MatchUp

The assumption was that the mix of top writers would result in a number of excellent stories.
Unfortunately that is not the case, the mix of styles is very disappointing and the result is rather flat.

What happened? I have thoroughly enjoyed all the Reacher books...except this one. I almost read like someone else wrote it. Did not care for it at all. and while we're chatting, the movie was awful. Why would they cast a 5'7" man in a 6"7 roll? Ruined the whole movie. Sorry.

Almost every story in this collection is a winner, and all are interesting as introductions to characters and authors with which I was not familiar. I loved the Jack Reacher/Temperance Brennan story, but others got me interested in looking up other episodes with the lead characters - which is undoubtedly what the authors hoped! I've already ordered the companion (and earlier) volume, "Face Off".

Almost every story in this collection is a winner, and all are interesting as introductions to characters and authors with which I was not familiar. I loved the Jack Reacher/Temperance Brennan story, but others got me interested in looking up other episodes with the lead characters - which is undoubtedly what the authors hoped! I've already ordered the companion (and earlier) volume, "Face Off".

“Matchup” is a must-have anthology for every mystery reader. It is a collection of eleven unexpected short stories by twenty–two top mystery writers. In this collection, each female author was paired with a male writer, and each diverse pair collaborated on one story. These partnerships produced some outstanding tales with complexity and surprise. I previously read “Faceoff” and thought nothing could beat that anthology, but this one certainly comes close, perhaps even outdoing that book. These partnerships will probably never write together again, making the collection even more intriguing.
A collection such as this allows a fan of mystery books to read and finish a compelling story all in one sitting. It is perfect for plane trips, car rides, appointments, or while waiting for car repairs. (You know where I have been this week.) I always have a couple of anthologies ready to pick up when I leave the house. With this one, I have already read a couple of the selections more than once because they were just so off-the-wall interesting.
I received an advance copy of this collection from Simon and Schuster to review, and it makes great reading when waiting for others (CHILDREN) to finish practice, or lessons, or games, or meetings, or after-school events – and the list goes on! I can read these mystery “matchups” again and again and love them each time.

As with most short story anthologies, there were excellent stories and others that were just okay. My favorites were:
1. Honor & . . . by Brown and Box. I haven't read any Lee Coburn or Joe Pickett novels, but after reading this short story, I'll give one or both of their series a try.
2. Footloose by McDermid and James. I love both of these authors and seeing Tony Hill and Roy Grace working together in this hilarious short story was a special treat.
3. Short Story by Slaughter and Koryta. I've never read Jeffrey Tolliver or Joe Pritchard novels, but after reading this short story, I'll give one or both of their series a try.
4. Deserves to be Dead by Jackson and Sandford. I enjoy the Regan Pescoli series but haven't tried the Virgil Flowers novels. So I'll give the Virgil ones a try.
What I didn't like so much:
A. Faking a Murderer by Reichs and Child. I enjoy the Temperance Brennan series but never thought Jack Reacher would be my cup of tea. This story confirmed it. This Matchup/Mashup felt especially contrived and I don't think the two characters meshed very well.
B. Past Prologue by Gabaldon and Berry. I enjoy the Cotton Malone series but am not into fantasy and time-traveling plots, so I didn't completely like this story. The best thing in it was Cotton himself.
C. Rambo on their Minds by Lynds and Morrell. I have enjoyed books by Morrell, but the Liz Sansborough character didn't seem authentic to me. She was just too perfect, too smart, too athletic, etc. (Okay, maybe I'm a little jealous of this too perfect specimen of womanhood?)
D. Dig Here by Harris and Gross. This story reminded me why I stopped reading the Harper Connelly series. Harper's creepy incestuous relationship with her brother put me off years ago and as their weird relationship continues, I will continue to stay away from the series. However, Ty Hauck intrigued me, so I will give his series a try.
E. Midnight Flame. I am not into fantasies, so I didn't even read this one. The story lost me at the word "vampire".
F. Getaway by Scottoline and DeMille. This was the biggest disappointment in the book. I am a huge fan of Scottoline. But this story seemed so shallow and lightweight. The best thing that came out of it was the introduction to John Corey, who also intrigued me. So I might give his series a try.
G. Taking the Veil by Jance and Van Lustbader. This was also a disappointment. I am a fan of the Ali Reynolds series, but the mashup with Bravo Shaw and his Gnostic Observatines was just too unbelievable that I didn't bother finishing the story. A monk/priest who is also a Rambo-type figure? I just couldn't suspend my disbelief long enough to finish.

