The annual that has included "The Deadly Bride" and "The Adventure of the Missing Detective" is back with another array of traditional mysteries and tales of crime and suspense from a sparkling roster of luminaries, from Joyce Carol Oates, Jon L. Breen, and Edward D. Hoch to Doug Allyn and the late Ed McBain, as well as Carole Nelson Douglas, Jeremiah Healy, Brendan DuBois, Steve Hockensmith, and Sharyn McCrumb. More focused than a novel, yet fuller in scope than a short story, these novellas represent ten of the year's finest, handpicked by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg to present an intriguing look at the state of mystery.