Mystery Writers of America Presents Vengeance

Two stories were excellent.

Most of the rest were just ok. 21 short stories with themes of revenge or vengeance. I hesitate to read short stories. More often than not something doesn’t get developed enough - characters, motivations, plot. Some of my harsh ratings below are because of this. Those same authors would probably get a higher rating from me for their full length novels. But, it can be done. Two of the short stories were excellent - by Michael Connelly and Darrell James. The stories below are in the same order as in the book.

3 stars. THE 14th JUROR by Twist Phelan.
Two police detectives talk to a judge. The ending was too abrupt. I wanted to see specifically what would happen to the recipient of the revenge.

1 star. LOST AND FOUND by Zoe Sharp.
This was a weird combination of second and third person point of views. “You” are being attacked. “He” is doing the attacking. Throughout the story the author switches back and forth between what “You” are thinking and feeling and what “He” is thinking and doing. I was frustrated and confused. This was too subtle for me. I didn’t like the ending. I wanted to know what was going to happen to “He.”

2 stars. THE MOTHER by Alafair Burke.
The main story was pretty good - 3 stars. But the ending was unfinished - 1 star. It left me hanging. A bad guy was discovered, and I have no idea what will happen with him. One storyline is who will have custody of a two-year-old girl who had been raped.

1 star. BLIND JUSTICE by Jim Fusilli.
Angie and Turnip are two guys who interact with organized crime types. Relationships could not be fully shown because there were too many characters. Motivations and actions were vague. I didn’t know who did what or why. I didn’t know what the bad guy did that caused a need for revenge. The revenge was referred to, not shown. At the end one guy asks “Dead or alive?” The other guy says “What do you think?” This ending was too vague.

3 ½ stars. THE CONSUMERS by Dennis Lehane.
A broker sells bad investments causing people to lose money. He also beats his wife. The story was good until the end. A character got revenge, but I wasn’t clear about his motives. I wanted to understand him better.

3 stars. MOONSHINER’S LAMENT by Rick McMahan.
Too much was too vague. I didn’t see motives for Goat’s actions after he left the men in the woods. Then I vaguely knew what happened to the men in the woods. I needed to know more about the bad guy’s motivations and actions.

2 stars. RIVER SECRET by Anne Swardson.
A street musician sees a little girl with her mother. Too much subtlety. Not obvious enough.

3 stars. HOT SUGAR BLUES by Steve Liskow.
A lot of time was spent with things the bad guy musician did which was depressing. His victims were wimps because they were powerless or they didn’t choose their actions well. Someone gets revenge which was ok, but the overall story was depressing.

3 ½ stars. THE FINAL BALLAD by Brendan DuBois.
Good story. It’s about what happens after Beth’s daughter was beaten by the son of a senator.

2 stars. AFRICA ALWAYS NEEDS GUNS by Michael Niemann.
So, so. I couldn’t get into the characters. An investigator needs to examine cargo. The pilot won’t let him.

2 stars. THE UNREMARKABLE HEART by Karin Slaughter.
This didn’t feel like revenge or vengeance. The main character is dying and her main crime was trusting someone she shouldn’t have and saying some mean things to others. As a story it’s ok but it’s depressing about someone dying. There is a shocking surprise at the end.

2 stars. IT AIN’T RIGHT by Michelle Gagnon.
Too subtle. Don’t know what happened. Joe and his wife may have done something bad. I didn’t see any revenge or vengeance in this story. It’s possible my mind wandered and I missed it?

3 stars. SILENT JUSTICE by C.E. Lawrence.
A killer confesses to a priest. Ok story.

4 stars. EVEN A BLIND MAN by Darrell James.
Young girl is in trouble. Her grandfather travels across the country by bus to find her and help her. He pretends to be blind, but he is not. This was very good.

2 stars. THE GENERAL by Janice Law Trecker.
Not a pleasant story. Not enjoyable. The General did evil things when he was in power which are recalled. The ending has some revenge, but it was more sad than good.

4 ½ to 5 stars. A FINE MIST OF BLOOD by Michael Connelly.
Yay! I love Harry Bosch! This is another installment in that series. It was my favorite story in this book. Detective Bosch is investigating a murder. At first I was drawn in because I thought “how in the world is he going to catch this person?” Later there was suspense, and I was worried about Bosch. Then my favorite part was the person who got revenge - that was a surprise. I didn’t expect it. And, we had a complete ending. So to Michael Connelly, thank you, you write so well!

3 stars. LEVERAGE by Mike Cooper.
The subject matter was depressing. Much of the story is about employees of a company being terminated and losing their pensions. One of the employees wants to do something about it. It was ok, but I didn’t feel much. At least the ending was complete.

3 stars. THE HOTLINE by Dreda Say Mitchell.
Ruckshana wears a Muslim head scarf when working at the bank. Her boss lies to her and is behind her firing. It’s an ok story.