-Lee Coburn and Joe Pickett in “Honor & …” by Sandra Brown and C.J. Box – 5 stars
-Tony Hill and Roy Grace in “Footloose” by Val McDermid and Peter James – 4 stars
-Temperance Brennan and Jack Reacher in “Faking a Murderer” by Kathy Reichs and Lee Child – 5 stars
-Jamie Fraser and Cotton Malone in “Past Prologue” by Diana Gabaldon and Steve Berry – 3 stars
-Liz Sansborough and Rambo in “Rambo on Their Minds” by Gayle Lynds and David Morrell – 3 stars
-Jeffrey Tolliver and Joe Pritchard in “Short Story” by Karin Slaughter and Michael Koryta – DNF
-Harper Connelly and Ty Hauck in “Dig Here” by Charlaine Harris and Andrew Gross – 5 stars loved it
-Regan Pescoli and Virgil Flowers in “Deserves to be Dead” by Lisa Jackson and John Sandford – 5 stars
-Lucan Thorne and Lilliane in “Midnight Flame” by Lara Adrian and Christopher Rice – 4 stars
-Bennie Rosato and John Corey in “Getaway” by Lisa Scottoline and Nelson DeMille – 5 stars
-Ali Reynolds and Bravo Shaw in “Taking the Veil” by J.A. Jance and Eric Van Lustbader – 5 stars

This audio book was very well done. It was read by nine different people and that definitely helps you to transition through the different stories.

The idea of MATCHUP is simple, the execution complex. Take 22 authors of thriller literature and pair them and their most notable characters up by opposite --- not to say opposing --- sex. It would be easy to call it a gimmick, but it isn’t. It’s similar in execution to FACEOFF, a collaborative author effort edited by David Baldacci some years back that did not utilize the boy-girl pairing. This new effort is more than intriguing. Any one of these stories could be included in a master anthology and boldly shoulder its way to the forefront.

Lee Child --- whose own Jack Reacher has an encounter with Kathy Reichs’ Temperance Brennan in “Faking a Murderer” --- did yeoman’s work in editing this anthology. Child also provides short introductions to each of the stories as well as to the collection itself. The authors, all members of the International Thriller Writers, were separated by viewpoint, geography and, with respect to some of their characters, time, yet somehow made each and every one of the 11 stories in this smartly put-together volume memorable.

Some of the pairings seem (and are) natural. Val McDermid and Peter James bring their respective Tony Hill and Roy Grace characters to “Footloose,” about a pair of gruesome discoveries that lead to a larger crime. It’s a well-done short mystery, with a series of dark puns and wisecracks --- the kind that you hear around crime scenes --- taking the edge off of the grimness of the investigation. And what could be more natural than a meeting of the creative muses of Gayle Lynds and David Morrell? If I were approached to create an anthology of this nature, this is the first pairing I would reflexively consider. Lynds and Morrell founded the International Thriller Writers, and a tale titled “Rambo on Their Minds” brings Morrell’s iconic creation into contact (in a manner of speaking) with Lynds’ groundbreaking and glass-busting Liz Sansborough in a story that features kidnapping, ransom, revenge and mayhem. One wishes it would go on for far, far longer.

There are other pairings that don’t seem to compute at first, but somehow mesh seamlessly. I couldn’t picture Sandra Brown’s Lee Coburn with C.J. Box’s Joe Pickett, but “Honor &...” which opens MATCHUP, sees the two working together, even as they rub the edges off of their considerable differences by the end of the tale. A collaboration between J.A. Jance and Eric Van Lustbader would also seem to work against the conventional wisdom (for reasons that Child notes in his brief but fascinating introduction to the story), but “Taking the Veil,” about a hunt for the legendary veil of St. Veronica, draws Ali Reynolds and Bravo Shaw into the back end of Arizona where they are thrown together but function quite well, against the odds.

