Deadly Pleasures: A Crime Writers’ Association Anthology

The Crime Writers’ Association marks its Diamond Jubilee year with an anthology that’s a smorgasbord of delicacies including a few pungent unfamiliar items just begging to be tasted. Among the 18 contributors are such well-known authors as Ann Cleeves, whose “The Pirate” offers a surprise twist; Peter Robinson, whose “Enchantress” mixes legend with mystery; and Lindsey Davis, whose whimsical “Zounds!” features a ghostly cast. Christopher Fowler’s “Bryant and May in the Field” shows the Peculiar Crimes Unit in its best light, with its trademark blend of logic and whimsy. The spare scenery of Iceland in Michael Ridpath’s “The Polar Bear Killing” is matched by his sharp clear prose. The late Margaret Yorke’s “Threescore and Ten,” the volume’s only reprint, tugs at the heartstrings before justice arrives in an unusual way. (Nov.)