DEADLY HOUSEWIVES is a themed anthology of 14 never-before-published mystery short stories, all revolving around the role of the housewife. While men should be comfortable in their masculinity before tackling this book, it is a nice surprise to see that not all the villains are men. An additional surprise is that the big name contributors really don’t have the best work here. For the sake of collectors, let’s run down the contents.

Julie Smith (“The One That Got Away”) has a great little tale of small-time crooks and the requisite twist is nicely played. Nevada Barr’s “GDMFSOB” is a short, slightly disappointing piece that doesn’t showcase her talent properly. Christine Matthews’ “The House of Deliverance” features a creepy, suspenseful vibe, but then fritters it away with an ending that seemed out of character. Matthews also edited the book and deserves kudos for marshalling a large and capable cast.

The first real bang comes from Carole Nelson Douglas’ brilliant “Lawn and Order,” about a disaffected senior citizen who deeply resents the change in her domestic arrangements. This is followed by equally strong efforts from Nancy Pickard (“Joy Ride”) and Elizabeth Massie (“The Next-Door Collector”) which are tight, lively stories – the type Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine used to publish – and the latter of which has a clever clue planted very early on that I missed until just now.

Sadly, Sara Paretsky’s “Acid Test” is just okay – a bit workmanlike, with characters that just didn’t sing to me. And Barbara Collins’ “Trailer Trashed” just tries too darn hard to be funny. But Denise Mina changes the ambience with a wonderfully nasty piece of work in “An Invisible Minus Sign,” and Vicki Hendricks continues the brutal chill with “Purrz, Baby” – two clear examples of why you should never trifle with a woman.

The book closes with S.J. Rozan’s “The Next Nice Day,” Marcia Muller’s “He Said…She Said” (the best of the big hitters), Suzann Ledbetter’s “How to Murder Your Mother-In-Law” and Eileen Dreyer’s “Vanquishing the Infidel,” which is absolutely hilarious from word one to the end. A real winner. Also included are some author bios, and neat little essays from each contributor that focus on domesticity or the genesis of their stories, and even some recipes are shared.

So what’s the overall verdict? Since these are all original stories and haven’t been published elsewhere, if you collect or even like any of the above authors, you should pick up the book. Even the stories that are less than perfect are readable, and there isn’t a bum tale in the bunch. Plus, stories like Dreyer’s and Douglas’ are what make an anthology worth the effort: They turn you on to writers you may have missed otherwise. This is an excellent purchase for any mystery lover, whether or not the theme has any special relevance for you. –Mark Rose

Buy it at Amazon.