The Mammoth Book of Best British Mysteries

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to a new beginning, or should that be a new life of crime?

Six years ago, slightly peeved that various best of the year anthologies published in America deliberately restricted themselves to publishing only stories by US authors, I made a proposal to a London publishing house for a similar series but this time exclusively devoted to British crime and mystery authors. Not only did I believe there was enough good material out there in magazine, anthology, radio and Internet territories to fill a respectable annual volume, but was also aware that many of these stories were, for market reasons, only available in the USA and thus unknown to a specifically British readership. Talk about not being a prophet in your own country!

The initial volume, titled BEST BRITISH MYSTERIES, was a runaway success and was even advertised on TV come that Christmas and earned deserved plaudits for both the book’s concept and many of its illustrious contributors. The series has gone from strength to strength since then, adding first the number of the year from which the stories came from and, later, just a series number to distinguish the respective volumes. Rewardingly, many of the stories, albeit by British authors, had only appeared previously in the USA and thus became eligible for the Crime Writers’ Association best short story Dagger award, and have since dominated a large proportion of the annual shortlist.

The principle is the same every year: read virtually all the crime and mystery stories published in a variety of sources, some predictable, others much less so, and I select the best. You will find, in these gripping pages, hardboiled tales, grisly murders, ingenious puzzles, cosy traditional tales of sleuthing and derring-do, memorable characters, heroes and dastardly villains, psychological landscapes of evil, thrills and spills and even laughs, etc… The idea is to present the whole breadth of what is being written in the mystery field today and a large field it is indeed, which continues to surprise and delight me on a daily basis.

Some authors are indeed big names and familiar to many readers, while others are talented newcomers I expect you to hear more about as their next books confirm their undoubted talent, but first and foremost it is the intrinsic quality of their storytelling that caught my attention, and will I hope please you. Shock you maybe, surprise you even, but principally entertain you. The settings of the stories range far and wide both geographically and historically and demonstrate how far ranging the crime and mystery field can be in the hands of its superior craftsmen and craftswomen.

Colin Dexter returns to the familiar and popular world of Inspectors Morse and Lewis, while Len Deighton – in his first short story in almost 20 years – welcomes back the familiar figure of Sherlock Holmes. Bill James ventures out again with those devious cops Harpur and lles and many other favourite authors trip the murderous light fantastic with glee and dark resolve. There is so much talent in British crime writing these days and I would encourage you to pursue some of these authors well beyond this book and explore full-length books by them, should their respective story catch your eye (or your gut…).

Help British writers make crime pay and have a ball in the process. What a noble mission!

Maxim Jakubowski