I am a huge fan of crime, mystery, thriller and psychological suspense books. But I must say, I have never been a big fan of short story collections … until now!

Dark Deeds Down Under has converted me. It was a pleasure to read an anthology that provided all the above genres and more at the same time as introducing me to authors I haven’t come across before. Contemporary stories are intermixed with stories set in earlier times and environs are varied to include coastal, urban and hinterland.

There are 19 stories in this anthology, all worthy of a mention but impossible to do within this space. There is a wide variety of genres, writing styles and plot lines so something here for everyone. Some are stand-alone stories. Others are centered around existing characters from the author’s already published books but this didn’t detract from the book and was well done. ‘Hiding Something’ by Fiona Sussman will leave readers who are parents asking themselves, ‘What would I have done?’ Unexpected humour and wit in Aoife Clifford’s ‘Summer of the Seventeen Poll’ as well as Narelle M Harris’s eccentric theatre critic in ‘Observations on a Tragedy’ are all worthy of a mention.

I thoroughly recommend this collection. When you crave a good read but don’t have time to settle in for a long reading session this is just the ticket.

Reviewed by Alison Logie

ABOUT CRAIG SISTERSON

Craig Sisterson is a features writer and crime fiction expert from New Zealand who writes for newspapers and magazines in several countries. In recent years he’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at festivals on three continents. He’s been a judge of the McIlvanney Prize and Ned Kelly Awards, and is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards and co-founder of Rotorua Noir. He lives in London with his daughter.

You can follow Craig on Twitter

His first book was Southern Cross Crime. Listen to the podcast …