Reginald Hill and Short Stories

I mentioned recently that Reg Hill is a fine writer of short stories, and if you are a short story fan who is unfamiliar with them, you have a treat in store. Pascoe’s Ghost is a good collection, and it features one story, ‘The Rio de Janiero Paper’, that I think is truly wonderful. When I came to edit a CWA anthology called Crime in the City, I asked Reg for permission to include it, and I was delighted that he agreed. A very different, but also excellent, story called 'A Shameful Eating' later featured in Crime on the Move.

He has, over the years, contributed a number of brand new stories to anthologies that I’ve edited. It’s a rare treat to be the first person to read something from the pen of an internationally best-selling author, and Reg’s submissions never falter in quality. Another superb story, ‘On the Psychiatrist’s Couch’, featured in Whydunit?, and it deservedly won the CWA Short Story Dagger.

‘Game of Dog’ was a new story that he contributed to the CWA’s Golden Jubilee anthology, Mysterious Pleasures. Again, a great piece of work that I’m sure will be enjoyed not only by Hill fans but by anyone who relishes stylish and intelligent crime writing.

And now, for the forthcoming anthology Original Sins, Reg has contributed a longish story called ‘Where do the Naughty People Go?’ It’s characteristically gripping, and like so much of his work, the humour on the surface complements, rather than conflicts with, the darker elements of the story. I’ve received a large number of enjoyable submissions for this book, but I have little doubt that, when the anthology is finally published, Reg’s story will be regarded as one of the highlights. It's another reminder that he is a true master of the genre.

Acts of Destruction

I’ve just managed to lay my hands on a copy of Mat Coward’s latest novel, Acts of Destruction, which pleases me a good deal, because this is a writer whose work I have long admired. I’ve never actually met Mat, who doesn’t go to crime conventions, but we’ve been in touch for a number of years, and he’s provided a string of excellent stories for anthologies that I’ve edited.

Mat’s fame in the crime writing world is, indeed, mainly in the realm of short story writing, and whilst it is well deserved, it has meant that he runs the risk of being typecast as a short story specialist. It’s a recurrent issue for writers that, if you do one thing well, publishers, critics and (yes!) some readers are tempted to think that is what you should stick with. It’s a bit like asking a favourite musician only to play their early hits – understandable, but apt to risk missing out on a lot of good stuff.

In fact, Mat’s a talented novelist whose previous work has appeared more often in the US than the UK. Acts of Destruction sees him branching out in a new direction, with a police series ‘set in a near-future London. In a world of fuel shortages, food scarcity, and wars over water, the Commonwealth of Britain is struggling to turn necessity into opportunity, and build a happier, more efficient and more democratic nation. It’s a new society with new rules; it’s just a pity no-one told the criminals….’

But still there is a link with his short stories, for DI Wallace from this book first appeared in one of those stories Mat produced for me – ‘Back to the Land’, which was included in Crime in the City, a collection published under my editorship back in 2002. So I feel an immediate affinity with the new novel!

I look forward to devouring it. And readers of this blog who would like a copy can pick one up for a tenner, post-free, from Alia Mondo Press, care of Elastic Press, 85 Gertrude Road, Norwich NR3 4SG.