J.D. O’Brien Selected for 2025 Best American Mystery and Suspense Collection

EASTHAMPTON — Western Mass.-based author J.D. O’Brien is among 20 featured writers in this year’s Best American Mystery and Suspense short fiction collection.

His story, “Outlaw Country,” follows a struggling Nashville country singer who decides the best way to get his name in lights is to commit a high-profile crime. It originally appeared in the journal Starlite Pulp and was selected for the Best American Mystery and Suspense anthology by New York Times bestselling author Don Winslow and series editor Steph Cha. The annual series features the finest mystery short fiction published in the previous year.

“It’s a big honor to be included in this collection alongside so many great writers,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien is the author of the novel Zig Zag, a 2023 Southwest Book of the Year that has been praised by leading crime writers and reviewers. He lives in Easthampton, where he is revising a draft of his second novel and working on a sequel to Zig Zag.