Off The Record - A Charity Anthology [Paperback]

Where to begin? From well known authors to virtual unknowns, the depth of talent on display in this anthology is staggering. It almost feels unfair singling out particular stories as they're all strong enough to merit attention. Honestly I could bang on for pages about all the brilliant little gems served up here, but you'd probably have nodded off by the time I was done, so I'm just going to highlight a few of my favourites.

The anthology kicks off with Neil White's 'Stairway To Heaven', a moody tale of guilt and remorse that sets the tone nicely for what's to follow. AJ Hayes's 'Light My Fire' is another standout. A man tries to make sense of his partner's senseless murder by confronting her killer, an artist whose obssession with his muse has driven him over the edge. There's an unsettling, almost surreal quality to this story. I had to read it twice before I fully grasped what'd happened. In Paul D Brazill's grimly witty 'Life On Mars?' a man wakes up to a blinding hangover and a past he'd rather forget. It's a cautionary reminder that the past is never dead, only dormant. Nigel Bird's 'Super Trouper' is a departure from most of the stories in this collection, in that it doesn't deal directly with a crime. Bird takes us into the mind of a soldier traumatised by his tour of Afghanistan. He writes with a machine-gun rythmn, firing off sentences like bullets, brilliantly evoking the sense of disorientation felt by a soldier struggling to readjust to normal life. This story packs a real emotional punch. Eric Beetner's 'California Dreamin' is a brilliantly brutal and tense tale of revenge, and a dark commentary on shallow LA people. The anthology finishes on a very high note with Ray Banks's 'God Only Knows', a story straight from Britain's gutter. Banks sketches the grimy little world of a petty criminal eeking out a living in the NE of England, mining a vein of dark wit that will be familiar to anyone who's ever read Viz. This story is peppered with great lines, but my favourite has to be 'The nicest thing they said about Shona was that she could suck the froth out of a drip tray from the other side of the pub'. I'm smiling even as I write that one. In amongst the grime there are some beautifully poignant moments. In fact, the same could be said of most of the stories in 'Off The Record'. Love, hate, murder, madness, it's all here. If there's been a better crime fiction anthology published this year, I don't know about it.

Luca Veste has gathered an impressive mix of US and UK talent for this collection - so impressive that you wonder what dirt he's got on them. Off The Record features some big names from commercial crime fiction alongside a clutch of top flight cult authors, who you may not have heard of but will certainly enjoy.
With thirty-eight stories you would expect a few fillers but like the playlist the titles are taken from, it's all good stuff. Neil White - yes that Neil White - kicks off with Stairway to Heaven, a tight piece of psychological fiction from within a prison cell, and things get progressively darker and meaner as the collection goes on.
Want to know the difference between a headshot with a .22 and a .38? It's in here, courtesy of bona fide ex-con turned author Les Edgerton, who's story Small Change also has a cameo from everyones favourite gravel-throated singer.
Wife cheating on you? Thomas R Brown's Dock of the Bay has a readymade revenge scheme, guaranteed to work if you've got the balls to see it through. For the ladies, Charlie Wade's excellent Take a Bow Sheila has a more demure solution. Involving pruning shears.
Noir fans are very well catered for in Off The Record, with Brit Pack stalwarts Paul D. Brazill and Col Bury lining up with literary outlaws from the other side, Steve Weddle, Matthew C Funk and Tommy Pluck - all working to their usual high standards. Pluck's Free Bird is a beautifully constructed story about the strength it takes not to act; may bring a tear to your eye.
A couple of gems I have to mention - Eric Beetner's California Dreamin' is fabulous and you can hear the song as you're reading it, that sense of sun cracked nastiness under a pretty melody, full of suspense and with a killer ending. Shadowboxer by Chris Rhatigan was another standout, deceptively simple - a man trying to outrun just-seen pursuers - but the writing is tense as hell.
Need more?
Seriously? You're tough.
Heath Lowrance's I Wanna Be You Dog is the nastiest story here - which is a compliment in this company - and really does justice to the grimy, driving quality of the song. Helen Fitzgerald's Two Little Boys is probably the funniest, bringing out the homoerotic subtext you always suspected was there. Special mention to Ray Banks' God Only Knows for a having a woman with a backside that looked like `two Volkswagen Beetles crashed in her leggings.'
The editor's own contribution, Comfortably Numb, is typical Veste, a parable from the gutter told in a pitch perfect voice.
Off The Record is an incredibly strong collection, thirty-eight stories for pocket change and all proceeds going to childrens charities. You'd have to be a flint hearted piece of work not to buy it.

Luca Veste should be applauded for putting together such a huge charity project that encompasses thirty Eight writers from the USA and the UK. All profits are going to benefit two children's literacy charities in the UK and the US.

