get distracted before reaching it. I should not have worried. Not only was I eagerly reading through each story to the end, "Born Bad" ended up being my favorite one in the collection.

Otto Penzler sure knows how to put together mystery/suspense/crime anthologies. Highly recommend for good beach reading.

[Victor Vilchiz · Rating 2 out of 5]

every short story contained in this compilation left me thinking that they were incomplete. i have read similar compilations and each story was complete so i know it can be done.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these stories are 5 star affair, and some only 2 star - thus the middle of the road rating. Were I reading instead of listening, I would have skipped some of these offerings.

Still interesting though, as these Mystery Writing compilations usually are!

[Katherine "Kj" Joslin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I generally do not enjoy short stories but this was an excellent collection. There was only 1 that I didn't really connect with and the rest we well done. Lots of my favorite authors.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Spike Spiegel of “Cowboy Bebop” fame once said, “I love the kind of woman that can kick my ass.”

[Rita Angelelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tredici maestri del Thriller americano, gli esponenti più produttivi, sopraffini, conosciuti, insieme per sottolineare alcune delle tante personalità delle donne. Che cos'è che rende pericolosa una donna? Si chiede Otto Penzler all'inizio della raccolta. In questi 13 racconti troviamo un po' delle risposte. A partire dal primo racconto (che non mi ha entusiasmato più di tanto, per zero tensione e troppo discorso diretto) si intuisce, nonostante il mio piacere personale, quanto una donna può essere perfida nel programmare una dipartita dell'uomo che si crede di essere un "cacciatore". Deaver conferma la sua prosa mai deludente e personaggi caratterizzati in maniera acuta. Connelly ci fa respirare una sconfitta; a partire dal ritrovamento di una vittima ci conduce all'assassino, e il senso della sconfitta si fa più forte al cospetto del killer che si prende gioco del protagonista. DeMille... fantastico DeMille, con le sue descrizioni perfette, i personaggi studiati e raccontati fin nei minimi particolari; si "sente" la paura, si "respirano" gli ambienti, si ascoltano i suoni della battaglia e si "vede" la consapevolezza del protagonista (un tenente americano in pattuglia con altri nove soldati dopo un bombardamento al napalm in vietnam) di sentirsi sotto tiro di un cecchino (cecchina?); un intreccio impeccabile e uno stile raffinato: "Per qualche ragione sentii che dovevo guardarle la faccia ancora una volta, per affidarla alla memoria, imprimermela nella mente. Sollevai leggermente il mirino e vidi lo stesso sguardo distante e indifferente che aveva sulla riva del fiume.". E poi la lunga lettera di una donna al dottor K e la richiesta del cuore, un cuore che vuole essere sostituito perché malato, solo una donna pensa come una donna: Joye Carol Oats. E sarebbe banale riassumere tutti i racconti senza spoilerare. Accenno solo qualche altro particolare per sottolineare ciò che la raccolta ha voluto mostrare: la donna è pericolosa e in tutte le sua assurde fantasie diventa la vedova nera che prima di uccidere si "diverte" a subire pratiche sadomaso alquanto inquietanti e violente: una sorta di dominazione dal basso; la perfidia di una donna che si innamora del marito della sorella, e l'idea di volerla uccidere in ambienti descritti in maniera quasi maniacale; sparatorie negli anni venti in america, dove la donna diventa un giustiziere per fuggire dalle umiliazioni di una vita fatta di stenti e soprusi; e la prosa magnifica, accurata, quasi leziosa di Cook; e il sesso, la sensualità, la preda che diventa cacciatore, l'amore, l'odio... un mix di personalità importanti le protagoniste dei maestri del thriller, decisamente DONNE.
"Che la donna sia perfettamente consapevole o totalmente ignara del suo potere, che lo usi come un'arma o come una coperta con cui proteggersi, l'intenzione non lo aumenta né lo diminuisce; ed è proprio questo che lo rende così pericoloso per chi ne subisce la malia. Il potere è pericoloso. Lo conosciamo, forse lo temiamo, ma desideriamo comunque sentirne il calore e corriamo qualsiasi rischio per avvicinarci alla sua fiamma.”
Conclude Penzler, nella sua prefazione, "Il sesso debole? Non fatemi ridere."

