American Crime Stories

by John Escott (Retold by)

These seven stories by well-known American writers show us the many faces of crime. There are murders of passion, and of revenge; murders that look like suicides or accidents. There is robbery and mugging, fear and hate, love and laziness. There are the innocent and the guilty - but which are which? And there are the detectives: the amateur Louise, who won't accept that her cousin's death was suicide, and who goes looking for a lipstick; and the coolly professional private eye, who knows whose hand is is behind the machine guns and had grenades on a stormy night in Couffignal.

Genres: Crime, Short Stories, School, Mystery

128 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1997

About the author

John Escott started by writing children's books and comic scripts, but now writes and adapts books for students of all ages. He especially enjoys writing crime and mystery thrillers, and is a member of the British Crime Writers Association.

With Oxford University Press John has published London for the Oxford Bookworms Factfile series; Agatha Christie, Woman of Mystery, Star Reporter, Girl on a Motorbike, The Fly and Other Horror Stories, and The Scarlet Letter for the Oxford Bookworms Library series; The Magician, Time for a Robbery, Star for a day, Tomorrow's Girl, and The Man with Three NAMEs for the Hotshot Puzzles series; and A Pretty Face for the Dominoes series.

Reviews

[Juan M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro, perteneciente a la colección Oxford Bookworms Library, lo leí para la clase de inglés. los cuentos que incluye son (entre paréntesis les pongo una clasificación individual):
Death Wish - Lawrence Block (4,5/5 ★)
Death on Christmas Eve - Stanley Ellin (4,5/5 ★)
The Heroine - Patricia Highsmith (5/5 ★)
Ride the Lightning - John Lutz (4/5 >★)
The Lipstick - Mary Roberts Rinehart (4/5 ★)
Lazy Susan - Nancy Pickard (3,5/5 ★)
The Gutting of Couffignal - Dashiel Hammett (3,5/5 ★)
La puntuación general es de 4 ★. Como se observa en las puntuaciones individuales, algunos cuentos me gustaron más que otros, es una cuestión obvia. Algunos eran fáciles de entender y seguir, pero hay otros, como The Gutting of Couffignal , que son más difíciles y me perdí un poco en la historia.
Pero, para los que quieran practicar lectura en inglés, les recomiendo que lo lean. Además, atrás, como es un libro de práctica para estudiantes de inglés, trae ejercicios e información extra sobre los autores.

[Sheyda Mirlou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I enjoyed its mystery stories, I wonder why all the crimes took place by or because of a woman!!

[Salem · Rating 2 out of 5]

كتاب آخر من سلسلة
(Oxford Bookworms Library)
ولمن لا يعرف هذه السلسلة
فهي سلسلة (تعدل) الروايات الكلاسيكية وبعض الروايات الحديثة
لكي تناسب متعلمي اللغة الانجليزية
وتتكون من 7 مستويات

**
سبع قصص قصيرة
عن الجريمة والانتقام
لم تعجبني سوى قصتين منها

[Robin Meuris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book, because it had many different stories of different crimes. I like crime stories and thrillers. Some of the stories were difficult to understand in the beginning. And some stories should be more detailed. I liked the plot twists, and I also thought that the different endings were unexpected.
The book contains 7 short crime stories. The book was really sober and somethimes depressing. I wonder if the stories are true, they are really believeable.
It would be nice to know a little bit more about the criminals, and maybe what was the reason behind the crime, and what happened after.
I liked the Lazy Susan story the best, it was really short, but I did understand the whole story.
Overall i really liked this book, I would recommend it to everyone who likes crime stories and thrillers. If you like detailed stories, this book is not for you. The characters are easy to understand, but superficial. I don't think that's a problem, but some people might find this boring.
You also learn alot about crime vocabulary and the words aren't to difficult, if you don't understand a word, you can always translate the scentences and you will understand what they mean.

[mile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me gustó mucho esté libro y lo recomiendo mucho si se quiere leer historias cortas de misterio que son llenas de finales inesperados y raros JAHSAKBA

Son 7 historias en total y voy a intentar calificar cada una según mi opinión y revelan algunos spoilers:
1. Death Wish - 5/5
Supongo que fue una de mis favoritas sobre todo por el final que realmente pensé que sería súper diferente y me gustó mucho aunque hubiera querido que hablarán más sobre ciertos personajes.

2. Death on Chritmas Eve - 5/5
Amo amo, es tan genial. Me gusta mucho como los personajes han estado casi 20 años en el mismo problema y como la abogada siempre está para ellos es tan raro pero a la vez me gusta. No sé JAHSJAJ

3. The Heroine - 3/5
La verdad no me gustó el personaje de Heloise la sentí muy...loca Idk. Y el final creo que estuvo muy raro. No es una de mis fav je

4. Ride The Lightning - 4/5
Super locooo, hubo como un plot twist que me lo esperé pero a la vez no y siento encajaba con la trama. Aunque si no entendí porque el bendito hombre no hablo OSEA no me importa que la haya amado tanto, creo que el más loco de todo sigue siendo ese hombre Curtis Colt que fue inculpado.