3 stars. BLOOD AND SUNSHINE by Adam Meyer.
It was ok but odd. I was frustrated that the author didn’t say what happened to the baby. I’m still troubled by that. Eddie is a college student working at a day care center/camp for kids during the summer. Dillon is a five-year-old who is sneaky and evil. This is a dark story. The good guy gets revenge but did something evil to get it. It left me with an unsettled feeling.

3 stars. IN PERSONA CHRISTY by Orest Stelmach.
Maria and her son Manuel flee Mexico and live with a priest in a Connecticut parish. Her husband was killed by bad guys. Several years earlier Father Nathan lost his right arm and right leg and wears prosthetics. The ending was pretty good about someone saving the day and getting some revenge.

3 stars. THE HOLLYWOOD I REMEMBER by Lee Child.
The main character is a killer for hire. He kills prostitutes who threaten to talk/blackmail their clients. Someone wants revenge and to see him in jail. The revenge he gets is unexpected. This was ok at best.

Genre: mystery suspense.

24 of 25 people found this review helpful

A Nice Compilation of Short Stories

Most of these stories were good,but there were a few stories that I didn't care for. It's a good thing to listen on audio, as you can listen in short bursts and get the complete story. Some of the endings were vague, rushed or forced. I really enjoyed the following stories: Hot Sugar Blues (by Steve Liskow), The Final Ballad (by Brendan DuBois), The 14th Juror (by Twist Phelan), The Consumers (by Dennis Lehane), The Unremarkable Heart (by Karin Slaughter), A Fine Mist of Blood (by Michael Connelly), and The Hollywood I Remember (by Lee Child).

My main complaint is that the audio chapters did not equate to one story. I wish they had been broken down so it was one story per chapter, so I knew how long each one was in advance. Also, I did not like that when it was broken out into two separate files, the separation was made in the middle of a story. There was no reason the story could not have finished and provided a natural break between the two parts.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Ups and Downs

Any short story collection is bound to have its ups and downs, and that's very much the case here. Some of the stories are utterly compelling and well worth the price of the listen--others fell flat and left me wondering what they had to do with the theme, or how they possibly got selected.

One that particularly stood out for me as being excellent was "The Last Ballot,"

Overall, I would say this was worth it, and while I'm not usually interested in introductions, I have to say I enjoyed Lee Child's description of how he selected the authors he was able to invite, as well as the selection process for the remaining 10.

The narrators do a great job with the material and I'd listen to them read other things as well. Overall, this was worthwhile.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Understandably ...

... those short stories might not be for everyone.
MANY of us readers/listeners - and please object if I'm wrong - have our favourite writers who we "trust" so to speak, and with those writers we know where we stand when we buy a new novel. And, if we start with a different new author we have several hours to get used to a new style and a different way of storytelling.

With short story compilations like this one, however, the reader/listener is virtually bombarded with 21 different authors, styles, main characters, perspectives - and to make matters worse - different narrators.

In addition in many of those stories a LOT is going on. Characters are introduced, often a past AND a present are descibed, deep and strong emotions occur with sometimes shocking results. All of that in only minutes of listening time. So this is no easy listen for one or two lazy afternoons. You have to stay concentrated or you'll miss the key sentences of the whole story.

Yes, I found some of the stories more difficult than others, too. Some were actually very depressing, some were almost nerve wrecking, some made me really angry (for the character), and in some I enjoyed the revenge with the main character. Some were better, some were just ok. But basically I liked them all and the hours for this audio book were well spent. I guess I will have a look around for some of those authors ... made me curious what else they wrote ...




P.S.
I was debating with myself but I guess I'll have to say it: the one thing I really really had trouble with, was Jeff Cummings' interpretation of Harry Bosch. Come on!! Bosch could never have a voice like that: not after all those times I listened to Dick Hill, Len Cariou, Titus Welliver and all the others ... ;-)

Ready for Gruesome and Depressing Stories? Listen

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Would not recommend. I have always enjoyed the short story genre, but I found the stories incredibly depressing and gruesome. I have read a lot of murder mysteries and detective stories, but the main characters in almost all of these vignettes were pretty loathesome and depraved. It was difficult for me to listen to the unfolding of these events in the stories, as I couldn't find something to care about the people. A few were far better than others, but most followed the same storie-line of a life unraveling in an extremely sad manner.

I like to listen to Audible when I am going to sleep. None of these qualified as Bedtime Stories!

The dramatists read well, but the editor failed to give a longer pause between stories. One needs a moment to reflect at the end of a short story before leaping into the next one.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I just downloaded a couple of Audible's Hidden Gems for $3.95. Discovered an old Phillip Marlowe mystery from the 40s and one newer romantic story from this decade.

Could you see Mystery Writers of America Presents Vengeance being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No. Too many stories.

Love these MWA books.

What made the experience of listening to Mystery Writers of America Presents Vengeance the most enjoyable?

All the different takes on revenge.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Cant say.

Have you listened to any of Angela Dawe and Jeff Cummings ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes. Pretty good.

If you could take any character from Mystery Writers of America Presents Vengeance out to dinner, who would it be and why?

The girl from hot sugar blues.

Good entertainment

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I probably wouldn't. The stories are well-written but I find that the short story style is not well fitted for audio.