Playing Dead is a collection of 22 short stories by members of the venerable Detection Club, written to celebrate former president Simon Brett's eightieth birthday.

Normally with short story collections there's variable quality, but in this case all the authors are notable masters of their craft and have offered up excellent tales. Some of them have added Simon Brett-related Easter eggs, for example by giving roads the names of Brett's famous detectives or having a character read a Brett book within the story. Current president of the Detection Club Martin Edwards acts as editor (and presumably cajoler and requester of the stories) and has done a wonderful job of collecting the stories as he so often has before.

A first class collection, recommended to lovers of classic detective fiction.

This collection of short stories, by different authors made for interesting reading. All were very different in style and some much better than others. There were none that blew me away and a couple I read and thought what?? The mix made for an easy and overall enjoyable read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to an early release of this novel

The Detection Club which is made up of famous crime fiction writers, has produced these short stories in honour of Simon Brett's eightieth birthday. The book's introduction is by current President Martin Edwards who succeeded the previous incumbent - Simon Brett.
I have not read many anothologies of short stories, mainly because i prefer to get to know a book's characters over the book's length. However as this comprises twenty two stories by famous authors, it deserves special praise.
I enjoyed most of the stories, but particularly enjoyed John Harvey's Charlie Resnick, it was good to catch up with the now retired police man based in Nottingham ( although i would have prefered a happier ending!). It was great treading the boards with Charles Paris again, and enjoyed him getting it wrong again! Also Ann Cleeves always tells a good tale and "Sleeping Beauty" is no exception. Elly Griffiths "Woman in White" is a very interesting take on a Wilkie Collins classic.
The book ends with Simon Brett's personal memoir of being a Detection Club member for forty five years, fourteen of those as President. It then lists the past presidents and surprisingly since the inauguration in 1930 there have only currently been eight.
If you enjoy crime fiction I would recommend this anthology.

Playing Dead, short stories by members of the detection club by multiple authors, whenever you have an anthology or collection of short stories written by many different authors, they’ll be some love and some not so much as a fan of mysteries I must say I truly enjoyed most of these, although my favorite was the mic drop ending of The Luncheon, there were others that really came close. There was one. I really didn’t understand it, but I won’t mention which one it is because I don’t want to ruin it for that author nor anyone who’s a future reader of this awesome collection of stories. #NetGalley,#SeverinHouse, #TheBlindReviewer, #PlayingDead, #MartinEdwards,

As with any short story collection, these are a bit hit and miss. There are some absolute crackers, some weird tales and some where the authors are being over clever. Worth a read for the good ones.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

This is a short story collection that has a bunch of stories by authors who are in the detection club. This was written as a celebration for the former president's 80th birthday.

I thought this collection was just ok. I think it had some good stories and some that were not the best. None of them really stood out as amazing to me though.

Collections like this don't normally work for me so I think it is more a me problem than anything.

This may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but it is exactly the type of book I love: a collection of short stories by current members of the Detection Club. I’m an avid fan of classic mysteries, and an enthusiastic reader of the original Club founders. This collection features stories from authors whom I already know and love, as well as others that were new to me, and there isn’t a single bad one. Since they are part of an institution, all the writers show a deep knowledge and love for the genre. They understand all the tropes so well that they can play with them to surprise the readers. It was shocking to find that most of these characters are our contemporaries and carry cell phones and use the internet. My favorites were the humorous ones, especially Ruth Dudley Edwards’ “Publish and be Damned” and David Stuart Davies’ “An old-fashioned murder.” Michael Ridpath’s entry tackles a very contemporary problem. Legends like Catherine Aird and Peter Lovesey also collaborated. Extra points for Simon Brett’s own recollections of belonging to the Club. Dame Agatha would be proud of her successors.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Severn House.

I actually throughly enjoyed this book, although for me, it felt like the collection was uneven at times. Some stories excelled for me while others fell short. But overall the highlights of the book made my experience overall worthwhile.

Thank you to netgalley for the ARC

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A collection of short stories written as a celebration of the eightieth birthday of Simon Brett, the former president of the Detection Group, by the group members – recognized and respected crime writers, among them Ann Cleeves, Christopher Fowler, Elly Griffiths and Kate Ellis.
It is surely a nice tribute to honour Simon Brett's lifework, but to be completely honest – a not very memorable one. The stories are interesting, for the most part, usually well written and quite fun, but I probably will forget them in a few weeks. There's not one story to truly shine, to stand out as really brilliant, original, twisted or suspenseful. Still, they are well crafted and entertaining, so overall a nice read.

#PlayingDead #NetGalley

A very hit and miss selection of short stories in tribute to the 80th birthday of Simon Brett, former chair of the Detection Club. It’s a great opportunity to bring together the current members of the detection club to each write a story, and with writers as good as this there are some real stand outs. However… I think some of the writers are too reliant on being a bit clever, over-emphasising the connections to Simon Brett and his work (which was new to me), or toying with the principles of detective stories. Many are based around the theatre, home of Simon Brett’s Charles Parris (a fun story in here makes me interested in reading more). Some favourites are Crimes Ancient and Modern by LC Taylor, Dead Ground by Andrew Taylor and The Luncheon by the late great Christopher Fowler.

