Ten Year Stretch is a crime fiction anthology to commemorate the tenth anniversary of CrimeFest in Bristol, England. Peter James wrote the foreword. Martin Edwards and Adrian Muller edited it. Edwards writes the introduction about the authors and Muller writes the afterword to tell the history of the convention. And, there’s a stellar list of authors who contributed original short stories to the collection.

I really could just say if you like crime fiction you should be familiar with these authors. Twenty writers offered new stories, and donated all the royalties to the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). Check out the roster: Bill Beverly, Simon Brett, Lee Child, Ann Cleeves, Jeffrey Deaver, Martin Edwards, Kate Ellis, Peter Guttridge, Sophie Hannah, John Harvey, Mick Herron, Donna Moore, Caro Ramsay, Ian Rankin, James Sallis, Zoe Sharp, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Maj Sjowall, Michael Stanley, Andrew Taylor. Maj Sjowall, with her partner Per Wahloo, originated what we call Scandinavian noir, but hasn’t written a novel in forty years. Her story, “Long Time No See”, is translated for this collection.

As expected, all of the stories were intriguing. Peter Guttridge’s “Normal Rules Do No Apply” is set at CrimeFest where an author is killed. Other authors appear as characters in the story. Ian Rankin brings back a retired Rebus. Deaver’s “Blind Date” was a creepy story. Simon Brett’s mystery was nostaligic. “The Last Locked Room” is a tribute to locked room mysteries, and a retired policeman investigates a mystery his grandfather left him. But, it’s Yrsa Sigurdardottir’s “Road Trip” that was terrifying, although the entire story takes place in and around a car.

This is a collection that’s of the highest quality. Ten Year Stretch is an anthology that really belongs in every crime fiction reader’s collection.

Ten Year Stretch edited by Martin Edwards and Adria Muller. Poisoned Pen Press, 2018. ISBN 9781464210549 (paperback), 366p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received the book to review for a journal.