Unusual Suspects edited by Dana Stabenow

Title: Unusual Suspects: Stories of Mystery and Fantasy

Author: edited by Dana Stabenow

Publisher: Ace Trade 2008

Genre: Paranormal; Mystery

Pages: 320

Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; April Read-a-Thon

Interesting collection of fantasy and mystery stories.  Like all collections, I liked some and not so much for others.  Instead of trying to summarize the entire book, I thought I would list all the stories, share a few thoughts, and rate the stories.

1. “Lucky” Charlaine Harris — A great Sookie Stackhouse short story.  A nice fill in between novels with some great characters (both new and old).  5 stars
2. “Bogieman” Carole Nelson Douglas — Loved the plot.  Really want to read more of her work. 5 stars
3. “Looks are Deceiving” Michael Stackpole — I got very confused very quickly.  His world sounds pretty interesting, but I obviously need to read some of his other works first. 2 stars
4. “The House of Seven Spirits” Sharon Shim — Great ghost/mystery story.  I was definitely impressed. 5 stars
5. “Glamour” Mike Doogan — Interesting world, but really couldn’t get into the story. 3 stars
6. “Spellbound” Donna Andrews — Witches, mages, gremlins, and origami?  Perfect crazy story.  Reminded me of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. 5 stars
7. “The Duh Vice” Michael Armstrong —Good sci fi story. 4 stars
8. “Weight of the World” John Straley — Wow!  What an awesome story featuring Santa Claus, elves, and “the list.” 5 stars
9. “Illumination” Laura Ann Gilman — Good start to what looks like an interesting character. 4 stars
10. “The House” Laurie King — Loved loved loved this ghost story with a twist. 5 stars
11. “Appetite for Murder” Simon Green — Great mystical whodunit.  I really want to read more of his Nightside world. 5 stars
12. “A Woman’s Work” Dana Stabenow — Too many names and odd plot lines.  I couldn’t even finish this story. 1 star