Tangled Web UK Review April 2003
Do the World a Favour and Other Stories by
Mat Coward
pbk out January 03
(Thorndike)
This collection offers an enjoyable introduction to the work of one of those rare
writers who is probably better known at present for his short stories than his novels.
As Ian Rankin, no less, says in his introduction, Mat Coward is 'just possibly the best
writer of short stories working in the crime world today.' There is plenty of evidence
here to back up that claim, large though it is when one bears in mind the excellence of
such distinguished British practitioners as Rendell, Lovesey, Hill, Barnard and Rankin
himself.
Two of the fourteen entries, 'Famous for One Thing' and 'Breathe In' are printed here
for the first time. The rest have appeared in a variety of magazines and anthologies
(and I should declare an interest to the extent that three were first published in
volumes that I edited), including 'Shots' and 'Hardboiled'. The stories are
accompanied by freshly written afterwords from the author, which are packed with
background interest and self-deprecating humour. He explains, for instance, how his
early story 'History Repeats Itself,and It Doesn't Even Say Pardon' earned a
shortlisting for the CWA Dagger for the best short story of the year, while ruefully
admitting that 'things have never gone quite so smoothly for me since.' All in all, this
is one of the most varied and agreeable single-author collections of crime stories for
years.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
New Books by Mat Coward at Amazon.co.uk
Secondhand and Out of Print Books by Mat Coward at Alibris.com
