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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
27 killer stories from the cream of crime writers.
OxCrimes - like its predecessors OxTales and OxTravels - is a very simple idea. We asked the best crime writers based in Britain, and a few further afield, for a story. There were no rules. We just wanted compelling stories that we knew their regular readers would have to read … and so would need to buy this book. And why so calculating? That’s simple, too. The purpose of OxCrimes is to entertain and, in doing so, to raise funds for Oxfam’s work. All of the authors have donated their royalties to the charity.
Mark Ellingham and Peter Florence invited 27 crime writers to submit an original short story to this collection. Ian Rankin provides the introduction, there’s an afterword by Oxfam’s CEO Mark Goldring and all royalties going in support of Oxfam. The collection is a good one without any really duff stories within it and I really enjoyed the variety of styles and stories on display.
THE DEAD THEIR EYES IMPLORE US by George Pelecanos is an emotionally satisfying tale that follows a Greek immigrant in 1930s New York who finds himself set on a path of revenge when a friend is killed.
THE CASE OF DEATH AND HONEY by Neil Gaiman is another of his riffs on Sherlock Holmes and sees him face his greatest case – against death itself. I enjoyed the tie ins here with Holmes mythology and it’s one that Holmes fans will particularly enjoy.
BUY AND BUST by Simon Lewis follows an undercover cop trying to make a bust only for everything to go wrong. This wasn’t one of my favourites because it felt like it needed a better finish, but it’s still an interesting tale.
I’VE SEEN THAT MOVIE TOO by Val McDermid is a delicious revenge tale revolving around a film script, a con woman and a lesbian affair gone wrong.
CAUGHT SHORT by Anthony Horowitz is a silly just deserts story that works better if you don’t think about the ways it wouldn’t work in reality.
THE SIN OF DREAMS by Walter Mosley is an interesting combination of SF and crime set in a future world where the soul can be downloaded and transferred to a new body. This was one of my favourites in the collection with the issues and consequences staying with me long after I finished the book.
FIVE FRANCS EACH by Fred Vargas (translated by Sian Williams) is the first English translation of a French story published in 2000 that follows a homeless witness to a crime who refuses to co-operate with the police and is a damning piece of social commentary.
AN AFTERNOON by Ian Rankin is a reprint of one of Rankin’s earliest stories about a police officer patrolling a football game. It’s a little lacking in depth but I liked the way he turns the coins thrown at the police officers from weapons to a prize.
JUROR 8 by Stuart Neville is a really nice twist on 12 ANGRY MEN and will guarantee you never look at Henry Fonda’s character in the same light again.
FACE VALUE by Stella Duffy is a neatly constructed tale of an author recounting the dark history behind his most famous work.
NOT TOMMY JOHNSON by John Harvey is a Resnick tale about the tragic and needless death of a teenage boy trying to do the right thing.
YOU’LL NEVER FORGET MY FACE by Peter James plays on the gypsy curse trope. I’ll confess that it isn’t my favourite form of story because of the inherent racism but it’s well executed.
THE CALM BEFORE by Denise Mina is a really creepy story about a released convict trying to start a new life but unable to leave his desires behind him.
THE LADDER by Adrian McKinty puts crime firmly in the world of the academic liberal classes and shows that even the humble game of squash can be motive to murder.
VENICE IS SINKING INTO THE SEA by James Sallis is a creepy story about a woman just looking for the right man to be with.
MY LIFE AS A KILLER by Maxim Jakubowski is a well-constructed story about a hitman for hire who finds it impossible to keep his work life separate from his personal life.
THE CATERPILLAR FLAG by Christophe Fowler is set against the Diamond Jubilee and follows ex pats living in Spain who find murder amongst their midst.
REFLECTIONS IN UNNA by Louise Welsh follows an Englishman in the Ruhr who finds that the opportunity of a lifetime carries a dark and frightening price.
PEOPLE JUST DON’T LISTEN by Peter Robinson is a beautifully executed short story about the danger of brief encounters in cocktail bars.
