This form has a special kind of magic, the ability to transport you quickly, intensely, to capture character, time, place, and story with immediacy, writes guest editor Lisa Unger in her introduction. The transporting stories in this yearsThe Best American Mystery and Suspenseare populated by those who exist on the fringe of our society and want more than what life has dealt them: A haunted veteran turned career criminal is on the run. An injured fighter turned bouncer seeks vengeance for his lost love. An assassin on his last job finds himself questioning his life choices and breaks all the rules to understand his final victim. By turns thrilling and enlightening, each story, according to Unger, will have you holding your breath, flipping the pages, will leave you thinking about people and why they do the dark, dangerous, frightening things that they do.

The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023includes Ashley-RuthM. Bernier William Boyle S.A. Cosby Jacqueline Freimor JamesA. Hearn Ladee Hubbard A.J. Jacono Adam Meyer Silvia Moreno-Garcia Walter Mosley Leigh Newman Joyce Carol Oates Margaret Randall Annie Reed Anthony Neil Smith Faye Snowden Jervey Tervalon JosephS. Walker Thaai Walker Jess Walter