The Best American Mystery Stories 1997,[1] [2] a volume in The Best American Mystery Stories series, was edited by guest editor Robert B. Parker with Otto Penzler.[3] The series editor chooses about fifty article candidates, from which the guest editor picks 20 or so for publication; the remaining runner-up articles listed in the appendix.
| Author | Story | Source | |
| Doug Allyn | "Blind Lemon" | Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine | |
| "Hot Springs" | Murder for Love | ||
| "The Weekender" | Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine | ||
| "The Dark Snow" | Playboy | ||
| "The Surprise of His Life" | Women on the Case | ||
| Jeremiah Healy | "Eyes That Never Meet" | Unusual Suspects | |
| Melodie Johnson Howe | "Another Tented Evening" | Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine | |
| "The Mark" | Playboy | ||
| "The Things We Do for Love" | Murder for Love | ||
| "Lou Monahan, County Prosecutor" | Guilty as Charged | ||
| "Karen Makes Out" | Murder for Love | ||
| "Red Clay" | Murder for Love | ||
| "Mrs. Feeley is Quite Mad" | |||
| "Will You Always Love Me?" | Will You Always Love Me? And Other Stories | ||
| "When You're Hungry" | Unusual Suspects | ||
| "Hoops" | Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine | ||
| "Doblin's Lecture" | Private Writings | ||
| "Kindred Spirits" | Last Days of the Dog-Men | ||
| John Weisman | "There are Monsterim" | Unusual Suspects | |
| Monica Wood | "Unlawful Contact" | Manoa |
| Author | Story | Source |
| Jan Adkins | "Barratry" | Unusual Suspects |
| Jamie Andree | "Wishing Ball" | Fish Stories 2 |
| Jessica Auerbach | "Police Report" | Unusual Suspects |
| "Backlash" | Night Bites | |
| "On Killymoon" | Quarterly West | |
| William J. Caunitz | "Dying Time" | Murder for Love |
| "My Murder" | Unusual Suspects | |
| "Miles to Go" | Women on the Case | |
| Jacqueline Freimor | "The B Rules" | Murderous Intent |
| "Famous Blue Raincoat" | Cemetery Dance | |
| "Kiss the Sky" | Unusual Suspects | |
| Paul Griner | "Boxes" | Playboy |
| "Hitman" | Night Screams | |
| "The Problem of the Enormous Owl" | Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine | |
| "The Banzai Pipeline" | Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine | |
| "Exit 85" | Cemetery Dance | |
| Lawrence Starling | "Desire Lines" | |
| "Shock" | Unusual Suspects | |
| "Running from Legs" | Murder for Love | |
| "The Holes in the System" | Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine | |
| "The Love of a Good Woman" | The New Yorker | |
| "Rolling Stones" | The Midwesterner | |
| Donald Olson | "The Stone House" | Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine |
| "Pizza Man" | Playboy | |
| "Strangers on a Plane" | Unusual Suspects | |
| "The Burglar and the Whatsit" | Playboy | |
| Carolyn Wheat | "Cruel and Unusual" | Guilty as Charged |
| "Dr. Joe" | Diagnosis Terminal | |
The Best American Mystery Stories 1997
. Krewson. John. AUX. 2018-09-12. en-US.