Who knew death could be so eclectic? Relish this mesmerizing murder mystery mash-up of short stories.Murder and mystery have been the staple of literature and films for years. This anthology of short stories will thrill and entertain you. Some will also make you laugh out loud. Others will stop and make you think.Think of this murder mystery short story anthology as a book version of appetisers … as a book version of appetisers or starters, hors d’oeuvre, meze, or antipasti. It can be read as fillers between books or, as is the case in some countries, as a bookish meze – in its own right.
There’s murder mystery styles and locations to suit all tastes: detective fiction, serial killers, scifi, histfic, England, Los Angeles, San Francisco, The Great Lakes, Las Vegas, the Nevada desert, Mexico and more in an exquisite exposition of the art of short story telling.
These stories come from an international cast of authors; some with bestselling books, others are emerging or new talents. Their roots, cultures, and life experiences are as diverse as their writing styles.
But one thing binds them together: they know how to tell a story.
The ten authors who have contributed to the anthology are:
Stephen Bentley
Greg Alldredge
Kelly Artieri
Robbie Cheadle
Michael Spinelli
L. Lee Kane
Kay Castaneda
Aly Locatelli
Justin Bauer
Posthumously by ‘G’
The stories include the 2019 SIA Award-Winning Murder Mystery Short Story ‘The Rose Slayer’ by Stephen Bentley.
Each author introduces his or her stories and the theme that lays behind them. By the time you finish the book, you will agree the result is a mesmerising murder mystery mash-up.
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My favorite book genre is mysteries. With so many wonderful authors and series, it’s often difficult to decide what to read next, especially when you’re looking to expand your horizons with something new. That’s often why I’ll turn to an anthology of short stories, as collections allow you to sample a dozen or so writers who hold a vast array of experiences and styles. This month, I took a chance on one called ‘Death Among Us,’ published in July of 2019 and edited by Stephen Bentley. In this fantastic collection, readers are exposed to ~10 authors who have each contributed 3 stories. What’s even better is that the three stories are generally connected to one another, so it’s almost like reading a mini novella several times over.
Prior to each author’s stories, there’s a lively and informative intro about what readers are getting themselves into. The writer will tell us if the stories are connected by the same character or a similar murder plot, a continuation of the previous tale but with a twist, or something even more dastardly and thrilling. I enjoyed this aspect of the anthology, as often in these types of books, each author only has a single story. With three, we get a better feel for their voice, style, and tone. The collection kicks off with the award-winning editor’s ‘The Rose Slayer’ stories, where homicide cops trace a killer who leaves behind a calling card. It spoke to me for many reasons, but to watch the transition from the first to the second and the last story, I felt like I could understand the motivation and operating procedures / boundaries of the heroes (and possibly the serial killer too!).
Another favorite is Robbie Cheadle, an author who’s participated in another short story collection that I’ve read as well as written many children’s books with her sons. What a vastly differently style across her entire inventory of books and stories… to kick off with, in ‘Justice is Never Served,’ we have a woman who murders babies! Then there are the chimney sweeping killers (not what you’re thinking either!)… Cheadle delivers just the right amount of gore and thrills without going over the top, as the topic could be quite difficult to swallow. The best parts of her three stories are how they are all based on some sort of true story… which makes the tale even more horrific. She’s definitely cultivated her talents in these three tales, and I hope to see a full-length horror novel from her one day.
In addition to these two clever authors, I found many new writers I plan to follow. All of the stories were strong, none left me bored or confused. It’s a vibrant collection of twisty horrors, delicious death plots, and witty dialog among killers, cops, and victims. There are even a few lines of paranormal / fantasy / science-fiction being crossed, enough to make us afraid to enter a dark room in the future. Between those chills, and the crazy over-arching theme of what happens to both good and bad children in this book, it’s a prime candidate for anyone who wants to be frightened or read about something over-the-top devilish and evil.
If you’re up for a seasonal read, I’d recommend buying now and reading an author every few days in the month of October. Death and Halloween go so well together, and this is definitely one to keep in mind for pushing the envelope with creativity, complexity, and dark drama. That ‘side serving of revenge’ we often hear about… is the prime motivating factor in so many of these stories… and who doesn’t like to see someone get their just desserts?
Mystery and suspense at its finest!
First, I have to talk about that cover-eerie, cold, deadly, it’s exactly perfect for this genre.
Ten outstanding authors have contributed three short stories to this anthology creating a wide assortment of murder mysteries to chill your blood.
Each author starts with a short intro comprising of their impressive bios and the theme behind their stories. I particularly liked this as it gave a background to what I was about to read.
Two of my favorites lines came from Robbie Cheadle.
