Series: CWA Anthologies
Book Number: N/A
Read this book for: short stories, multiple locations, mysteries and murder
Quick Review: A wonderful world tour of intriguing puzzles and entertaining mysteries — a great holiday read that’s light, easy and enjoyable.
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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.
MYSTERY TOUR is an anthology of short stories written and published by members of the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) and edited by Martin Edwards, strung loosely along the interpretation of the theme of travel and different worldwide destinations. Despite every story being written by a different author — from the famous to the new — the stories are uniformly strong, with interesting twists, clever solutions, and engaging characters throughout.
It’s extremely difficult to make general statements about the collected work of twenty-eight different authors, but I was very impressed by this collection, and really enjoyed reading it. It’s so refreshing to get little doses of mystery, perfectly formed within 5 to 15 pages, with all the elements there.
This collection was also wonderful for the variety of places and types of mysteries, from suspense to robberies, cozy mysteries and more hard-boiled options. It represents an interesting and vivid cross-section of the crime genre today.
Definitely put MYSTERY TOUR on your holiday read list — it’s the perfect light reading for when you want bite-sized chunks of excellent mysteries (and click here to read a Q&A from one of the authors featured).