Book cover of Cutting Edge: New Stories of Mystery and Crime by Women Writers

Book description

A chilling noir collection featuring fifteen crime and mystery tales and six poems from female authors.

Joyce Carol Oates, a queen-pin of the noir genre, has brought her keen and discerning eye to the curation of an outstanding anthology of brand-new top-shelf short stories (and poems by Margaret Atwood!). While…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Cutting Edge as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Sheila Kohler, a mentor of mine whose work is featured in this thrilling collection, is fond of saying that suspense arises from putting a vulnerable character in a dangerous situation. A literary writer of the highest caliber, Sheila knows how to generate the suspense that keeps the page turning. Crime fiction has a long history going back to Dostoevsky and beyond, to the great tragedians—the commission of a crime entails motive, means, and is inherently dramatic. This eclectic selection of mystery and female noir, edited by Joyce Carol Oates, features superstar writers like Edwidge Danticat, Margaret Atwood, Sheila Kohler, Elizabeth…

From Carol's list on themed anthologies.

If you love Cutting Edge...

Book cover of Existential Smut 2

Existential Smut 2 by Hapax Legomenon,

Stories, essays & dialogues about art, imagination & the erotic life. A young man named Charles writes a series of erotic tales, and his bookish friend Lisa offers light-hearted critiques of them.

Some stories feel like erotic meditations or random erotic moments in a young man's life. Others start with…

Want books like Cutting Edge?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Cutting Edge.

Browse books like Cutting Edge

Book cover of Fire & Water: Stories from the Anthropocene
Book cover of Unlocked: A Paper Lantern Writers Anthology
Book cover of Lions Roaring Far From Home: An Anthology by Ethiopian Adoptees

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,298

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Cutting Edge, you might also like...

Book cover of Astral Travel

Astral Travel by Elizabeth Baines,

Jo Jackson believes she has put behind her difficult childhood with a charismatic but sometimes violent father. One day, however, out of the blue, she is moved to write about him. Immediately she comes unstuck, face to face with things that don't add up, and a growing sense of mystery…

Book cover of Memento: A Novel in Dreams, Thoughts, and Images

Memento by Cordelia Schmidt-Hellerau,

Sine, a professor of creative writing, accompanies Sam, a neuroscientist, on a conference trip to a Hotel Castle. Sam wants to present a new device, the "monitor." Sine hopes to recover from tending to her mother who just passed away. 

When they arrive, Sine is in a dream-like state. Real…

5 book lists we think you will like!