Sisters on the Case

Sisters On the Case: Celebrating Twenty Years of Sisters in Crime edited by Sara Paretsky contains 20 stories written by female mystery writers. Sisters in Crime has a mission to promote the professional development and advancement of women crime writers "to achieve equality in the industry." This anthology is a good representation of the different kinds of crime stories women write.

I especially liked "I Killed" by Nancy Pickard. It's a conversation between two men on a park bench. The dialogue is amazing. Pickard makes mob stories interesting again. You may think you know where "Lady Patterly's Lover" by Charlotte MacLeod and and "Animal Act" by Claire McNab are going but read to the end.

I was shocked by the ending of "Hearing Her Name." I knew something had to happen but I was not expecting such a horrendous and sad turn of events. "Steak Tartare" by Barbara D'Amato has the dubious distinction of being the first mystery story to truly gross me out. Good thing it ended the way it did.

The only story I didn't like was "Dies Irae" by Dorothy Salsibury Davis. It was long and slow moving. I didn't like either sister and I didn't know enough about Denny to care. He was a disposable character. Literally.

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