Ten Year Stretch

April 1, 2018

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Bristol, England's CrimeFest convention, 20 authors--including Lee Child, Sophie Hannah, Jeffery Deaver, Ian Rankin, and other authors who are considered premier writers in the crime fiction field--submitted previously unpublished short stories. Especially notable is the contribution from Scandinavian noir forerunner Maj Sjöwall, who hasn't published a novel in 40 years. While anthologies often contain stories of varying quality, readers will not be disappointed in these short accounts of crime and misadventure. Simon Brett pays tribute to traditional locked-room mysteries with "The Last Locked Room." Deaver's "Blind Date" is surprising and creepy. Rankin brings back a retired Rebus. Yrsa Sigurdardottir's "Road Trip," set entirely in and around a car, stands out as a terrifying piece. VERDICT A remarkable compilation of fresh and unexpected stories from the best in the genre.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 26, 2018
In honor of a decade of CrimeFest, Edwards and Muller have assembled top-notch talent in this entertaining anthology of 20 original short stories. Highlights include two impossible crime tales: Simon Brett’s “The Last Locked Room,” about a retired policeman’s attempts to solve the cold case of the locked-room death of his grandfather, a mystery novelist specializing in concocting such crimes; and Ann Cleeves’s “Moses and the Locked Tent Mystery,” set during a safari in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park. Mick Herron’s “How Many Cats Have You Killed?” pokes fun at the double standards of mystery readers, who easily tolerate the fictional slaughter of people, but not of cats. Maj Sjöwall fans will revel in “Long Time, No See,” about the chilling aftermath of an uncomfortable reunion of schoolmates almost 40 years after their last encounter. High-quality entries from the likes of Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver, and Ian Rankin, as well as from lesser-known authors such as Bill Beverly, elevate this above similar volumes.

February 15, 2018
Twenty short stories celebrate the 10th anniversary of CrimeFest, Bristol's annual convention of crime writers and readers.Commissioned for this volume, these brand-new stories represent the mainstream of the field, submitted by many of the best-known writers of the past decade. There are locked-room puzzles: Simon Brett's "The Last Locked Room" and Ann Cleeves' "Moses and the Locked Tent Mystery." Armchair detectives have their moment in Lee Child's "Shorty and the Briefcase." So do hit men in "Strangers in a Pub" by Martin Edwards and "Freezer Burn" by James Sallis. Psychopaths are provided by Jeffery Deaver in "Blind Date" and Yrsa Siguroardottir in "Road Trip." Maj Sjowall's "Long Time No See" and Michael Stanley's "The Ring" chronicle the tribulations of the down and out. Even geriatric criminals have their day in Donna Moore's "Daylight Robbery." Sleuths include police, like the seasoned officer in Ian Rankin's "Inside the Box," as well as private eyes featured in Sophie Hannah's "Ask Tom St Clare" and John Harvey's "Blue and Sentimental." And in honor of CrimeFest, no less than four stories feature crime writers: Brett's entry, Kate Ellis' "Crime Scene," Peter Guttridge's "Normal Rules Do Not Apply," and Mick Herron's "How Many Cats Have You Killed?" Absent from the assembled company are thrillers, supernaturals, and mood pieces that offer protracted misery without any real criminal offense.This volume is for red-meat crime fans who love murder, mayhem, and plenty of it.

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Starred review from April 1, 2018

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Bristol, England's CrimeFest convention, 20 authors--including Lee Child, Sophie Hannah, Jeffery Deaver, Ian Rankin, and other authors who are considered premier writers in the crime fiction field--submitted previously unpublished short stories. Especially notable is the contribution from Scandinavian noir forerunner Maj Sj�wall, who hasn't published a novel in 40 years. While anthologies often contain stories of varying quality, readers will not be disappointed in these short accounts of crime and misadventure. Simon Brett pays tribute to traditional locked-room mysteries with "The Last Locked Room." Deaver's "Blind Date" is surprising and creepy. Rankin brings back a retired Rebus. Yrsa Sigurdardottir's "Road Trip," set entirely in and around a car, stands out as a terrifying piece. VERDICT A remarkable compilation of fresh and unexpected stories from the best in the genre.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.