However, the biggest surprise in the volume is “Midnight Flame” by Lara Adrian and Christopher Rice. Adrian and Rice write fine, separate series separated by geography and a quarter-century. But “Midnight Flame” brings Adrian’s Lucan Thorne from Boston to New Orleans for a short but momentous meeting with Rice’s Lilliane, in which the fates of their respective breeds hang in the balance. It’s indeed a surprise, and a welcome one, particularly if one reads paranormal or romantic suspense fiction on a less than regular basis, and features an occasional good-natured if expected jibe at a certain mainstream series as well.

I can’t pick a winner here. I just can’t. The aforementioned “Faking a Murderer” brings Child’s Jack Reacher into contact with Reichs’ Temperance Brennan. Reacher comes to Brennan’s aid when her reputation as a forensic expert is called into question over whether a certain deceased was murdered or committed suicide. Reacher has the answer, and for good reason. “Deserves to Be Dead” by Lisa Jackson and John Sandford takes place in Montana, where Sandford’s Virgil Flowers, ostensibly on one of his many vacations, finds himself reluctantly involved in a murder investigation with Jackson’s complicated but extremely expert Regan Pescoli in a tale that leads them both to places and crimes far beyond a single homicide. And there are several other stories, by Diana Gabaldon and Steve Berry, Karin Slaughter and Michael Koryta (worth buying MATCHUP for all by themselves), Charlaine Harris and Andrew Gross (file that one under “who would have thought, but it works, and works well”), and Lisa Scottoline and Nelson DeMille.

Don’t attach any importance to the stories I summarized over the ones that I did not. Each original story here does exactly what a project of this sort is supposed to do: draw in fans of each author, expose authors to readers unfamiliar with their work, and make everyone who cracks the binding on the volume happy. MATCHUP succeeds on all counts.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Lee Child took 22 well known authors paired two of them together. Each other bringing their out style of writing and merging it with another author. Bring together the most amazing anthology I have read in a long time. Either authors voice was over powering the authors voice and in fact I couldn't tell you where one ended and one began with each new story.

The Match up has something for everyone From Historical to paranormal from Thriller to Crime the authors work so well together you are not sure where one begins and one ends. This Anthology gives readers a chance to try out a new set of authors, stories and genre to find something a little different.

Can I pick just one story out of the out of the collection that I enjoyed more than the others?
The ones that I enjoyed the most were Lee Child and Kathy Reichs brings together Jack Reacher and Dr.Temperance Brennan in Faking a Murder and Lisa Jackson and John Sandford in Deserves to be dead.
Each story brings characters together in unexpected ways. into a story together. What could be better than that?

In a nut shell this series is the perfect beach read you get every genre you are looking for an a more to try out.

Thank you to Netgalley for the Advance Copy.

MatchUp takes 11 best female thriller writers and pairs them with 11 best male thriller writers.
I absolutely loved this book. Each short story has a review below the title. I plan to meet many characters in the author's other books.

-Lee Coburn and Joe Pickett in “Honor & …” by Sandra Brown and C.J. Box
"The man was a bulldog. The worst kind," said Lee Coburn to Joe Pickett.
"One of these times you pop up like a Whac-A-Mole, they're going to blow your head off," said Pickett to Coburn.
Both Coburn and Pickett find themselves against each other then against idiots with a cause. Great read. A tension that built throughout the story. Characters that I want to get to know even better.

-Tony Hill and Roy Grace in “Footloose” by Val McDermid and Peter James
I've never read anything like this. Talk about an original. Someone deranged mind is killing girls with perfect feet and removing them. The story, exciting and the characters, interesting. I look forward to meeting Tony Hill and Roy Grace in other Val McDermid and Peter James novels.

-Temperance Brennan and Jack Reacher in “Faking a Murderer” by Kathy Reichs and Lee Child
The opening scene, a conference of American Academy of Forensic Sciences. That had my interest right away. I like anything to do with Jack Reacher, no Temperance Brennan. Both are unique, strong and determined characters. Well-matched.
"Were you out sick the day they taught thinking?" Reacher.
For Brennan: Reacher saw 37 hours of anger and outrage and frustration on her face, channeling into some kind of deadly focus.

