Past Crimes: Perfectly Criminal 3.

Collected and Introduced by Martin Edwards

New York & Surrey, Severn Publishers. 242 pp. US $26.00.

This is the annual anthology of the Crime Writers Association of the UK. A fresh theme is set every year and members are challenged to produce a story with a concept in mind. In the sixties crime novelists became increasingly concerned with character and current social concerns. But in the seventies things changed and the historical mystery came into its own. As part of this revival, now in full swing, Martin Edwards challenged authors to set their stories no later than 5 November, 1953, the date on which the late, great John Creasey of blessed memory founded the CWA.

It is invidious to select one author over another when there is such a splendid collection beginning with the immortals of Mt. Olympus. Mafeking appears in Murder in a time of Siege by Marjorie Eccles. Anne Perry sets Heroes in the bloody trenches of Ypres. Edward Marston sets Murder and Miracles in ancient Samaria. Amy Myers sets Who Killed Adonis? in Greek mythology. Susanna Gregory gives a new twist to the Great Fire of London. Sixteen in all, and history re-invented! Who says history is dull!

Martin Edwards is an author and anthologist.