18, p.1
18, page 1
THRILLS, SUSPENSE,
AND SHOCKING TWISTS...
THEY ALL ADD UP IN
18
SUPERB STORIES FROM ONE OF CONTEMPORARY MYSTERY'S BRIGHTEST STARS
JAN BURKE
"As always, Jan Burke's wide, wonderful imagination and gift for the apt phrase, the perfectly defined character, and the absolutely perfect line of dialogue are an endless delight in this fine collection. Read the stories all at once, or dip into them one at a time, and enjoy. You won't be disappointed."
--James Crumley
"What a wonderful collection this is! 18 shows off not only author Burke's skills at the short-fiction form, but her astonishing versatility as well. Ranging from the gothic to the murderous to keen--and wry--observations of human nature, these stories are sure to delight."
--Jeffery Deaver
"A great collection of great stories by one of the world's finest mystery writers. 18 is a gem!"
--Stuart M. Kaminsky
"Jan Burke is a terrific storyteller, and 18 showcases her work at its finest. Whether set in series character Irene Kelly's home turf of Southern California or in medieval times, these tales are sure to delight the reader."
--Marcia Muller
"These are terrific stories. They're convincing, inviting, and seductive. Burke...builds these tales with the subtle assurance of a master. I raced through them once to enjoy their velocity and came back to enjoy their breadth."
--T. Jefferson Parker
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
Copyright (c) 2002 by Jan Burke
Introduction copyright (c) 2002 by Edward D. Hoch
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
ISBN: 0-7434-8272-7
First Pocket Books Ebooks Edition April 2003
POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Visit us on the World Wide Web:
http://www.SimonSays.com
"Sub Rosa" ("The Loveseat") Spannen Gebundeld 1993, Dutch language suspense anthology published by Bruna/Meulenhoff. Reprinted in Duivelse fantasieen, Meulenhoff, 1999.
"Why Tonight?" Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Mid-December 1993. Reprinted as "Warum heute?" in Im Strandkorb: Das grosse Sommerlesebuch, Goldmann, 1999. E-published by MightyWords.com.
"The Mouse" 1993, 2001. First published in this collection by A.S.A.P. Publishing.
"Revised Endings" Viva (Dutch language magazine) 1994. English language version in Murderous Intent Mystery Magazine, Summer/Fall 1998.
"Ghost of a Chance" Red Herring Mystery Magazine, Summer 1994.
"Unharmed" Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Mid-December 1994. Reprinted in special limited edition with introduction by Wendy Hornsby and illustrations by Phil Parks. A.S.A.P. Publishing, 1996. Reprinted as "Ongedeerd" in Spannen Gebundeld, Bruna/Meulenhoff, 1996. Reprinted as "Ongedeerd" in Duivelse fantasieen, Meulenhoff, 1999.
"The Muse" Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, February 1995.
"White Trash" Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, October 1996.
"Mea Culpa" "Malice Domestic 6 Short Story Anthology," edited by Elizabeth Foxwell and presented by Anne Perry. Pocket Books, 1997. ISBN: 0-671-89633-4. Read by Reed Diamond on audio edition of "Malice Domestic 6," Dove Audio, 1999. ISBN: 0-7871-1719-6
"A Fine Set of Teeth" Signed special limited edition, bound and illustrated, with introduction by Michael Connelly. Also, an audio version with music by Tim Burke and reading by Jan Burke. A.S.A.P. Publishing, October 1997. Reprinted in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, October 1998. Reprinted in "Women of Mystery III," edited by Kathleen Halligan, an anthology of short stories from Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Carroll & Graf, 1999. ISBN: 0-7867-0570-1
"Two Bits" Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May 1998.
"A Man of My Stature" In "Crime Through Time II: Historical Mystery Short Stories," an anthology edited by Miriam Grace Monfredo and Sharan Newman, presented by Lady Antonia Fraser. Berkley Crime Prime Mystery, 1998. ISBN: 0-425-16410-1
"Miscalculation" In "Death Cruise: Crime Stories on the Open Seas," an anthology edited by Lawrence Block. Cumberland House Publishing, 1999. ISBN: 1-58182-007-0
"An Unsuspected Condition of the Heart" In "Irreconcilable Differences," an anthology edited by Lia Matera. Hardcover edition by HarperCollins, 1999. ISBN: 0-06-019225-9. Paperback edition by William Morrow & Co., April 2001. ISBN: 0-06-109733-0
"The Man in the Civil Suit" In "Malice Domestic 9," introduced by Joan Hess. Avon, 2000. ISBN: 0-380-80483-2
"The Haunting of Carrick Hollow" written with Paul Sledzik. In "Crime Through Time III: Historical Mystery Short Stories," an anthology edited by Sharan Newman and Miriam Grace Monfredo. Berkley, July 2000. ISBN: 0-42517-509-X
"The Abbey Ghosts" Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, January 2001.
"Devotion" 2001. First published in this collection by A.S.A.P. Publishing.
Table of Contents
Introduction by Edward D. Hoch
Notes on the Stories
The Loveseat
Why Tonight?
