I stumbled upon Jeff Vandermeer and Mark Robert’s The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases. Written as an ole-timey medical guide, each disease and history is fabricated by modern writers.

When I found this oddly devised book, it reminded me of another collection I once read: Like a Charm by Karin Slaughter. In this collection of mysteries, each tale is based on a charm housed on the same charm bracelet. Clever presentations!

Now typically, one finds short story anthologies rely on clear and specific themes. Awards. Nationalities. Languages and orientations. Best of the Genre. Yet sometimes a compendium appears with a unexpected theme. Considering the aforementioned titles, here is a short list of some curious collections of surprising subjects…

Fishing mysteries – Hook, Line & Sinister
by T. Jefferson Parker

Postal services mysteries – Murder Most Postal
by Martin H. Greenberg

Baseball mysteries – Murderer’s Row
by Otto Penzler

Boxing mysteries – Murder on the Ropes
by Otto Penzler

Food mysteries – Death Dines at 8:30
by Claudia Bishop

Astrology mysteries – Death by Horoscope
by Anne Perry

Jazz mysteries – Murder and All That Jazz
by Robert J. Randisi

Bible mysteries – Thou Shalt Not Kill
by Anne Perry

Animal sleuths – Creature Cozies
by Jill M. Morgan

Librarians – In the Stacks
by Michael Cart

Flying – On Glorious Wings
by Stephen Coonts

Lesbian fairy tales – Once Upon a Dyke
by Barbara Johnson

Erotic obesity – Zaftig
by Hanne Blank

Civil War alternate histories – Dixie Victorious
by Peter Tsouras

Fantastic warrior women – Turn the Other Chick
by Ester M. Friesner

Wedding horror – Big Fat Supernatural Wedding & Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon
by P.N. Elrod