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Cast a Long Shadow: Welsh Women Writing Crime
A shadow can mark the passage of time. Hour by hour. Day by day. Year by year. The brighter the light, the deeper the shadow will be. But as that light dies, the shadows lengthen until they cover everything …
20 original crime stories explore the shadows cast by our darkest experiences, and our deepest desires. From cannabis plants stashed in an airing cupboard, to strange and bloody tales of Wales’s past in the heart of Cardiff’s Victorian docklands, and the Valleys’ entrepreneurial striking miners, we travel to Iceland, Turkey, Australia and the Middle East in stories of revenge and retribution that eschew easy ideas of justice. In these pages, women are culprits as well as victims, luring teenage schoolboys to the water’s edge and twisting the knife in the Jack the Ripper legend. Mythic heroines have a new, murderous lease of life, while the concerns of climate change, the pandemic and consent show Welsh women crime writers tackling the urgency of the here and now.
Featuring stories by Eluned Gramich, Alison Layland, Louise Mumford, Katie Munnik, Tiffany Murray, and many more.
20 original crime stories explore the shadows cast by our darkest experiences, and our deepest desires. From cannabis plants stashed in an airing cupboard, to strange and bloody tales of Wales’s past in the heart of Cardiff’s Victorian docklands, and the Valleys’ entrepreneurial striking miners, we travel to Iceland, Turkey, Australia and the Middle East in stories of revenge and retribution that eschew easy ideas of justice. In these pages, women are culprits as well as victims, luring teenage schoolboys to the water’s edge and twisting the knife in the Jack the Ripper legend. Mythic heroines have a new, murderous lease of life, while the concerns of climate change, the pandemic and consent show Welsh women crime writers tackling the urgency of the here and now.
Featuring stories by Eluned Gramich, Alison Layland, Louise Mumford, Katie Munnik, Tiffany Murray, and many more.
280 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 21, 2022
4 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Katherine Stansfield
15 books60 followersKatherine Stansfield is a multi-genre novelist and poet who grew up on Bodmin Moor and now lives in Cardiff.
Her Cornish Mysteries crime series is set in the 1840s and features unorthodox detective duo Anna Drake and Shilly Williams. The pair investigate crimes based on real events in Cornish history and involve a good dash of local folklore. Think 'Sherlock Holmes meets the X Files meets Daphne du Maurier'.
Katherine is also one half of the writing partnership DK Fields, with her partner David Towsey. Head of Zeus will publish their political fantasy novel Widow’s Welcome, the first in The Tales of Fenest trilogy, in August 2019.
You can find Katherine on Twitter, @K_Stansfield, and keep up to date with events and new interviews via her website: http://katherinestansfield.blogspot.c...
Her Cornish Mysteries crime series is set in the 1840s and features unorthodox detective duo Anna Drake and Shilly Williams. The pair investigate crimes based on real events in Cornish history and involve a good dash of local folklore. Think 'Sherlock Holmes meets the X Files meets Daphne du Maurier'.
Katherine is also one half of the writing partnership DK Fields, with her partner David Towsey. Head of Zeus will publish their political fantasy novel Widow’s Welcome, the first in The Tales of Fenest trilogy, in August 2019.
You can find Katherine on Twitter, @K_Stansfield, and keep up to date with events and new interviews via her website: http://katherinestansfield.blogspot.c...
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 21, 2022
It’s quite a while since I read an anthology, but I enjoy the crime genre, and this particular collection is special for me because it's written by women in Wales and published by Honno. I’ve been a reviewer of many books for some years and I always write honest reviews, so believe me when I say it's a great read. The title of Casting a Long Shadow is taken from one of the stories and, reflects the broad ‘shadows’ of crime: from straightforward (or not!) detective stories, murders, missing people, abuse, drug involvement, secrets and even slants on mythology and fairy tales. All themes written in a variety of imaginative and innovative ways by Welsh women writers. I look forward to reading more from each and every one of them. As the editors with the final decision when choosing these stories , Katherine Stansfield and Caroline Oakley should be rightly proud. Definitely recommended.
May 18, 2022
I love a short story collection, and I love crime writing, and here we have a combination of the two. Cast a Long Shadow is a carefully curated selection of stories written by Welsh women who love the crime genre like me.
Naturally, you'll have your favourites in a book of stories, but that does not detract from the imagination and creativity given by all the writers who feature in this book. It's a wonderful read with a wide variety of tales. I really wasn't sure where I'd be going next.
Some favourites for me were:
Strike Weather by Louise Walsh,
With Both Eyes Closed by Tracey Rhys
Growing Pains by Delphine Richards and
The Quiet by Diana Powell (which, in my view, veered into the Horror territory, and as a result was a brilliant read).
My absolute standouts were:
The Ship by Eluned Gramich - although a story we're sadly pretty familiar with, is heartbreaking and written with such tenderness shown to the young victim.
Cast a Long Shadow by Hazell Ward took my breath away. This is a stunning story I'd be proud to have written. I shall return and reread this one.
As well as enjoying reading this book, I also now have a whole new group of Welsh authors to check out. I can see my reading list getting longer and longer and longer...
Naturally, you'll have your favourites in a book of stories, but that does not detract from the imagination and creativity given by all the writers who feature in this book. It's a wonderful read with a wide variety of tales. I really wasn't sure where I'd be going next.
Some favourites for me were:
Strike Weather by Louise Walsh,
With Both Eyes Closed by Tracey Rhys
Growing Pains by Delphine Richards and
The Quiet by Diana Powell (which, in my view, veered into the Horror territory, and as a result was a brilliant read).
My absolute standouts were:
The Ship by Eluned Gramich - although a story we're sadly pretty familiar with, is heartbreaking and written with such tenderness shown to the young victim.
Cast a Long Shadow by Hazell Ward took my breath away. This is a stunning story I'd be proud to have written. I shall return and reread this one.
As well as enjoying reading this book, I also now have a whole new group of Welsh authors to check out. I can see my reading list getting longer and longer and longer...
April 25, 2022
If you like your crime stories to be diverse, surprising and short, this is the read for you. A truly great collection with something for every crime fan with a clever blend of genres. Careful editing allows for a powerful showcase with each story transfixing you into its world, before throwing you out and transporting you into the next. I raced through this, eager to see what might come next.
No favourites here, just an admiration for welsh women writers telling crime at its very best.
No favourites here, just an admiration for welsh women writers telling crime at its very best.
May 16, 2023
The collection ranges from crime stories from as far apart as remote Iceland, a desert city and the village up the road in Wales. Tried to read one a night, failed had to read more, a compulsive collection.
July 17, 2022
I most enjoyable collection of crime short stories by Welsh Women Writers. Such a good mix of story settings.
August 27, 2023
A fabulous collection of stories from some really talented Welsh creative writers. I consumed them really quickly. Some are quirky, others surprising all are satisfying.
February 10, 2025
An eclectic mix of stories with crime at its heart.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews