Isabel Allende, on writing:

 

Writing is a calling, not a choice.

- Isabel Allende.

Recommended reading - The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023

The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023

by Lisa Unger and Steph Cha.

Published by Mariner Books.
Published 2023.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0063315815
ISBN-13: 978-0063315815
 
Description:

"In this selection of tales exploring crime-sparking marginalization and thwarted desires, guest editor Alafair Burke and debut series editor Steph Cha have created a powerful vehicle for processing 2020’s volatility...Cha and Burke have curated a magical collection that serves as a master class in suspense writing." – Booklist.

"To Cha’s great credit, along with her guest editor, novelist Alafair Burke, this year’s edition...not only features many women and writers of color, but also pairs household names like Alex Segura, Lisa Unger and Laura Lippman...with top up-and-comers to paint a clear picture of the genre in 2021." – USA Today.

A collection of the year’s best mystery and suspense short fiction selected by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger and series editor Steph Cha.

“This form has a special kind of magic, the ability to transport you quickly, intensely, to capture character, time, place, and story with immediacy,” writes guest editor Lisa Unger in her introduction. The transporting stories in this year’s The Best American Mystery and Suspense are populated by those who exist on the fringe of our society and want more than what life has dealt them: A haunted veteran turned career criminal is on the run. An injured fighter turned bouncer seeks vengeance for his lost love. An assassin on his last job finds himself questioning his life choices and breaks all the rules to understand his final victim. By turns thrilling and enlightening, each story, according to Unger, “will have you holding your breath, flipping the pages, will leave you thinking about people and why they do the dark, dangerous, frightening things that they do.”

Born on this day – Joseph Kessel:

Joseph Kessel

Writer

Veteran of World War I & II

February 10, 1898 – July 12, 1973

Credits:

Awarded the Legion of Honour.

Books:

Army of Shadows (1944); Belle De Jour (1928); Blinded Kings (1926); Crossroads (1932); Cry of Violence (1951); Kisling (1971); Mogok, the Valley of Rubies (1960); Princes of the Night (1928); Sirocco (1947); Slave Markets (1930); The Bernan Affair (1965); The Enemy in the Mouth (1935); The Horseman (1967); The Israel I Love (1977); The Lion (1959); The Magic Touch / aka The Man With the Marvelous Hands (1961); The Man with Miraculous Hands (1961); The Medici Fountain (1963); The Road Back (1962); The Valley of Rubies (1961); They Weren't All Angels (1965); Trial and Terror (1973).

Movies and television:

A Wall in Jerusalem (1968); Ab Mitternacht (1938); Act of Love (1953); All About Yves Montand (2021); An Intimate History (2011); Apocalypse: The Second World War (2009); Army of Shadows (1969); Au Bon Beurre (1981); Au grand balcon (1949); Belle de Jour (1967 / 2000); Bibi Canta Piaf (2004); Cessez le feu (1934); Chantons sous l'occupation (1976); Cinéma 16 (1989); Dieu a choisi Paris (1969); En votre âme et conscience (1958); Flight Into Darkness (1935); Forbidden Love (1940); Fortune carrée (1955); France, song (1969); Infrarouge (2011); Italiques (1971–1972); Ivo Livi, dit Yves Montand (2011); Jean Moulin (2002); Joséphine Baker, le Musical (2023); Kessel: A Lion (2019); Kupa Kizi (1986); Kuroi doresu no onna (1985); La mort n'oublie personne (2008); La passe du diable (1958); La peur (1936); La règle de l'homme (1994); La solitude du chanteur de fond (1974); L'art et les hommes (1960); Le 16 à Kerbriant (1972); Le concert de la paix (2025); Le grand cirque (1949); Le lion (2003); Lectures pour tous (1960–1966); L'équipage (1928); Les amants du tage (1955); Les amants du Tage (1992); Les bateliers de la Volga (1936); Les heures chaudes de Montparnasse (1963); Les Nuits de France Culture (2018); Les secrets de la Mer Rouge (1937); L'invité du dimanche (1971); L'Occupation sans relâche - Les artistes pendant la guerre (2010); L'or du Rhône (1950); Mayerling (1936 / 1968); Monsieur Montand (1997); Nuits de princes (1929 / 1938); Oasis (1955); Paris express (1928); Paris: The Luminous Years (2010); Pariser Journal (1964); Pensando Sin Cansarme (2024); Projection privée (1987); Régie 4 (1968–1969); Rencontres de septembre (1961); RetroNews BnF / Podcast (2025); Salut, Jerusalem (1972); Sikkim, terre secrete (1956); Sirocco (1951); Stormy Summer (1989); The Horsemen (1971); The Lion (1962); The Night of the Generals (1967); The Passerby (1982); The Woman I Love (1937); They Are Not Angels (1947); Traître ou patriote (2000); Ukikusa nikki (1955); Voyage en Afghanistan, 1ère partie: Le desert (1967); Voyage en Afghanistan, 2ème partie: La Montagne (1967); Wilson chante Montand (2017); Wish Me Luck (1989).

