Sex and crime—genre fiction mainstays—come together with "literary" writing in a new anthology edited by bestselling crime writer SJ Rozan and Jonathan Santlofer. 

Bestseller SJ Rozan says she and co-editor Santlofer came up with their idea over lunch at Grand Central Station, while bemoaning the lack of respect for crime fiction.   What about a collection of stories by writers from both sides of the fictional fence?  The result is The Dark End of the Street: New Stories of Sex and Crime by Today's Top Authors.  Some of those authors, including Lee Child, Amy Hempel, Francine Prose, and Rozan herself, read provocative excerpts from the book at the Center for Fiction on May 11th. 

Bon Mots

On creating the anthology: It got to be a sort of 'Let's put on a show--I've got costumes in the barn.'—SJ Rozan

On mixing literary and crime writers: It really, we think, shows that a story is a story is a story.—Jonathan Santlofer.

On cheating:  Mrs. Greed...had the kind of glee that meant men did not think she slept around, they thought she had joie de vivre.—Amy Hempel, from "Greed."