The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime, Volume 7, edited by Maxim Jakubowski, is, as the title suggests, an anthology of British crime fiction, with this volume focusing on stories published in 2008. As with all such anthologies, this is a mixed bag, with some excellent stories and some not so great. There are a number of favourite authors represented here - Colin Dexter (an early Inspector Morse, when he was still a student!), Alexander McCall Smith ("Animal Intelligence," about a malevolent cat), Christopher Fowler ("The Velocity of Blame," a rather macabre story about misunderstandings due to language barriers and some really appalling bugs), and Sarah Rayne ("The Masquerade," a nifty supernatural tale), for example. There are also authors I've never read before, such as Sophie Hannah ("The Octopus Nest," a really interesting twist on stalkers), Tom Cain ("Bloodsport," about a potential assassin and his target), Mick Herron ("The Other Half," another stalker tale with a very different twist) and Peter James ("12 Bolingbrooke Avenue," kind of a ghost story). Some 38 authors in all, with mystery or crime stories ranging from quite cozy to gut-churning. There were some I liked a lot - "A Year to Remember," by Robert Barnard was a particular favourite as it skewers both the traditional boasting Christmas letter and the self-congratulatory people who write them - and some that I didn't care for at all. Overall, a decent collection, with one major quibble: there are no biographical notes about the authors, which I find quite dismaying as there are a lot of authors here about whom I know nothing. That reduces the value of the book for me, but since it would be impossible to track down each of these stories in their original publications (they are all reprints), it is good that they are all in one volume, at least. Mildly recommended. ( )

This looks like a who's who of British crime fiction - a real treat. I have read full books by most of these authors, and for the most part enjoyed re-acquaintance through these tasters. 38 short sttoies.
From my point of view the ones I enjoyed most were

* finding out why Morse didn't get his degree: MR E. MORSE, BA OXON (FAILED),Colin Dexter
* an Australian one: THE BLOOD PEARL, Barry Maitland
* THE RAT IN THE ATTIC BY Brian McGilloway was quite clever
* A BLOW ON THE HEAD by Peter Lovesey was up to expectations, as was
* WALKING THE DOG by Peter Robinson
* ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE, Alexander McCall Smith
* 12 BOLINBROKE AVENUE, Peter James
* FUNERAL WEATHER, Kate Ellis

I didn't much enjoy ENOUGH OF THIS SHIT ALREADY by Tony Black although it did have an unexpected ending which redeemed it a little. I struggled with HOGMANAY HOMICIDE by Edward Marston both in terms of length (it made me impatient for it to finish) and because I don't think it would have had any context for me if I hadn't read Martin Edwards' DANCING FOR THE HANGMAN earlier this year.

Overall, there was the usual problem you have with a collection of short stories: some are excellent, while others just didn't seem worthy of the space. It is quite a long book. ( )