The Night My Friend: Stories of Crime and Suspense

by Edward D. Hoch, Francis M. Nevins (Editor)

An incredible assortment of stories from one of history's masters of short fictionOn the morning of the merger, fog shrouds the offices of Jupiter Steel. On the twenty-first floor, the board of directors gathers to follow the commands of Billy Calm, an unequaled titan of finance. But a few minutes before the meeting, Calm jumps out a window. The chief of security rushes to the street, but where there should be a body, he sees only slush; Billy Calm has vanished into the fog."The Long Way Down" is a classic Edward D. Hoch story--elegantly baffling, with prose that will please even the most hard-boiled fans. But this collection contains much more than puzzles. Here are the odds and ends of Hoch's early work, covering espionage, boxing, and every shade of noir--as beautiful as the fog, and as chilling as the first step off the ledge.

Genres: Mystery, Short Stories, Fiction

275 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Edward D. Hoch is one of the most honored mystery writers of all time.

* 1968 Edgar Allan Poe Award (Mystery Writers of America): "The Oblong Room", The Saint Mystery Magazine, July 1967
* 1998 Anthony Award (Bouchercon World Mystery Convention): "One Bag of Coconuts", EQMM, November 1997
* 2001 Anthony Award (Bouchercon): "The Problem of the Potting Shed", EQMM, July 2000
* 2007 Ellery Queen Readers Choice Award (awarded 2008): "The Theft of the Ostracized Ostrich", EQMM, June 2007
* Lifetime Achievement Award (Private Eye Writers of America), 2000
* Grand Master (Mystery Writers of America), 2001
* Lifetime Achievement Award (Bouchercon), 2001

Reviews

[Pamela]

Unlike most anthologies, there are no duds in this. A bit of noir. A bit of Twilight Zone. A bit of straight out mystery. Every story is a gem. No wonder Hoch has so many awards. The man can write!

[Whistler's Mom]

Outstanding short stories by a specialist.

Would you have open-heart surgery performed by a GP when there are cardiac surgery specialists available? Not likely! Hoch was a specialist in short stories. While his mystery-writing peers were struggling to create that detective series that would put them on Easy Street, Hoch continued to write short stories. He didn't get rich, but his writing supported the modest lifestyle he preferred. He loved the short story format and recognized its potential.

He wrote many "series" stories, featuring a wide variety of detectives and (in the 1970's) he started collecting those stories into books. His friend and fellow-writer Francis M Nevins thought it was a shame that Hoch's remarkable non-series stories were being lost in the mists of time. So he picked out some of his favorites and they were printed in this book in 1992.

Nevins wasn't just a friend, but a fan. I agree with his description of Hoch's non-series stories, "You will find unusually vivid and visual writing, off-trail settings, complex characterizations, emotions that run deep...." Hoch recognized the potential of the short story form and (over a series of decades) pushed that potential to the limits.

There's no common theme, except that of human nature and the odd situations it gets us into. Two are stories about boxing, but they are not similar. One is about the stereotypical professional boxer - rough, not too bright, and vulnerable to the corruption that plagues all sports. One is about a rich man who's prevented from becoming a professional boxer by his place in society. He still feels the pull of the ring and the need to be the champion, but he can afford velvet ropes.

Two are stories of boys who witnessed a crime and (in adulthood) finally understand what happened and why. Most of us puzzle about things we've seen as children and accepted unquestioningly, as children do. A writer once said that a man's adult life consists of thinking back to his childhood and trying to understand it.

As Nevins says in his introduction, several concern the aftermath of WWII. Combat is the ultimate test. Some men discover that they are unable to kill another human. Some can't stop killing when the war is over.

One horrifying story concerns a reunion at a classy male prep school. Most would agree that teen boys in packs are brutal and sadistic. Then they grow up and change. But do they really change? Does returning to the scenes of boyhood evoke emotions that are too strong to control? Or is civilization only a thin layer that covers our real natures?

My favorite is the story of a man who is drawn to a certain type of woman. He should know better, but he keeps making the same mistake and it ends in the con man being conned. Can one person be both a criminal and a victim?

Hoch was a family man who spent years writing for an advertising company before his "hobby" could support them. I always say that no one writes like an old ad man. Who better to shuck us out of our shoes than a writer who's been paid to convince us that black is white? Who knows more about human nature than someone who exploits our emotions for a living? I've read many books by former ad writers, some of whom became full-time free-lancers and some who didn't. It seems to me that their writing shows a reckless humor, as well as great skill in manipulating language.

Ten years after this collection appeared, Hoch collected his own favorite non-series stories into "Night People." If anything, those stories are even better than these. Both collections are excellent. Hoch deserves to be remembered.

[Beth]

I love many of Ed Hoch's series characters and these stand-alone short stories are just as well-crafted. However, they were a little too dark for me. For example, in one story, a man winds up killing his wife over a stolen suitcase that (he later learns) contains nothing but a salesman's sample Bibles. Think "O.Henry, but depressing" and you'll have a good idea of what to expect.

[Macel Dee]

The last story enraged me. So I made up a satisfying ending in my head lol.