Edward D. Hoch (1930–2008)

With a title like that, this should be a classic, a great book.
Sorry, it isn't.
Leslie Charteris is a ... well, at least in this entry, he is a terrible writer. He badly over-writes, trying, I guess, to make his character a real character. I just could not finish the first story.
Even Michael Gilbert's "The Cleaners" disappoints, and he's usually dependable.
Dorothy Sayers' "The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey" doesn't really meet expectations, and she is nearly always better.
Well, maybe my three-star rating is off. Maybe two would be more accurate, but you read this small collection, knowing all the people connected, except maybe Charteris, usually do, not just better, but well, and you decide.… (more)

I stumbled on Hoch totally by fortuitous accident. Hoch, who died in 2008, was a prolific short story writer with several series to his credit. Perhaps the most famous involves Nick Velvet, a thief who specializes in stealing very odd, often worthless things. For example, why steal three letters (only a certain three) from a building sign and do it while being watched by the police; or, why steal all the water from a certain swimming pool on a certain day, or a rare tiger from a zoo. He accepts only a huge flat fee for his work. Velvet has to be a detective as well as a thief in order to suss out the reasons behind the peculiar requests. He does, and sometimes it requires turning tables on his employer.

This volume also contains stories about Rand, the spy master. Like Velvet, Rand needs to play detective often to figure out the motives behind people’s actions.

I’m hooked and intend to read all the 950 stories. They’re charming.… (more)

In my experience, collections of the "year's best" short stories offer works that vary a good bit in (perceived) quality. This collection is no exception.
Despite inclusion of some notable authors (Westlake, Block, and Rendell), I did not find much in terms of real stand-outs, among a group of stories that struck me as ordinary to mediocre. One exception is Clark Howards' "The Dublin Eye" (ranked at 4 stars by me), while selections by Lawrence Block and Michael Z. Lewin were a cut above the rest.

Finally, one has to wonder at the ethics of editor Edward D. Hoch at having chosen one of his own stories among the year's best, especially given that it was (in my estimation) the poorest short story of the group.

Below are listed the stories, with my own ratings (on a scale of 1 to 5 stars).

Lawrence Block: “By the Dawn’s Early Light” 3*
Peggy Wurtz Fisher: “The Pickup” 2*
Stephen Greenleaf: “Iris” 2*
Reginald Hill: “The Worst Crime Known to Man” 2*
Edward D. Hoch: “The Vanished Steamboat” no *
Clark Howards: “The Dublin Eye” 4*
Michael Z. Lewin: “The Reluctant Detective” 3*
John Lutz: “High Stakes” 2*
Gregory McDonald: The Robbery” 2*
Shannon O'Cork: “Well Worth It” 1*
John Pachter: The Dilmun Exchange” 1*
Bill Pronzini: “Skeleton Rattle Your Mouldy Leg” 1*
Ruth Rendell: “Father’s Day” 1*
Donald E. Westlake: “After I’m Gone” 1*… (more)