New Crimes

British editor Jakubowski's veneration of American Jim Thompson (``one of crime writing's most despairing, nihilistic authors'') permeates this entire collection, even though no Thompson story is included. Not only is Jakubowski's story ``Rite of Seduction,'' an attempt to mimic Thompson, but its graphic details border on the pornographic. Thompson's pessimistic view of rampant crime in the modern age is exhibited in many selections. ``Twisting the Blade,'' a bleakly visceral police procedural by Paul Buck, follows a trail of personal pique through the dark side of justice. Susan Moody writes a provocative study of murderer, victim and witness in ``Freedom.'' While others of the neophyte writers here present interesting tales, for a true mystery fan, the stories by such longtime writers as Ed McBain, Reginald Hill, , H.R.F. Keating, Bill Pronzini and the late Charles Willeford--provide the most consistently enjoyable reading. (Mar.)