The Best American Mystery Stories 2014will be selected by “writing powerhouse” (USA Today) Laura Lippman. With her popular Tess Monaghan series and her New York Times best-selling standalone novels, Lippman has greatly expanded the boundaries of modern mystery fiction and psychological suspense.The 20 entries in series editorOtto Penzler’s18th annual collection of crime stories impress with their quality, diversity, and almost complete absence of private detectives or policemen as main characters. The many gems include “Almost Like Christmas,” a recently discovered, heart-wrenching story by the lateJoseph Heller,as well as selections from such well-known mystery writers asJames Lee Burke(“Getting Across Jordan”) andMegan Abbott(“My Heart Is Either Broken”). There are also strong offerings from mainstream authors, such asRussell Banks’s“Former Marine,” which is about an elderly bank robber and his sons, andAnnie Proulx’s“Rough Deeds,” which reaches back to colonial times.Charlaine Harrisdisplays her sly wit in “Small Kingdoms,” in which a high school principal defends her turf, andMatthew Neill Null’s“Gauley Season” takes readers wild river rafting in West Virginia, where not all dangers come from the water.Guest editor “writing powerhouse”Laura Lippmanhas chosen wisely.“With so many great authors contributing to this fiction collection . . . it doesn’t take detecting skills to discover the gem. And every story dazzles . . . These stories, in prose both elegant and compelling, get to the heart of why people do what they do.” -USA Today