Review - CRIMESPOTTING - AN EDINBURGH CRIME COLLECTION

CRIMESPOTTING – AN EDINBURGH CRIME COLLECTION

Published: 2009

Publisher : Polygon

This is an anthology of crime stories set in Edinburgh in support of the OneCity Trust (which is committed to tackling poverty in all its forms, by developing local community projects which allow those communities to work for social justice. The writers included are not all crime fiction authors but all have written a story set in Edinburgh and featuring a crime. All the authors featured agreed that all their royalties should go to the Trust. You can find out more about the Trust at www.onecity.org.uk.

Irvine Welsh – an ambassador of the Trust - says in his introduction to the collection “...I think it’s important that we realise, even as we are being entertained by the virtuoso skills of these great writers, that with regard to the nature of the OneCity Trust, for many people, crime is not a form of entertainment. Sadly, it’s a way of life.

It is an excellent and very varied collection. I love short story collections because they introduce me to writers I have never read, and give me a little bit extra from authors I enjoy.

Photo courtesy of Tim Duncan (thanks Tim!)

Here is a mini summary of the stories, and of my reactions to each of them:

AFFAIRS OF THE HEART – KATE ATKINSON

Franklin is an ordinary man with an average life who feels that one day he will be tested and will rise to the challenge. He meets Connie “a girl who had never had a worry in her life greater than whether or not flat shoes made her calves look fat.” This is the story of meeting Connie’s parents for the first time. A quirky little tale that’s witty as well as slightly odd in a good way.

PRETEND BLOOD – MARGARET ATWOOD

Sal tells her friend Marla about an internet chat site where you can explore the idea that you were someone else in a past life – a ”virtual masquerade ball.” When Marla decides she needs a past life of her own and chooses Mary Queen of Scots, this causes friction between the two friends. Another quirky story that’s a lot of fun.

THERE GOES ME – ISLA DEWAR

Callum is a slightly obsessive-compulsive who spent 24 years stealing things. Now he’s a private eye dealing with minor domestic stuff – a woman who thinks her noisy neighbour is a drug dealer, a missing cat, and a missing husband. Not one of my favourite stories in the collection but still a good tale.

PLACE B – CHRISTOPHER BROOKMYRE

Jack Parlabane on a crusade to expose “hocus-pocus known by the name of homeopathy.” In a lot of ways, this was more of a Brookmyre rant against homeopathy than anything else, and it lacked a lot of the humour that a Brookmyre story usually has. As a big fan of Christopher Brookmyre, this was a bit disappointing. I often enjoy his rants immensely, but this seemed to be all rant and no story.

CARLO BLUE – JOHN BURNSIDE

A man is stood up by the woman he’s having an affair with and ends up going for a meal with a couple of work colleagues. Although I saw the ending coming, this was one of my favourite stories in the collection. I really enjoyed the way he writes, and the atmosphere of the story.

DRIVEN – IAN RANKIN

The son of a Church of Scotland minister, and who is a firm believer in the sanctity of human life, saves a man who has crashed his car into a tree. An excellent story that made me think. My favourite of the collection.

RECOMPENSE – JAMES ROBERTSON

Set in 1852, a doctor discovers that his old anatomy lecturer has been murdered. Told in a series of diary entries, this is a really atmospheric and thrilling story. And for me it was the strongest in the collection as far as a sense of place is concerned. Robertson really gives you a picture of old Edinburgh and its inhabitants.

DEAD CLOSE – LIN ANDERSON

The story of two policemen – one close to retirement and haunted by ghosts, the other a new father – are called to investigate reports of a woman screaming in Edinburgh’s famous Greyfriars churchyard. All they find is a pool of blood next to a stone casket in a mausoleum. A moving and spooky story which entwines past and present.

CHRIS TAKES THE BUS – DENISE MINA

A young man is waiting at the bus station with his friend, ready to start a new life in London. That’s about as much of the plot as I can say as it’s a VERY short story. I would like to have had more. I really like Denise Mina’s writing.

AS GOD MADE US – A L KENNEDY

A man pays a regular visit to the swimming baths with his friends – all of whom have suffered injury during the war. I found this one moving and well written but a little unsatisfying. I would definitely read more of her work based on this though.