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sjgrodsky's review against another edition
4.0
Nice sampler that encouraged me to add some titles to my "to read" list. Introduced some new to me authors I'm eager to try. Could Susan Glaspell be my new fav author? :). Introductions are informative if a bit formulaic.
lareinadehades's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
afox98's review against another edition
4.0
A great collection of crime stories accompanied by intros to the authors before each story. Interesting to read about each author and her place in the overall "crime writing" continuum of the last century or so. Obviously, some stories were better than others, but the variety and the range from slightly spooky to the macabre to downright disturbing kept it interesting.
gsanta1's review against another edition
2.0
I enjoyed the first halfdozen stories, but then they started to be less clever and less engaging and more mechanical. They became idea stories and I find those dull.
I think the issue is that Crime Stories is too big a category and casts too wide a net.
I think the issue is that Crime Stories is too big a category and casts too wide a net.
affiknittyreads's review against another edition
4.0
Overall, a very good collection. There were a couple that I had read in other short story collections (the Shirley Jackson, which is always worth re-reading; the Nedra Tyre) and a couple I didn't enjoy much (the Jemima Shore story doesn't have me racing to read more of Antonia Fraser's series, that's for sure), but most of them were great.
marystevens's review
5.0
Anthology of brilliant stories by 27 women crime writers. I liked the biographical introductions to each story. I found a bunch of authors that I want to read more of.
ranjkrish88's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.0
jeffreyp's review against another edition
3.0
Through the first few stories now, and this is a really interesting anthology so far. A little author history, a little crime story.
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I'm not sure crime fiction is my bag, or if short-story crime fiction is, anyway, but the anthology is fun, and toward the end there is a Joyce Carol Oates story that is worth the whole book.
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I'm not sure crime fiction is my bag, or if short-story crime fiction is, anyway, but the anthology is fun, and toward the end there is a Joyce Carol Oates story that is worth the whole book.
psalmcat's review
4.0
First of all, if George really did do the editing, her copyeditor sleepwalked, or just rubber-stamped. The layout of this book was atrocious: paragraphs were generally indented, but frequently they weren't, there were punctuation errors....grrr.
ANYWAY. The stories themselves were good. Really good. A wonderful introduction to some authors I've never heard of, along with some "old friends." Of the latter, there were a couple of stories I had read elsewhere, which just goes to show that I'm a short crime story junkie, I guess. I'll have to see if I can find some other things by Susan Glaspell, Nedra Tyre, Christianna Brand, Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Gillian Linscott.
My favorites: Lia Matera's story ("The River Mouth"), Nedra Tyre's ("A Nice Place to Stay") and the one by Susan Glaspell ("A Jury of Her Peers").
ANYWAY. The stories themselves were good. Really good. A wonderful introduction to some authors I've never heard of, along with some "old friends." Of the latter, there were a couple of stories I had read elsewhere, which just goes to show that I'm a short crime story junkie, I guess. I'll have to see if I can find some other things by Susan Glaspell, Nedra Tyre, Christianna Brand, Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Gillian Linscott.
My favorites: Lia Matera's story ("The River Mouth"), Nedra Tyre's ("A Nice Place to Stay") and the one by Susan Glaspell ("A Jury of Her Peers").
bvlawson's review
4.0
Author Elizabeth George, best known for her Inspector Lynley mysteries, selected 26 crime stories by women authors for the anthology A Moment on the Edge: 100 Years of Crime Stories by Women (2002). In her introduction, George analyzes how and why people have been fascinated with crime stories since ancient times and takes to task those critics of the genre who believe crime writing is a lesser form of literary endeavor. The stories George chose certainly make a strong argument for their inclusion in any anthology of quality short fiction, whether it's crime-themed or not.
The anthology arranges the stories chronologically, starting with the classic "A Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell from 1917. From there, the timeline progresses to stories by Golden Age mystery writers Dorothy L. Sayers and Ngaio Marsh, and then "New Golden Age" authors including Sara Paretsky and Marcia Muller. There are also selections by writers considered to lie outside the genre: Shirley Jackson, Nadine Gordiner, Antonia Fraser and Joyce Carol Oates. Each selection is prefaced with a description by George that includes a brief bio of the author and a tidbit or two about the story, as with "The Man Who Knew How" by Sayers, which was adapted for radio starring Charles Laughton and Hans Conreid.
All the sub-genres in crime fiction are well-represented, from the supernatural in "Death of a Snowbird" by J. A. Jance, where the spirit of a dead Native American girl appears in a retired couple's RV as they spend the winter in Arizona (1994); psychological suspense in "Afraid All the Time" by Nancy Pickard, following a woman who moves to the plains and descends into a nightmare (1989); a police procedural featuring Ngaio Marsh's Inspector Allyn in "I Can Find My Way Out" (1946); a "whydunnit" from Margery Allingham in "Money to Burn" (1957); the noirish "New Moon and Rattlesnakes" by Wendy Hornsby (1994); and even a Sherlock Holmes/Dr. Watson pastiche by Gillian Linscott ("A Scandal in Winter," from 1996).
George's intention was to have the stories illustrate how crime fiction, particularly that written by women about women, has changed in the last hundred years. This is likely one reason she bookends her choices with two tales about the death of abusive husbands, written 80 years apart (the authors' lives span 100 years, but not necessarily the stories). As Elizabeth George notes in her intro: "All of these authors share in common a desire to explore mankind in a moment on the edge. The edge equates to the crime committed. How the characters deal with the edge is the story."
The anthology arranges the stories chronologically, starting with the classic "A Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell from 1917. From there, the timeline progresses to stories by Golden Age mystery writers Dorothy L. Sayers and Ngaio Marsh, and then "New Golden Age" authors including Sara Paretsky and Marcia Muller. There are also selections by writers considered to lie outside the genre: Shirley Jackson, Nadine Gordiner, Antonia Fraser and Joyce Carol Oates. Each selection is prefaced with a description by George that includes a brief bio of the author and a tidbit or two about the story, as with "The Man Who Knew How" by Sayers, which was adapted for radio starring Charles Laughton and Hans Conreid.
All the sub-genres in crime fiction are well-represented, from the supernatural in "Death of a Snowbird" by J. A. Jance, where the spirit of a dead Native American girl appears in a retired couple's RV as they spend the winter in Arizona (1994); psychological suspense in "Afraid All the Time" by Nancy Pickard, following a woman who moves to the plains and descends into a nightmare (1989); a police procedural featuring Ngaio Marsh's Inspector Allyn in "I Can Find My Way Out" (1946); a "whydunnit" from Margery Allingham in "Money to Burn" (1957); the noirish "New Moon and Rattlesnakes" by Wendy Hornsby (1994); and even a Sherlock Holmes/Dr. Watson pastiche by Gillian Linscott ("A Scandal in Winter," from 1996).
George's intention was to have the stories illustrate how crime fiction, particularly that written by women about women, has changed in the last hundred years. This is likely one reason she bookends her choices with two tales about the death of abusive husbands, written 80 years apart (the authors' lives span 100 years, but not necessarily the stories). As Elizabeth George notes in her intro: "All of these authors share in common a desire to explore mankind in a moment on the edge. The edge equates to the crime committed. How the characters deal with the edge is the story."