Murder in Harrogate: Stories Inspired by the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival

by Vaseem Khan

For one weekend every July, thousands of readers descend on the historic town of Harrogate in pursuit of mysteries, mischief and murder. In Murder in Room 166, twelve bestselling authors come together in honour of the 21st anniversary of the world's largest festival of crime writing, the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. Curated and edited by former festival chair and awardwinning author Vaseem Khan, contributors include Mark Billingham, M.W. Craven, Elly Griffiths, Abir Mukherjee and Ruth Ware. From a locked-room mystery inspired by Agatha Christie's infamous disappearance at the Old Swan Hotel to a much-loved detective making an appearance at the festival bar, these razor sharp stories are inspired by the festival's rich history.

Genres: Crime, Anthologies

232 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 18, 2024

About the author

Vaseem Khan is the author of two award-winning crime series set in India and the upcoming Quantum of Menace, the first in a series featuring Q from the James Bond franchise. His debut, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, was selected by the Sunday Times as one of the 40 best crime novels published 2015-2020. In 2021, Midnight at Malabar House, the first in the Malabar House novels set in 1950s Bombay, won the CWA Historical Dagger. Vaseem was born in England, but spent a decade working in India. Vaseem is the current Chair of the UK Crime Writers Association.

Reviews

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder in Harrogate is a delightful anthology of dark deeds by a variety of crime writers, inspired by the Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Writing Festival. All of the stories are set in, yes you've guessed it, Harrogate.
All of the stories in this collection are gripping, but three in particular stood out for me.
"The Dame" by Mark Billingham, is a contemporary tale, based on the real life disappearance of Agatha Christie.
"Old Peculiar" by Steve Cavanagh centres around a young woman looking into the disappearance of her sister, and has a sinister twist at the end.
"Why Harrogate?" by Janice Hallett is an historical crime fiction short that is dark and creepy.
I love short stories, and this anthology was a quick and easy read. Dark, sometimes creepy, sometimes seedy, and exceedingly good.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An anthology of murder stories. A super way of getting to know an author's style of writing. Plus, if you have ever been to Harrogate, your mind can relate more easily and delve deeper into the descriptions of the murders. A simple,easy and delightful read.

[The Cookster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.8/5

I have always enjoyed a good anthology of short stories. They had been out of fashion for a good while, but in recent times there have been signs of them making a return to a degree of popularity. This one, compiled by Vaseem Khan, who also contributes one of the ten short stories, takes its inspiration from the "Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival" held annually in Harrogate - and, on the whole, it is a very enjoyable collection.

I won't list all ten of the authors and their specific contributions to the anthology, as that information is already available elsewhere. Every reader will have their own personal preferences, but to my mind three of the stories were very good, three were good, three were okay and there was just the one that struck me as not cutting the mustard. The three standout tales for me were (in the order in which they appear in the collection): "Nothing Like a Dame" by Mark Billingham; "Why Harrogate" by Janice Hallett; and Murder at the Turkish Baths by Ruth Ware.

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this short story collection. Almost all of them lived up to my expectations, most kept me guessing as to who the murderer was or what had actually happened, and a few genuinely creeped me out.

"Nothing like a dame" - so funny and great twists at the end.
"Old Peculiar" - I was so freaked out by the end.
"Parkrun" - probably the tamest and least murder mystery one in the collection and a bit too sudden in its reveal at the end; still, I enjoyed the characters.
"Pathways through the secret door" - this was fine, but it felt a chapter from a book, rather than a short story on its own; plus, the mystery wasn't compelling.
"The Harrogate Hoard" - interesting structure, but not my fave.
"Why Harrogate?" - creepy, but felt a bit long.
"Murder in Masham" - this was dominated by the horribly racist, sexist and generally awful detective who I kept hoping would suffer a heart attack by the end of the story; instead there was a bit of a strange change of heart from him at the end which didn't feel particularly organic. I think this was just too short for what the author wanted to do.
"The perfect smile" - I had to skim parts of this one, because anything with dentistry really freaks me out, particularly in this context; but really well done!
"Taking Stock" - this was fun overall.
"Murder at the Turkish Baths" - really well done historical murder mystery that read like something from Agatha Christie. I really enjoyed it and would read more stories about this set of characters.