The Mouse
Revised Endings
Ghost of a Chance
Unharmed
The Muse
White Trash
Mea Culpa
A Fine Set of Teeth
Two Bits
A Man of My Stature
Miscalculation
An Unsuspected Condition of the Heart
The Man in the Civil Suit
The Haunting of Carrick Hollow
The Abbey Ghosts
Devotion
Introduction
Let me tell you about Jan Burke.
I remember thinking sometime during the early 1990s that the baby boom had finally hit the mystery field. Each month brought a crop of new young writers to publishers' lists, people I'd never heard of and probably would never read. When Jan Burke's first novel about reporter Irene Kelly, Goodnight, Irene, appeared in 1993 it caused barely a ripple on my consciousness. Even when it was nominated for both the Agatha and Anthony Awards that year I didn't feel the need to read it. There were too many other books and too little time for them all.
My opinion began to change the following year when Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine published her small gem of a story called "Unharmed," which promptly won that magazine's annual Readers Award. While publishing a new Irene Kelly novel each year, Jan was also turning up with increasing frequency in magazines, anthologies and limited editions. One story, "A Fine Set of Teeth," was unique in having an audio version read by the author with music by her husband Tim Burke. It was the first Irene Kelly short story and I found it a delightful mixture of music and mystery, with some very funny musician jokes along the way.
Though I'd seen Jan at various writers' gatherings over the years, the first time we had a real conversation was at the 2000 Left Coast Crime gathering in Tucson. We were sharing a table in the signing room after our panels, autographing books and magazines for fans, when a member of the organizing committee came along, urging us to attend the 2001 Left Coast Crime in Anchorage the following year. The event included a plan to fly some writers in small planes to remote communities that had rarely if ever been visited by an author. Inviting someone from cold and snowy Rochester to visit cold and snowy Alaska in February was an exercise in futility and I quickly declined. However I was more than a little surprised when Jan seemed interested in the trip. It occurred to me then that she was a rare writer indeed, one interested not just in promoting her own books but in publicizing all mysteries, all reading, to those who might never have been touched by the pleasures the written word can bring.
Two months later at the Mystery Writers of America awards dinner in New York, Jan Burke won the Edgar for Bones, judged the best novel of 1999. It was the first of her novels I'd read, but certainly not the last. In February of 2001 Jan did indeed go to Alaska, and in May of that year she won the Agatha Award for her story "The Man in the Civil Suit," published within Malice Domestic 9.
Jan has played an active role in writers' organizations, chairing several promotional programs for Sisters in Crime and most recently serving as president of MWA's Southern California chapter. But it is her short stories that interest us here. Those readers who know her only through the Irene Kelly novels will be surprised at the wide range of style and subject matter in these eighteen stories, two of them published here for the first time.
Certainly Irene is here, and one new story "Devotion" brings back some familiar characters from Bones. But you'll also find unusual historical mysteries like "Miscalculation," "An Unexpected Condition of the Heart," "A Man of My Stature," and "The Haunting of Carrick Hollow," all showing remarkable degrees of research. There are stories of kidnapping and murder, stories for dog-lovers and Hitchcock-lovers, and one new story, "The Mouse," that has no crime in it at all. You'll even find a couple of ghost stories lurking here. One of them, "The Abbey Ghosts," is a fine tale already included in an anthology of the year's best mysteries.
Read them, enjoy them! Jan Burke is the real thing.
Edward D. Hoch
&n bsp; Rochester, New York
Notes on the Stories
This collection includes my first short stories and my most recent. I haven't been at this all that long, but I hope you'll enjoy the mixture of tales within. Here's a little background on the stories you will find here.
"Devotion" and "A Fine Set of Teeth" feature characters created in my novels. "Devotion" is a new story written especially for this collection, and several of its characters are from Bones.
Ben Sheridan plays a major role in "Devotion", and as always, I enjoyed writing about him. Judging from my mail, readers like him too. Like other amputees, he is who he is--not defined by this one difference. If he helps to dispel some myths about amputees along the way, that's thanks to the many people who helped me create him by openly talking to me about their own lives after limb loss.
The dogs are also back. In addition to what I learned about SAR dog work from dog handlers who helped me with Bones and Flight, bloodhound handler Milica Wilson of Colorado gave me information that was invaluable for this story.
"A Fine Set of Teeth" is the first Irene Kelly short story, and was first published by A.S.A.P. Publishing. My husband, Tim Burke, is a musician, and some of Irene's experiences in this story are drawn from life. Our friends had a field day contributing the musician jokes.
In addition to "Devotion", two other stories will be new to most of my readers. "The Mouse" is published here for the first time. It isn't a mystery story, but it's close to the bone. "The Loveseat" was my first published work, but until now, it has never been published in English. Although I had sold Goodnight, Irene before I wrote "The Loveseat", the book was not published until almost a year after this story appeared in a suspense anthology in the Netherlands. Meulenhoff, which publishes my novels in Dutch, will always hold a place in my heart because my editor there recognized the story's dark humor.
