Many Deadly Returns contains a fun collection of stories from some of Great Britain's best authors. It is great to revisit old characters and many new ones in these short stories.

1. Ann Cleeves - Wild Swimming - on the last day of their daily swim in the cold water, a body is discovered. One of the swimmers being a police officer calls in D.I. Stanhope
2. Martin Edwards - Lucky Liam - Always best to be lucky rather than rich, but how does Liam North's life change.
3. Cath Staincliffe - Scorpion - how did Cody and Nathan end up in jail
4. Chris Simms - Skeleton Crew - why is Pete suspicious of two men
5, Kate Ellis - The Fox and The Hens - How and why does a hen weekend go badly wrong
6. John Baker - An Old Fashioned Poisoning - A poisoning within the family
7. Margaret Murphy - Read the Label - but does it really tell who you are
8. Kate Ellis - My Oleander- Detective Superintendent Penhalen looks back at an old case when he was a D.C. - a locked room mystery
9. Ann Cleeves - The Queen of Mystery - Can Stella Monkhouse Queen of the cozy mystery go out on top
10. Chaz Brenchley - For Kicks - why did she put up with the kicks
11. Cath Staincliffe - Two Birds - 1871 Murder - but by whom and why (John Crowther dead, innocent Sheehey Donal hanged
12. Margaret Murphy - Big End Blues - What can you do when you are broke and your vehicle needs repairs
13. Martin Edwards - Bad Friday- On the train who really is having a bad day.
14. Chris Simms - The Passenger - How does a date out at the beach bring problems
15. Kate Ellis - The Confessions of Edward Prime - Prime is a serial confessor, but is he guilty this time.
16. Stuart Pawson - Ultra Violent - One way to be better than the rest of humanity is to kill without getting caught, is it possible
17. Cath Staincliffe - Perfect Storm - What does the future hold for Dennis and Bessie
18. Chris Sims - Gaffed - Can Malcolm finally leave his past and enter a witness protection place
19. Marin Edwards - The Other Life - Can old Jean Parkinson survive without her husband
20. Ann Cleeves - A Winter’s Tale - Who did kill Rebecca Joyce and why
21. Margaret Murphy - Still Life - Life as a locked-in syndrome man

Twenty one good well-written short stories all with their twists at the end. How did two young men end in jail - what will be the result of one man's suspicions - a locked room mystery - a serial confessor, is he guilty this time - and many more entertaining stories
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A dawn swim turns deadly in a brand-new short story starring DCI Vera Stanhope . . . Two bored cell-mates play a game with chilling results . . . A hen night in an isolated cottage brings new meaning to ‘I will survive’ . . . A train traveller teaches a valuable lesson in reading labels . . . A day at the seaside turns stormy for a woman who doesn’t care for foreigners . . . A wealthy retiree makes a new friend who connects her to the Other Side . . . and much much more.

The Murder Squad has been in business for twenty-one years, promoting crime writing in the North of England. Friends of the blog Martin Edwards and Kate Ellis, along with Ann Cleeves, Cath Staincliffe, Margaret Murphy and Chris Simms, along with three former members of the group have got together to put together twenty-one short stories to form this collection.

How to review a collection of short stories? It’s always tricky, especially with no particular linking theme for the tales. They are a mixture of thrillers, mini-mysteries and tales with a twist, and the majority of them are very good. As one might expect, the stand-out ones for me were from Kate and Martin, with Ann Cleeves’ tales (one of which features the long-lost Inspector Ramsay, one of Ann’s early, pre-Vera sleuths) also being top-notch, but the vast majority of the rest are all very good.

As I said, it’s hard to critique a collection of unrelated short stories – and I’m afraid I don’t have time to go over them one by one – but if I had to niggle, I’d say that a few too many of the tales all have a central twist in common. The tales are all very distinct, and that particular twist is fairly common in short stories, but I came away from some of the later stories with a bit of an “oh, that again” feeling.

Regardless of that, this is a very strong collection of tales, one of the most engrossing I’ve read in a long time. Definitely worth your time.

