When I read The Blue Religion, the short story anthology edited by Michael Connelly in which "What a Wonderful World" first appeared, I was especially impressed with a few of the stories. One of them was Connelly's, of course. Stories by Alafair Burke and Ed Hoch were likewise commendable. But perhaps my favorite was from Paul Guyot.
Guyot is a veteran screenwriter -- he's worked on shows like "Judging Amy," "Leverage" and "Felicity" -- so it's no surprise that he knows how to write. But the short story medium is very different from screenwriting. Writing great shorts requires razor-sharp storytelling and elegant prose. As "What a Wonderful World" demonstrates, Guyot's got those skills in spades.
"What a Wonderful World" is the story of an obsessed cop and his search for the killer of a young woman. It's dark, atmospheric and edgy. The story moves to a jazzy rhythm, shifting from a hard-driving bop to Tommy Dorsey swing to an elegiac New Orleans funeral march. This is gorgeous stuff -- moving and real, and definitely worth your time.
Note: This is a story, not a book. But you should read it anyway.
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