title: The Adventure of the Missing Detective: And 19 of the Year's Finest Crime and Mystery Stories! (Year's Finest Crime & Mystery Stories)
author: Edward Gorman
description: The editors of <i>The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories</i> annual have changed the series' name, but continue to gather superior stories augmented by various "state of the mystery" reports. Jon L. Breen provides an overview of 2004's trends and awards. Edward D. Hoch looks at the year's short story collections and anthologies as well as nonfiction works in the field. Sarah Weinman, who surveys the development of mystery blogs, also selected the three entries that were published online. One of them, the chilling "Just Pretend" by Martyn Waites, is the gem of the anthology, which includes such name authors as Robert Barnard, Laura Lippman and Jeffery Deaver. The overall quality isn't as strong as some of its five predecessors, but the volume still offers its share of standouts, among them Val McDermid's wryly humorous "The Consolation Blonde" and Joyce Carol Oates's "The Banshee," which leaves readers hanging till the very end and beyond. <i>(Feb.)</i> <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
zlib_text: > WHAT HE DID
  
  > A TOTALLY GRIPPING CRIME THRILLER
  
  > J.G. ROBERTS
  
  > ![](Images/image00160.jpeg)
  
  > > BOOKS BY J.G. ROBERTS
  
  THE DETECTIVE RACHEL HART SERIES
  
   _1\. Little Girl Missing_
  
   _2\. What He Did_
  
  * * *
  
   **As Julia Roberts**
  
  THE LIBERTY SANDS TRILOGY
  
   _Life’s a Beach and Then…_
  
   _If He Really Loved Me…_
  
   _It’s Never Too Late to Say…_
  
  * * *
  
   _Christmas at Carol’s_
  
   _Carol’s Singing_
  
  * * *
  
   _Alice in Theatreland_
  
   _Time for a Short Story_
  
  * * *
  
   _One Hundred Lengths of the Pool_
  
  Available in Audio
  
  THE DETECTIVE RACHEL HART SERIES
  
   _1\. Little Girl Missing_ (Available in the UK and the US)
  
  > CONTENTS
  
  >  _Prologue_
  
  >  _Chapter 1_
  
  >  _Chapter 2_
  
  >  _Chapter 3_
  
  >  _Chapter 4_
  
  >  _Chapter 5_
  
  >  _Chapter 6_
  
  >  _Chapter 7_
  
  >  _Chapter 8_
  
  >  _Chapter 9_
  
  >  _Chapter 10_
  
  >  _Chapter 11_
  
  >  _Chapter 12_
  
  >  _Chapter 13_
  
  >  _Chapter 14_
  
  >  _Chapter 15_
  
  >  _Chapter 16_
  
  >  _Chapter 17_
  
  >  _Chapter 18_
  
  >  _Chapter 19_
  
  >  _Chapter 20_
  
  >  _Chapter 21_
  
  >  