Shattered: Every Crime Has A Victim

SHATTERED: EVERY CRIME HAS A VICTIM
Published: 2009
Publisher : Polygon

This is an anthology of crime stories focusing on the victims of crime rather than the perpetrators or the detectives. All the writers donated their royalties to Victim Support Scotland – an organisation set up to provide emotional support, practical help and information to victims of crime, as well as raising the profile of victims and witnesses in the public, parliamentary and criminal justice arenas.

Ian Rankin says in his introduction to the collection “...Crime writers want to tell the truth about the world we all live in. Reading a book may be a form of escapism, but that doesn’t mean readers want to be wrapped in cotton wool, and writers have responded by tackling serious subject matter and asking big moral questions...But crime writers must also pay attention to the victims in all these stories. They can’t just be cardboard cut-outs from central casting. We have to put flesh and blood on them and explore their inner lives, showing their hopes as well as their lives, giving them life as well as death.”

This is an excellent collection – several of the stories are very touching, because they are written from the point of view of the victim and every writer has given a lot of thought to the impact of crime. A couple of the writers have had the same idea but treated it in a different way, others have done something totally unique. 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. Here is a mini summary of the stories, and of my reactions to each of them:

DADDY’S GIRL – KAREN CAMPBELL
A mother struggles to explain to her little girl who her father is. This was a really touching story that brought a lump to my throat. Karen Campbell is fast becoming one of my favourite writers, and this story was one of the best in the collection.

RUN, RABBIT, RUN – RAY BANKS
A man sets out to get his revenge on a young smackhead who has wronged him. Ray Banks – another favourite of mine - always writes the most brilliant short stories and this one is no exception.

BYE, BYE, BABY – ALLAN GUTHRIE
A woman is distraught when her son goes missing. A thoroughly chilling, yet moving story from yet another of my favourite authors. These first three stories were stand outs for me.

THE BEST SMALL COUNTRY IN THE WORLD – LOUISE WELSH
A young Polish man arrives in Glasgow and finds that the grass may not always be greener. Some excellent characterisations in this one.

ONE GOOD TURN – LIN ANDERSON
A young man lets a girl have the last spot on the night bus. A very sad, vivid story.

WITH TENDER VIOLENCE – STUART MACBRIDE
A man is arrested for beating his wife. Powerful, moving, unexpected. Another favourite.

THE ROAD TAKEN – GILLIAN GALBRAITH
A woman finds it difficult to love her son, but keeps the secret of his birth from him. Similar in theme to Karen Campbell’s story, but treated in a completely different way.

VOICES THROUGH THE WALL – ALEX GRAY
A woman whose child turns out bad is also a victim of his crimes. A really interesting take.

OUT OF THE FLESH – CHRISTOPHER BROOKMYRE
Restorative justice – a man tells a would-be thief he used to be just like him. An odd story. My least favourite in the collection (although I love Brookmyre’s full length fiction).

ZAPRUDER - G J MOFFAT
A man whose wife has been killed has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Well-written and interesting, but it didn’t grab me as much as some of the others.