Brown, Sandra, ed. Love Is Murder: Thriller 3. Mira. June 2012. c608p. ISBN 978-0-7783-1344-1. $24.95. Fiction. Short Stories.
The third International Thriller Writers anthology (after Thriller 2: Stories You Just Can't Put Down) offers 29 stories of romantic suspense by authors who range from veterans with many books in their arsenal (e.g., Lee Child, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Heather Graham) to those who have only recently made their debut. Though one or two pieces are forgettable, the collection as a whole is a cornucopia of delights. Readers will find sexy, edgy stories; spooky, supernatural, and paranormal suspense; heavy action; great twists (some of O'Henryesque brilliance), tales of black ops featuring female (and male) heroes, naked women, hard men, and husbands/wives/honeymooners/lovers in peril. Not to mention hostages, terrorists, traitors, kidnappers, murder victims (of course), sympathetic vigilantes, bad cops, prison gang enforcers, stalkers, cross-dressers, drug cartel hit men, bodyguards, and much more. As editor Brown notes in her foreword, romantic suspense is a potent mix of genres giving readers an emotional thrill that crackles with electricity.
VERDICT Hang on, fans, you're in for a wild ride! In the end, love may be murder, but it also conquers all—or make that almost all. Highly recommended, with something for everyone. [The reviewer is a member of ITW but has never met or corresponded with the authors.—Ed.]