Robbie set her selections from true cases in historical England.
Evil and goodness do not die, they merely change form.
BIO- ROBBIE CHEADLE
To anyone watching it was as if the candle illuminating her mind had been blown out, plunging it into blackness.
JUSTICE IS NEVER SERVED- ROBBIE CHEADLE
There are many new-to-me authors in this collection such as Stephen Bentley who wrote three truly chilling tales of a serial killer you won’t see coming!
If you’re looking for a thrilling read, I highly recommend Death Among Us: An Anthology of Murder Mystery Short Stories- 5 lovely kisses!
This is a great book of short mystery stories. They are all well written. This is a definite must read book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I usually do not review anthologies. I find it hard to review a book that is made up of short stories. But I like reading them. Whenever I get the request to review an anthology, I have an internal tug of war. 9 out of 10 times, I decline. But in this case, because I like murder mysteries, I accepted. I am glad that I did because this book had some fantastic stories.
I thought it was appropriate that I read Death Among Us a couple of nights before Halloween. I was enthralled with the stories. I loved that I got a thrill when reading them.
Usually, in my other reviews, I give details on what I liked about the plotlines and the characters. But because this is an anthology, I can’t do that. But I will do something a little different. I will give you what I liked about each group of stories.
The Rose Slayer, Eleanor Rigby, Diva:
I enjoy reading these short stories. What I loved is that they were interconnected. I didn’t get that at first. It took me rereading the end of The Rose Slayer and the beginning of Eleanor Rigby to understand that. I loved it!!!
Hello World, Goodbye World:
AI has always freaked me out. Reading these two books got me even more freaked out about them. They were well written, and the author was able to suck me into the stories.
First Comes Lightning, Bad Bones, Red Solo Cup,,That’s What Best Friends Do:
I didn’t like these stories as much as the first five stories. But they were still good. Again, the author was able to interconnect each story. The connections were subtle, but they were there.
Justice is Never Served, An Eye For an Eye, The Murder of the Monk:
This group of stories all takes place in England. What I enjoyed about these is that they were based on actual events. The author, who is new to horror, was able to take these events and add her spin to them. Again, there was a subtle connection with the three stories, which I enjoyed.
No Man’s Land and Monitaur:
These were different stories by the same author. The first story, No Man’s Land, creeped me out. I got the chills reading it. Monitaur, though, terrified me. Mainly because I have had run-ins with a baby monitor making weird noises.
A Deadly Lady and Stop Me If You Can:
Another set of stories that chilled me. I agreed with the main character in this set of stories. Men who beat their wives/girlfriends and men (and women) who traffic people need to be taken care of. What gave me chills was how she did it and what the cop said at the end of the last story.
Something About the Gift of Beauty, Unknown, The Thoughts of Emily Morales in Old Age:
These were interesting stories. I liked that the three stories centered around one main character at different stages of her life.
The Neighbors:
I liked this story. The characters were relatable (even if one of them was unlikable). What happened was interesting.
Sales Meeting, Canceled:
I liked these stories. Talk about getting payback…lol. All I could think after I read the stories was that they deserved it.
White Rose of Rapture and Next:
Both were well-written books. The first story did freak me out. I have a fear of dentists, and well, this story didn’t do anything to erase my fear. The second story amused me (as weird as that sounds). The last line made me giggle.
Death Among Us: An Anthology of Murder Mystery Short Stories by Stephen Bentley is a wonderful book with short mystery stories in it. I loved reading this book cause I love reading about mysteries, suspense and I highly recommend this story to everyone.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
there are ten tales of death and how it happens to them. It happens in many different ways and some of the tales are funny while others will make you think about your own likely death. wonderful collection of stories
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I’ve enjoyed reading several short stories of late. I love mysteries, so when I learned about Death Among Us, I decided to purchase a copy. I was not disappointed.
As with most collections written by various authors, I had my favorites. I particularly enjoyed the historical stories by Robbie Cheadle. Other favs were The Rose Slayer and Eleanor Rigby written by Stephen Bentley, First Comes Lightning by Kelli Artieri, and L. Lee Cain’s Stop Me if You Can. Aly Locatelli did a fantastic job with her debut story.
I admit to skimming through a couple of stories – one had a cast of characters that, in my opinion, was entirely too long for a short story. But other than that, this is a very entertaining book overall.
I bought this anthology because I was already a fan of Robbie Cheadle. I loved her historical fiction based on real-life stories as expected, but the other authors and their work also intrigued me. This collection is a great variety that includes horror, sci-fi, suspense, and mystery set in various locations that all held my attention. There’s a brief introduction to each author, and I enjoyed getting to know them before reading. It’s a great assortment of short stories and a fantastic way to be introduced to new authors. I highly recommend “Death Among Us.”