-Jamie Fraser and Cotton Malone in “Past Prologue” by Diana Gabaldon and Steve Berry
Melding the 18-century (Time Travel) with modern-day hero Cotton Malone. Written in 1st person, present tense. Cotton is a bookstore owner. (Something I'd love to do.) At a book auction in a remote Scotish castle, Cotton meets Madame LeBlanc and other eccentrics. What a story. What a twist.

-Liz Sansborough and Rambo in “Rambo on Their Minds” by Gayle Lynds and David Morrell
Setting: Blue Ridge Mountains. (A place I'd love to visit). Liz Sansborough is kidnapped. Her fiance gets the video and instructions. "The best weapon a human has is his mind," Rambo. What a thriller. The action continued throughout the entire story, speeding up at the end. And... what an ending. Makes me want to read other books that Liz Sansborough is in.

-Harper Connelly and Ty Hauck in “Dig Here” by Charlaine Harris and Andrew Gross
Ty Hauch, a rough and gritty detective, meets Harper Connelly, a young woman who after being hit by lightning is able to locate dead bodies, then able to visualize their last moments. A girl is missing in Egypt and Hauch and Harber are tasked to find them. In Harper's mind, she is tasked to locate Stephanie Winters
This was unlike any story I'd ever read. Weird. Unique. I liked the story more for the characters than the plot.

-Regan Pescoli and Virgil Flowers in “Deserves to be Dead” by Lisa Jackson and John Sandford
Virgil Flowers simply wanted to fish and get away from police work. That didn't happen. Someone was murdered. Detective Regan Pescoli and Virgil Flowers investigate.
What a story. Twists and suspense all the way through. I liked the characters of Pescoli and Flowers. Makes me want to read more books where they're the main characters. The surprising ending is one I'll remember for a long time.

-Bennie Rosato and John Corey in “Getaway” by Lisa Scottoline and Nelson DeMille
John Corney needs to get away. A friend lets him borrow his cabin. "The problem with doing nothing, as he always said, is not knowing when you're finished."
Bennie Rosato was supposed to spend a romantic weekend with her boyfriend. Didn't happen. Both hadn't planned for the adventurous weekend.
Heart thumping thriller with two strong-willed characters trying to figure out what's going on in the middle of the forest. I loved this short story. I read fast because the action moved at a super speed. I look forward to reading more about Bennie Rosato and John Corney in their respective books.

-Ali Reynolds and Bravo Shaw in “Taking the Veil” by J.A. Jance and Eric Van Lustbader
Setting: Black Hills, Arizona 1601, then present day. A rare church treasure is found, then lost because the man who found it was captured. Bravo Shaw enlists the aide of Ali Reynolds, who is an expert in technology. Together can they find the lost treasure and restore it back to the church?

This is a collection of short stories. Each story is a collaboration between 2 authors, which is an interesting concept. The stories cover multiple genres so there is something for everyone here. There are too many stories to review each individually, but I will say most were good, some better than others. If you don't have time to sit down and read a full length book this is the perfect solution for you. It also gives you the perfect opportunity to try a new author. Thank you to net galley for an advanced copy.

Twenty-two of the best contemporary mystery/thriller writers teamed up to write eleven amazing short stories. Each story is written by a pair consisting of one woman and one man, and each pair brought together one of the protagonists for which they are famous.

There is so much good to say about this book. The introduction to each story is almost as fascinating as the story itself as it provides a look into how each team worked. Some of the authors were accustomed to writing short stories; some had never written them before. It is ever easy to see how much fun they all had writing the stories and putting this book together.

It also provides one an opportunity to read something different from authors one may already love, but also be introduced to authors of which one has never read. Each of the stories is wonderfully done, even the one which may make some rather uncomfortable.

"Matchup" is a delightful break from the ordinary and a perfect books to read when one only has a few minutes here and there.

MATCHUP (Anthology-Various-Various-Contemp) – VG+
Child, Lee and Sandra Brown (eds)
Simon & Schuster – June 2017