PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY:
The Blue Religion: New Stories About Cops, Criminals, and the Chase
Edited by Michael Connelly. Little, Brown, $24.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-316-01251-5
Mystery Writers
of America presents a high-quality anthology of 19 original stories that
explore a wide range of police experiences, from newcomer Polly Nelson's superb
tale set in 1864 Kansas, “Burying Mr. Henry,” to editor Connelly's
powerful and grim Harry Bosch investigation into a young disabled boy's death,
“Father's Day.” The sordid mean streets, depicted in Persia
Walker's “Such a Lucky, Pretty Girl,” are nicely balanced with the
lighter touches of Jon Breen's “Serial Killer,” a darkly comic tale
in which two police detectives recount one of their cases to a community
college writing class. TV writer Paul Guyot contributes one of the volume's
strongest selections, “What a Wonderful World,” about a cop's
obsessive search for the killer of a hot dog vendor. This is one of those rare
themed anthologies that can be enjoyed at one sitting. (Apr.)
