Best Eaten Cold and Other Stories

Overview

A collection showcasing the short story talents of the collective known as the Murder Squadâ€â€Âfeaturing several award-winning and critically acclaimed crime writers

A collection showcasing the short story talents of the collective known as the Murder Squadâ€â€Âfeaturing several award-winning and highly acclaimed crime writers The Murder Squad all share a special passion for crime, which is reflected in this superb new volume of previously unpublished tales. Funny and sad, atmospheric and dark, ingenious and frightening, each of the 13 stories in this collectionâ€â€Âtwo or three from each contributorâ€â€Âwill thrill lovers of crime fiction. In "The Habit of Silence", DI Vera Stanhopeâ€â€Âwhom Ann Cleeves developed "Because I was so cross with even feminist writers writing female central characters who were young, fit and beautiful. Vera isn't any of those things. She's overweight and middle-aged."â€â€Âinvestigates the case of the body in the library. In Martin Edwards' "The People Outside," a tight-knit community is ripped apart by violence, and a lust for vengeance. Cath Staincliffe's "Boom!" is the explosive story of murder in Manchester. Margaret Murphy tells of a Liverpool lad troubled by a mortal sin, in "The Message." The title story is by Stuart Pawson, and asks Why would a writer want to plot revenge? In Cleeves' second offering, "Basic Skills," Maddy thought that books could change livesâ€â€Âbut so can murder. Staincliffe's "Laptop" features a laptop thief who takes more than she bargained for. "Act of Contrition," by Murphy, asks if Janice is pleading for forgivenessâ€â€Âor seeking something more sinister? When a rich man's butler vanishes, in Edwards' "The Case of the Musical Butler," Sherlock Holmes is asked to investigate. Cleeves' "Mud" tells of a woman remembering the past, betrayal, and a death. "Riviera" by Staincliffe explores the question When you look in a mirror, who do you see? Pawson tell of a Christmas in prisonâ€â€Âbut goodwill is in short supply, in "Sprouts." At the end of a book, an index tells a tale of murder, in Edwards' "InDex."

Reviews

"Fans of British crime fiction will find a lot to like."  –Publishers Weekly

"Excellent."  â€â€ÂScuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press

Author Biography

Murder Squad is a collective of leading crime fiction writers. The contributing members to this anthology are Ann Cleeves, the CWA Gold Dagger-winning author of Raven Black, Red Bones, and White Nights; Martin Edwards, the CWA Short Story Dagger-winning author of The Hanging Wood and Serpent Pool; Margaret Murphy, the author of Darkness Falls and Weaving Shadows; Stuart Pawson, the author of The Mushroom Man; and Cath Staincliffe, the author of Blue Murder. Barry Forshaw is the author of The Man Who Left Too Soon and The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction.