Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2026

by Tess Gerritsen, Otto Penzler

Genres: Amateur Sleuth; Mystery

Synopsis

Internationally bestselling author Tess Gerritsen selects and introduces the best short mystery fiction of the past year.

This anthology contains the best crime stories published last year, selected from a pool of over 3,000 by bestselling author of the Rizzoli & Isles series, Tess Gerritsen, under the auspices of New York City’s legendary crime fiction specialty store The Mysterious Bookshop. 

Included herein, readers will find tales by giants of the genre Lee Child, Andrew Klavan, Joyce Carol Oates, and Lisa Unger, alongside lesser-known writers equally as deserving of attention. The stories have been pulled from a wide variety of sources, including The Strand Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, Dark Yonder, and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. The collection is rounded off by a bonus story from the last century by Agatha Christie, sourced from the Mysterious Bookshop’s rare book room.

Release date: September 22, 2026

Publisher: The Mysterious Press

Print pages: 336