The Best American Mystery Stories 2019

***New York Times* best-selling author of ten genre-bending novels Jonathan Lethem helms this collection of the year's best mystery short fiction.** For Jonathan Lethem, "crime stories are deep species gossip." He writes in his introduction that "they're fundamentally stories of power, of its exercise, both spontaneous and conspiratorial; stories of impulse and desire, and of the turning of tables." *The Best American Mystery Stories 2019* has its full share of salacious intrigue, guilt, and retribution. The twists and bad decisions pile up when a thief picks the wrong target or a simple scavenger hunt takes a terrible turn. What happens when you befriend a death row inmate, or just how does writing Internet clickbait became a decidedly dangerous occupation? "How can we not hang on their outcomes?" asks Lethem. "Are we innocent ourselves, or complicit?" Read on to find out. *The Best American Mystery Stories 201*9 includes Sharon Hunt, Harley Jane Kozak, Mark Mayer, Jennifer McMahon, Joyce Carol Oates, Brian Panowich, Tonya D. Price, Ron Rash, Robb T. White, and others.