LemonSky reviewed A Moment on the Edge by Elizabeth George
Review of 'A Moment on the Edge' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Another anthology of mystery and crime stories, these by women. This volume was edited by [a:Elizabeth George|17560|Elizabeth George|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1390504219p2/17560.jpg]. I love her attitude towards crime fiction:
"One man at a writing conference told me that he was going to write crime fiction as practice and then, later on, he would write a 'real novel.'
'Like making tacos until you can graduate to chocolate cake from scratch?' I asked him innocently."
Like Ms George says, "For my money, literature is whatever lasts." I strongly recommend reading her introduction. Unlike a lot of introductions, it's informative and interesting (are you listening, editors?)
These stories span roughly 100 years and the authors range from [a:Susan Glaspell|154569|Susan Glaspell|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1331316552p2/154569.jpg] to [a:Ruth Rendell|10890|Ruth Rendell|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1196257541p2/10890.jpg] to [a:Sharyn McCrumb|317|Sharyn McCrumb|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1209567064p2/317.jpg] to [a:Nancy Pickard|49538|Nancy Pickard|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1310842249p2/49538.jpg]. This is one of the few volumes of short stories where I actually like the majority of the stories. Of course, the quality of the …
Another anthology of mystery and crime stories, these by women. This volume was edited by [a:Elizabeth George|17560|Elizabeth George|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1390504219p2/17560.jpg]. I love her attitude towards crime fiction:
"One man at a writing conference told me that he was going to write crime fiction as practice and then, later on, he would write a 'real novel.'
'Like making tacos until you can graduate to chocolate cake from scratch?' I asked him innocently."
Like Ms George says, "For my money, literature is whatever lasts." I strongly recommend reading her introduction. Unlike a lot of introductions, it's informative and interesting (are you listening, editors?)
These stories span roughly 100 years and the authors range from [a:Susan Glaspell|154569|Susan Glaspell|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1331316552p2/154569.jpg] to [a:Ruth Rendell|10890|Ruth Rendell|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1196257541p2/10890.jpg] to [a:Sharyn McCrumb|317|Sharyn McCrumb|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1209567064p2/317.jpg] to [a:Nancy Pickard|49538|Nancy Pickard|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1310842249p2/49538.jpg]. This is one of the few volumes of short stories where I actually like the majority of the stories. Of course, the quality of the writing is better than most anthologies I run across. Usually, there's one or two writers I'm familiar with and then the rest are total unknowns, for reasons which become very apparent. Not this time around. If you're interested in trying out some new authors - whether they are current ones like [a:Minette Walters|23280|Minette Walters|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1185206359p2/23280.jpg] or [a:Marcia Muller|644|Marcia Muller|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1280177756p2/644.jpg], or Golden Age ones like [a:Dorothy L. Sayers|8734|Dorothy L. Sayers|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1206564934p2/8734.jpg] or [a:Ngaio Marsh|68144|Ngaio Marsh|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1237946649p2/68144.jpg] - this is a good source to try.
My personal favorite is "A Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell. Based on her play, "Trifles," she adapted it into this classic short story. It is based on an actual murder that she covered for the "Des Moines Daily News." To say a lot about this story is to ruin the experience. I read it twice because I missed some things the first time around.
It's hard to single out stories from this volume since they're all good, but my other favorites are: "The Man Who Knew How" by Dorothy L. Sayers (a non-Lord Peter Wimsey tale); "St Patrick's Day in the Morning" by [a:Charlotte Armstrong|89400|Charlotte Armstrong|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1262279450p2/89400.jpg], one of my favorite mystery writers; "Money to Burn" by [a:Margery Allingham|30748|Margery Allingham|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1364808928p2/30748.jpg], who is usually not one of my favorite authors; "Clever and Quick" by the wonderful [a:Christianna Brand|22421|Christianna Brand|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1285412223p2/22421.jpg]; "The Irony of Hate" by Ruth Rendell; "Sweet Baby Jenny" by Joyce Harrington; and "Wild Mustard," which is one of the earliest Sharon McCone stories by Marcia Muller.
This is a good anthology to use in determining what kind authors you might be interested in trying, such as the ones listed above. Very recommended.