WOMEN ON THE CASE

This sequel to A Woman's Eye (1991) packs 26 all-new or newly translated stories, linked for the most part not only by their female authors and sleuths, but for their focus on issues of special concern to women (most of them would be unrecognizable with men in the leading roles). Despite repeating nine authors from her earlier anthology, Paretsky has cast her net even wider this time, going to Germany (Pieke Biermann), Austria (Helga Anderle), Russia (Irina Muravieva), Algeria (Amel Benaboura), Argentina (Myriam Laurini), and Australia (Susan Geason), and publishing first stories by Andrea Smith (an uppity black cop) and Dicey Scroggins Jackson (a disappearance from a women's shelter). With the notable exception of Sue Grafton, virtually all the big names in the field are represented—Nancy Pickard, Liza Cody, Ruth Rendell, Elizabeth George, Linda Barnes, Susan Dunlap, Marcia Muller, Lia Matera—but none of the entries outclasses the editor's own deft tale of a murdered mystery writer who seems like a cross between Camille Paglia and Sara Paretsky. Most notable as a barometer of the impressive verve and variety of contemporary women's mystery writing.