From Publishers Weekly
Hoch's 14th anthology of crime fiction offers variety in 12 excellent entries, the five about well-known series private eyes marking Raymond Chandler's centennial. Each tale, including Hoch's own "The Spy and the Guy Fawkes Bombing," is affecting in a special way. Newcomer Bill Crenshaw's eerie "Flicks" won the MWA Edgar, although some readers may find it too bloody and unbelievable. On the other hand, no one will doubt or forget "Bridey's Caller" by Judith O'Neill, an MWA nominee. The nameless narrator's thoughts go back 40 years, to a summer of intolerable heat when she visited her grandparents in Kansas. With her cousin Nellie, the girl bought sodas from Bridey, the neighbor who kept the drinks in an ice-filled trough at her house. What the 10-year-old girl saw there one day, and why she never mentioned it to Bridey or anyone, is revealed as this beautifully writ ten, quiet story comes to a heartbreaking close. Appendixes brings fans up to date on trends in the genre.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
