The Blue Religion

Michael Connelly, ed.

3/23/2008

Police are a special breed of people. They have a stressful job. They rarely receive the wages, recognition, or appreciation they should earn. Yet mystery novels are full of them - both as the main character and as a necessary background character. This collection of short stories are all about police men and women.

Michael Connelly is the editor of this collection of 19 tales presented by the Mystery Writers of America. The writers represented have a well document history of mystery writing. A few of the stories are straight "go find and arrest the bad guy" tales, but most are stories about general life and the behind the scenes of police men or women.

My favorite is probably "A Certain Recollection" by John Buentello with the retired policeman. The cutest story is "The Serial Killer" by Jon L. Breen. The other writers are James O. Born, Alafair Burke, Jack Fredrickson, Leslie Glass, Paula Guyot, Diana Hansen-Young, John Harvey, Edward D. Hoch, Laurie R. King, Polly Nelson, T. Jefferson Parker, Peter Robinson, Greg Rucka, Bev Vincent, Persia Walker, and Paula L. Woods. Michael Connelly's story, Harry Bosch, is featured in his short story, "Father's Day".

The tales range across many different crimes and time periods. There are stories of revenge, planning, and accidents. There are triumphs and mistakes. Police are people just like the rest of us. These stories show their humaness and strike chords with the reader.

This is a wonderful collection. I recommend it to any mystery lover or anyone who wants to sample the genre.

You can find more about this book at .

Notice: Some violence and sexual allusions

Provided for review