MASTERS OF SUSPENSE: BIRDS, STRANGERS, AND PSYCHOS edited by MAXIM JAKUBOWSKI

Few directors have had as much cultural and artistic impact as Alfred Hitchcock. For close to a century, his films influenced as many fiction writers as filmmakers Therefore it made sense for writer and editor Maxim Jakubowski's latest anthology to look at Hitch in Birds, Strangers, and Psychos.

Some of the authors take a Hitchcock trope or concept and play in their own sandbox with it. Joe and Keith Lansdale track how a misunderstanding at a "Coat Check" escalates into a couple of killings. Lee Child used the claustrophobic train setting for hie hired killer in "Birds On a Train". William Boyle uses the idea of the double and drops it in one of his Brooklyn working class settings for "Arlene". Some, like Denise Mina and Sophie Hannah, prove when you are doing a Hitchcock homage in prose you also end up tipping your hat to Patricia Highsmith.

Others take directly from the movies themselves. Peter Swanson shows how some teenagers are influenced by one of his classics with "Strangers On a School Bus". James Grady has fun dropping North By Northwest easter eggs in his ripping spy thriller that takes place on the train known as the "Empire Builder". In "Russian Hill", Jerome Charyn views Vertigo from a different angle.

The most interesting stories come deal with Hitchcock's career or the man himself. Kim Newman, a film historian as well as fiction writer, deals with someone like himself receiving gifts connected to many of the movies that you could call "Alfred Hitchcock Presents".'Peter Lovesey utilizes the script form to give the host a starring role in an episode of his anthology series in "Killing Hitchcock". Lily Samson follows the life of an extra who appears in many of his films and becomes obsessed with "Hitchcock Blondes Have More Fun".

Jakubowski has rounded up twenty-five authors on both sides of the pond and it's exciting to see how each approaches their task. It's also interesting to see how the U.S. and Brits each take on this very English director who did most of his known work in America. You'll be find entertaining reading that will lead to entertaining viewing.