Many Deadly Returns is out now in hardback and ebook from Severn House.

I am quite impressed with this collection of stories. Usually I find several stories in an anthology that I just don't like at all, but this group of 21 stories was pleasing, each in their own individual way. I really think the difference is that these works don't fit into any kind of theme; it was like reading work submitted by nine students as a classroom assignment. Some are quirky, some offer expected crime solving plots and some of the stories are surprising.

This collection is a celebration of the 21st anniversary of a group of northern England mystery authors called Murder Squad. There are three stories each by current members of Murder Squad: Ann Cleeves, Martin Edwards, Margaret Murphy, Cath Staincliff, Kate Ellis, and Chris Simms. One story each is included from former members of the group: John Baker, Chaz Brenchley and Stuart Pawson. I would have been very glad to have been able to read longer versions of these stories. It was also nice to find that the majority of these works are described by Martin Edwards in his Introduction as "freshly written or have not been previously published in the UK". This is an ideal collection to read if you want a way to sample the style of authors you are curious about or to find something new from an author you already follow. I enjoyed it quite a lot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Canongate Books, Severn House Publishing for an e-galley of this anthology.

An amazing collection of short stories by wonderful,authors.thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

A cracking collection of crime thriller shorts. Starting with Ann Cleeves' 'Wild Swimming' featuring DCI Vera Stanhope, then Martin Edwards' 'Lucky Liam' a cuckold husband getting his revenge, and the list goes on. From cops to killers, and some that are both in these twisty tales. A must read for the crime fiction aficionados.

I do like a good bit of crime fiction and with the wonderful team at the Murder Squad, we are gifted more than a good bit. 21 stories which run a whole gamut of crimes and emotions and which are pretty well guaranteed to give you at least one tale to make you ponder, or maybe even chuckle.

As with any short story collection, I found myself immersed in a myriad of mini adventures, some of which I have to admit I have read before (one of the perils of reading almost exclusively crime fiction I suppose) but the majority of which are new to me. Short story collections are perfect for me as it's a quick lunchtime fix of fiction, or a way to act as a bit of a pallet cleanser between full length crime novels, when you don't want to go cold turkey but haven't the time or start a big tome. The real bonus of this book is that it also introduced me to some authors who I was aware of but had never actually read before. I like that about these books. It's like a literary taster session, only with less calories.

This book has everything to offer, as you'd expect from the very experienced and talented team behind it. A variety of characters, settings and various deadly encounters and motives to keep you fully entertained. Some of the names may seem very familiar - there is a wonderful Vera short story from Ann Cleeves for example, but that's not the sole draw of this book. Some of the standout stories for me included Kate Ellis' My Oleander, a brilliant locked room mystery with a smile inducing twist in the tale, and Chaz Benchley's For Kicks, a story which is a fabulous commentary on modern life and definitely provoking. Then there is Chris Simms, The Passenger. Definitely one to make the blood boil, at least if you have any kind of conscience. All perfectly pitched and paced stories, self contained but making me curious to read more.

If you like crime fiction then this really is a great collection and one I'd heartily recommend.

There are two great things about anthologies. The selection of short stories makes them ideal for picking up and putting down, between books, or just when you have little time to spare, but feel the need to indulge yourself in a spell binding mystery.

Mainly though, they are a fantastic way to enjoy work from your favourite authors in-between their main books, or quite simply to introduce you to an author you may not have tried before.

This selection of stories fits both bills perfectly, and introduces to newer readers a plethora of excellent writers with great back catalogues to explore.

In particular, my favourites in this selection are Martin Edwards, and Chris Simms, but I enjoyed all the tales. Definitely a book I will return to time and again, and use to introduce others to just a few fabulous people.

Fans of British crime fiction will greatly enjoy this new collection of short stories from the Murder Squad.

The Murder Squad was formed in 1999 by a group of British crime writers who were, at that time, struggling to gain traction with paying readers, despite enjoying very good reviews for their books. The original members of the group were Cath Staincliffe, Ann Cleeves, John Baker, Martin Edwards, Chaz Brenchley, Stuart Pawson and Margaret Murphy. By joining forces they hoped to increase their publicity budget and draw more attention to their books. Ann Cleeves and Cath Staincliffe were to enjoy relatively quick success though their television series, while Martin Edwards has gained acclaim through his Detection Club books. Success has been mixed for other members of the Squad, although all are well respected.