Born on this day – Lon Chaney Jr.:

 

Lon Chaney Jr.

Actor

February 10, 1906 – July 12, 1973

Credits:

House of the Black Death (1971); Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971); The Female Bunch (1971); A Stranger in Town (1970); Fireball Jungle (1968); Buckskin (1968); Spider Baby or, the Maddest Story Ever Told (1967); Hillbillys in a Haunted House (1967); Welcome to Hard Times (1967); Gallery of Horror (1967); Pistols 'n' Petticoats (1966); The Monkees (1966); Johnny Reno (1966); Apache Uprising (1965); Town Tamer (1965); Black Spurs (1965); Young Fury (1964); Thunder Rock (1964); Stage to Thunder Rock (1964); Witchcraft (1964); Law of the Lawless (1964); Route 66 (1961–1963); The Haunted Palace (1963); Empire (1963); Have Gun - Will Travel (1959–1963); Rawhide (1959–1963); The Devil's Messenger (1962); Lawman (1962); The Rifleman (1962); The Phantom (1961); Surfside 6 (1961); Wagon Train (1960–1961); The Deputy (1961); Zane Grey Theatre (1961); Klondike (1961); Stagecoach West (1961); Rebellion in Cuba (1961); Bat Masterson (1960); Lock Up (1960); La casa del terror (1960); Johnny Ringo (1960); 13 Demon Street (1959); Wanted: Dead or Alive (1959); Adventures in Paradise (1959); Border Patrol (1959); The Alligator People (1959); The Texan (1959); General Electric Theater (1959); The Red Skelton Hour (1953–1959); The Rough Riders (1959); Target (1958); Money, Women and Guns (1958); Tombstone Territory (1958); The Defiant Ones (1958); Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans (1957); Climax! (1954–1957); The Cyclops (1957); Studio 57 (1956); Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer (1956); Pardners (1956); The Black Sleep (1956); Telephone Time (1956); Indestructible Man (1956); Manfish (1956); The Indian Fighter (1955); I Died a Thousand Times (1955); Not as a Stranger (1955); Cavalcade of America (1954–1955); The Silver Star (1955); Big House, U.S.A. (1955); The Black Pirates (1954); The Whistler (1954); Passion (1954); Casanova's Big Night (1954); The Boy from Oklahoma (1954); Jivaro (1954); A Lion Is in the Streets (1953); Raiders of the Seven Seas (1953); Bandit Island (1953); Battles of Chief Pontiac (1952); The Black Castle (1952); Springfield Rifle (1952); Schlitz Playhouse (1952); High Noon (1952); Thief of Damascus (1952); Tales of Tomorrow (1952); Flame of Araby (1951); The Bushwhackers (1951); Cosmopolitan Theatre (1951); Bride of the Gorilla (1951); Behave Yourself! (1951); Only the Valiant (1951); Inside Straight (1951); Once a Thief (1950); Captain China (1950); There's a Girl in My Heart (1949); The Life of Riley (1948); 16 Fathoms Deep (1948); Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948); The Counterfeiters (1948); Albuquerque (1948); My Favorite Brunette (1947); Pillow of Death (1945); House of Dracula (1945); The Daltons Ride Again (1945); Strange Confession (1945); The Frozen Ghost (1945); Here Come the Co-eds (1945); The Mummy's Curse (1944); House of Frankenstein (1944); Dead Man's Eyes (1944); The Mummy's Ghost (1944); Ghost Catchers (1944); Follow the Boys (1944); Cobra Woman (1944); Weird Woman (1944); Calling Dr. Death (1943); Son of Dracula (1943); Crazy House (1943); Frontier Badmen (1943); What We Are Fighting For (1943); Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943); Keeping Fit (1942); The Mummy's Tomb (1942); Eyes of the Underworld (1942); Overland Mail (1942); The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942); North to the Klondike (1942); The Wolf Man (1941); Badlands of Dakota (1941); Riders of Death Valley (1941); San Antonio Rose (1941); Billy the Kid (1941); Too Many Blondes (1941); Man Made Monster (1941); North West Mounted Police (1940); One Million B.C. (1940); Of Mice and Men (1939); City in Darkness (1939); Frontier Marshal (1939); Union Pacific (1939); Jesse James (1939); Road Demon (1938); Submarine Patrol (1938); Straight Place and Show (1938); Passport Husband (1938); Speed to Burn (1938); Josette (1938); Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938); Mr. Moto's Gamble (1938); Walking Down Broadway (1938); Sally, Irene and Mary (1938); Happy Landing (1938); City Girl (1938); Love and Hisses (1937); Checkers (1937); Second Honeymoon (1937); Life Begins in College (1937); Charlie Chan on Broadway (1937); Wife, Doctor and Nurse (1937); Thin Ice (1937); One Mile from Heaven (1937); The Lady Escapes (1937); Wild and Woolly (1937); Born Reckless (1937); Slave Ship (1937); Angel's Holiday (1937); This Is My Affair (1937); That I May Live (1937); Secret Agent X-9 (1937); Midnight Taxi (1937); Love Is News (1937); Cheyenne Rides Again (1937); The Old Corral (1936); Rose Bowl (1936); Killer at Large (1936); Ace Drummond (1936); Undersea Kingdom (1936); The Singing Cowboy (1936); The Shadow of Silk Lennox (1935); A Scream in the Night (1935); Accent on Youth (1935); Hold 'Em Yale (1935); Captain Hurricane (1935); The Marriage Bargain (1935); Girl O' My Dreams (1934); The Life of Vergie Winters (1934); Sixteen Fathoms Deep (1934); Son of the Border (1933); The Three Musketeers (1933); Scarlet River (1933); Lucky Devils (1933); The Last Frontier (1932); Bird of Paradise (1932); The Galloping Ghost (1931); The Trap (1922).

