Book Review: Murder By Magic: Twenty Tales of Crime and the Supernatural

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

[5 stars]

Murder By Magic: Twenty Tales of Crime and the Supernatural Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Rosemary Edghill
Class/Genre: Mystery Fantasy Magic [Short Stories]
Aspect, Oct 2004, $13.95, 345 pp.

This superb twenty collection anthology runs the mystery gamut but has the common thread as stated by Rosemary Edghill in her introduction that “a crime (preferably by murder), and magic and the supernatural had to be somehow involved”. Each tale does that and though the format is short story, readers will believe in the use of magic albeit whether to commit a crime, solve a crime, or both. The contributions run the gamut from historical to modern with varying sub-genres in each. Fans of fantasy who-done-it stories will want to read MURDER BY MAGIC as a virtual who’s who of authors have contributed strong works in one of the best consistent compilations of the year.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner