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Brothers published in same book

Stories by home-grown crime writing brothers Doug and Jim Allyn are included in the 21st edition of “The Best American Mystery Stories” released Oct. 7 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Doug Allyn’s “Puncher’s Chance” and Jim Allyn’s “The Master of Negwegon” lead off the anthology which contains 20 short stories selected by guest editor John Sandford and series Editor Otto Penzler. The local connection is heightened in that Negwegon State Park is situated on the Lake Huron shores of Alpena and Alcona counties between Ossineke and Black River.

The selection process for the anthology involves Penzler reviewing hundreds of magazines, journals, books and websites over the course of the year, then turning over his 50 favorites to an accomplished guest editor to make the final 20 choices. The book is available on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, in bookstores and many other online stores.

John Sandford is the pen name for Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Camp, author of 26 novels, most recently “Extreme Prey.” Penzler, a well-known mystery editor, publisher, columnist and owner of New York’s The Mysterious Bookshop, has edited more than 50 crime-fiction anthologies.

The Allyn brothers grew up in Alpena and graduated from Alpena High School, Alpena Community College and both attended the University of Michigan. Doug Allyn resides in Montrose and Jim Allyn in Black River, where together they own some 280 acres of recreational property.

Stories by both authors have appeared in past issues of the “Best American Mystery” series, but this is the first time they have appeared together. Their stories in the anthology were first published during 2016 in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.

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