5. The lipstick - 3/5
Me costó muchísimo leerlo, quizás por el tipo de narración pero aún así siento que la trama fue una de las mejores. Me confundí con los personajes JAHSKJA perdón y no me termine de aprender los nombres y quién era quien porque cuando hablaban de alguien y ya me estaba acostumbrando se pasaban a otro personaje completamente diferente. Aún así siento que me gustó mucho el final.

6. Lazy Susan - 5/5
Sweet and short. Ame el personaje de Susan JAHSJA está loca pero comprendo lo que hace aunque eso no la justifica.

7. The Gutting of Couffignal - 4/5
Una de las mejores tramas pero aún así me costó mucho leerlo. Pero sin duda, quizás porque fue el último, lo disfruté mucho.

[Masao Koda · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. Oxford level6
2. 09/28=60min, 09/30=120min
3. detective, murder, gun, grenade, rob, money, fate
4.(a) A smile came to her mouth, and her face was bright in the light of the fire. Anyone seeing her there would certainly have thought her a beautiful young woman.
(b)I really hate this passage. This story is about a woman whose reason for living is to do something good and to enhance herself up. But her passion to establish her fame was so high that she intentionally lit a fire around a nursery school she works at and tried to help children who were in there as if she is a hero of children regardless of that she expose them to danger. I can't believe what she did.
5. This book contains many short stories about crimes. Almost all stories are serious stories. However; one story is very funny for me. The story is about a woman who had her bag snatched, with 20 dollars in it. After the event, she decided to take a self-deffence training course held by the local police because she deeply resent herself who couldn't prevent the snatching. However, as soon as she finished the course, she snatched a bag from a man with knowledge about a bag snatcher she learned from the course. And then, I felt we should use our knowledge wisely for our better life.

[Yui · Rating 3 out of 5]

-OXFORD BOOKWORMS LIBRARY. LEVEL 6
-TIME the total=103min 10/18=23min 10/20=60min 10/21=20min
-7word summary
Wish, suicide, Christmas, heroine, fire, self-defense, money
-Discussion question
1. Why do some people want to set fire to a house?......I heard that pyromaniacs felt peace of mind when they saw flame.
2. It is said that protecting your physical well-being is your own responsibility. Do you have a way of protecting yourself?......I take my cellphone with me everywhere and do not walk the dark streets alone.


This book was a collection of short stories, I enjoyed some parts of them. When I felt boring, I could skip the part. However, I noticed that I preferred to full-length novels so
I want to find long mystery novels that I will enjoy reading the full part.

[Maite · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me ha gustado mucho este libro de relatos cortos. Todos tienen algo que ver con crímenes y la mayoría tienen un final totalmente inesperado. Mis favoritos han sido "Death Wish" y "The Heroine". Y quizás el que menos me ha gustado es "The Gutting of Couffignal", que curiosamente es la historia más larga. Me encantaría encontrar otro libro de este estilo.

[Jazmín · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo fui leyendo de a muy poco. Algunos cuentos me gustaron y otros meh. Voy a intentar resumirlos a continuación para después recordar qué leí. EDIT 2 horas después: no encuentro de qué se trata cada uno, ya no tengo el libro y no recuerdo :( Así que escribiré lo que haya en mi mente.

Death wish, Lawrence Block
Me pareció muy original y me gustó. Eso escribí cuando lo leí pero ahora no recuerdo nada más que empieza con alguien queriendo tirarse de un puente. Encontré un resumen y es MUY BUENO. Un hombre que quiere suicidarse porque cometió un delito? Lo dejo ahí para no hacer spoiler.

Death on Christmas Eve, Stanley Ellin
Dos hermanos que viven en una mansión media oscurita. Murió la esposa del hermano varón y la principal sospechosa en su hermana. Raro y entreverado hasta que llega el final y BOOM. Es bueno.

The heroine, Patricia Highsmith
Me gustó mucho la protagonista y me dió chills. Realmente tuve un poquito de miedo. Me gustó la atmósfera y el personaje que crea la autora.
Una mujer que cuida a los hijos de una familia después de que se muriera su propia madre.

Ride the lighting, John Lutz
Tiene un argumento que me hizo acordar a Cinco Cerditos (lo leí después de este así que no tiene sentido lo que estoy escribiendo). Una mujer consulta a un detective porque su novio, que está por morir en la silla electrica por asesinato, dice ser inocente. Pasan cosas. Hay plot twist pero yo lo vi venir.

The lipstick, Mary Roberts Rinehart
Una mujer se suicida tirandose por un edificio y su prima se hace la detective porque piensa que no fue suicidio. Meh, no entendía mucho porque se me confundían los nombres de los personajes. El final fue más meh y el final me dio cringe.