Born on this day – Willie Trice:

 

Willie Trice

Blues singer

Guitarist

Songwriter

February 10, 1908 – December 11, 1976

Credits:

Album:

Blue and Rag'd (1995).

Songs:

Come on in Here Mama; Goin' to the Country; Good Time Boogie; I Love You, Sweet Baby; I've Had Trouble; My Baby's Ways; New Careless Love Blues; New Diddey Wah Diddey; She's Coming on the C & O; Shine On; Troublesome Mind; Trying to Find My Baby; You Have Mistreated Me.

Born on this day – Douglas Slocombe:

 

Douglas Slocombe

Cinematographer

February 10, 1913 – February 22, 2016

Credits:

A High Wind in Jamaica (1965); A Run for Your Money (1949); All at Sea (1957); Another Shore (1948); Big Time Operators (1957); Boom! (1968); Cage of Gold (1950); Caravans (1978); Champagne Charlie (1944); Circus of Horrors (1960); Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977); Crash of Silence (1952); Dance Hall (1950); Davy (1957); Dead of Night (1945); Decision Against Time (1957); Fathom (1967); Find, Fix and Strike (1942); For Those in Peril (1944); Forever Ealing (2002); Freud (1962); Guns at Batasi (1964); Hedda (1975); His Excellency (1952); Hue and Cry (1947); Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989); Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984); Indiana Jones: Making the Trilogy (2003); It Always Rains on Sunday (1947); ITV Play of the Week (1957); Jesus Christ Superstar (1973); Julia (1977); Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949); Lady Jane (1986); Lease of Life (1954); Lights Out in Europe (1940); Lost and Found (1979); Love Among the Ruins (1975); Ludwig II: Glanz und Ende eines Königs (1955); Mackendrick on Film (2004); Murphy's War (1971); Nasty Habits (1977); Never Say Never Again (1983); Nijinsky (1980); Omnibus (1986); On Set with 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' (2012); Panic in the Parlor (1956); Promise Her Anything (1966); Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981); Richard E. Grant on Ealing Comedies (2016); Robbery (1967); Rollerball (1975); San Demetrio London (1943); Saraband (1948); Scream of Fear (1961); Ships with Wings (1941); Somewhere in France (1942); TCM Remembers 2016 (2016); That Lucky Touch (1975); The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones (1976); The Big Blockade (1942); The Blue Max (1966); The Boy Who Stole a Million (1960); The Buttercup Chain (1970); The Captive Heart (1946); The Destructors (1974); The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967); The Girl of the Canal (1945); The Great Gatsby (1974); The Italian Job (1969); The Lady Vanishes (1979); The Lavender Hill Mob (1951); The Lion in Winter (1968); The Love Lottery (1954); The Loves of Joanna Godden (1947); The L-Shaped Room (1962); The Maids (1975); The Making of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023); The Making of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' (1981); The Making of 'The Italian Job' (2003); The Man in the White Suit (1951); The Mark (1961); The Music Lovers (1971); The Oscars (2016); The Pirates of Penzance (1983); The Return (1973); The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea (1976); The Servant (1963); The Shiralee (1957); The Shrine of Victory (1943); The Third Secret (1964); The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953); Touch and Go (1955); Travels with My Aunt (1972); Tread Softly Stranger (1958); Underground Guerrillas (1943); Water (1985); Went the Day Well? (1942); Whisky Galore! (1949); Wonderful to Be Young! (1961).

