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Afternoon Tea Mysteries, Volume Two
Cozy mysteries are a subgenre of crime fiction in which sex and violence are downplayed. Cozies very rarely focus on sex, profanity or violence. The murders take place off stage, and are often relatively bloodless (e.g. poisoning), while sexual activity (if any) between characters is only ever gently implied and never directly addressed.
This edition contains four cozy novels by acclaimed authors, Anna Katharine Green, Carolyn Wells and Mrs. Charles Bryce (Marion Bryce).
Included in this collection:
Cozy Mystery One: The Sword of Damocles
This mystery written by acclaimed mystery author, Anna Katharine Green, features dishonest bankers, theft, a wayward woman and a number of young people who cannot marry until their reputations are shown to be spotless. The brilliant but reclusive detective, Ebenezer Gryce (featured in “An Ebenezer Gryce Mysteries Collection”) also makes a brief appearance.
Cozy Mystery Two: Raspberry Jam
One of Carolyn Wells’ best mystery novels featuring Fleming Stone. Its main puzzle is linked to Wells’ earliest such stories: explaining how outsiders might penetrate a locked domicile - here done right. This novel also has three good subplots about explaining purported psychic phenomena. The writing is lively throughout.
Cozy Mystery Three: Mystery of the Gold Bag
This Carolyn Wells’ mystery novel features a murdered millionaire, a missing will, a private secretary and a beautiful young woman who falls under suspicion. Can she be guilty? Will the modest and relatively inexperienced young detective fall for her?
Cozy Mystery Four: The Ashiel Mystery
A Scottish mystery written Mrs. Charles Bryce [Marion Bryce]. As the adopted daughter of Sir Charles Byrne, young Pauline suffers when he marries again. Then she gets a chance to meet her natural father. This is followed by murders, missing wills and deception in a Scottish castle. It’s enough to make a girl faint. Fortunately the detective, Mr. Gimblet is on hand to solve the mystery.
A must-have for fans of classic mysteries!
This edition contains four cozy novels by acclaimed authors, Anna Katharine Green, Carolyn Wells and Mrs. Charles Bryce (Marion Bryce).
Included in this collection:
Cozy Mystery One: The Sword of Damocles
This mystery written by acclaimed mystery author, Anna Katharine Green, features dishonest bankers, theft, a wayward woman and a number of young people who cannot marry until their reputations are shown to be spotless. The brilliant but reclusive detective, Ebenezer Gryce (featured in “An Ebenezer Gryce Mysteries Collection”) also makes a brief appearance.
Cozy Mystery Two: Raspberry Jam
One of Carolyn Wells’ best mystery novels featuring Fleming Stone. Its main puzzle is linked to Wells’ earliest such stories: explaining how outsiders might penetrate a locked domicile - here done right. This novel also has three good subplots about explaining purported psychic phenomena. The writing is lively throughout.
Cozy Mystery Three: Mystery of the Gold Bag
This Carolyn Wells’ mystery novel features a murdered millionaire, a missing will, a private secretary and a beautiful young woman who falls under suspicion. Can she be guilty? Will the modest and relatively inexperienced young detective fall for her?
Cozy Mystery Four: The Ashiel Mystery
A Scottish mystery written Mrs. Charles Bryce [Marion Bryce]. As the adopted daughter of Sir Charles Byrne, young Pauline suffers when he marries again. Then she gets a chance to meet her natural father. This is followed by murders, missing wills and deception in a Scottish castle. It’s enough to make a girl faint. Fortunately the detective, Mr. Gimblet is on hand to solve the mystery.
A must-have for fans of classic mysteries!
- GenresMysteryHistoricalFiction
907 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 28, 2011
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55 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 17, 2019
Easy Reading
There are four “cozy” mysteries in this volume, although I’m not sure I would classify ‘The Sword of Damocles’ in this genre.
