Tart Noir by
Stella Duffy
pbk out August 02
(Pan)
at £6.99
Here are 20 stories of girls behaving badly in one of the breeziest collections of short
stories to have appeared in years. The authors include the likes of Val McDermid,
Liza Cody, Denise Mina, Martina Cole and Karin Slaughter, as well as the co-editors.
McDermid's story, 'Metamorphosis', is one of the best. An excellent feature of the
book is that, at the back, it includes comment from each author on her story, as well as
a short biographical note, and McDermid explains that, whilst she has in the past
avoided writing directly about sex, the opportunity to contribute to this book
prompted her to devise a tale of sexual obsession. Less well-known than most of the
other authors is Vicki Hendricks, author of 'Stormy, Mon Amour', but although her
story admittedly contains elements of fantasy, it is one of the most memorable in the
whole collection. Overall, the girls offer their readers a lot of fun. Sparkle Hayter, for
instance, contributes a lovely story about a 'Survivor'-type tv programme. It is rare to
see a short story collection that attracts as much marketing attention as this book: a
wholly welcome development.
M.E.N. 12.10.02
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
