I loved the idea of this book, the Crime Writers Association is a UK based membership club for crime writers and every year they produce an anthology of short stories written by their members. This year the anthology is published by the ever reliable Orenda books which to me makes it even more exciting.
My Review:
If you’re a crime fan then this is the book for you! An anthology of short stories written by some of the best crime writers around is pretty much heaven for most crime readers. If you’re like me and enjoy reading books set in exotic locations then this book is pretty much perfect.
What I love about anthologies is that I get to read lots of stories by different authors and I am always introduced to new authors that I haven’t read before. This can only be a good thing but if you do find an author whose writing you don’t particularly like then it’s only a short story and so doesn’t take long to finish.
If I am totally honest this book made me realise that I don’t really enjoy reading short stories as much as full length novels. I like to be able to get right into the story and while you can do that with a short story it just doesn’t work as well as the story is over so quickly. Another thing that I realised is that I like looking forward to reading my book, thinking about the story and wondering what might happen next, but that can’t happen with a short story as you read it in one go and then it’s over and you move on to the next book.
But of course there are many positives to reading short stories and I loved the fast pace of the stories, every word mattered and so there wasn’t any wastage and things got where they were going pretty fast. Some of the stories had me holding my breath and disappointed when it finished, the majority of the stories were great, some were even better and some weren’t quite as good.
I think that this book would make a brilliant present as anyone will find something that they like and hopefully love. A non-crime reader will definitely find out whether they might like to read crime or not and if they do they’ll have some ideas of authors to try and crime fans will definitely find new authors to read.
Once again Orenda Books have produced a brilliant read with some amazing crime authors involved. I look forward to next years anthology!
Blurb:
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
The CWA Anthology of Short Stories Mystery Tour is out now and available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.
If only I could read faster 
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