Twenty one years on and the Murder Squad is still going strong, although there have been some changes. John Baker and Chaz Brenchley have left the Squad, while the highly entertaining Stuart Pawson passed away a few years ago. Their places have taken by Kate Ellis and the very talented Chris Simms.

To celebrate their twenty-first anniversary the Squad have issued a superb collection of short stories, Many Deadly Returns, that highlights the diversity of the group’s approach to writing crime fiction and provides some enjoyable entertainment. Each of the current members have contributed three stories, some new and some reworked old ones, while past members have provided one each.

Many Deadly Returns gets off to a great start with a terrific opening entry by Ann Cleeves, Wild Swimming, which dazzles with its twisty, surprising plot and moves with is poignant reflections on COVID pandemic. Ann’s other entries are also stand-outs, especially the tongue-in-cheek and occasionally bitchy swipe at crime writers and mystery conventions, The Queen Of Mystery.

Other highlights are Martin Edwards’ dark and witty duo of Lucky Liam and The Other Life; Margaret Murphy’s sharp and clever Read The Label and Kate Ellis’ cleverly constructed My Oleander. Chris Simms’ brings some grit and grimness to the collection and it is a pleasure to be reminded of the late Stuart Pawson’s talent with Ultra Violent.

In fact all the stories are very good and will appeal to a wide range of crime readers.

I highly recommend Many Deadly Returns and rate it four and a half stars out of five!

For the most part I enjoyed the stories in this collection. They came with some surprises. There were a few that I just couldn't get in to, so I didn't finish them. I will recommend this boo to other mystery readers.

I’d like to thank Canongate Books, Severn House and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Many Deadly Returns, a book of short stories written by Murder Squad, a group of award-winning and mystery writers, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

I’m not a great fan of short stories as I prefer a long thriller I can get my teeth into but something about the title ‘Many Deadly Returns’ and the choice of authors caught my imagination. The stories are written by some of the North’s most talented writers, a few I’d class as favourites and several I’ve not had the pleasure to read before. I enjoyed reading this collection of twenty-one stories celebrating twenty-one years of ‘Murder Squad’, the length of the stories that range from eight to twenty plus pages in my Kindle, and I intend reading them again then looking at more by these authors.

Oh, what a fantastic book!!! 21 short stories by your favorite authors, celebrating 21 years of Murder Squad. What skill in writing a short story .....Anne Cleeves, Martin Edwards, Cath Staincliffe, Kate Ellis and my favorite Stuart Pawson (sadly no longer with us) to name a few do it with such style. Writing a short story, is so different to a full length novel, you must get the readers attention right from the start and all 21 of these do just that, highly entertaining and highly recommended!!!!

Delightfully Deadly…
A celebration of twenty one years for the award winning crime and mystery writers of the Murder Squad with this delightfully deadly compilation of twenty one entertaining short stories edited by the inimitable Martin Edwards. As ever with a compilation, it’s a mixed bag of tales to enjoy and with authors such as Anne Cleeves, Margaret Murphy, Kate Ellis and Martin Edwards himself to name but a few, why would you not indulge?

Short stories are wonderful if written by talented writers, and these are. All are mystery or murder related, and definitely karma can be a bitch. Great for reading when you just want a story but don't have a lot of time, each is a full story in a few pages. Terrific assortment of murder and mystery, just kept reading one more, unfortunately it finished the book too soon.

Many Deadly Returns .

I didn't quite know what to expect when I began to read this . I usually avoid short stories as prefer to get my teeth into a good long book.
Have to say I was very pleasantly surprised by Many Deadly Returns, the stories were great by the authors I love . Good solid stories by people such as Ann Sleeves who brought back Vera Stanhope for her story. I was imaging Brenda Blethyn standing on the beach. Cath Staincliffe was a poignant story of two lifelong friends.
All in all a very good read.