‘The Sword of Damocles’ was written by Anna Katharine Green and is a novel that I have read as it is included in her “Ultimate Collection”. It was published in 1881 and is written in the style of that time, so is verbose, and uses words that are not generally in the lexicon of modern writers. There are a number of descriptive passages and some of those could have been left out without altering the tenor of the story.
The main characters are fleshed-out and all characters are defined in a few words or sentences. There are several different threads to the story and two romances. The prose is good and the dialogue natural for the story, where the men are upright and manly, the young women sweet and pure, and the mature women honourable and wise.
As leavening to all this goodness, we have a self-centred beauty and two well-brought up people gone bad. The pacing is slow but not tedious and all-in-all a very good story with a moral or two.
‘Raspberry Jam’ and ‘Mystery of the Gold Bag’ are both Carolyn Wells mysteries. I am not a fan of Wells’ writing but ‘Raspberry Jam’ would be the exception. It is a Fleming Stone book and is very ingenious, although I did guess how the murder was done and by whom. There is a good cast of characters with personalities that make them real people. Stone is duly called in to the case and turns up with his associate, Fibsy, who is a delightful character and steals the show IMHO. Stone and Fibsy solve the seemingly impossible murder with (I think) most of the credit due to Fibsy. A very good, well-written mystery.
In ‘Mystery of the Gold Bag’, Detective Burroughs is sent to investigate the murder of a millionaire, but fails. Fleming Stone is then called in a last-ditch attempt to solve the murder and he pinpoints the guilty one after a few hours, if that. This story reminds me why I don’t like Wells. Everyone is a bumbler apart from Fleming Stone.
‘The Ashiel Mystery’ by Mrs Charles Bryce (Marion Bryce) is the first story I have read by this author. Published in 1915 this is a well-paced, well-written murder-mystery. We have some melodrama with secret societies and repudiated babies, but overall an entertaining mystery with relatable characters, realistic dialogue and a satisfactory conclusion.
There are four “cozy” mysteries in this volume, although I’m not sure I would classify ‘The Sword of Damocles’ in this genre.
‘The Sword of Damocles’ was written by Anna Katharine Green and is a novel that I have read as it is included in her “Ultimate Collection”. It was published in 1881 and is written in the style of that time, so is verbose, and uses words that are not generally in the lexicon of modern writers. There are a number of descriptive passages and some of those could have been left out without altering the tenor of the story.
The main characters are fleshed-out and all characters are defined in a few words or sentences. There are several different threads to the story and two romances. The prose is good and the dialogue natural for the story, where the men are upright and manly, the young women sweet and pure, and the mature women honourable and wise.
As leavening to all this goodness, we have a self-centred beauty and two well-brought up people gone bad. The pacing is slow but not tedious and all-in-all a very good story with a moral or two.
‘Raspberry Jam’ and ‘Mystery of the Gold Bag’ are both Carolyn Wells mysteries. I am not a fan of Wells’ writing but ‘Raspberry Jam’ would be the exception. It is a Fleming Stone book and is very ingenious, although I did guess how the murder was done and by whom. There is a good cast of characters with personalities that make them real people. Stone is duly called in to the case and turns up with his associate, Fibsy, who is a delightful character and steals the show IMHO. Stone and Fibsy solve the seemingly impossible murder with (I think) most of the credit due to Fibsy. A very good, well-written mystery.
In ‘Mystery of the Gold Bag’, Detective Burroughs is sent to investigate the murder of a millionaire, but fails. Fleming Stone is then called in a last-ditch attempt to solve the murder and he pinpoints the guilty one after a few hours, if that. This story reminds me why I don’t like Wells. Everyone is a bumbler apart from Fleming Stone.
‘The Ashiel Mystery’ by Mrs Charles Bryce (Marion Bryce) is the first story I have read by this author. Published in 1915 this is a well-paced, well-written murder-mystery. We have some melodrama with secret societies and repudiated babies, but overall an entertaining mystery with relatable characters, realistic dialogue and a satisfactory conclusion.
Displaying 1 of 1 review