The editors of this wonderful collection of 22 short crime stories set out with a mission to ‘gather together for the very first time, authors from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, including African American, Asian, First Nation, Aboriginal, Latinx, Chinese-American and Nigerian’, who were committed to achieving agency for their writing. They have succeeded spectacularly.
Vaseem Khan’s story, ‘Death in Darjeeling’, pairs female detective, Persis Wadia, with Archie Blackfinch, a criminalist from the Met, stationed in Bombay. They head into the foothills of the Himalayas to investigate the suspected murder of a teacher.
Using all of her considerable skills, Australian author Sulari Gentill, takes us back to post-World War I outback New South Wales in her tale ‘A Murder of Brides’. Harriet and Gus are travelling wedding photographers who visit country towns offering portraits to newly wed couples. They also, on occasion, are called upon to photograph crimes scenes, in these early days of forensic investigation. Harriet’s natural curiosity and investigative skills assists her in solving a murder.
From the noir hip-hop screenplay ‘The Ten Lessons of Big Matt Silver’, to Paradise ‘Lost’, a tale of comeuppance for ex-con man in exile on a tiny island in the Caribbean, and a cheeky gem, ‘For Marg’ from The Last Guests author J P Pomare, this anthology is the perfect bedtime, read-it-in-a flash book for lovers of crime and good writing alike.
Reviewed by Maryanne Vagg
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Vaseem Khan is the author of two award-winning crime series set in India, the Baby Ganesh Agency series set in modern Mumbai, and the Malabar House historical crime novels set in 1950s Bombay.
His first book, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, was selected by the Sunday Times as one of the 40 best crime novels published 2015-2020, and is translated into 17 languages. The second in the series won the Shamus Award in the US. In 2018, he was awarded the Eastern Eye Arts, Culture and Theatre Award for Literature.
In 2021, Midnight at Malabar House won the Crime Writers Association Historical Dagger, the world’s premier award for historical crime fiction. When he isn’t writing, he works at the Department of Security and Crime Science at University College London. Vaseem was born in England, but spent a decade working in India. Vaseem also co-hosts the popular crime fiction podcast, The Red Hot Chilli Writers.
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