#Review CWA Anthology of Short Stories @OrendaBooks @annecater

 

** My thanks to the wonderful Karen Sullivan at Orenda Books and Anne Cater for my copy of this book and for inviting me to be part of the blog tour **

 

Description:

Crime spreads across the globe in this new collection of short stories from the Crime Writer’s Association, as a conspiracy of prominent crime authors take you on a world mystery tour.

Highlights of the trip include a treacherous cruise to French Polynesia, a horrifying trek in South Africa, a murderous train-ride across Ukraine and a vengeful killing in Mumbai. But back home in the UK, life isn’t so easy either. Dead bodies turn up on the backstreets of Glasgow, crime writers turn words into deeds at literary events, and Lady Luck seems to guide the fate of a Twickenham hood.

Showcasing the range, breadth and vitality of the contemporary crime-fiction genre, these twenty-eight chilling and unputdownable stories will take you on a trip you’ll never forget.

Contributions from:
Ann Cleeves, C.L. Taylor, Susi Holliday, Martin Edwards, Anna Mazzola, Carol Anne Davis, Cath Staincliffe, Chris Simms, Christine Poulson, Ed James, Gordon Brown, J.M. Hewitt, Judith Cutler, Julia Crouch, Kate Ellis, Kate Rhodes, Martine Bailey, Michael Stanley, Maxim Jakubowski, Paul Charles, Paul Gitsham, Peter Lovesey, Ragnar Jónasson, Sarah Rayne, Shawn Reilly Simmons, Vaseem Khan, William Ryan and William Burton McCormick

 

My Thoughts & Review:

For those of you who read this blog on a regular basis (you are much appreciated and I cannot thank you enough for stopping by), you will notice that I review the odd short story here and there, but never crimes ones.  The reason for this is that I like my crime reads to be meatier, to be more fleshed out and like to get carried away with the story.  But I decided it was time to step out of my comfort zone and see what I was missing out on.  Reading through the list of contributing authors for this anthology, it’s like a who’s who of the brilliant and best out there and with a few names that I am a huge fan of, how could Orenda Books do me wrong?

Like many readers, when I first picked this book up I instantly wondered how this would be best read…should I just start with the first tale by Ann Cleaves and work my way through?  Should I pick out stories that jumped out immediately and read them first?  Decisions, decisions…..
In the end, I went for the option of picking my favourite authors and honing in on their pieces first.  The first tale that I read was by William Ryan, who wrote one of my favourite novels The Constant Soldier, the piece that he has written is very different from his usual style of writing and I LOVED IT!  There’s so much detail and tension packed into a few pages, the story crackles and fizzes with excitement, it oozes suspense and had me desperate to see it expanded into a full length novel to find out more about the characters, especially Angela!
Fans of Anna Mazzola are in for a real treat, she manages to pack in some of the most tense and foreboding writing into just a few pages that will leave readers gasping.  From there I quickly raced to find the piece written by Ragnar Jónasson and was not disappointed.  Each and every one of the stories in this book is excellent, all different and all utterly fantastic!  Like a child in a sweetshop, I jumped from one spot to another, deciding to read stories as they jumped out to me, and it was the perfect book to pick up in between those pesky housework chores.  Do an load of ironing, reward yourself with a cuppa and a story or two….worked for me!

Would I recommend this book?  Absolutely, in a heartbeat!  If there are authors that you’re not sure about whether you might like their style of writing then this is a great book for you.  I admit that previous to this, I had not read anything by one or two of the authors listed (their books are in my ever growing “to be read” pile, but other things keep sneaking in front of them), so it was nice to get a feel for their writing and it has meant that there’s a book snuck it’s way closer to the top as I really enjoyed what I found.  I won’t mention names (certain bloggers will chastise me for my glaring omission in crime fiction).

In short, this is a cornucopia of talented writers, writing some of their best ideas and sharing them with us very lucky readers!

 

You can buy a copy of CWA Anthology of Short Stories via:

Amazon UK
Wordery
Book Depository
Blackwell’s

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