The Best Laid Plans: 21 Stories of Mystery: An Anthology by Various Authors


The Best Laid Plans: 21 Stories of Mystery: An Anthology by Various Authors, edited by Judy Penz Sheluk
A Superior Shores Anthology Book 1
Publisher: Superior Shores Press
Genre: Suspense/Mystery, Contemporary, Historical
Length: Full Length (292 pages)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Whether it’s a subway station in Norway, ski resort in Vermont, McMansion in the suburbs, or trendy art gallery in Toronto, the 21 authors represented in this superb collection of mystery and suspense interpret the overarching theme of the best-laid plans in their own inimitable style. And like many best-laid plans, they come with no guarantees.

The men suffer from erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, low sexual drive and infertility are simply discount cialis not true. viagra generic discount Poor sleep – Lack of sleep or sleep deprivation can cause physical and mental exhaustion, which is bad for your well being. If you are unable to get rid of this sexual deficiency. appalachianmagazine.com cialis samples However, grapefruit juice is reputed to prescription de viagra cause interactions in the processing of PDE5 inhibitors in the body. Stories by Tom Barlow, Susan Daly, Lisa de Nikolits, P.A. De Voe, Peter DiChellis, Lesley A. Diehl, Mary Dutta, C.C. Guthrie, William Kamowski, V.S. Kemanis, Lisa Lieberman, Edward Lodi, Rosemary McCracken, LD Masterson, Edith Maxwell, Judy Penz Sheluk, KM Rockwood, Peggy Rothschild, Johanna Beate Stumpf, Vicki Weisfeld, and Chris Wheatley.

Crime doesn’t pay, especially for criminals who think they’ve found a loophole.

“Spirit River Dam” by Susan Daly told the tale of an art dealer who was brought a potential Tom Thomson painting for appraisal. The possibility of discovering an unknown, priceless painting by this artist was irresistible even when evidence began to mount that he might not have been the painter who made it after all. What I enjoyed the most about this tale were all of the plot twists in it. No sooner would I come up with a theory about what was really happening than the next scene would turn that theory on its head. This happened several times, and it kept me guessing until the very last moment.

I enjoyed all of the tales in this collection, but a few of them would have benefited from more development. “The Stonecutter’ by Edith Maxwell was one example of this. It was about a librarian named Eleanor who had an affair with a married man. When her lover began to feel guilty for cheating on his wife, she had to decide what she was willing to do to keep him. I was fascinated by how quickly their illicit romance developed, especially considering the fact that both of these characters were otherwise known to be very moral and upstanding citizens. This made the twist at the end a little hard to swallow. I liked what the author was doing with it, but it would have been helpful to more foreshadowing either about the Eleanor’s personality or what would become of their secret love.

As soon as I finished the first paragraph in LD Masterson’s “Deadly Dinner” and realized that the protagonist was murdering nursing home residents, I had to find out why Bixby would ever do such a thing. While his reasons for these choices should be left for each new reader to discover themselves, I was pleased with how thoroughly the author explained everything. Bixby was not a likeable character, but he sure was a fascinating one. This isn’t always an easy thing to pull off, so I enjoyed reading about someone I would never want to meet in real life.

The Best Laid Plans: 21 Stories of Mystery & Suspense should be read by anyone who loves this genre.

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