The Blue Religion - Michael Connelly, ed.

I’ve been reading this anthology from the Mystery Writers of America for a while, a story or two here and there between novels, the way I like to read anthologies. Usually in any book like this, there’ll be a story or two (or three) that I don’t like and don’t finish. That’s not the case here. Although some are better than others, all the stories in THE BLUE RELIGION are good.

Michael Connelly is a fine choice to edit an anthology of cop stories, and in addition to a short but effective introduction, he contributes a nice Harry Bosch story. Other stories I particularly liked are by relative newcomer John Buentello and old pro Edward D. Hoch, as well as some well-known authors I haven’t read before such as Laurie R. King, Peter Robinson, and Alafair Burke. I’ll have to try some of their novels. Two stories are historical pieces, the moody and atmospheric Western “Burying Mr. Henry” by Polly Nelson and “Oaths, Ohana, and Everything” by Diana Hansen-Young, set in 1898 Hawaii, which manages to get a novel’s worth of plot into novelette length; I thought both of them were very good. But you really can’t go wrong with any of the stories in THE BLUE RELIGION, which is why it comes highly recommended by me.