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

Written by Joyce Carol Oates

Narrated by Xe Sands

Joyce Carol Oates, a queenpin 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 bad men are not always the victims in these tales, they get their due often enough to satisfy listeners who are sick and tired of the gendered status quo, or who just want to have a little bit of fun at the expense of a crumbling patriarchal society. This stylistically diverse collection will make you squirm in your seat, stay up at night, laugh out loud, and inevitably wish for more.



Featuring brand-new stories by: Joyce Carol Oates, Margaret Atwood (poems), Valerie Martin, Aimee Bender, Edwidge Danticat, Sheila Kohler, S. A. Solomon, S. J. Rozan, Lucy Taylor, Cassandra Khaw, Bernice L. McFadden, Jennifer Morales, Elizabeth McCracken, Livia Llewellyn, Lisa Lim, and Steph Cha.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Highbridge Company
• Release date: Nov 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781684573455

Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates is a novelist, critic, playwright, poet and author of short stories and one of America’s most respected literary figures. She has written some of the most enduring fiction of our time, including We Were the Mulvaneys and Blonde. She is the Roger S. Berlind Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Princeton University and a recipient of the National Book Award and the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction.

Reviews for Cutting Edge

[thomaspluck · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A thoroughly entertaining anthology of fine stories! Particularly enjoyed stories by Solomon, Joyce, Lim, Martin, Llewellyn, Kohler, and Cha, but I didn't skip a one.

[ridgewaygirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a collection edited by Joyce Carol Oates and it shows. The collection is distinctly noir-tinged and the pieces focus largely on domestic situations or ones with a striking power imbalance. Oates has also assembled an impressive roster of authors here, from Edwidge Dandicat to Aimee Bender; there's no lack of talent on display.

There's an enormous variety to the pieces here. Most stories fit well into the crime genre, from Valerie Martin's Il Griffon, a classic noir about a young married woman living in an old apartment building in Rome; to Lisa Lim's bleak and unsettling illustrated domestic drama, The Hunger. There are also some pieces that sit outside traditional genre parameters, but fit beautifully with the themes of the collection, from Bernice McFadden's sharp-edged satire, OBF, Inc., to six poems by Margaret Atwood, to a creepily atmospheric story about a museum, An Early Specimen by Elizabeth McCracken.

This is a solid and well-conceived collection. Not a single author sent in a mediocre offering. But considering who was editing this collection, is that any surprise?

[figre · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Face it, the minute you put Joyce Carol Oates’ name as editor on a book, high expectations abound. And the idea of a collection of mystery and crime stories – noir – all written by women makes for an added draw.

Oh, how high expectations lead to great falls.

The collection starts out very nicely. Livia Llewellyn’s story about a young girl and her relationships with her friend and the friend’s father comes out slowly, eerily, and subtly. We think we know what is going on, but don’t want to be sure. The end is equally satisfying.

And therein ends anything worth mentioning. The remainder of the stories do not provide anything new, do not provide any real excitement, and do not even show a particular writing skill level that would evidence their inclusion in any collection. Even the final piece by Ms. Oates, while at least crafted well, does not really go anywhere – or, at least, anywhere worth going.

I cannot recommend this collection. It quite simply falls flat on all counts.

[bookmarque · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I did a lot of skimming.

The stories are very violent and trying too hard to be "independent" - equal or feminist doesn't mean having a female character act or think like a man just because it can be done. Being a whack job psycho doesn't make you equal or better, just sick and degenerate like the men you claim to loathe.

Pass. Not recommended.

[mm_jones · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoy a good collection of short stories and faithfully read Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine when I didn't have enough time to read a complete book. This collection of sixteen new stories by female writers is categorized as Crime and Mystery Noir and edited by the inimitable Joyce Carol Oates. Although dark in nature, this is a fun read with exposure to authors you may not have read. Unfortunately I did not become so attached to any of the stories as to hunt down the author's works.
I was not expecting graphic or poetry in a collection of stories, but others may enjoy.
Book courtesy of Akashic Book and Library Thing Early Reviewers.

[glendalea_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had mixed feelings about this collection. Some of the stories were total stand-outs ( Assassin by Joyce Carol Oates, A History of the World in Five Objects by S. J. Rozan, and Too Many Lunatics by Lucy Taylor are the first ones to come to mind), but there were others I just didn't care for. Not that they weren't well-written, I just didn't connect with them the same way I did with the others. Overall a strong showing and one I would still recommend, even with my lack of enthusiasm over some of the offerings.

