Monday, June 9, 2014
OxCrimes, review: 'first class entertainment'
I'm not sure the average crime novel is better today than it was 50 years ago, but the average crime short story certainly is. OxCrimes, a collection of stories donated by today's most eminent crime writers to raise funds for Oxfam, contains more hits than an anthology such as Patricia Craig's Oxford Book of English Detective Stories.
For many decades crime writers felt that short stories should be compressed versions of their novels. But then a few pioneers, notably Ruth Rendell, showed what could be achieved within the form, and the realisation dawned that following a formula, something unavoidable and even desirable in a crime novel, spelt death for a short story. The result is that one can find more originality, quirkiness and freshness in this book than in many of its contributors' longer works.
READ: Jake Kerridge's verdict on JK Rowling's pseudonymous crime debut, The Cuckoo's Calling
I don't take the Alan Bennett-esque view that American writers are generally superior, but my two favourites in the collection are by Yanks: George Pelecanos's "The Dead Their Eyes Implore Us" and James Sallis's "Venice Is Sinking into the Sea". Both men are as far from writing dote-upon-me prose as it is possible to be, but every word is perfectly chosen. John Connolly's tale of a wartime looter comes a close third and has, like a large number of these stories, a strong supernatural element. Neil Gaiman's "The Case of Death and Honey" is up on the podium, too; I'm not sure if it qualifies as a crime story, even though it features Sherlock Holmes.
Honourable mentions go to Anne Zouroudi's "The Honey Trap" with shades of the Madeleine McCann case; Stuart Neville's disturbing riff on Twelve Angry Men in "Juror 8"; and Adrian McKinty's beautifully timed rug-pull in "The Ladder". Ann Cleeves, John Harvey, Mark Billingham and Fred Vargas look at their customary detectives from unfamiliar angles. Ian Rankin offers a piece of juvenilia that is less interesting than the accompanying mini-essay explaining its place in his development as a writer.
Are there any duds? Val McDermid flirts with cliché ("Blackmail is such an ugly word") but pulls back to avoid the full clinch. Walter Mosley's take on human cloning doesn't live up to its premise. Alexander McCall Smith labours the irony implied in the title of his story "Trouble at the Institute for the Study of Forgiveness".
But this is an excellent anthology and there is irony in that it promotes the Oxfam "humankind" ethos while spinning such first-class entertainment from human-unkindness.
OxCrimes ed by Mark Ellingham and Peter Florence
464pp, Profile, Telegraph offer price: £9.99 (PLUS £1.10 p&p) 0844 871 1515 (RRP £9.99, ebook £3.99). Call 0844 871 1515 or see books.telegraph.co.uk
READ: Allan Massie on the small but stunning oeuvre of the father of "tartan noir", William McIlvanny
Source : http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568414/s/3b4d3c42/sc/38/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cculture0Cbooks0Cbookreviews0C10A8778930COxCrimes0Ereview0Efirst0Eclass0Eentertainment0Bhtml/story01.htm
