Dangerous Women

Original Stories from Today's Greatest Suspense Writers

By: Edited by Otto Penzler

Narrated by: Ellen Archer, Patrick Lawlor, Michael Prichard, Simon Vance

Prepare to meet the most seductively female and the most shockingly fatal of femmes fatales, brought to you by 17 of today's finest authors of mystery and suspense fiction. Award-winning editor Otto Penzler presents a collection of short and sizzling masterpieces of kisses and kiss-offs, gams and gats, published for the first time anywhere.

In "Third Party", Jay McInerney takes you on a wild ride through the Paris night with a party girl built for speed and sin; "Rendezvous", Nelson DeMille's first short story in 25 years, plunges you into a Vietnam jungle where the bloodiest scourge of this man's army is no man at all; back in the U.S.A. of "Louly and Pretty Boy", Elmore Leonard introduces a Depression-era teenage gun moll who loves Pretty Boy Floyd more than she likes knocking off filling stations; and Michael Connelly's colorful and ironic "Cielo Azul" shows how a nameless woman left dead on a Los Angeles hillside can be the most lethal prey of all.

These and a bevy of other very bad girls cast their criminal spells through the powerful voices of Lorenzo Carcaterra, Joyce Carol Oates, John Connolly, Thomas H. Cook, Jeffery Deaver, J. A. Jance, Andrew Klavan, Laura Lippman, Ed McBain, Walter Mosley, Anne Perry, Ian Rankin, and S. J. Rozan in stories as irresistible as the antiheroines that blaze through their pages.

©2005 Otto Penzler (P)2005 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Mystery maven Penzler has gathered 17 stories from top writers for an all-original suspense anthology with results that are about the same as if a master chocolatier had assembled a new sampler box: everything of high quality but with enough variety to appeal to all tastes....It's a joy to watch these talented authors...embrace the short story form and produce magic." (Publishers Weekly)

Some good stories with HORRIBLE Narration

There are some good stories here, but the narration is seriously horrible. I skipped half the stories because I could not stand the narrators.

A waste of time. Pick another book instead.

What disappointed you about Dangerous Women?

Dangerous can be thrilling or intriguing. This book was boring and yet creepy. Who is the intended audience? Men with adolescent fantasies? These are warped women who were NOT my pleasure to know.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Dull delivery across the board.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None

disappointing

Only 2 of these stories were even tolerable. Some were so predictable as to be laughable and others were so misogynistic I couldn't finish them. The readers don't add anything to the enjoyment of the stories. Buy something else and save yourself some groaning.

Disappointing

I should have guessed that a collection with such a lame theme would result in a collection of lame stories. Elmore Leonard excepted, these are just awful. A waste of time and money.

excellent collection

listened to audiobook so I have no written record of authors and stories, hard to remember who wrote what. All completely different, all excellent. All of Penzler’s collections are wonderful, great variety. Contemporary stories as well as older works.

Rendezvous

My 5-star rating across the board does not mean the 12+ short stories were all page turners. Actually, only one, Rendezvous, held my interest to completion. But it was a huge hit with me and well worth the credit. My standard for books of short stories is pretty low. If I get 3 out of a dozen that really hold my interest, I'm happy. The story has to be good and the narrator has to be superb. There were at least three stories in which the narrator was so bad that the author never got a chance. That said, I re-read Rendezvous two times within a couple of days of reading it the first time. It is superb. The narrator is Alan Sklar, whose voice is golden. I think he is one of the very best narrators in the business.

yep women are dangerous

After the prelude, I couldn't put it down even though all short stories It definitely drew a picture of the assortment of women across life.

Great Stories and Great Narration!

I have to respectfully disagree with the reviewer who said the narration was terrible. There are 17 stories here and 5 different narrators. Each narrator added so much to the story with their intonations and expression. If you go to Amazon.com you can read the review by AudioFile who addresses the subject of the narration more in depth.

I loved most of the stories and just wanted to give you another perspective about this book. If you get this you will not be sorry!

Creepy...a little too

This selection includes a variety of stories each of which has a creepy twist. I suppose that is what one should suspect from such a collection. Those who seek a high creep-level will not be disappointed! Have at it. I love a good thriller or murder mystery however, in this collection I did not find even one likable character in the bunch. For me to truly engage is a story that features severe pathology or evil it has to be balanced by at least one redeeming character who represents or fights for good. If I could, I'd give you my copy!

Memorable Compilation

I like this listen so much that I've come back to re-listen several times since I purchased it a couple of years ago. The Joyce Carol Oates story is one of the most memorable yarns I've ever come across. This selection has me searching for audiobooks by many of the same authors and narrators. Truly worth the enjoyment!!