Publication Date: October 21, 2025
“While a single sentence can turn a novel, a single word can turn a short story,” writes guest editor Don Winslow. The pieces featured in this collection hinge on those small, exacting moments that shock, spook, delight, and change a story entirely. A disgraced ex-cop approaches a crossroads with his ex-wife and new neighbor, pistol in hand; an ill-advised acid trip reveals the dark side of a twisted friendship; a hardened hit man struggles with his latest target. Full of dramatic twists, subtle clues, and chilling reveals, The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2025 will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last shoe drops.
THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY AND SUSPENSE 2025 INCLUDES: TOM ANDES • ANN APTAKER • JACQUELINE FREIMOR • TOD GOLDBERG • JAMES D. F. HANNAH • CAROLINE KEPNES • IVY POCHODA • TWIST PHELAN • MEAGAN LUCAS • AND OTHERS
Well-known author Don Winslow serves as the guest editor of the latest anthology highlighting The Best American Mystery & Suspense 2025.
Winslow gives credit to those involved in the crime fiction genre, honoring the tradition launched via the short story format. The anthology offers an introduction to 20 authors who published their stories in calendar year 2025 in American or Canadian publications.
It’s an eclectic mix, including a contract killer, a high school acid trip and special favors. The key is in the author’s ability to pack a beginning, middle and end in a satisfying manner.
Short stories like the ones in the anthology feature conclusions that typically leave the reader with something to ponder, which is certainly the case with “Road to Nowhere.” Although these stories are a far cry from the gourmet experience Winslow delivers with his novels, they do provide plenty of variety.
The Best American Mystery & Suspense 2025 offers a wide selection of short stories designated as “the best of the best.”
Don Winslow is the author of twenty-six acclaimed, award-winning international bestsellers, including eight New York Times bestsellers (Savages, The Kings of Cool, The Cartel, The Force, The Border, City on Fire and City of Dreams). Savages was made into a feature film by three-time Oscar-winning writer-director Oliver Stone from a screenplay by Shane Salerno, Winslow and Stone. Crime 101, based on Winslow’s short novel, will be released as a theatrical film from Amazon. He has also written a series of award-winning short stories for Audible narrated by four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris. A former investigator, anti-terrorist trainer and trial consultant, Winslow lives in California and Rhode Island.
Steph Cha is the author of Your House Will Pay, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the California Book Award, and the Juniper Song crime trilogy. She’s an editor and critic whose work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and The Los Angeles Review of Books. A native of the San Fernando Valley, she lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two basset hounds.
