Following the first two CWA anthologies from Severn House, Perfectly Criminal, whose story Herbert in Motion by lan Rankin won the 1996 CWA Short Story Dagger, and Whydunit?: Perfectly Criminal II, whose story On the Psychiatrist's Couch by Reginald Hill won the 1997 CWA Short Story Dagger, this thrilling collection focuses on historic crimes, from ancient Greece to the Middle Ages to World War II. This theme has inspired many contributions original to the anthology from such distinguished names as

Catherine Aird

Eileen Dewhurst

Edward D Hoch

H R F Keating

Ruth Rendell

Mat Coward

Marjorie Eccles

Susanna Gregory

Amy Myers

Anne Perry

and many more...

To add to the collection's desirability, each contributor introduces their story to the reader -- setting the scene and explaining their own inspiration.