The Best American Mystery Stories 1997

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The natural form for the traditional mystery is not the novel but the short story. It is not uncommon for a detective story to revolve around a single significant clue — which can be discovered, divulged, and its importance explained in a few pages. The rest is embellishment.

Mystery fiction has changed a great deal in recent years, as have virtually all art forms. The classic tale of a murder being committed, the local police called in and responding with utter bafflement, the gifted amateur offering assistance, discovering new clues, breaking down old alibis, and finally identifying the least likely suspect is largely a thing of the past.

Nowadays, much more is expected of the mystery novel, and even of the short story. We have come to expect the same depth of characterization that we do from general fiction, the same sort of intelligent and/or amusing dialogue, the same door opening to let us into a previously unknown or unexplored world. But we also expect a carefully constructed story line that rewards our close attention with a realistic conclusion that answers all the questions posed along the way. No loose ends in these stories; no unexplained activities.

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