Odd Partners: An Anthology Edited by Anne Perry [Book Review and Giveaway]

I always enjoy short story collections and I don’t just say that because I’m a short story writer. Short story collections are a bit like going to a buffet or a chocolate shop. You can select from a variety of options and you try out different tastes and flavors. And that experience is no different with the book Odd Partners edited by Anne Perry.

First before I go into what I enjoyed about it, here’s a bit about the book:

Unlikely pairs join forces to crack a slew of intriguing cases in an anthology edited by New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry, featuring original stories by Jacqueline Winspear, Jeffery Deaver, Charles Todd, and many more, including Perry herself. 

Throughout the annals of fiction, there have been many celebrated detective teams: Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Nick and Nora Charles. Hercule Poirot and Arthur Hastings. Thomas and Charlotte Pitt. The latter were the creation of beloved mystery writer Anne Perry, the editor of Odd Partners. With this collection, Perry has enlisted some of today’s best mystery writers to craft all-new stories about unlikely couples who join forces–sometimes unwillingly–to solve a mystery. From Perry’s own entry, in which an English sergeant and his German counterpart set out to find a missing soldier during WWI, to William Kent Krueger’s story of a fly-fisherman and a gray wolf in the Minnesota woods trying to protect their land from a brash billionaire, to Robert Dugoni’s psychological tale of an airplane passenger who wakes up unsure of who he is and must enlist his fellow passengers to help him remember, each mystery deals in the complexities of human (and animal) interactions.

The collection features stories by New York Times bestselling authors Ace Atkins, Allison Brennan, and Robert Dugoni, as well as Edgar Award winner Joe R. Lansdale and selected members of Mystery Writers of America. With each author’s signature brand of suspense, these stories give new meaning to the word “teamwork.”


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What I Thought: 

There were a few that I enjoyed the most so I will reflect on those as well as the anthology overall. Odd Partners is about “two beings who had to cooperate with each other, willingly or by force of circumstances, to solve a crime.” (quoted from the book’s introduction) Right out of the gate, I was intrigued by the first short story called “The Nature of the Beast” by William Kent Krueger. It takes you into the setting of WWII and one man has gone rogue, so to speak, and his comrade goes off to search with him, finding an “odd partner” that will help him. This was so well done and so captivating to me. I felt like I was in the bunker and searching right along with the two main characters. The other that I enjoyed was, “What Ever Happened to Lorna Winters” by Lisa Morton. I liked the character a lot here and loved his mission to find out what happened to the actress, particularly around his unusual find at his job. If you love unsolved mysteries and old movies, you’ll love this short story. The other one I really liked was Oglethrope’s Camera by Claire Ortada. This takes you on the journey of a sneaky cat who goes out at night and brings back an unwelcomed prize to his owner. This one had a surprise ending and I love that.

Each story was unique in its own way and figuring out who the odd partners are and their connection was always half the fun. If you love a mix of mystery and surprise, you will love this book.

Be sure to add this book to your Goodreads list or pre-order a copy on Amazon.com.

Best of all, I get to giveaway a copy of the book to THREE LUCKY WINNERS! That’s right – three of you will win a copy. So, enter via Rafflecopter below. Giveaway ends on May 10th.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review. 

If you liked this, check out these:

All the Lovely Children by Andrew Nance [Book Review] Interfictions 2 – A Book for Writer’s Everywhere 29 Seconds by T.M. Logan [Book Review] Where Does Inspiration Come From? By Michael Thies [& Book Giveaway!]