Lazy Susan, Nancy Pickard
Jeje este si me gustó bastante. Es bien cortito y tiene una protagonista mujer muy buena. Una mujer es robada y le pide a su marido que le enseñe a usar un arma. No hay más que eso pero es buenísimo.

The gutting of couffingnal, Dashiell Hammett
No lo pude terminar de leer porque era insufrible, no entendía nada y era muy largo. No sé de qué va.

[Kim Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains seven short stories, originally written by authors such as Dashiel Hammett and Patricia Highsmith. They have been re-written to make them suitable for adult readers who are developing their reading skills. They are enjoyable, bite sized stories. As an avid reader I found them ideal for those times when my brain is struggling to focus.

[Hussain Hussein · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have just finished reading this book. It appeals to me. I enjoyed reading it especially the last chapter which I enjoyed the most. I'd recommend it to those who are fascinated by crime stories and have enough time since it will get repetitive in the middle.

[✮ ⋆ ˚wiki ⋆｡°✩ · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. 5⭐️ podobała mi się
2. 4⭐️ to spoko
3. 4⭐️ krejzi
4. 2⭐️ nie zrozumiałam
5. 2⭐️ też nie zrozumiałam i nudne
6. 5⭐️ to było bardzo fajne
7. 1⭐️ yyyy nie mam pojęcia co tu się działo

sumując średnia ocena to 3⭐️

[Arturo Alcalá · Rating 2 out of 5]

Buen libro para practicar inglés. Cuentos cortos, nada fuera del otro mundo pero que se utiliza para la enseñanza del idioma. La narrativa está conjugado en su mayoría en pasado, por lo que podrás entender de manera más natural cómo se utiliza present y past perfect, por ejemplo.

[Irina Mituca · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 7 short stories pass you throung different perspective and different experiences, excitement and amazement fills you. Recoment the book for people who have a soft spot for crime stories.

[Sebastian Valencia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful text to improve your english level

[Macoco G.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un buen libro con historias cortas para aprender inglés si tienes un nivel B2-C1

[Itsaso · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is a good book to practice english, it is easy to read and suitable to improve the vocabulary.
However, the stories aren't very amusing.

[Marta Carvajal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Son historias cortas e interesantes, podrían ser cortos que te quedas viendo de madrugada porque duran tan poco que no te enteras de que pasa el tiempo. Es un libro entretenido.

[Diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

An average collection of stories. Good for people who have English as their second language.

[Vân Nhi · Rating 3 out of 5]

These short stories are suprisingly good, simple but attracting. Highly recommended for those who want to improve English vocabulary and reading skill.

[Namiko]

This book includes seven short stories:

-Death Wish by Lawrence Block
-Death on Christmas Eve by Stanley Ellin
-The Heroine by Patricia Highsmith
-Ride the Lightning by John Luz
-The Lipstick by Mary Roberts Rinehart
-Lazy Susan by Nancy Pickard
-The gutting of Couffignal by Dashiel Hammett

After reading some 'real' books (which are for native children), it was pretty easy for me to read the grated reader stories out aloud. I like reading short stories and I enjoyed those in this book, especially "Death Wish," "Death on Christmas Eve" and "Lazy Susan."

[Daniel Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a bit strange. It was a collection of crime stories, and some of them didn't make sense. However, the ones that did make sense to me sounded like a real crime scene. The criminals were clever people that fooled the police, detectives, and people in their surroundings. However, all of them were caught in the end. The criminals were usually people that I hadn't suspected for the whole story. One thing that this book should have added is what happened to the criminals afterwards.

[Octavio Sánchez Huerta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crime story are not relative quit fine for me, There are several short stories on this book and mostly of them ends bad for the main actor, for sure i can expectly asure for you that if you want to practice your crime grammar this book will be good for practising.

[Enas · Rating 3 out of 5]

مجموعه من القصص المختلفه محورها الجريمه اختلاف اساليب الكتابه من كاتب لاخر ينقلك من حاله الي اخري فالبعض منها شيق و الاخر تعد معه الوقت حتي تنتهي

[J. S. Golden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am in love with short stories. The shorter the better. I think the best story was "Lazy Susan"; cause it was very short and at the same time very surprisingly good. It's a good book.

[Sarie Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of short stories. Even the least enjoyable tales had interesting twists and turns throughout.

[David Renderos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy buenas historias de suspenso e intrigantes.!

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I totally recommend it for learners, it's a very good compilation of short stories, despiste its sober prose, all of them are enriched by witty plots and some ending twists.

[Tanaporn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good!

[Clarilu · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Death Wish” 4⭐️
“Death on Christmas Eve”4⭐️
“The Heroine” 4⭐️
“Ride the Lightning” 3⭐️
“The lipstick” 4⭐️
“Lazy Susan” 2⭐️
“The Gutting of Couffignal” 3⭐️