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gets three stars only on quality if prose an Noir. I read a review of this that was simply two words - "mysoganistic crap." I thought that was harsh given my assumption the stories were older and written more along the timeframe of the "hard-boiled" crime genre was popular. After all, wasn't that more the era of the "dangerous woman" character? I was shocked to find that many of these stories were copyrighted as recently as 2005. While that doesn't take from the craft on display in these stories, it does sadden me to think, even that recently, such "crap" indeed was still being perpetuated. I recognized many authors as some among my favorites, and will give others the benefit I the doubt since these stories were plucked and positioned by Penzler and may not reflect any body of work other than his own insight. I won't read more of his collections.

[Marcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was exposed to a lot of new authors for me plus the old faves I know and love. Loved some, not so much others. But, they all had an interesting take on the theme and excellent execution. Will definitely be exploring some new authors for myself in the future. Overall, a wonderful collection with an awesome theme. As Otto writes in the Forward, "The weaker sex? Don't make me laugh."

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories were good some just so so

[Nyssy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories were disturbing but I did enjoy Ian Rankin. 🤩

[Dedi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Antologia di 14 racconti thriller/noir caratterizzati da personaggi femminili piuttosto pericolosi.
La lettura è agile e veloce, poco impegnativa e non proprio esaltante. Delle 14 storie solo 5 o 6 risultano convincenti, due delle quali colpiscono decisamente nel segno e fanno guadagnare alla raccolta le tre stelle.

I primi due, Improvvisazione(Ed McBain) e Nata male(Jeffery Deaver) sono i gioiellini dell'antologia, due storie gestite alla grande da due giganti del genere, maestri del colpo di scena. Si parla rispettivamente di un incontro in un bar e di un rapporto conflittuale tra madre e figlia. Gustosi anche Cielo Azul(Michael Connelly) che racconta della cattura di uno spietato seriale killer e Rendez-vous(Nelson DeMille) ambientato nel Vietnam con un plotone americano tenuto sotto tiro da una cecchina implacabile. Concludono il lotto dei migliori Karma(Walter Mosley) un hard boiled dalle ottime atmosfere ambientato ai giorni nostri anche se con una trama a mio avviso non perfetta e Il punto debole(Ian Rankin) ambientato in una prigione scozzese.

Un pò deludente Louly e Pretty Boy(Elmore Leonard) opera di una altro grandissimo del genere.
Le altre storie sono piuttosto anonime e non lasciano il segno.

[Montse Gallardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una selección de relatos breves en torno a mujeres peligrosas, muy estereotipadas en el género policiaco (mujeres fatales que son la perdición de los hombres, bellas inocentes que arrastran al pecado a los hombres, etc.)

Sólo un par de cuentos se salen de esta tónica, y se agradece: Give me your heart, de Carol Joyce Oates (muy bueno e inquietante) y Rendezvous, de Nelson DeMille, sobre una francotiradora vietnamita que persigue a un pelotón del ejército estadounidense pedido en la selva.

Para leer en inglés y aprender nuevo vocabulario están bien; como lectura, no es mi género favorito

Curioso

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

People who know how I read know short stories are hard for me. There were a few winners, but most of these were bleh. I felt like I got a little bonus with an extra Harry Bosch story I never expected to encounter, but as much as I love Michael Connelly, every time I read one of his short stories in collected anthologies like this one, I am a little disappointed - I think the long form is where he should keep focusing. Joyce Carol Oates is an author I've tried to like many times. Ever since reading Mudwoman, which I thought was amazing, all the others of her books I've tried were total flops for me. Here, she was better than most of these books but much less than Mudwoman. Lorenzo Carcaterra's story was about as good as I expected. But there were a lot of other writers I'd never heard of that surprised me. They were very satisfying. For this very mixed bag, I will round up to a 4.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's the concept. Ask seventeen well- known authors to submit original works about "dangerous women" and see what happens. They are all good sized stories and are easy to read. Few are Mind-blowing enough to make your head spin. A worthwhile collection nonetheless.

My two favorites in the collection are Rendezvous by Nelson DeMille and Louly and Pretty Boy by Elmore Leonard. DeMille is a new name to me. But, apparently, he has a large body of work. Rendezvous is a Vietnam war era story about a lost patrol under fire from a woman sniper. It is one terrific war story and one I just couldn't put down. Interestingly, DeMille himself fought in Vietnam so the story is based on real life research. Elmore Leonard tells a Bonnie and Clyde era tale about a young teenage girl who falls for Pretty Boy Floyd. Louly and Floyd are two characters out of Leonatd's The Hot Kid as is Lawman Carl, the subject of The Hot Kid.