THE HONEY TRAP by Anne Zouradi contains some great depictions of the Greek islands but the story itself and in particular its denouement didn’t quite ring true for me.
THE SPINSTER by Anne Cleeves fits into her Shetland Isle series with Jimmy Perez speaking to a Shetland inhabitant and uncovering old crimes when a body is uncovered during construction of a home extension.
DIAGNOSIS: MURDER by Martyn Waites is a little clichéd, following a man whose diagnosis of terminal cancer gives him a new desire to right old wrongs and the ending was too predictable for me.
TROUBLE AT THE INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF FORGIVENESS by Alexander McCall Smith is a deliciously tongue in cheek tale of a private investigator who finds that no one in an Institute for Forgiveness Studies can find it within themselves to forgive each other.
THE HOUSE OF SUSAN LULHAM by Phil Rickman marries murder with a crime story but the genres never gelled for me and the idea of a church-sanctioned paranormal investigator didn’t ring true for me.
UNDERNEATH THE MISTLETOE LAST NIGHT by Mark Billingham sees the unforgiveable happen as Santa Clause is whacked besides the Chritmas tree and Tom Thorne has to find the culprit.
THE CHILDREN OF DR LYALL by John Connolly is a creepy mix of history, crime and SF set among looters and burglars intent on making money during the Blitz who get more than they bargained for when they target the house of an elderly woman. This chilled the hell out of me and also stayed with me long after I finished the book.
BLACK SKY by Yrsa Sigurdardottir is a disturbing mix of SF and crime set in the far future where a mining mission on the moon is winding down and waiting for their ride home when they start to receive messages from an abandoned base.
The Verdict:
Mark Ellingham and Peter Florence invited 27 crime writers to submit an original short story to this collection. Ian Rankin provides the introduction, there’s an afterword by Oxfam’s CEO Mark Goldring and all royalties going in support of Oxfam. The collection is a good one without any really duff stories within it and I really enjoyed the variety of styles and stories on display.
OxCrimes - like its predecessors OxTales and OxTravels - is a very simple idea. We asked the best crime writers based in Britain, and a few further afield, for a story. There were no rules. We just wanted compelling stories that we knew their regular readers would have to read … and so would need to buy this book. And why so calculating? That’s simple, too. The purpose of OxCrimes is to entertain and, in doing so, to raise funds for Oxfam’s work. All of the authors have donated their royalties to the charity.
Mark Ellingham and Peter Florence invited 27 crime writers to submit an original short story to this collection. Ian Rankin provides the introduction, there’s an afterword by Oxfam’s CEO Mark Goldring and all royalties going in support of Oxfam. The collection is a good one without any really duff stories within it and I really enjoyed the variety of styles and stories on display.
THE DEAD THEIR EYES IMPLORE US by George Pelecanos is an emotionally satisfying tale that follows a Greek immigrant in 1930s New York who finds himself set on a path of revenge when a friend is killed.
THE CASE OF DEATH AND HONEY by Neil Gaiman is another of his riffs on Sherlock Holmes and sees him face his greatest case – against death itself. I enjoyed the tie ins here with Holmes mythology and it’s one that Holmes fans will particularly enjoy.
BUY AND BUST by Simon Lewis follows an undercover cop trying to make a bust only for everything to go wrong. This wasn’t one of my favourites because it felt like it needed a better finish, but it’s still an interesting tale.
I’VE SEEN THAT MOVIE TOO by Val McDermid is a delicious revenge tale revolving around a film script, a con woman and a lesbian affair gone wrong.
CAUGHT SHORT by Anthony Horowitz is a silly just deserts story that works better if you don’t think about the ways it wouldn’t work in reality.
THE SIN OF DREAMS by Walter Mosley is an interesting combination of SF and crime set in a future world where the soul can be downloaded and transferred to a new body. This was one of my favourites in the collection with the issues and consequences staying with me long after I finished the book.
