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When I've come across a patchy anthology, I've never been quite sure if it's because the editor wasn't up to much, or whether he or she simply didn't have a lot to choose from. Katherine V Forrest is one of my favourite crime writers, so I sincerely hope it's the latter and not the former. Alice Street Editions, who are behind WOMEN OF MYSTERY, say their intent is to mix up-and-coming writers with established names. Kudos to them for doing this, but sadly there's not much in the anthology to stick in your mind. A number of the stories are shoe-horned into the crime fiction category. Others start promisingly, then commit the cardinal sin of short stories -- the one-page (or sometimes less) wrap-up in best 'home in time for tea' tradition! And then, to be honest, some of the writing isn't that special. One or two of the stories are ambitious ideas that don't really work. Lisa Liel's The Last Minute, where a dead woman tries to work out who killed her, needs hacking back by at least a third. And Jeane Harris's Let Sleeping Cats Lie, has a werewolf theme, but very little to do with crime fiction. I rather liked the premise of Diana McRae's Never Drop By, featuring PI Eliza Pirex. The story starts off in a sprightly fashion, but boomerangs from present to past tense with absolutely no logic. If McRae can clean up her writing, she's created a character with possibilities. JL Belrose's House Built of Sticks focusses on family secrets. It's well-written and has a strong voice in its repressed teenage narrator, but again isn't an obvious inclusion in a crime fiction anthology. I enjoyed the first three quarters of JM Redmann's The Intersection of Camp and St Mary, with its humour and lively writing. But its ending had me debating throwing the book at a convenient wall. Corny is an understatement! More like total cop-out! Joan M Drury's The "Sound" of Music is a neat little piece, featuring a deaf amateur sleuth, with a musical girlfriend, who solves the murder of a cleaning lady. It's sharp, focussed and with vivid descriptions of how DeeDee teaches the nameless narrator about music. Forrest's own contribution is disappointingly weak. A Leopard's Spots, where a party hostess is poisoned, suffers from floating point of view -- and neither of the narrators grab the reader's attention. In fact, that sums up most of the anthology . . . some good ideas, but not enough oomph!
Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, January 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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