Henshaw Five

by Victoria Dowd (Foreword), Rebecca Collins (Editor)

This anthology is the fifth to be published containing the winning stories of the critically acclaimed Henshaw Press Short Story Competition. This edition contains twenty-one of the prize-winning and highly commended stories from the competitions over the past two years.
The book offers an eclectic mix of vignettes of romance, crime, ghosts, tears, laughter, triumph over adversity and daydreaming at Tesco Express. There is something for everyone. It is full of previously unpublished stories from some of the world's best story writers. It is a pic 'n' mix of original, intelligent and beautifully crafted tales which you can dip in and out of, during coffee breaks, before bed, while eating lunch in the sun, or on the bus on the way home.
These snapshots of life and imagination are both entertaining and thought provoking and are guaranteed to bring tears to your eyes and a smile to your lips (often at the same time).
All profits from the sale of this book are going to boost the collection of the school library at the Christopher Whitehead Language College and Sixth Form, Worcester, UK.

188 pages, Paperback

Published June 27, 2023

About the author

Victoria is a crime writer and her first novel, The Smart Woman’s Guide to Murder, won The People’s Book Prize 2020/2021. It was also In Search of the Classic Mystery’s book of the year 2020. It’s the first in the Smart Woman’s mystery series. The second is Body on the Island and the third, The Supper Club Murders is out on 16th September. They are a dark comedy take on the classic whodunnit.

She is also an award winning writer of short fiction, having won the Gothic Fiction prize for short fiction by Go Gothic. She was the runner up in The New Writer’s writer of the year award and her work has been short listed and Highly commended by Writers’ Forum magazine. She was also long-listed for The Willesden Herald International Short Story Competition. She has had short stories published in various literary and arts journals such as BTS Literary and Arts Annual, Gold Dust magazine and Dream Catcher. She has spoken at various literary festivals, most recently in Bath, and at various schools and book groups. Her historical fiction, The Painter of Siena, was published in 2016.

After studying law at Cambridge University, she was a criminal law barrister for many years, but finally hung up the wig in favour of more fictional crimes.

Reviews

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Henshaw Five' is the fifth anthology to contain stories written as part of the Henshaw Press Short Story Competition.

Once I started to read this I could not put it down.

There are twenty one stories in this book and each could be read with a cup of tea. The quality of writing is amazing and a lot of the stories stay with you after you have read them. A lot also have a killer twist at the end of the tale.

I have so many favourites in this book. I absolutely loved 'Remembering Frank' by Steve Burford, that tells a tale of a meeting of young and older generations and acceptance.

A story that tells a chilling tale of revenge is 'I Hope This Finds You Well' by Richard Westwell. This is tst story in the collection and it certainly ends the collection with a bang.

I would highly recommend this collection.

Thanks to the authors and Hobeck in allowing me to read this book in return for a review. I look forward to future collections.

[Emma book blogger Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you @Hobeckbooks for letting me read this book. I fully enjoyed reading this collection of winning stories. I did have some favourites: The Man Friend by Dianne Bown Wilson and Redhead Reunion. The Nightingale by Anil Classen, Eyes on the Moon by Valerie Hoare, Love conquers all by Don Horne and I hope this finds you well by Richard Westfell. All the stories are written well and there is a mix of short stories from romance, crime, supernatural and many more. There is something for everyone in this book. The short stories are entertaining and they can leave you smiling or crying depending on which one you read. Some left me thinking about them for days. All the short stories are beautifully written and engaging and I read them in a few hours. 5 stars.

[Linda Fallows · Rating 5 out of 5]

I generally don’t like short stories. However, this collection is the best I have read in many years. I loved every single story, and wished that the collection was larger. I will be seeking out more of these collections by this publisher.