"Why Tonight?" was the first of my stories to be published in the U.S. I sold it to Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine not long before Goodnight, Irene was released. I was thrilled to make it into this magazine, which I had read for many years. After several years, I still have an attachment to this story, although I'm not exactly sure why--perhaps it's the Kansas setting.
"Unharmed" debuted in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine--another magazine stacked in piles next to my bed. On the way home from work one night, Tim heard a news story on the radio. He thought I might be able to do something with it if I wrote it from a certain perspective. He had no sooner finished telling me about it, than I excused myself, ran into my office, and wrote "Unharmed" in one sitting. Tim had to finish making dinner that evening, but he didn't seem to mind.
Many of these stories reflect my love of history. I'm especially grateful to Sharan Newman, who heard me complaining about a character--a medieval knight in my imagination who really wouldn't leave me alone. She offered me the chance to write an historical short story. She didn't get the story about the knight (he still pesters me from time to time), but she did give me a home for "A Man of My Stature"--it's inspired by a true crime which took place in the U.S. in the late 19th century. I took the basic idea behind the crime and came up with a different set of problems for the narrator than the ones which led to the capture of his real-life counterpart.
Others inspired by true stories are "The Haunting of Carrick Hollow", "Two Bits" and "Miscalculation".
"The Haunting of Carrick Hollow" was the result of my first and (so far) only attempt to work with a writing partner. I doubt anyone else could have made it as painless as Paul Sledzik did. Paul's a good friend who works as a forensic anthropologist, has been the Curator of Anatomical Collections at the National Museum of Health and Medicine, and (among other areas of expertise) is known for his ability to recognize tuberculosis in skeletal remains. He came up with the question that became the center of this story, and wrote some of the most difficult scenes. My hope is that he'll continue to try his hand at fiction, because I found his work on this one to be exceptional. The story is set in late nineteenth century New England.
"Two Bits" was inspired by a famous kidnapping case of the nineteenth century--I read about it while researching Hocus. I married this true story to some observations made by a searcher concerning a much more contemporary kidnapping. The outcome and the family portrayed in the story are entirely fictional, a blend of all these elements with lots of "what if?"
"Miscalculation" is set aboard the Queen Mary and based on a little known fact about the ship's wartime service. I read a single sentence in a large book about the ship, and that sentence so disturbed me, I decided I needed to explore the Queen Mary's history for more information. As it turns out, it's not easy to get anyone to talk about this particular tragedy, and I appreciate the help given to me by those who confirmed my early research into the matter.
Two stories are set in Regency England: "An Unsuspected Condition of the Heart" and "The Abbey Ghosts". I became attached to the Regency through the works of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer. Terry Baker of the Mystery Annex bookstore knew I loved Austen's works, and introduced me to those of Heyer. Heyer's wit, insight, and knowledge of that period helped me to escape the grim images that were left dancing in my head while I researched Bones. When I read her books at night, I'd be magically transported to the world of the haut ton before I fell asleep. "An Unsuspected Condition of the Heart" is an homage to Ms. Heyer, but no one should take that to mean that I think I've captured her style or come close to her achievements--she was one of a kind. I enjoyed writing it, but I have never done so much research for so few pages in my life. I have a fondness for this narrator, so he may return.
"The Abbey Ghosts" is a different style of story, although also set in Regency England. Audrey Moore of the bookstore Mysteries to Die For, in Thousand Oaks, California, asked me to write a Christmas story. To my surprise, it also ended up being a ghost story. Cathleen Jordan kindly chose to publish it in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.
"The Man in the Civil Suit" is a humorous story written for the Malice Domestic 9 Anthology. The anthology was a tribute to Agatha Christie, and contributors were asked to include some reference to a Christie title or work somewhere in the story. The Man in the Brown Suit has always been a favorite of mine.
Writing short stories allows me to venture beyond the world of Las Piernas, the contemporary beach city in the Irene Kelly books. "Mea Culpa" is set in the 1950's, and allowed me to explore writing from the point of view of a young boy. "White Trash" and "Revised Endings" allowed me to play "what if" in situations where one might feel frustrated enough to do violence. "The Muse" allowed me to write a story interwoven with references to the films of Alfred Hitchcock.
Some years ago, I'd been reading ghost stories in preparation for a Halloween event at Beth Caswell's Sherlock's Home mystery bookstore when I decided to try my hand at one that might be a little different. "Ghost of a Chance" was first heard by Beth's customers.
To all the mystery writers, past and present, whose short stories have delighted me, my thanks for giving me a love of this form. My thanks to Jim Seels, Cathleen Jordan, Janet Hutchings, Martin Greenberg, Sharan Newman, Miriam Grace Monfredo, Elizabeth Foxwell, Lia Matera, and the many others who've work so hard to bring mystery short stories to readers. And most of all, my thanks to you who read our stories, who keep the fine tradition of the mystery short story alive. I hope you'll enjoy this collection.
Jan Burke
Southern California
The Loveseat
The shovel half-rang like a muted bell as it struck the metal. Leila Anderson sighed and stopped digging, wiping the back of her leather glove across her forehead. She was hot and tired, but determined to finish planting this last section of her garden.
