– Customer review on 16/08/2011

he names Margaret Maron and Max Allan Collins on the cover of "Crimes by Moonlight" caught my eye. After discovering that this was a collection of 20 "Mysteries from the Dark Side", I was hooked. After reading each story, I can say the collection lived up to its promise. This is an excellent and varied collection of short stories by a mixture of well-known and lesser known authors.

I hadn't read anything by the editor of the collection, Charlaine Harris, prior to this. However, I loved her story about vampire Dahlia Lynley-Chivers. It was full of both adventure and humor, and I would love to read more stories about this character. Other great vampire stories in this collection are Parnell Hall's "Death of a Vampire" and Toni L.P. Kelner's "Taking the Long View". Not all of the stories were related to vampires. For example, Elaine Viets' story of second sight was suspenseful, but still included her wonderful sense of humor. I enjoyed the ghost stories by Barbara D'Amato, Mike Wiecek, and Carolyn Hart. I also liked Dana Cameron's story, which started out like a traditional mystery - until a werewolf came along! I enjoyed the collaboration of Max Allan Collins and Mickey Spillane in an unusual Mike Hammer story. There is quite a mixture of different types of stories and settings, so the collection really does have something for everyone.

I have read many collections that have only a couple of good stories, but "Crimes by Moonlight" contains one great story after the other. Fans of vampire and other paranormal stories will love this collection. In addition, those that like the work of contributing authors such as Harley Jane Kozak, Elaine Viets, and Margaret Maron, who aren't usually known for paranormal stories, will love seeing another side of these authors.