Author Toni McGee Causey

Edited by Lee Child

KILLER YEAR is a group of 13 debut crime/mystery/suspense authors whose books will be published in 2007. The graduating class includes such rising stars as Robert Gregory Browne, Toni McGee Causey, Marcus Sakey, Derek Nikitas, Marc Lecard, JT Ellison, Brett Battles, Jason Pinter, Bill Cameron, Sean Chercover, Patry Francis, Gregg Olsen, and Dave White.

Each of the short stories displaying their talents are introduced by their KILLER YEAR mentors, some of which include bestselling authors Lee Child, Tess Gerritsen and Jeffrey Deaver, with additional stories by Ken Bruen, Allison Brennan and Duane Swierczynski. Bestselling authors Laura Lippman and MJ Rose contribute insightful essays.

Inside you'll read about a small time crook in over his head, a story told backwards with a heroine not to be messed with, a tale of boys and the trouble they will get into over a girl, and many more stories of the highest caliber in murder, mayhem, and sheer entertainment. This amazing anthology, edited by the grandmaster Lee Child, is sure to garner lots of attention and keep readers coming back for more.

St. Martin's Hardcover, January 2008, ISBN-13: 978-0312374709

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Praise…

  "With debut novels from a bumper crop of outstanding new writers last year (including Derek Nikitas, J.T. Ellison, Marc Lecard and Chicago's own Sakey and Sean Chercover), 2007 was undeniably a killer year for crime fiction. With that in mind, this brilliantly conceived anthology—described as a "sampler" by editor Lee Child—features short stories from 13 of last year's biggest and brightest newcomers as well as three additional stories from veterans Ken Bruen, Duane Swierczynski and Allison Brennan. This collection has no weak links, but a few stories stand head and shoulders above the rest.
  Chercover's "One Serving of Bad Luck," which features Chicago private detective Ray Dudgeon (introduced in his debut novel "Big City, Bad Blood"), is a hard-boiled thriller that revolves around a horrific car accident, a multimillion-dollar settlement and a wayward witness. "Runaway," by Nikitas—a subtly nuanced chronicle of the misadventures of two 15-year-old boys in western New York who meet with a mysterious runaway girl—is equal parts coming-of-age tale and supernatural mystery. "Gravity and Need," by Sakey, perhaps the collection's most memorable selection, is a haunting, disturbing story of how misfortune tests the limits of a couple madly in love. Bill Cameron's "Slice of Pie" is an irony-filled gem about an ill-tempered son protecting his naive mother from a perceived scam artist; and Toni McGee Causey's uproarious "A Failure to Communicate" revisits Louisiana and the irrepressible Bobbie Faye Sumrall (from her debut "Bobbie Faye's Very (Very, Very, Very) Bad Day") as she takes down a group of bumbling thieves with some good old-fashioned sociopathic ingenuity and one well-placed fish hook.
  "Killer Year" is not just an exceptional collection of crime fiction short stories but also a savvy promotional tool: Readers will undoubtedly find themselves seeking out any number of debut novels from the featured authors, be it Sakey's "The Blade Itself," Lecard's "Vinnie's Head," Nikitas' "Pyres," or any number of others."
—Chicago Tribune

"Why writers who deal with the dark side of human nature are among the most collegial is a mystery in itself. What is not in doubt, though, is the quality of this collection resulting from that collegiality, with 13 of its 16 stories by writers who published their first novels in 2007 and were mentored by established authors under the auspices of the International Thriller Writers organization. Some of these stories—which, as editor Child notes, are 'far, far harder to write than novels'—push the edge of the genre and snag the memory, among them Marcus Sakey's exploration of love and the difference between wanting and needing in 'Gravity and Need.' Sean Chercover's Chicago P.I. Ray Dudgeon keeps a case from going south, Gregg Olsen gives a final twist to his tale of a true crime writer, and Jason Pinter shows how things can go inexorably wrong in an instant. The mentors' introductions to these stories, plus brief biographies at the end, should entice readers to longer works by these promising new authors. Even amid a recent rash of anthologies in the genre, this one is well worth a look."
—Library Journal

"Three of Child's contributors—Ken Bruen, Allison Brennan and Duane Swierczynski—are seasoned pros, but the collection's gems come from the 13 members of the younger set. Derek Nikitas's 'Runaway,' for instance, is a superbly ambiguous chiller about an adolescent girl who may or may not be a real runaway, or for that matter real. In Toni McGee Causey's artfully composed 'A Failure to Communicate' introduces the indomitable and irresistible Bobbie Faye Sumrall, a steel magnolia whose steel will cause three lowlifes to rue the day they took her hostage. 'Perfect Gentleman' by Brett Battles and 'Bottom Deal' by Robert Gregory Browne are both lean and taut, expertly crafted in the good old hard-boiled tradition. In Marc Lecard's sly 'Teardown,' a hapless loser arrives in the wrong place at what turns out to be exactly the right time. Gregg Olsen's autobiographical 'Crime of My Life' features a surprise ending that actually surprises. The quality is less consistent among the other entries, but, remarkably for a collection this ample, there's no sign of a clinker.
An anthology so worthwhile that it comes within an eyelash of deserving the hyperbole Child heaps on it in his introduction."
—Kirkus Reviews

"For this impressive crime anthology, bestseller Child (One Shot) has gathered 13 stories by newcomers and three by veterans. Such established writers as David Morrell, James Rollins, Gayle Lynds, Ken Bruen and Allison Brennan introduce tales by such rising stars as Marcus Sakey, Brett Battles, Robert Gregory Browne, Sean Chercover and Gregg Olsen. Some selections, like Olsen's "The Crime of My Life," hit like a hard swung sap. Battles's "Perfect Gentleman" is more like a knife that slides in easily, then twists in the gut. Browne's "Bottom Deal" features a PI that would be at home in a lineup with Spade and Marlowe. Sakey's "Gravity and Need" lets the reader bleed out slowly, while Chercover's "One Serving of Bad Luck" earns a rueful smile. Not every entry is a winner, but the disturbingly good new talent showcased in this volume bodes well for the future of the genre."
—Publishers Weekly