[Mandie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love anthologies as it gives you a chance to experience authors new and old whilst enjoying a variety of short stories around a theme. As the title may suggest for Murder in Harrogate all the stories are based around locations in Harrogate and having been there several times for the Crime Festival for which this anthology was created, I could easily picture the locations they were set in.
Whilst this book did not introduce me to any new authors, I did get to catch up with some that I had maybe not read for a while and remind myself why I love them so much. For me there were a couple that I really enjoyed, and they were: Nothing Like a Dame by Mark Billingham where he not only managed to have a main character who was not a fan of Agatha Christie (bold move) but also managed to poke fun at himself and Pathways through the Secret Door by M.W. Craven where I got to meet up with Poe and Tilly again which is always a treat as I always love their verbal sparring and close relationship. In a very twisted way, I also loved The Perfect Smile by Clare Mackintosh, however I am currently glad my next dentist visit is at least 6 months away and I know that my dentist is nice.
With stories by Steve Cavanagh, Ann Cleaves, Elly Griffiths, Janice Hallett, Vaseem Khan, Abir Mukherjee and Ruth Ware and you are looking for something that is quick and easy to read then I would recommend Murder in Harrogate as one to add to your TBR pile.

[Zoe E · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of 10 short stories, written by some amazing authors.
And all set around Harrogate, which I knew I would love.

Nothing Like A Dame by Mark Billiangham- great read, interesting turn of events.
Old Peculiar by Steve Cavanagh - loved this one, wanted more. The twist - *chefs kiss*
Park Run by Ann Cleeves - loved the setting of this one, and the storyline
Pathways Through the Secret Door by M.W. Craven - I loved the fact that Washington Poe is involved in this one !! Wanted more. Made me laugh, as so many of Craven's books do
The Harrogate Hoard by Elly Griffiths - enjoyed the way this one was set out - like a podcast with interviews
Why Harrogate? By Janice Hallet5 - an interesting read, was not expecting it to go the way it did
Murder in Masham by Vaseem Khan - great read, would love to see how March would get along with Poe 🤣
The Perfect Smile by Clare Mackintosh - loved this one, funny, had my heart pounding at times, but I think its quite a common fear.
Taking Stock by Abir Mukherjee - a gripping read
Murder at the Turkish Baths by Ruth Ware - what a great finishing story

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having recently returned from the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival (my third visit) I was delighted to read this anthology of stories set in Harrogate. The stories included are:

Nothing Like a Dame: Mark Billingham
Old Peculiar: Steve Cavanagh
Parkrun: Ann Cleeves
Pathways through the Secret Door: M.W. Craven
The Harrogate Hoard: Elly Griffiths
Why Harrogate?: Janice Hallett
Murder in Masham: Vaseem Khan
The Perfect Smile: Clare Mackintosh
Taking Stock: Abir Mukherjee
Murder at the Turkish Baths: Ruth Ware

I really enjoyed all the stories. Some of my personal favourites were 'Old Peculier, 'Pathways Through the Secret Door,' 'Why Harrogate?' 'The Perfect Smile,' and 'Taking Stock,' but this is a really excellent collection. Harrogate is the Glastonbury of Crime Fiction and a perfect July weekend for crime lovers everywhere. If you cannot make it, this is a nice taste of the talent that arrives every summer to delight readers.

[SkyeWake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being local to me and because I was going to the Harrogate Crime Festival this year, I thought I’d have a read. All the stories are entertaining and set in and around the Harrogate area. I particularly enjoyed those that took time to mention a bit of the history, character or several locations as it felt like the author knew more about the area - one or two unfortunately seemed as if you could swap the story to any other location, although good stories in themselves.
A couple of the writers were new to me so it was good to sample their style, and all the authors of this - and any others I met - were very approachable. If you’ve not been, get a basic (cheap) site ticket and wander around next year.

