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Read this book for: short story collection, multiple authors, crime stories, mysteries, psychological thrillers, variety
Quick Review: A wonderfully varied collection of excellently written crime stories, with something for everyone.
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Open the files on an anthology of seventeen new crime stories to probe the brutal and complex hearts of criminals, and unravel the strangest of mysteries. Watch as a secretive group of intelligence community officers trace Jack Reacher through Heathrow in Lee Child’s “Smile”. In Mary Hoffman’s “Fallen Woman”, a journalist on the trail of a secretive drug lord gets caught up in the violent suicide of a young woman in Siena. And in Jeffery Deaver’s “Connecting the Dots”, detectives follow the trail of clues in the brutal killing of a homeless man, wherever it may lead… Invisible Blood is a gripping collection exploring the compulsions of the criminal mind.
SEVENTEEN STORIES FROM TODAY’S FINEST CRIME WRITERS
Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver, Denise Mina, R.J. Ellory, Christopher Fowler, Stella Duffy, Ken Bruen, Lauren Henderson, James Grady, Jason Starr, Mary Hoffman, Cathi Unsworth, Bill Beverly, Lavie Tidhar, Johana Gustawsson, A K Benedict, John Harvey
INVISIBLE BLOOD is a new collection of fantastic short crime stories from Titan Books, edited by Maxim Jakubowski. The tales rand from the odd and faintly supernatural, to the intensely real, to the unsettling and creepy.
There are quite a few standout stories in this collection; here’s a sampling of a few of the things that you will encounter: Christopher Fowler’s THE WASHING is a Rear Window style psychological thriller that is absolutely gripping. SMILE by Lee Child is a new Jack Reacher story offering a breakdown of a perfectly-executed assassination. FALLEN WOMAN by Mary Hoffman and CONNECTING THE DOTS by Jeffrey Deaver are well-executed investigative thrillers with several surprising twists and turns. Lauren Henderson’s #METOO is a different take on the standard narrative, with a satisfying conclusion — as is THE GHOST OF WILLIAMSBURG by Jason Starr — as they both also address problems with modern dating. BLACK DOG by Cathi Unsworth and VIRGINIA RACER by Bill Beverly will take you to totally different time periods and drop you into crimes and investigations that are completely atmospherically absorbing. And BORROWED TIME by RJ Ellory and IN ADVANCE OF DEATH by AK Benedict will give you a hint of a supernatural thrill.
There is a wonderful range of stories in this collection, with a hugely varied selection of sub-genres, styles, time periods and characters. Every person who enjoys some corner of the crime genre will likely find something in this set of stories that they will enjoy. This a fantastic collection of bite-sized crime stories, perfect for end-of-summer reading or anytime you have a few minutes to immerse yourself in a fantastic story!