Worth a punt as for every average story a good one will be along soon enough.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!!

I’m starting to love short stories more and more, especially when they’re as good as these ones!

This book of short stories sounded really cool and I was definitely looking forward to reading it. However, I feel like I'm not the target audience for this one. A lot of people really enjoyed these stories, unfortunately I was not one of them. From the first 12 stories, I gave 4 stars to two of them, but the rest were 3 star or less and just didn't hold my interest. One story, I didn't even understand what the mystery was supposed to be. I did like the concept of the book being short stories from members of the Detection Club as they celebrated the 80th birthday of Simon Brett. Happy Birthday, ol' chap!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying the eARC in return for an honest review.

Severn House provided an early galley for review.

I was not familiar with the Detection Club, so I appreciated Edwards' introduction that outlined the group's long history. And the book closes with Brett's own look back at his time with the group. In between is a variety of tales to keep the mystery enthusiast engaged.

Short stories can be a tricky format as is, but adding the overlay of a mystery/crime genre to it makes it even more so. Some of the authors in this collection rose to that challenge; others (in my eyes) appear to have struggled a little with it. I do find that tends to be the case with any anthology collections I pick up - some just hit better than others.

What A Joy…!
A truly joyous anthology of short stories from members of the Detection Club as they celebrate the 80th birthday of Simon Brett. With a true mixed bag of crime fiction from cozy to hard boiled, from historical to dark and dangerous and all from esteemed authors in their field and edited by Martin Edwards - a special mention here of the return of much adored amateur sleuth Charles Paris from the wonderful Simon Brett himself. Wholly entertaining and endlessly enjoyable.

Martin Edwards’ Playing Dead is a masterful collection of crime stories that delve into the theme of deception and hidden motives. Each story showcases Edwards’ talent for crafting intricate plots and vivid characters, keeping readers engaged from start to finish. With twists and unexpected revelations, the book is a treat for mystery enthusiasts. Edwards’ ability to balance suspense with human drama makes Playing Dead a standout in the genre. Highly recommended for fans of clever and atmospheric mysteries.

A Fantastic variety of short stories in this collection to celebrate the 80th Birthday of Simon Brett... Happy Birthday, ole Chap! Eye, Eye! :D
This was Absolutely my cup of tea! Loved it! This reminds me of the mystery magazines i subscribed to back in the day and was So much fun to read!
I definitely had several favourites and would be hard pressed to pick my top five. Only maybe 2 or 3 weren't really speaking to me, but what an Amazing Collection overall!
Thank you to Severn House and Netgalley for this ARC, it is Top Notch :)

A wonderful collection of newly written crime stories that remain utterly faithful to their Golden Age roots. A book to be dipped in and out of on a cold winter's evening, and savored

Rating: 3.5/5

As I have commented previously in reviews, I am a huge admirer of writers who can successfully execute a short story. There is a real skil in delivering a properly rounded stories with sufficiently developed characters in such a concise format. No real surprise, therefore, that I was attracted to this compilation of 22 short stories by members of The Detection Club and honouring former club President, Simon Brett, ahead of his 80th birthday later this year.

I have read collections of short stories previously and, when there are as many as twenty-two contributions, it would not be churlish to anticipate there being a few duffers amongst them. That said, I am pleased to report it is not the case here. There is the somewhat unusual inclusion of a three-verse Haiku, which is cleverly constructed, but does seem a little out of place. However, that minor observation aside, I would say that 50% of the contributions are perfectly decent and the remaining half represent very good examples of the genre. There is also the bonus of an informative and amusing personal memoir relating to The Detection Club from Simon Brett. Overall, a good read for anyone who either loves short stories, or just fancies a change from the longer format.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

Since joining the Mystery & Thriller Book Club back in my youth in the 1980's, crime & thriller short story collections have always been a treat, Along with horror & SF, the crime genre lends itself nicely to a short story.

This collection has plenty of well known authors and enjoyed the contributions from Elly Griffiths, John Harvey, Peter Lovsey (loved his novel Keystone) and Simon Brett, who this collection is in honour of. Bittersweet that the collection contains possibly the last published work of the late, great Christopher Fowler (his Bryant & May unusual detective series are highly recommended).

A great selection and a few have a nod to the theatrical in honour of Simon Brett and his detective creation Charles Paris (who makes a cameo or two!).

I enjoy a short story collection, and appreciated the diversity of styles here within the cosy bracket, as well as the number with a theatrical theme. I did, however, find the authorship to be out of touch on a number of occasions. Jokes about trigger warnings and being "cancelled" seemed more reminiscent of the Daily Mail than decent crime writing. Perhaps the Detection Club should consider what it is for, as this collection suggests, perhaps unfairly, that it's only a navel gazing supper club.