Beside the Seaside: Stories set around the Yorkshire Coast (edited by Scott Harrison)
How could I resist this short story collection when I spotted it in the library a few days after my east coast jaunt? Particularly with its old train poster on the cover. Add to that the promise of 'A collection of thriller, science fiction, & horror to stimulate the mind and invigorate the senses' (despite being on the general fiction shelves) and I was looking forward to finishing the novel I was reading at the time so that I could dive in.
The stories (by a Doctor Who novelist and other established writers as well as some less well-known) are: That's the way to do it, by Alison Littlewood (chilling fantasy set in Scarborough, involving a sinister Punch and Judy man); Landlady Interface by Lee Harris (Robin Hood's Bay, far in the future in a guest house run by an outmoded AI named Ivy); Scarborough in July by Sadie Miller (A day in the lives of four loosely-connected people, neither thriller, nor science fiction, nor horror); The Woman in the Sand by Trevor Baxendale (Kate and her 7 year old son have an unsettling encounter with a sand sculptor); She Who Waits by Gary McMahon (mild horror/ghost story about a grieving widower and the legend of a local haunting); Scarborough Warning by Sue Wilsea (a secret holiday in Scarborough that doesn't stay secret for long enough. Well-written, but more mainstream fiction than any of the quoted genres).
The stand-out stories for me were The Last Train to Whitby by Scott Harrison (a gripping 1950s secret agent story with just enough of a light touch to stop it being grim. Quite 39 Steps with its railway compartments and codenames, double-crossing and paranoia, and made good use of the setting) and The Girl on the Suicide Bridge by JA Mains (powerful dark fantasy about the all-consuming love of a teenage girl for her troubled older brother, in a town where the nearby bridge is a national suicide-magnet. Hard to say much about it without spoilers, but it will stay with me for a long time I think).
Unfortunately, the whole book was riddled with typos and felt like it hadn't been proof-read, which was a shame as it looked enticing and professional, and the intro from David Nobbs (he of Reggie Perrin fame) persuaded me of its quality when I picked it off the shelf. The mistakes were only mildly irritating until I got to Sadie Miller's story, and by the end of it I felt quite sorry for her as they'd started to overshadow her writing a bit (for this grouchy pedant, anyway), for instance 'The water was icy cold and she submerged herself, as fast as soon could, which always seem to help.'
There was an interesting mix of styles and approaches to the theme, with some stories making full use of their setting and others (like Landlady Interface) feeling like they were more about the characters. Personally, I would have liked more of a mix of settings, as all but 2 were based in Scarborough (my least favourite part of the coast), but you can't have everything. Maybe there's just not much drama to be had from Filey. I would recommend if you're drawn to the darker side, read this then go to the Yorkshire Coast yourself to soak up the atmosphere (and if you're a writer, start work on something that might fit in a follow-up volume. Preferably set in Filey or Brid...)