Guilty Consciences: A Crime Writers’ Association Anthology

Edwards follows 2011’s Original Sins with another solid anthology from British crime authors who range from well-known veterans such as Robert Barnard and Ann Cleeves to relative newcomers such as Bernie Crosthwaite and L.C. Tyler. Of the 17 selections, 16 are original to this volume, while the late H.R.F. Keating’s Inspector Ghote story, “The Visitor,” had limited distribution. In Edwards’s clever “Squeaky,” the wife of a magician/ventriloquist pulls her own disappearing act. In Susan Moody’s “Deck the Halls with Poison, Ivy,” a controlling mother pushes her daughters too far with unexpected results. Yvonne Walus’s “Masks for Every Occasion” offers a surprising solution as crime profiler Dr. Elizabeth Mphela tries to unmask a serial killer striking down key figures in the World Cup matches being played in South Africa. Peter James, in his succinct foreword, extols the virtues of the short story form. (Mar.)