“What you’ll find in this volume are stories that demonstrate a mastery of plotting; stories that compel you to keep turning the pages because of plot and because of setting; stories that wield suspense like a sword; stories of people getting their comeuppance; stories that utilize superb point of view; stories that plumb one particular and unfortunate attribute of a character,” promises guest editorElizabeth Georgein her introduction.The Best American Mystery Stories 2016is a feast of both literary crime and hard-boiled detection, featuring a seemingly innocent murderer, a drug dealer in love, a drunken prank gone terribly wrong, and plenty of other surprising twists and turns.Short story fans will find much to enjoy in series editorOtto Penzler’shighly readable 20th annual best-of anthology. Among the 20 contributors are such genre giants asElmore Leonard(“For Something to Do”) andStephen King(“A Death”), but lesser-known authors prove more than able to hold their own. “Little Men,” an Edgar finalist byMegan Abbott, delivers delicious twists and dreamlike prose in a ghostly story of death set in 1950s Hollywood. “Safety” byLydia Fitzpatrickstrikes close to home with the tale of a school shooting, imbuing the characters with humanity. AndEvan Lewissuccessfully riffs on Hammett’s “The Continental Op” with “The Continental Opposite,” whileRobert Lopresti’s“Street of the Dead House” plays with Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” by relating the familiar story from the perspective of the killer ape. Those looking for a quick fix of suspense and intrigue won’t be disappointed.Elizabeth George, guest editor, is the New York Times and internationally best-selling author of twenty British crime novels featuring Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his unconventional partner, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers. Her crime novels have been translated into thirty languages and featured on television by the BBC.Otto Penzler, series editor, is a renowned mystery editor, publisher, columnist, and owner of New York’s The Mysterious Bookshop, the oldest and largest bookstores solely dedicated to mystery fiction. He has edited more than fifty crime-fiction anthologies.