Foreword / Otto Penzler -- Introduction / John Grisham -- The golden road (to unlimited devotion) / David Avallone -- Home game / Craig Faustus Buck -- Under the blackjack tree / V. P. Chandler -- Jamming at jollies / Tracy Falenwolfe -- Totality / James Hearn -- The art of disappearance / April Kelly -- Eat my moose / Erika Krouse -- The other brother / Tom Larsen -- Same old song / Billie Livingston -- Only a story / Kai Lovelace -- The secret menu / Sean McCluskey -- Mister George / Richard A. McMahan -- Dream stuff / Lou Manfredo -- Her dangerously clever hands / Karen Odden -- A new weariness / Anna Scotti -- Snapshot / Shelagh Smith -- Effie's oasis / Casey Stegman -- The lost and the lonely / Lamont A. Turner -- Run and gun / Joseph S. Walker -- Through thick and thin / Andrew Welsh-Huggins -- The problem of Cell 13 / Jacques Futrelle -- The best mystery stories of 2025 honor roll

"From over 3,000 considered stories published in the past year, this anthology contains the twenty best, selected by #1 New York Times bestselling author John Grisham under the auspices of New York City's legendary crime fiction specialty store The Mysterious Bookshop. Included are tales of suspense, detection, and puzzlement that illuminate the diversity of styles contained under the "mystery" umbrella and highlight some of the greatest practitioners of the short form working today, with a blend of household names and lesser known writers no less worthy of your attention."--