A Hell of a Woman -- Edited by Megan Abbott

In 2006, David Thompson's Busted Flush Press published one of the most talked-about anthologies of the year, Damn Near Dead. This year, watch for A Hell of a Woman, because it's going to be another big hit.

So far I've read stories by Libby Fischer Hellmann, Naomi Hirahara, Vicki Hendricks, Ken Bruen, Donna Moore, Allan Guthrie, Sandra Scoppettone, Sarah Weinman, Vin Packer, SJ Rozan, and Christa Faust. There's tough, there's tender, there's even funny, and there's not a loser in the bunch. And even better, that's only about half the stories. I have a lot more to read.

And that's not even counting the appreciations of some of the authors not included in the book. (Confession: I wrote the one on Leigh Brackett.) It's supposed to hit the stores in December. You won't find a better stocking-stuffer.