A superlative collection of diverse crime fiction
The Perfect Crime is a rare thing - an anthology that delivers a collection of pieces of uniformly high quality. Maxim Jakubowski and Vaseem Khan have brought together 22 enthralling crime-mystery-thriller short stories written by authors from diverse backgrounds, representing a variety of sub-genres, styles and settings from all around the world.
A brief prologue by each editor describes the history and importance of diverse representation in the popular crime-mystery-thriller genre. For too long, non-Caucasian writers were shunned by mainstream publishers, or expected to write only within the confines of their own ethnic or cultural group. Thankfully, there has been a change over recent years, with writers from diverse locations, cultures and ethnicities around the world enjoying considerable success in the competitive crime fiction market. As readers, our experience and enjoyment of high-quality crime fiction is all the greater for this trend.
The Perfect Crime contains works representing each continent and a wide variety of writing styles and approaches. All the authors whose work is represented are well-established writers who've enjoyed considerable critical and commercial success. While some stories resonated more for me personally than others, the uniformly high standard was evident throughout. The subject matter ranges from the darkest noir through traditional whodunnit to a humorous story about garden gnomes. My favourite stories were those by Vaseem Khan (contributor as well as editor), Sulari Gentill (a fellow Australian), Oyinkan Braithwaite and Ausma Zehanat Khan.
I'd wholeheartedly recommend The Perfect Crime as an engrossing and stimulating read to any reader interested in contemporary crime writing, particularly those who seek to introduce a more diverse flavour to their reading. As well as showcasing a few familiar favourite authors, The Perfect Crime has prompted me to add several full-length titles by authors I hadn't previously encountered to my TBR.
Sarah, 10/03/2022
