Crime and Mystery Short Stories and Anthologies

Edited by Martin Edwards.
Published on June 10, 2026.
British Library Publishing, 288 pages.

A pernicious parson outwits the thieves of a priceless chalice from the parish treasury. A beloved vicar contemplates a perfect crime when a blackmailer comes knocking. Poisoned pen letters lead to a fall from grace for a rector’s wife, and a suspicious fall from the second storey for the rector.

Gathered here in this new collection are some of the greatest mystery tales in which the tendrils of crime steal into the churchyard, featuring clergymen and nuns as victims, amateur sleuths and villainous perpetrators of the devil’s work. Replete with a fascinating introduction and notes from one of the guiding lights of crime fiction, Martin Edwards, this anthology delivers cosy brainteasers and fiendishly-fashioned stories with a sting in the tail, from a congregation of writers including Joyce Porter, H. C. Bailey, Cyril Hare and Edmund Crispin.

Edited by Agatha Christie.
Published on July 2, 2026.
HarperCollins, 384 pages.

Agatha Christie’s complete Tommy and Tuppence short story collection, in the attractive hardcover format.

See also Writing Partners - an anthology of stories by writers referenced and pastiched by Agatha Christie.

Tommy and Tuppence Beresford were restless for adventure, so when they were asked to take over Blunt’s International Detective Agency, they leapt at the chance. After their triumphant recovery of a pink pearl, intriguing cases kept on coming their way: a stabbing on Sunningdale golf course; cryptic messages in the personal columns of newspapers; and even a box of poisoned chocolates.

By Otto Penzler.
Published on June 11, 2026.
Penguin, 512 pages.

Fourteen impossible mysteries from the masters of the Golden Age detective story.

Locked-room mysteries have baffled and delighted readers for generations. They present the reader with a seemingly impossible crime – a body found inside a windowless room that’s been locked from the inside, for example – before revealing an ingenious and satisfying solution.

This unique collection features fourteen of the most puzzling locked-room mysteries from some of the finest writers in the genre, including household names like John Dickson Carr, Ellery Queen, and Cornell Woolrich. Selected by Edgar Award-winning anthologist Otto Penzler, this book takes the reader on an unforgettable journey into the Golden Age of mystery writing.

By Edmund Crispin.
Published on July 30, 2026.
Collins Crime Club, 240 pages.

A collection of short stories featuring Gervase Fen, orinigally published in 1979.

Dandelions and hearing aids, a bloodstained cat, a Leonardo drawing, a corpse with an alibi, a truly poisonous letter … These are just some of the unusual clues that Oxford don/detective Gervase Fen and his friend Inspector Humbleby are confronted with in this sparkling collection of short mystery stories by one of the great masters of detective fiction.

Edited by The Detection Club.
Published on March 4, 2025.
Severn House, 288 pages.

Short Stories in honour of Simon Brett, by members of the Detection Club, edited by Martin Edwards.

A long-married crime-writing couple plot murder most horrid, with a jaw-dropping twist . . . A group of school friends dig up a long-buried dark secret . . . A widower joins a local amdram society, with surprisingly dramatic results . . . A deranged fan stalks a celebrated TV personality . . . An online romance turns sour . . . and much, much more.

From police procedurals to the sharpest satire, from historical mystery to dark and twisted chillers, these twenty-two original tales, written by some of Britain’s most remarkable bestselling authors, are essential reading for crime and mystery fans.

Contributors include:

Ruth Dudley Edwards
David Stuart Davies
Christopher Fowler
Michael Z Lewin
Aline Templeton
Michael Ridpath
Martin Edwards
Abir Mukherjee
Catherine Aird
Andrew Taylor
Frances Brody
Peter Lovesey
Michael Jecks
Alison Joseph
Ann Cleeves
Elly Griffiths
John Harvey
Lynne Truss
Kate Ellis
L.C. Tyler
Liza Cody
Simon Brett

Edited by Martin Edwards.
Published on July 21, 2026.
Flame Tree Publishing, 416 pages.

Editor Martin Edwards has commissioned an entertaining range of stories from the membership of the world's most celebrated group of crime and mystery writers, the Crime Writers' Association (CWA). Founded over 70 years ago by John Creasey, the Crime Writers’ Association supports, promotes and celebrates this most durable, adaptable and successful of genres, while supporting writers of every kind of crime fiction and non-fiction. In this new collection, enjoy 23 original, thrilling mysteries packed full of enthralling characters, drama and intrigue, by the following authors: Martine Bailey, Christine Poulson, Dea Parkin, Martin Edwards, C.J. Carver, Kate Ellis, Shawn Reilly Simmons, Phil Lecomber, L.C. Tyler, Glenda Young, Antony Johnston, Simon Dinsdale, Renita D’Silva, Paul Gitsham, Yvonne Eve Walus, Brian Price, Pam Plumb, Nick Guthrie, Margaret Holbrook, Andy Sykes, Cath Staincliffe, Roland Moore and Rachel Amphlett.