The Perfect Crime

Published by HarperCollins

Narrated by Rebecca Yeo, James Goode, Alejandra Chavarria and 6 more

Around the world in 22 murders… LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 CWA SHORT STORY DAGGER AWARD

‘22 hugely engaging and eloquent crime stories from around the world … the plots sizzle and evoke a variety of emotions. The Perfect Crime comes with a massive thumbs up from me and marches straight in to sit as a LoveReading Star Book.’ LoveReading

MURDER BLACKMAIL REVENGE

From Lagos to Mexico City, Australia to the Caribbean, Toronto to Los Angeles, Darjeeling to rural New Zealand, London to New York – twenty-two bestselling crime writers from diverse cultures come together from across the world in a razor sharp and deliciously sinister collection of crime stories.

Featuring Oyinkan Braithwaite, Abir Mukherjee, S.A. Cosby, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, J.P. Pomare, Sheena Kamal, Vaseem Khan, Sulari Gentill, Nelson George, Rachel Howzell Hall, John Vercher, Sanjida Kay, Amer Anwar, Henry Chang, Nadine Matheson, Mike Phillips, Ausma Zehanat Khan, Felicia Yap, Thomas King, Imran Mahmood, David Heska Wanbli Weiden and Walter Mosley.

‘An absolute delight! The Perfect Crime is the most original, and captivating, short fiction anthology to come along in ages… this book is a one-sitting read.’ JEFFERY DEAVER, author of The Bone Collector and The Midnight Lock

‘A collection of crime writers from diverse cultural backgrounds, united by the quality of their compelling stories. A hugely welcome and long-overdue anthology’ MARK BILLINGHAM, no. 1 Sunday Times Bestseller

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Mar 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9780008462352

Reviews for The Perfect Crime

[Sonya Davis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The idea of reading crime/mystery thrillers from so many authors was thrilling from the start and even better I was not disappointed. They were different, diverse, and overall brilliantly written. There were hits and misses but it was a joy to read such stories from non white authors that brought with them their own unique flavour that for some readers added depth to the story but for us non whites its a piece of our lives embroidered in the storyline.

[Duchess Sarah Ferguson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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.

[nicx27 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm a huge fan of the Perfect series of crime books by Helen Fields and I think Perfect Crime is probably one of my favourites so far. Once again we have two sets of crimes, one of which turns out to be a little bit closer to home for Callanach. The other one is the mysterious deaths of people who had previously been (or still are) suicidal. I'm not going to give a lot of information about the plot as it would be a huge shame not to go into it with as little information as possible. What I will say though is that it's a plot that's perfectly executed, with both strands providing equal amounts of tension and twists, and brilliantly weaved together.DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach are as wonderful as ever, especially the scrumptious Luc. I do have one complaint though and that there's not nearly enough of him in this book but I'll forgive the author as there's always next time (Perfect Dark in case you were wondering). I could get hold of these two characters and knock their heads together. There's so much sexual tension between them it practically leaps off the page. For God's sake, just get on with it you two!!! We also have the return of the team at Police Scotland including DS Lively, Detective Superintendent Overbeck and newly promoted DS Tripp, but there are also a couple of new additions in DC Janet Monroe and DI Pax Graham, both of whom appeared in a previous book. One of the things I particularly enjoy about this series is the way the team work together, and the fact that each of them is an established character, not just people to fill in the background slots.Perfect Crime is exciting and shocking in equal measures. Old foes return, new psychopaths are introduced, and there's a bit of personal stuff going on too. This is easily one of the best police procedural/crime series around. By book five it could easily be going off the boil but not here. If Perfect Crime is anything to go by, this series is going from strength to strength and I can't wait to see what Helen Fields is going to do to the characters next. I can guarantee it's going to be something dark and disturbing, that's for sure.

[rowingrabbit · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Suicide, misadventure or murder……that’s the million dollar question for Edinburgh MIT after a young man’s body is found at the base of Tantallon Castle. And over the next few weeks, it’s a question they’ll be asking again & again. The team has been enjoying a bit of a lull in major crimes but that’s about to change. In short order, they have 4 bodies on their hands & the victims couldn’t be more different. But a little digging reveals a common thread. They all attempted suicide at some point in their pasts. Meanwhile, DI Luc Callanach has an investigation of his own & it’s personal. He’s still dealing with what happened to his mother before he was born. She was raped by the men Luc’s father worked for. Fearing for her husband, she kept it secret until recently when she finally told her son. Luc’s father died young & ever since he learned of her ordeal he’s been haunted by one question…was the man who raised him really his father? He knows who assaulted his mother & plans on paying them a visit. I don’t want to spill any more beans so lets just say things escalate & the ramifications of his search could end up derailing his career. These are the investigative plot lines of the story but much of the book is given over to the ongoing dance between Luc & his boss DCI Ava Turner. It’s a classic will they/won’t they scenario that has everyone who knows them shaking their heads as they wait for Luc & Ava to get their sh*t together. Sooo….do the planets finally align in book #5? Not a peep from me. I’m not talking & you can’t make me. Unless chocolate is involved. All the old gang is back with the permanent addition of DI Pax Graham. We see much more of Detective Superintendent Overbeck in this outing & she’s a hoot, stealing every scene she’s in. As far as the hunt for the serial killer, If you read a lot of police procedurals you’ll probably spot the culprit early on. But Luc’s personal story line takes a surprising twist that ties up threads from previous books. There is plenty of action to keep you turning the pages & your enjoyment really depends on how you like your crime. Straight up procedural fans may prefer more time with the investigations but those who love romantic suspense will gobble this up in no time. 3.5 stars