[sean191 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Akashic has been putting out the Noir series for a while now and I've read 8 or 9 I think at this point. If you're familiar with the series, you'll know they almost always pick a locale for the theme and then have writers from that area do a story about the area. This collection's a bit different. It wasn't centered on a locale. The theme was women writers. Maybe it was due to not having to link to a particular place, or maybe Joyce Carol Oates just isn't pulling punches, but this was noir extra strength. These stories were dark! That doesn't mean they weren't good- because again, if you've ever read an Akashic noir collection, you know they are amazing with how well they select their stories. Maybe it's just that women have hit way past their limit with the world today and have channeled it into a collection of stories to give a heads up to meatheads out there that they're not to be messed with.

[danajean_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a terrific group of stories! I am delighted to recommend this to everyone.

Usually in anthologies, there are weak stories. That's just how it goes. Or maybe I shouldn't say weak, but stories that don't speak to the reader in any special way, or bring anything creative or new to the reader to think about or to learn from.

Each writer in this case presented us a unique gift with different strengths and styles. Well written and engaging, I remained entertained from beginning to end. And because it is such a strong book as a whole, it demanded your attention -- which was easily given.

The artwork was beautiful in some cases, childlike but intriguing in others, I love artwork included in books. I wish there would've been more. Expose me to art!

If I had one twinge of yikes with this book, I wish it didn't have to be marketed as "new stories of mystery and crime by women writers."

Unfortunately, the ignorant will see that and think it's some weird affirmative action -- we are women, hear us roar -- crap. So, there are men and women who won't read it just because of their own biases and preconceived notions about what it will contain.

And some might say, fine, we don't want those people reading our work anyway. And I would say, no, not fine. Those are the very people who should be reading good writing. This should've been marketed as "new stories of mystery and crime" PERIOD. Grab that reader honestly and let them discover halfway through, if they notice at all, that this book is all women writers. WOW.

For the record, I don't like any books where a group of people are labeled or singled out: This is a great book of Christian writers. This is a great book of African American writers. This is a great book of Gay and Lesbian writers. This is a great book of women writers.

They are writers. World Builders. Talented people who challenge me and entertain me. Why do we feel this need to market like this?

Just my rant. I loved this book. Wonderful job, all of you!

[diana.hauser · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

CUTTING EDGE: NEW STORIES OF MYSTERY AND CRIME BY WOMEN WRITERS is a noir anthology edited by Joyce Carol Oates. It is a new offering by Akashic Books and has a similar format to its very popular and excellent Noir series. CUTTING EDGE differs in that it tells its ‘stories’ with a “defiantly female, indeed feminist, perspective”.

“Is there a distinctive female noir? Is there, as some have argued, a distinctive female voice, differing essentially from the male voice?” (p.5)
CUTTING EDGE answers that question with (I think) a resounding Yes.

CUTTING EDGE includes a Table of Contents; an Introduction by the editor, Joyce Carol Oates; an About the Contributors Section (which is very interesting).
The anthology is divided into III parts - - - Their Bodies, Ourselves - A Doom of One’s Own - Manslaying. There are 16 stories. One ‘story’ consists of 6 poems by Margaret Atwood.
Contributors include: Livia Llewellyn, S.J. Rozan, Lisa Lim, Lucy Taylor, Edwidge Danticat, Jennifer Morales, Elizabeth McCracken, Bernice L. McFadden, Aimee Bender, Steph Cha, S.A. Solomon, Cassandra Khaw, Valerie Martin, Shelia Kohler, Margaret Atwood, Joyce Carol Oates.
(Note: Lisa Lim is also the illustrator of her story.)

The writing is mesmerizing. It is true noir with an intended female perspective. I was on the edge of my seat reading each story. Some of my own descriptions would include: suspenseful, realistic, terrifying, cruel, sinister, devious, squirm in my seat worthiness, comeuppances, revenge, hysteria, definitely cringe-worthy, scary, disgusting, murder, decapitation, truly evil, chilling, sad, revolting.

Some of my mumbled comments include: “Get ‘Em!”, “This is sickening to read”, “Death always made her hungry”, I can’t really blame Claudia for the murders. Does that make me a murderer and a deranged lunatic, too?”, “ Why does this sh** always happen in trailer parks?”, “I can see Andrew’s soul leaving his body”, “I couldn’t/wouldn’t be that forgiving”, “Wow”, “Hard Life”, “ So pertinent”, “What are we talking about here? - Mermaids?, Fantasy?, Medieval torture?” “I am shivering and there is a fire in the heat stove”.

I didn’t have a favorite story, although “One of these nights” was especially chilling and cold-blooded. They were all noir at its grittiest.
My favorite poem was ‘Update on Werewolves’.
Thank you to Akashic Books for providing me with an ARC (Advance Reading Copy) of this book.