Reviews
“The crimes featured inThe Best Laid Plans range from poisonings to bank robberies to contract killings, and the settings are both varied and fascinating: ski resorts, nursing homes, subway stations, the mountains of West Virginia, the plains of Oklahoma. This collection of diverse, entertaining, and delightfully bite-sized stories will satisfy any fan of mystery/suspense fiction. I loved this book!” —John M. Floyd, Edgar nominee and three-time Derringer Award winner
“Delicious! That word best describes the yummy bites of well written, crafty crime stories. In a great short story, the writer must choose just the right word or phrase or symbolism without any wasted time. Introduce the characters with hooks of quirkiness or sympathy or curiosity in scant space. Define the main theme within a sentence or two and that’s all. At the end leave the reader open-mouthed and chuckling at the creative twist. All the authors of this collection do a spectacular job of all of the above. Splashes of humor make the reader smile despite murder and mayhem, which is vital when we’re writing about crime. And wow! The crime in this book goes from art theft to burglaries to fraud to revenge and coin theft. Murder for hire, money, sibling rivalry, envy, infidelity. Murder of the wrong person. Killer acting and get-rich schemes. Whether it’s death by poison, imprisonment, antifreeze or the go-to weapon, a gun, the clever twists are endless. From futuristic robots to the Ming Dynasty to the country and the city or a world inside one room, these stories take us on rides that are unforgettable. The Best Laid Plansis a feast of delicious short bites that adds up to a very satisfying literary meal.”—Catherine Astolfo, bestselling author and two-time winner of the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Short Story
“An entertaining collection of tales that deliver in all aspects. Some plans are destined to fail, some are destined to succeed in unexpected ways, and all are dealing with an issue in ways that should solve everything once and for all. Much like buying a lottery ticket, these characters are dreaming up ways to permanently solve problems.” —Kevin Tipple, Kevin’s Corner Read the complete review here
Even the “best laid plans” can go deliciously awry, and with these well-thought out mysteries and “I didn’t see that coming!” short stories, you get to enjoy it twenty-one times. Different styles, different settings, different murderous intentions, but all are entertaining, intriguing, and just plain fun.”—Kathleen Costa, Reviewer, Kings River Life
“Sometimes the best laid plans just don’t go quite as expected. And sometimes, they go exactly as hoped for. In The Best Laid Plans, a dazzling collection of twenty-one short tales of mayhem, authors strut their considerable expertise and leave readers begging for more. Whether it’s robotic poisoning, literary festivals, or brotherly love, it can all go downhill fast, leaving both the reader and the corpses breathless. This is a five-star read that you will never forget.”—Kate Thornton, Derringer-nominated short story author
“One of the most enjoyable aspects of reading a short-story anthology is variety. Variety of voice, location, time and space, woven together with a common thread; and in the case of The Best Laid Plans, that thread is stories of seemingly everyday people with the darkest intentions gone awry.” — Vicki Gladwish, Gladwish on Demand
“A monster anthology of 21 tales of criminal activity, linked together by their theme of sinister intentions going seriously pear-shaped. Each of the authors takes a different approach so the international action shifts from a ski resort in Vermont to an art gallery in Toronto to a Norwegian subway station and even a remote Chinese province. Stacks of variety, written in different voices with more twists than Chubby Checker. A great way to meet new writers, this collection showcases the talents of an array of established mystery authors.” — Murder, Mayhem & More
“Judging by the tales featured here, it’s definitely dangerous to be married, live in an old folks home, crowdfund or climb the stairs. These authors, from across the globe, demonstrate a scarily sneaky knack of wrong-footing their readers at every end and turn.
So, which were the standouts here, apart from the aforementioned Frozen Daiquiris? Fire Drill from Lusa de Nikolits tells the story of a downtrodden woman whose boss finally takes things a step too far – with disastrous consequences, while Heirloom by Tom Barlow is about family life at its most dysfunctional. Both have killer twists, as does Crime Fiction Lover reviewer Vicki Weisfeld’s Who Are They Now, a neatly plotted whodunit based in a retirement home.
Judy Penz Sheluk is planning further anthologies under the Superior Shores Press banner and on this showing, they’ll certainly be worth looking out for. Some of the short-form tales in The Best Laid might not quite hit the spot but every one of them is well worth a read. Pack a copy in your suitcase right away.”— Crime Fiction Lover Read the full review here