Hey, did you hear the one about the debut novelist? Probably not, in today’s crowded marketplace, and that’s the whole idea behind KILLER YEAR: STORIES TO DIE FOR … , a 2008 anthology of “new” crime writers finally available in a mass-market edition. It’s edited by already established thriller writer Lee Child, creator of the Jack Reacher series.

He’s got 13 authors he’d like to introduce you do, most of whom just had his or her first novel come out in 2007. It’s kinda like how every year, the filthy rich hold a debutant ball to introduce their daughters to the world. Except here, there isn’t a bunch of horse-faces.

In her intro, M.J. Rose paints a bleak view of the publishing world, casting it as a sinking ship. So why shouldn’t fellow crime writers hold hands and help each other out, even if their works essentially are duking it out for space and sales? After all, there’s strength in numbers, and KILLER YEAR proves that story after story.

Arranged alphabetically, the collection begins with Brett Battles’ “Perfect Gentleman,” a gripping tale set amongst the bar whores of the Philippines. In a 180˚ setting change, Robert Gregory Browne’s “Bottom Deal” casts an ex-cop as a two-bit magician in Vegas, seeking the murderer a friend. Both the allure and the sleaze of the 24/7 neon city is well-captured. Bill Cameron offers a brief tale of revenge – of son for nagging mother – in “Slice of Pie,” played for bitter comic effect.

Around the time of KILLER YEAR’s original publication, BOOKGASM’s crime columnist Bruce Grossman had singled out Sean Chercover’s BIG CITY, BAD BLOOD as his favorite book of the year, and after reading Chercover’s “One Serving of Bad Luck,” it’s easy to see why. Featuring BIG CITY’s P.I. protagonist, it’s a taut number about an insurance investigation. One wouldn’t expect “taut” and “insurance” to go together, but they do, and this sits among KILLER YEAR’s top tier.

Two boys discover a knife-wielding black girl in a hole in the floor of their fort in Derek Nikitas’ unsettling – if a bit confusing-in-coda – “Runaway,” while Gregg Olsen digs into his past for the autobiographical “The Crime of My Life.” Its last line will punch you in the gut.

No shock, but Duane Swierczynski’s “Death Runs Faster” is the sparkling diamond in this bag of precious gems, with a concise crackler about a lowly Philadelphia City Hall security guard on Christmas Eve. In exactly 10 pages, he manages to throw in sex, drugs and the mob, even though the protagonist spends most of the story standing in line. Alive with Swierczynski’s quick, clipped style and jet-black humor, this is all the more remarkable being a rare second-person narrative.

There’s also a grieving mom with a political vendetta (Allison Brennan), a hostage situation with Tarantino-esque time scrambling (Toni McGee Causey), a wronged wife with a Hitchcockian reveal (J.T. Ellison), a juvenile youth crossing the wrong crooked cop (Patry Francis), a construction laborer stumbling into trouble (Marc Lecard), a convenience store robbery gone wrong (Jason Pinter), a twisted romance with an O. Henry twist (Marcus Sakey) and a college student avenging his doomed roomie (Dave White).

Surprisingly, there’s not a dud in that whole bunch. However, I have to single out Ken Bruen. He has done some excellent work pairing up with Jason Starr, but his solo “Time of the Green” is mired in a quasi-poetry, arbitrarily punctuated style that is far more annoying than artful.

In the end, no matter, because KILLER YEAR still stands strong as a most pleasurable anthology. I came away with a number of new authors to check out, and it’s a shame it never became an annual event. –Rod Lott

Get it at Amazon.