If ever a subject begged to be associated with crime it is gambling, writes Otto Penzler in his introduction to this collection of short stories set at the poker table and beyond. In Walter Mosley’s Mister In-Between, a bagman is sent to collect from a rigged poker game, but soon begins to wonder who the real mark is. In One Dollar Jackpot, Michael Connelly’s detective Harry Bosch finds himself looking for tells when facing off against a professional poker player in the interrogation room. And a young woman learns how to bluff the hard way in Hardly Knew Her, by Laura Lippman. In these and others stories, aces of the mystery-writing world—including Joyce Carol Oates, Alexander McCall Smith, Jeffery Deaver, John Lescroart, and others—combine to form a winning hand.
About the Author
Otto Penzler
OTTO PENZLER is a renowned mystery editor, publisher, columnist, and owner of New York's The Mysterious Bookshop, the oldest and largest bookstore solely dedicated to mystery fiction. He has edited more than fifty crime-fiction anthologies. He lives in New York.
Excerpts
Reviews
PRAISE FOR UNCERTAIN ENDINGS
"Penzler . . . knows that anthologies are like a party: You meet people you already know, people whose reputation you know and people who are completely new to you. The experienced host chooses invitees who will get along well, and he provides enough preamble to launch a conversation."—Los Angeles Times
PRAISE FOR DANGEROUS WOMEN
"Superlative . . . Penzler knows which writers are hot, and he proves it here."—Boston Herald