Publisher's Synopsis
By definition the phrase 'the perfect crime' indicates that something illegal must have taken place, but that the perpetrator or perpetrators remain undiscovered and consequently unpunished and may suggest that this may or may not be a good thing, dependent on circumstances. In this collection of short stories, each of which has been given a title reminiscent of a nursery rhyme, it may be sometimes difficult to distinguish clearly which character is the criminal and which the victim. In that sense they mirror real life, in which situations and decisions can rarely be viewed simply as black and white. It is therefore up to the individual reader to decide which is in fact the hero and which the villain. At first glance the stories may appear to be merely tales of evil and darkness, but like the children's rhymes by which they were inspired and which also often contain their dark side, each also contains humorous elements, although there may be some who find it difficult to see the amusing side of being crushed by a car or performing self-surgery without benefit of anaesthetic. If you didn't know that nursery rhymes sometimes have sinister origins, you may be surprised to learn for instance that 'London Bridge is Falling Down' has possible connections to the practice of sacrificial child burial beneath the foundations of bridges and important buildings. Things are not always what they seem. Warning: these stories are really, really not intended to be read to or by young children. Adult readers may of course make their own decisions.