Many Deadly Returns: 21 Stories Celebrating 21 Years of Murder Squad is one of the best anthologies I’ve read recently. While almost all the stories were good, more than several were excellent. Some were a little creepy, but it does say “deadly” in the title.

Margaret Murphy wrote the foreword for the book, relating the history of the Murder Squad. In 2000, she was a midlist author, getting excellent reviews, but the readers and sales didn’t result from the reviews. So, she contacted a small group of other “brilliant – but unknown writers”, and together they formed the Murder Squad. The group of British northern writers hoped to gain a wider audience for their work. I’d say they have. According to Murphy, “Between us we have garnered 22 prizes including Daggers, Edgars, Macavity, Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, RTS and Agatha Awards and honorary degrees. And in 2020, Martin Edwards became the second member of the squad, after Ann Cleeves, to be awarded the Crime Writers Association’s highest honour – the Diamond Dagger.”

There are biographical sketches of the authors at the end of the book. Current members are Ann Cleeves, Martin Edwards, Kate Ellis, Margaret Murphy, Cath Staincliff, and Chris Simms. John Baker and Chaz Benchley have left the group, and Stuart Powson died. However, all the members, past and present, are represented in this collection. Baker and Benchley each contributed one story. Powson’s widow gave them permission to use one of his. The current members all supplied three stories to the collection so they total twenty-one for the 21st year.

My favorite stories in the book were Ann Cleeves’. “Wild Swimming” features a fan favorite, Vera Stanhope. One features Inspector Ramsay, another series character. But, I loved “The Queen of Mystery”, a short story set at Malice Domestic, familiar to mystery readers as a conference for fans of traditional mysteries. Cleeves has the setting and atmosphere of a mystery conference down pat in this clever story.

I had several other favorites. Martin Edwards’ “The Other Life” tells what happens when someone tries to take advantage of an elderly woman. Any fan of Kate Ellis’ will recognize her style with “The Fox and the Hens”. I think any reader will find a story or two to enjoy in this collection.

Many Deadly Returns is a better than average story collection. Those who appreciate mystery short stories might want to try this one.

Thank you Netgalley and Canon gate, Severn House for the eARC.
Generally I don't read short stories, but with all the wonderful authors contributing to this book, I couldn't resist. Excellent decision ... great stuff!
Every story is a page turner and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.
Highly recommended!

My thanks to NetGalley and Canongate for a copy of “ Many Deadly Returns “ for an honest review.

As a rule I don’t tend to read short stories, as they seem too light on storyline.I’ve rarely read all the chapters , and found them more miss than hit.
I decided to read this book as it had contributions from several authors that I have read, and enjoyed , in the past.
This book was a definite eye opener ! Each story was interesting and suspenseful .It shows why these authors are some of the best in their genre .They are able to build up so much tension in so few pages.
I’ve now ordered the previous anthologies, and I’ll be recommending this 21 year anniversary book to others who enjoy a good thriller.

Using a cliche to write a review isn’t something I would normally consider especially a well used analogy but reading this brilliant collection kept making me think what was coming next …how would I feel upon the “ reveal “ and to that extent making a selection from a box of chocolates arises.However this is no sweet soft-centred array but darker and bitter chocolate outsides with something shaper and even sour within. The art of the short story is never easy but to encapsulate the darker emotions and motivations of criminals/ murderers within a few pages is a talent and this is what The Murder Squad achieves. These are tales that will surprise and shock and give that final twist reminiscent of a Dahl short story. Never again will I visit a local refuse tip in the same way, pick up a wooden eating implement without wondering about its source..the tale with the lilo was really shocking .it is the everyday worlds that these stories embrace and the people that to most of us could be neighbours or friends who harbour darker secrets or actions that really shock and surprise. This is an amazingly talented team who have produced a perfect collection for winter nights ( of course whilst biting into a dark chocolate of two by your side)

Forgive the analogy and thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy

Another brilliant collection of unsettlingly fiendish short stories from some of the of the most talented and cherished crime writers