by Don Winslow
First published 2025
A disgraced former police officer stands at his front door, weapon drawn, facing a moment that will define his relationship with his ex-wife and the neighbor who has complicated their lives. Nearby, someone's decision to experiment with hallucinogens strips away the comfortable lies of friendship, exposing something far more sinister underneath. Across town, a professional killer confronts an assignment that challenges everything he thought he understood about his work. Guest editor Don Winslow has assembled twenty tales that pivot on precise, devastating moments. Each story builds toward those critical instants where a single word or action transforms everything that came before. The collection features work from Caroline Kepnes, Tod Goldberg, Ann Aptaker, and other masters of the form. These stories deliver sudden reversals, carefully planted evidence, and revelations that reframe entire narratives, proving that short fiction can pack the same punch as any full-length thriller.
Genres: short-stories, anthologies, suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: sudden-reversal, unreliable-narrator
Period: 2025
383 pages · Kindle Edition · Mariner Books