Improvisation By Ed McBain is a story about pickup lines in bars and talk willowy blondes who suggest killing someone as a way to pass the time. Cielo Azul By Michael Connelly is another standout. It features Connelly's a Detective Harry Bosch and an unsolved murder that continues to haunt him. Other selections in this book include Give me your heart by Joyce Carol Oates, Karma by Walter Mosley, Dear Penthouse forum (a first draft) by Laura Lippman, What she offered by Thomas H. Cook, Her lord and master by Andrew Klavan, Mr. Gray's folly By John Connell, and a thousand miles from nowhere By Lorenzo Carcaterra.

[Jeanne Charbonneau · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of short stories with the central theme of "Dangerous Women" reflects what most "collections" reflect: a quality spectrum from excellent to banal. Renowned, mostly male, authors contributed, but their stories often feature stereotypes and fail to reflect that the book was published in 2005 -- welcome to the 21st century, boys! Nelson DeMille's story of the female sniper in Vietnam was excellent as was Elmore Leonard's. Jeffrey Deaver and Michael Connelly also penned good stories. Thes tightly-written tales merit the rating, otherwise, it would have been minus a star.

[Amy Morris · Rating 2 out of 5]

That didn't age well. Mostly male authors, so one strike right there. I get it. They contacted a bunch of famous authors to help sell the book. Connelly's was the worst, in that it did not even fit the criteria. His "dangerous woman" was a nameless female victim's body. Literally that's it. No other character of note was even female. That's not even trying.

It's fascinating in its way that they must have given this prompt to a bunch of writers: dangerous woman. Go. And the male authors overwhelming chose the sex kitten trope, or rather, the sex kitten killer. Pretty disappointing.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag of short stories, some trending into supernatural and others more mystery/suspense stories. It was a good choice to have several narrators for the audiobook because it helped create separation between the stories so that they didn't blend together for the listener. A few of these characters might be familiar to readers of mysteries -- Leonid McGill, Harry Bosch -- but most were standalone stories.

Not bad for an audiobook that I picked up out of a random box of audios.

[Vicki Renee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Stories ranged from mildly interesting to well written. Especially liked Lorenzo Carcaterra's entry. His writing was so good I've downloaded a couple of samples. Was very disappointed in Anne Perry and several of my usual favorite authors. Several stories had ok plots only to end very dully. And NONE of the women were "dangerous."

[Michael crage · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book of short stories had some really good stories and some not so good. I do want to warn other possible readers that many of the stories were very dark and some were even somewhat boring., but it was well worth reading for the good ones. There were 17 different stories, so I am not going to say anything about any of them.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally love anthologies, allowing me to discover new authors, and enjoy some favorites. This was kind of a mixed bag. There were a few stories in here that I loved, and a few that I disliked. Many of them took me by surprise. Some made me smile. The last one by Jeffrey Deaver was quite a shock.
If you like crime fiction, give this a turn.

[Rubin Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite a collection of
crime fiction
it's theme is absolutely correct

but the women in this collection are not all classic femme fatales some are put into a bad situation others are mistreated and some make a split second decision to do wrong or right it depends on how the stories unfold
it does have a few duds in
the mix but overall this collection is memorable

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice collection of mystery stories from humorous to noir.
I enjoyed all the stories and although I'm not an avid mystery reader, I found no repeats from other sources. I did find a couple of new (to me) writers I intend to investigate.
This is a good read.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn't what I expected, and I didn't care for most of the stories. There were a couple good ones. Overall, I agree with another reviewer that pointed out it's more a book that is mostly stories containing what men/male writers label as "dangerous women."

[Eliana Pompei · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nella raccolta ci sono 2 o 3 racconti che mi sono piaciuti ma per la maggiore i personaggi femminili non sono bem caratterizzati, si limitano a "fare cose" o ad essere descritte attraverso lo sguardo dei personaggi maschili.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading through these short stories was fun! They were vastly different and interesting, some were really diabolical! Be careful how you respond to what seems like a harmless quirky introduction (especially at clubs)! 😉