There are not one but two Forewords. To represent the UK is Matt Hilton. To represent the US is Anthony Neil Smith.

Off The Record's content is inspired by, as the name might suggest, classic song titles. There is every spectrum of music represented in fictional form including such classic songs as: Stairway To Heaven, Comfortably Numb, Light My Fire, Sheila Take A Bow, Free Bird, Venus In Furs, Life On Mars, Behind Blue Eyes. An eclectic range of choices if ever there was one. Thirty eight voices all putting their unique slant on these classics titles.

This review could be several thousand words long to be honest. Such a huge range of talent is represented. I'll reign in my gushing enthusiasm and give you a few words about each tale.

Neil White's Stairway to Heaven brings us a prisoner whose desperation and despair leads him to a fateful act. Col Bury's Respect features a vigilante who the reader can't help but root for. Steve Mosby's God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters is beautifully told and deliciously melancholic and tells of a deep connection with the sea. Les Edgerton's Small Change made me smile with its interesting twist.

Heath Lowrance brings a violent and disturbing but intelligently told tale with I Wanna Be Your Dog. AJ Hayes writes his prose with the mindset of a poet his Light My Fire is no exception to this. Redemption Song by Sean Patrick Reardon gives you a lot of detail for the minimal work count afforded. A tale well told. Ian Ayris blends violence and thoughts of literature in they way only he can in Down In The Tube Station At Midnight.

Nick Triplow's A New England brings us stark social commentary and a humane act. Charlie Wade brings us humour with a violent edge in the Smiths inspired Sheila Take Bow. Iain Rowan's Purple Haze an adeptly told tale of some lads out of their depth on the wrong side of town was believably told. Thomas Pluck brings us Free Bird and outlines that sometimes you just have to do something regardless of the consequences.

Matthew C. Funk brings obsession and S&M to the table with Venus In Furs. R. Thomas Brown at his intelligent and thoughtful best brings us revenge in Dock Of The Bay. Chris Rhatigan doesn't waste a single word in the intense Shadowboxer. In Roll Me Away by Patti Abbott brings us sadness and irony.

I Wanna Be Sedated by Chad Rohrbacher a haunting tale in every sense of the word. Court Merrigan brings Back In Black (A Hiram Van Story). A dark tale with a darker conclusion. Paul D. Brazil does what he does best and entertains in that way only he can. Humour and dark deeds mixed deliciously in the blender of his imagination. Nick Boldock master of the clever ending brings us Superstition a tale of one man fortunes.

Bye, Bye, Baby is Vic Watson's excellently told melancholic tale. Blood On The Dancefloor by Benoit Lelievre is a dark tale of competition and perhaps also jealousy. American Pie by Ron Earl Philips was reflective and ultimately heart warming. Detroit Rock City by Chris La Tray has an expansive emotional feel to it. Exceptionally well drawn characters. Super Trouper by Nigel Bird zooms in to the minutiae then expands effortlessly to the big picture. Classic Nigel Bird.

Pete Sortwell's So Low, So High seemed to almost perfectly encapsulate the title. I greatly enjoyed Julie Morrigan's Behind Blue Eyes a good old fashioned gangster tale. David Barber with Paranoid takes the straw that broke the camels back and uses it to violent effect. McDroll brings us Nights In White Satin and a tale of quiet despair, the kind of tale she does so well.

Be My Baby "Killing For Company is by Cath Bore. Excellent descriptive writing and with a well constructed unexpected conclusion. California Dreamin' by Eric Beetner feels so realistic you can almost feel the sun beating down upon you. A classic revenge tale. A Day In The Life "How Many Holes" by Steve Weddle a cautionary tale: Don't mess with folk you don't know. My own Karma Police is a Sci-fi tale. Good taste prevents me from reviewing my own work.

Smells Like Teen Spirit by Simon Logan a very stylish feel to it. One of my favourites. Luca Veste picks Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb for his selection. A gritty tale that also manages to encapsulate it's title nicely. Nick Quantrill never disappoints and Death Or Glory is yet another strong well detailed tale from the Hull writer. Two Little Boys by Helen Fitzgerald gave me a good chuckle or two. A tale of an alternative therapy that is an accident waiting to happen. Ray Banks tells the tale of a worthless character who we feel no sympathy for. A story with a most satisfying conclusion.

I could gush about this collection but then you'd get bored and I really only want to convey a simple message: Buy this book not only is it a great value uplifting read but it is for worthy causes. A fantastic mix of up and coming talent and some established names all of whom I am proud to feature along side. There really isn't a bad story on it. Mr Veste should rename his blog which is called Guilty Conscience. His own conscience is clear he's done sterling work here.