[Eleanor Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite a fun little anthology of short crime stories. I really liked how all had a common theme of being set in Harrogate (after all, the book was commissioned for the Theakston Old Peculiar Crime festival in Harrogate, so it’s only fair) but also being set in totally different time periods.

It was a great snapshot into the writing styles of some of the UK’s biggest modern crime writers and a nice introduction to their work. I think my favourite stories were by Vaseem Khan and Clare Mackintosh, closely followed by Abir Mukherjee and Ann Cleeves. As this was all short stories it was quite an easy read, which was a welcome break from some of the heftier tomes I’ve read recently. 4 ⭐️

[Beachcomber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe 4.5 stars. A good collection of stories, with the standout one for me being Steve Cavanagh’s “Old Peculiar” for the twist. A couple were weaker for me sadly - Elly Griffiths’ one never really provided a resolution (though it was better than the one she did for the Marple collection), and while this is probably an unpopular opinion… I didn’t much care for Janice Hallett’s entry. Mainly because I guessed what happened far too easily. But there’s a good mix of stories in the book, and for anyone who loves crime, short stories and Harrogate, then you’ll enjoy this
I think.

[Zarina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the stories were excellent, some mediocre, and one far too gory for my liking... A nice mixture of stories and writers, though. My only gripe is that there were quite a few stories in a row with a twist on the final page (or using very similar language about The Old Swan Hotel and Betty's Tea Room, clearly two favourite settings in Harrogate). After a while, it was expected. I appreciate that each author wrote their story individually, but the editor should've picked up on this and requested some changes to avoid repetition and spaced them out more. 3.5 stars.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

For reasons I have been unable to identify, crime anthologies often fail to gel slightly more often than those contributed to by writers selected from a wider variety of genres. I am familiar with five of the ten contributors here (Mike Craven and Clare Mackintosh receiving the largest cheers) but others felt surprisingly flat and in total fail to match the collection assembled in the 'Bloody Scotland' anthology.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book of short mystery stories. I particularly liked that of Vaseem Khan, I want to read her other books now. I also liked the rest, with special mention of authors Ann Cleves, M.W. Craven and Ruth Ware. Unfortunately, Elly Griffith's story lacked a satisfactory conclusion.
I thought the picture on the cover and the book's binding were very nice.

[Chris-Cuddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable collection of 20 short stories inspired by the Harrogate festival's finest. Favourites include 'Nothing Like A Dame' by Mark Billingham, 'Old Peculiar ' by Steve Cavanagh and 'The Perfect Smile' by Clare Mackintosh.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never read an anthology of stories before - I expected that I would like all the stories but this has not been the case! It has taught me that I like the way some writers tell stories better than others.
I would recommend you read the book and judge for yourself- happy reading.

[Sam Downer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

[Kim Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this and great to be introduced to characters and authors that I’ve not read before

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book just for MW Cravens short story, but found some new authors to try after reading this great collection.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming collection of short stories written by some of the most successful British crime writers working today. All set in or near Harrogate. Very entertaining.

[Aimee Haer (Sheppard) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! My favourites were the stories by Clare Mackintosh, Vaseem Khan and Ruth Ware

[Anthea Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories by well known crime writers, based around the Old Peculier Writing Festival. A bit different, and you can read one story while you have a cup of coffee!

[Charlie Sharpe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great short stories from some fantastic crime authors.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good stories in here

[Flo Gaughan · Rating 2 out of 5]

some nice stories, but others were not really worth reading.

[Eleanor Rebecca]

Some good stories.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cannot resist a short story anthology. All the stories are decent.

[Amy (Amy_justonemorechapter) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book in the summer when I visited Harrogate. Its was a complete surprise when I read about Agatha Christie turning up in Harrogate when she disappeared, so it was great to read about this in some of the short stories in this book. The great thing about this book is the different writing styles, there are some wonderful writers within this book, some I’ve never read their works before but I’ll definitely pick up now. Each story was a perfect length and delivered shock and surprise.