That’s where my protagonist, Angelo, was born in my imagination. He was a product of a system that thrived in the Ohio Valley when the steel mills were at their zenith. My late father said that the reason the Ohio Valley economy boomed was because the 60,000 steelworkers who lived and worked there spent every dime they made. A portion of those paychecks went for prostitutes and gambling. But when the mills died, there was no money for playing the daily number or the spot sheets, and there was certainly not enough money for a turn with the girls on Water Street. With no profits to be had, the mob retreated from the valley.
When that happened, I remember wondering what became of the old guard, the low-level mobsters, bagmen, and enforcers who made their money protecting the prostitutes, collecting debts, and breaking bones. You know, doing mob stuff. Does the mob have a retirement plan or offer severance packages? I’m betting no.
As the story unfolds, that’s where we find Angelo. He’s an admitted dinosaur who has lost his usefulness to the family. The story explores my version of what happens when a longstanding member of the mob is no longer mission critical. I can’t image it would be good.
Other Distinguished Mystery Stories of 2019
BENEDETTO, JAKE
Interception. The Odds Are Against Us, ed. by Oren Litwin, Liberty Island
BLACK, MICHAEL A.
Carnivores and Herbivores. Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, July/August
BOSWELL, ROBERT
The Use of Landscape. Houston Noir, ed. by Gwendolyn Zepeda, Akashic
BRACKEN, MICHAEL
The Town Where Money Grew on Trees. Tough, November 5
BUSHLOPER, LIDA
The Wannabe. Fishy Business, ed. by Linda Rodriguez, Wildside
CHAMBERS, DIANA
Trip to Paradise. Fault Lines, ed. by Margaret Lucke, Sisters in Crime Northern California Chapter
COLEMAN, REED FARREL
Sure. Anything. Mystery Tribune, Summer
COWGILL, MICHAEL
CRESEY, PAUL
Reward. Qwerty, no. 39
DANIELSON, JONATHAN
Tributary. Gulf Coast, vol. 31, no. 1
DOHERTY, JIM
Twelve Good Men and True. Black Mask, vol. 37, no. 3
DUBOIS, BRENDAN
The Workout. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May/June
GARTH, PAUL J.
Paper Boats. The Desperate and the Damned, ed. by Sandra Ruttan, Toe Six
HANSEN, PAUL
Tough Love. New Ohio Review, no. 25
HORROCKS, CAITLIN
Teacher. The Arkansas International, no. 6
JANEWAY, JUDITH
Get a Life. Fault Lines, ed. by Margaret Lucke, Sisters in Crime Northern California Chapter
JOHNSON, BOB
The Continental Divide. The Hudson Review, Summer
Finch. The Hudson Review, Spring
KNOPF, CHRIS
Catch and Release. Down to the River, ed. by Tim O’Mara, Down and Out
MCANDREW, TYLER
Letters from Toby. Epoch, vol. 68, no. 1
MCFADDEN, DENNIS
Cannibals in Canoes. Antioch Review, Summer
MONTGOMERY, SCOTT
No One Owns the Blues. The Eyes of Texas, ed. by Michael Bracken, Down and Out
OATES, JOYCE CAROL
Final Interview. The Strand Magazine, July–November
REED, ROBERT
The Province of Saints. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January/February
ROSS, J. PAUL
Gethsemane. Antioch Review, Summer
ROZAN, S. J.
Cooking the Hounds. Mystery Tribune, Winter
THIELMAN, MARK
WALKER, JOSEPH
Bonus Round. Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, May/June
WILEY, MICHAEL
Spray. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, March/April
ZELTSERMAN, DAVE
Brother’s Keeper. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May/June
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About the Editors
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C. J. Box, guest editor, is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of twenty-seven novels, including the Joe Pickett series.
Otto Penzler, series editor, is a renowned mystery editor, publisher, columnist, and owner of New York’s The Mysterious Bookshop, the oldest and largest bookstore solely dedicated to mystery fiction. He has edited more than sixty crime-fiction anthologies.
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