It all started with a dare. Global bestselling author Harlan Coben pitched an idea to fellow members of the International Thriller Writers, challenging them to come up with a short story that has at its heart a different bird of prey.

The result is BIRDS OF PREY, which is ably edited by Coben and C.J. Box, the latter of whom also provides a piece. Coben’s prologue, which is filled with outrageous dad jokes and bird puns, is worth the price of admission all by itself in a collection that needs to be savored.

Here are four stories that especially stood out for me:

"With the clever minds of some of the best thriller writers in the business, BIRDS OF PREY will entertain readers in many different ways."

“The Coffin Bearer” by Tess Gerritsen. Each author is given the chance to write a brief intro to their story explaining their inspiration for the bird of prey that they chose. In this case, Gerritsen makes reference to the seagulls that fill the coastal portion of her home state of Maine. The narrator hears them before she sees them in the opening paragraph while on her way to Gam Island. However, it is when the gulls begin to shriek in unison that she starts getting concerned. She is there to find the body of Ben Bouchard, whose remains lie beneath the choppy waters of the Atlantic.

“Precious Cargo” by C.J. Box. Box’s story features the falcon, which he often comes across in his tales set on the open plains of Idaho. The Jessup family is enjoying a camping expedition that comes with a fishing guide, among other things. But their perfect outdoor vacation is literally crashed by a suspicious mountain climber whose arrival may not have been by chance.

“Owl” by Kathy Reichs. Best known for her Temperance Brennan series, Reichs steps out of her comfort zone to write a story involving a spy who is known only as “Owl.” Owl is spending a nondescript evening at a Washington, D.C. pub when he is approached by an agent from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. What comes next is a journey into the heart of the country’s alien history, which has been made very apparent in the year of “disclosure.” The tale is extremely clever, as is the fact that Owl’s actual identity is not revealed until the final pages.

“Silent as a Shadow” by S. A. Cosby. Cosby speaks to how he was raised to appreciate and respect rural folk legends. His contribution to this book centers on a scam involving a clever young man working at a pharmacy who finds himself in the debt of a local drug lord who expects payment in pharmaceuticals. He is able to turn the tables on this precarious situation in an unexpected way. But even more unexpected is the bizarre fashion that Cosby introduces his bird-of-prey influence into the story.

I love short story collections that are based on a theme, and this one is brilliant. Birds of prey are rarely seen in modern fiction. With the clever minds of some of the best thriller writers in the business, BIRDS OF PREY will entertain readers in many different ways.