FIVE FRANCS EACH by Fred Vargas (translated by Sian Williams) is the first English translation of a French story published in 2000 that follows a homeless witness to a crime who refuses to co-operate with the police and is a damning piece of social commentary.
AN AFTERNOON by Ian Rankin is a reprint of one of Rankin’s earliest stories about a police officer patrolling a football game. It’s a little lacking in depth but I liked the way he turns the coins thrown at the police officers from weapons to a prize.
JUROR 8 by Stuart Neville is a really nice twist on 12 ANGRY MEN and will guarantee you never look at Henry Fonda’s character in the same light again.
FACE VALUE by Stella Duffy is a neatly constructed tale of an author recounting the dark history behind his most famous work.
NOT TOMMY JOHNSON by John Harvey is a Resnick tale about the tragic and needless death of a teenage boy trying to do the right thing.
YOU’LL NEVER FORGET MY FACE by Peter James plays on the gypsy curse trope. I’ll confess that it isn’t my favourite form of story because of the inherent racism but it’s well executed.
THE CALM BEFORE by Denise Mina is a really creepy story about a released convict trying to start a new life but unable to leave his desires behind him.
THE LADDER by Adrian McKinty puts crime firmly in the world of the academic liberal classes and shows that even the humble game of squash can be motive to murder.
VENICE IS SINKING INTO THE SEA by James Sallis is a creepy story about a woman just looking for the right man to be with.
MY LIFE AS A KILLER by Maxim Jakubowski is a well-constructed story about a hitman for hire who finds it impossible to keep his work life separate from his personal life.
THE CATERPILLAR FLAG by Christophe Fowler is set against the Diamond Jubilee and follows ex pats living in Spain who find murder amongst their midst.
REFLECTIONS IN UNNA by Louise Welsh follows an Englishman in the Ruhr who finds that the opportunity of a lifetime carries a dark and frightening price.
PEOPLE JUST DON’T LISTEN by Peter Robinson is a beautifully executed short story about the danger of brief encounters in cocktail bars.
THE HONEY TRAP by Anne Zouradi contains some great depictions of the Greek islands but the story itself and in particular its denouement didn’t quite ring true for me.
THE SPINSTER by Anne Cleeves fits into her Shetland Isle series with Jimmy Perez speaking to a Shetland inhabitant and uncovering old crimes when a body is uncovered during construction of a home extension.
DIAGNOSIS: MURDER by Martyn Waites is a little clichéd, following a man whose diagnosis of terminal cancer gives him a new desire to right old wrongs and the ending was too predictable for me.
TROUBLE AT THE INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF FORGIVENESS by Alexander McCall Smith is a deliciously tongue in cheek tale of a private investigator who finds that no one in an Institute for Forgiveness Studies can find it within themselves to forgive each other.
THE HOUSE OF SUSAN LULHAM by Phil Rickman marries murder with a crime story but the genres never gelled for me and the idea of a church-sanctioned paranormal investigator didn’t ring true for me.
UNDERNEATH THE MISTLETOE LAST NIGHT by Mark Billingham sees the unforgiveable happen as Santa Clause is whacked besides the Chritmas tree and Tom Thorne has to find the culprit.
THE CHILDREN OF DR LYALL by John Connolly is a creepy mix of history, crime and SF set among looters and burglars intent on making money during the Blitz who get more than they bargained for when they target the house of an elderly woman. This chilled the hell out of me and also stayed with me long after I finished the book.
BLACK SKY by Yrsa Sigurdardottir is a disturbing mix of SF and crime set in the far future where a mining mission on the moon is winding down and waiting for their ride home when they start to receive messages from an abandoned base.
The Verdict:
Mark Ellingham and Peter Florence invited 27 crime writers to submit an original short story to this collection. Ian Rankin provides the introduction, there’s an afterword by Oxfam’s CEO Mark Goldring and all royalties going in support of Oxfam. The collection is a good one without any really duff stories within it and I really enjoyed the variety of styles and stories on display.