Born on this day – Hazel Court:

Hazel Court

Actress

February 10, 1926 – April 15, 2008

Credits:

100 Years of Horror (1996); 100 Years of Horror: The Frankenstein Family (1996); 100 Years of Horror: The Monster Makers (1996); 12 O'Clock High (1964–1965); A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss (2010); A Woman of Mystery (1958); Adventure Theater (1956); Adventures in Paradise (1959–1960); Afternoon Film Festival (1956); Alcoa Theatre (1960); Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1958–1961); Behind the Headlines (1956); Biography (1993–1997); Bonanza (1960); Bond Street (1948); Breakout (1959); Burke's Law (1964–1965); Carnival (1946); Champagne Charlie (1944); Cinemassacre's Monster Madness (2007–2013); Corman's Comedy of Poe (2003); Danger Man (1960–1966); Dear Murderer (1947); Devil Girl from Mars (1954); Dick and the Duchess (1957–1958); Doctor Blood's Coffin (1961); Dr. Kildare (1965); Dreaming (1944); Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror (1994); Forbidden (1949); Frankenpimp's Revenge: The Romeo and Juliet Massacre (2020); Frankenstein Reborn: The Making of a Hammer Classic (2012); Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook (1991); General Electric Theater (1960); Ghost Ship (1952); Ghost Squad (1961); Gidget (1966); Goodyear Theatre (1960); Greasepaint and Gore, Part 2: The Hammer Monsters of Roy Ashton (2004); Greasepaint and Gore: The Hammer Monsters of Phil Leakey (2004); Holiday Camp (1947); Hour of Decision (1957); Hungry Hill (1947); I Used to Be in Pictures (2000); Interpol Calling (1960); Iron Horse (1966); Jane Asher on the 100th Birthday of Vincent Price (2011); Kraft Mystery Theater (1961); Mannix (1968); Markham (1959); Mary Had a Little... (1961); McMillan & Wife (1972); Meet Me at Dawn (1947); Mission: Impossible (1967); Mobile One (1975); Model for Murder (1959); My Sister and I (1948); Play the Game (1948); Playhouse 90 (1958); Present for a Bride (1954); Rawhide (1964); Richard Matheson Storyteller: The Raven (2003); Sam Benedict (1962); Showtime (1946); Stagecoach West (1961); Tale of Three Women / Segment: ‘Wedding Gift’ story (1954); TCM Remembers 2008 (2008); The Buccaneers (1956); The Curse of Frankenstein (1957); The Dick Powell Theatre (1961–1962); The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre (1960); The Farmer's Daughter (1964); The Final Conflict (1981); The Gay Cavalier (1957); The Gentle Killers (1957); The Invisible Man (1958); The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959); The Man Who Was Nobody (1960); The Masque of the Red Death (1964); The Name of the Game (1970); The Narrowing Circle (1956); The Premature Burial (1962); The Raven (1963); The Root of All Evil (1947); The Scarlet Web (1954); The Shakedown (1960); The Third Man (1959); The Twilight Zone (1964); The Wackiest Ship in the Army (1965); The Wild Wild West (1966); The World of Hammer (1994); Thriller (1961); Top Secret (1961); Undercover Agent (1953).