As 2010 comes to a close, I've completed my list of best short stories appearing in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine (AHMM). As with my subscription to EQMM, this year I managed to read every single short story. There were so many great stories that it was difficult to narrow it down to just a few favorites. However, if you don't have the time to read them all, consider these great short stories for your reading pleasure:January/February 2010: "The Case of the Vanishing Boy: A Spade/Paladin Conundrum" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Runners-up: "Midnight" by K. J. Egan and "Okiku and the Nine Plates" by Alan Gratz
March: "Burning Twilight" by Kenneth Wishnia
Runners-up: "In It Up To My Neck" by Jas. R. Petrin and "Don't Reveal the Beginning" by John H. Dirckx
April: "Thief in the House" by Brendan DuBois
Runner-up: "As the Screw Turns" by Shelley Costa
May: "True Test" by B. K. Stevens
Runners-up: "Drive-Thru" by David Dietrich and "Somewhere Elsie" by Neil Schofield. I also enjoyed the previously published "Domestic Drama" by Lynn K. Kilpatrick
June: "Madame Selina" by Janice Law
Runners-up: "Ring Toss" by Chris Grabenstein and "Hard as a Rock" by Marianne Wilski Strong.
July/August: "Sundown, 290 West" by David Dietrich gave me the shivers.
Runners-up: "When the Apricots Bloom" by Ellen Larson, "No Trouble at All" by Doug Grant Johnson, and "What People Leave Behind" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. The Black Orchid Novella Award winner "Stranglehold" by Steve Liskow was a good read as well.
September: "The Little Nogai Boy" by R. T. Lawton
Runners-up: "Grit" by John H. Dirckx and "Winning Ticket" by Christine Matthews. I enjoyed the Mystery Classic story this month featuring "The Edge" by Dame Agatha Christie, also.
October: "Monsieur Alice is Absent" by Stephen Ross
Runners-up: "Old Dogs" by Naomi Bell and "Winter" by Chris Muessig
November: "Shell Game" by Neil Schofield
Second place: "Ten Thousand Cold Nights" by James Lincoln Warren
Runners-up: "Recommended to Mercy" by Eric Rutter, "A Good Man" by Cathryn Grant, and "The Lamb was Sure to Go" by Gar Anthony Haywood
Runners-up: "A Photo's Worth" by David Hagerty and "Love and Death" by Michael Z. Lewin.
So there you have it, my list of the best of the best for 2010. Enjoy and have a Happy New Year!
No comments:
Post a Comment