from the Crime Writers’ Association - Martin Edwards
SYNOPSIS
Music of the Night is a new anthology of original short stories contributed by Crime Writer’s Association (CWA) members and edited by Martin Edwards, with music as the connecting theme. The aim, as always is to produce a book which is representative both of the genre and the membership of the world’s premier crime writing association.
The CWA has published anthologies of members’ stories in most years since 1956 with Martin Edwards as editor for over 25 years during which time the anthologies have yielded many award-winning and nominated stories by writers such as Ian Rankin, Reginald Hill, Lawrence Block, and Edward D.Hoch.
Stories by long-standing authors and stellar names sit alongside contributions from relative newcomers, authors from overseas, and members whose work haven’t appeared in a CWA anthology before. Among the gifted stars of today whose fiction featured in a CWA anthology at an early stage of their crime writing careers are Mick Herron, Frank Tallis, and Sarah Hilary. It isn’t a closed shop, and never has been.
REVIEW
Music of the Night is a collection of 25 crime fiction short stories based around the theme of music. The authors (and editor Martin Edwards) have created a smorgasbord of ideas, a real variety of styles and interesting interpretations of the theme. It almost felt like having this theme forced the authors to think outside of the box, giving them a starting point to create really fresh and innovative ideas which resulted in some of the most creative concepts I have read in ages.
As this is a short story collection, including some very short entries, it is difficult to write full reviews without just repeating the whole narrative or spoiling the plots. Instead, I will make note of a few of my favourites and give an overview;
The Melody of Murder by Anthony M Brown is a story where the police are investigating some suspicious deaths and the murder scenes have been staged to look like the cover artwork of different band singles. This was a clever idea and I loved reading about how the police tried to solve the cryptic clues at the crime scenes to work out the killers next move.
Love Me or Leave Me by Art Taylor is a story about a man who keeps hearing the same tune over and over, leading to an obsessive search of the apartment he shares with his girlfriend. When he disappears one morning, it becomes clear that there is much more to this annoying earworm. There was just something about this story that made it stand out to me, it had a sinister and uneasy feel from the start.
Some Other Dracula by Christine Poulson is a story about a murder at a Halloween fancy dress party. This one had a 'cosy crime' feeling to it, with similar vibes to an episode of Jonathan Creek.
Mix Tape by Cath Staincliffe is the story of a couple which ends in tragedy, told through the various tracks on a mixtape. By this I mean it is literally told through the song titles written on the tracklist of a mixtape which was a really unusual concept.
4 x 3.3 by Ragnar Jonasson is an incredibly short but effective story about a man who wakes up in the silence of a small room measuring 4 x 3.3 steps. I can't say any more without just repeating the entire story but it was innovative, clever and the story that made me think the most out of the collection. The last note at the end really made me smile!
No More 'I Love You's' by Paul Gitsham is a story about a woman who commits suicide and the police investigation which follows. This one takes really clever and humorous inspiration from the Annie Lennox song of the same name.
Music of the Night was a fantastic introduction to many new-to-me crime fiction authors. I sometimes struggle with short stories but, even though some of the entries felt like pitches for what could develop into full length novels, each author managed to capture my imagination in some way. One of the stories even made a reference to my blog title which was a nice surprise! A great collection of stories for diehard crime fans and, at the same time, a great option for anyone wanting to have a gentle introduction to the genre.
Thanks to Anne Cater @RandomTTours and Flame Tree Press @flametreepress for the opportunity to read and review.
Fiction: Thriller / Crime
Publisher: Flame Tree Press
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 978-1-78758-735-9
Pages: 288pp
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