Each author introduces his or her stories and the theme that lays behind them. By the time you finish the book, you will agree the result is a mesmerizing murder mystery mash-up.
There’s murder mystery styles and locations to suit all tastes: detective fiction, serial killers, scifi, histfic, England, Los Angeles, San Francisco, The Great Lakes, Las Vegas, the Nevada desert, Mexico and more in an exquisite exposition of the art of short story telling.
These stories come from an international cast of authors; some with bestselling books, others are emerging or new talents. Their roots, cultures, and life experiences are as diverse as their writing styles.
My favorites ….. Stephen Bentley is the author of the first three books. He is a former UK undercover cop, police Detective Sergeant, and trial attorney. His stories are unique in that in each of the stories this line of dialogue is included ….. “When I saw the banquet of seven roses, I knew exactly who had murdered Mrs. O’Connell.”
I admit, I have never read these authors before, but you can bet I’ll be checking out what else they have to offer.
Many thanks to all these authors for sharing their diverse stories / BooksGoSocial / Netgalley for the digital copy of this murderous collection. I am leaving this review voluntarily. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
Death Among Us: An Anthology of Murder Mystery Short Stories, my third highly enjoyable read from author Stephen Bentley, An author I’d not heard of before getting the opportunity to read & review these books! December seemed to be my month for new authors, January continued the trend, and now February. An enjoyable, well-written collection. I’m not big on short stories but this collection has given me some more interesting new authors to research & potentially read. Ralph Scott & Kendra Murray’s narration adds greatly to a good book’s enjoyment. “I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.” I own 8 other books by this author and look forward to reading more from this him. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 – July 24, 2018).
Interesting collection of murder mystery short stories. Several different authors brings a variety of styles, locations, etc., to the mix. Great narration for this audiobook.
This is exactly the kind of book I love! The stories were all absolutely wonderful mysteries that were easy to read and many had such surprising endings. I cannot even pick a personal favorite because I really enjoyed the entire batch of stories. I highly recommend this anthology.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a collection of short stories about murder with some mystery in them. Different writers, different stories. Very good if you like something that changes like a channel on a tv. You won’t get bored with this book. I found it very satisfying to read. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book from Booksprout.
I really enjoyed this anthology. The stories were very well written. They were perfect for a quick read. I have definitely found some new authors to read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was an interesting collection of tales featuring death in some way or another. Although this book was described to be full of murder mysteries, this was not actually the case. However, there was a wide range of styles and voices and I enjoyed most of the stories.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
I recommend this anthology, especially if you only have a short reading time available. The short stories fit the bill perfectly. It’s not hard to understand why The Rose Slayer won an award in a Short Story Contest!
I’m really enjoying reading these short stories. Stephen Bentley has done a great job. I’m into some of Greg Alldredge stories now & can’t wait to see how his and the other 3 authors keep us guessing.
What a GREAT collection! If you like crime mysteries/novels you’ve come to the right spot. Lots of murders – each a little different with various subplots. All great mind bogglers.
Stephen Bentley, an author I love and admire has taken the time to not only capture all of these wonderful shorts but also to acquire a little intro into the authors behind them.
There are a few “Queen’s English” lines that made me, an American English user (butcher, lol) sit up and think twice, otherwise an easy fast moving read. A great collection you won’t want to put down!
This anthology has a little something for everyone in the murder mystery genre. The stories are all quick reads and cover everything from straightforward murder mystery to science fiction and just plain weird. While I did find some more interesting than others, I can’t say that any of them stood out enough that they’ll stick with me in the long term. I think the short length hindered some of the stories, and there is definitely some missed potential there because of that. The book is short enough to read straight through in just a handful of hours, or the stories can be spread out over time, which is what I did. I read one or two a night at bedtime, choosing the trope by my current mood, and that worked best for me. In the end, there were some stories I liked and some, not so much, but I think most of it comes down to a person’s particular tastes in mystery. My best advice would be to give it a read, you may find something I missed.
Great collection of short stories by various writers. Couldn’t put the book down and read it in one sitting. Enjoyed each and every story and didn’t want them to end . This book is earmarked for a re read for definite .
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.
This reminds me of reading the Ellery Queen or Alfred Hitchcock mystery magazine. Each of the stories in the collection is a well-written and well-planned murder mystery short story, and it’s hard to find good short stories. There is something for everyone as the stories encompass detective fiction, serial killers, sci-fi, and much more. As is often the case, some of the stories may appeal to you more than others but, in general, I think any mystery fan will be quite pleased with the selections.