The Best American Mystery Stories 2020

“Justice” by Pamela Blackwood. First published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, January/February 2019. Copyright © 2019 by Pamela Blackwood. Reprinted by permission of Pamela Blackwood.

“Home Movie” by Jerry M. Burger. First published in The Briar Cliff Review, Spring 2019. Copyright © 2019 by Jerry M. Burger. Reprinted by permission of Jerry M. Burger.

“Deportees” by James Lee Burke. First published in The Strand Magazine, October to January 2019/2020. Copyright © 2019 by James Lee Burke. Reprinted by permission of James Lee Burke.

“Second Cousins” by Michael Cebula. First published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September/October 2019. Copyright © 2019 by Michael Cebula. Reprinted by permission of Michael Cebula.

“The Surrogate Initiative” by Brian Cox. First published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, September/October 2019. Copyright © 2019 by Brian Fox. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Shanty Falls” by Doug Crandell. First published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, January/February 2019. Copyright © 2019 by Doug Crandell. Reprinted by permission of Doug Crandell.

“The Duelist” by David Dean. First published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May/June 2019. Copyright © 2019 by David Dean. Reprinted by permission of David Dean.

“Security” by Jeffery Deaver. First published in Odd Partners, edited by Anne Perry, Mystery Writers of America Press. Copyright © 2019 by Jeffery Deaver. Reprinted by permission of Jeffery Deaver.

“Rhonda and Clyde” by John M. Floyd. First published in Black Cat Mystery Magazine, November 2019, Wildside Press. Copyright © 2019 by John M. Floyd. Reprinted by permission of John M. Floyd.

“On Little Terry Road” by Tom Franklin. First published in From Sea to Stormy Sea, edited by Lawrence Block. Copyright © 2019 by Tom Franklin. Reprinted by permission of Tom Franklin.

“See Humble and Die” by Richard Helms. First published in The Eyes of Texas, edited by Michael Bracken, Down & Out Books, 2019. Copyright © 2019 by Richard Helms. Reprinted by permission of Richard Helms.

“All This Distant Beauty” by Ryan David Jahn. First published in Mystery Tribune #8, Winter 2019. Copyright © 2019 by Ryan David Jahn. Reprinted by permission of Ryan David Jahn.

“Miss Martin” by Sheila Kohler. First published in Cutting Edge, edited by Joyce Carol Oates, Akashic Press, 2019. Copyright © 2019 by Sheila Kohler. Reprinted by permission of Sheila Kohler.

“The Most Powerful Weapon” by Jake Lithua. First published in The Odds Are Against Us, edited by Oren Litwin, Liberty Island. Copyright © 2019 by Oren Litwin. Reprinted by permission of Oren Litwin.

“Baddest Outlaws” by Rick McMahan. First published in After Midnight: Tales from the Graveyard Shift, edited by Phoef Sutton. Copyright © 2019 by Richard A. McMahan. Reprinted by permission of Richard A. McMahan.

“What Ever Happened to Lorna Winters?” by Lisa Morton. First published in Odd Partners, edited by Anne Perry, Mystery Writers of America Press. Copyright © 2019 by Lisa Morton. Reprinted by permission of Lisa Morton.

“Girl with an Ax” by John Sandford. First published in From Sea to Stormy Sea, edited by Lawrence Block. Copyright © 2019 by John Sandford. Reprinted by permission of John Sandford.

“Pretzel Logic” by dbschlosser. First published in Die Behind the Wheel: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of Steely Dan, edited by Brian Thornton, Down & Out Books, 2019. Copyright © 2019 by dbschlosser. Reprinted by permission of dbschlosser.

“Nightbound” by Wallace Stroby. First published in At Home in the Dark, edited by Lawrence Block, Subterranean Press, 2019. Copyright © 2019 by Wallace Stroby. Reprinted by permission of Wallace Stroby.

“The Last Hit” by Robin Yocum. First published in The Strand Magazine, July to November 2019. Copyright © 2019 by Robin Yocum. Reprinted by permission of Robin Yocum.