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Whodunnit? Utterly Baffling Detective Stories
From Sherlock Holmes to Hercule Poirot, these detectives puzzle their way through a maze of alibis and motives in this collection of classic and contemporary crime fiction.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
17 people are currently reading
700 people want to read
About the author
Philip Pullman
259 books25.6k followersSir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman is an English writer. His books include the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials and The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, a fictionalised biography of Jesus. In 2008, The Times named Pullman one of the "50 greatest British writers since 1945". In a 2004 BBC poll, he was named the eleventh most influential person in British culture. He was knighted in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to literature.
Northern Lights, the first volume in His Dark Materials, won the 1995 Carnegie Medal of the Library Association as the year's outstanding English-language children's book. For the Carnegie's 70th anniversary, it was named in the top ten by a panel tasked with compiling a shortlist for a public vote for an all-time favourite. It won that public vote and was named all-time "Carnegie of Carnegies" in June 2007. It was filmed under the book's US title, The Golden Compass. In 2003, His Dark Materials trilogy ranked third in the BBC's The Big Read, a poll of 200 top novels voted by the British public.
Northern Lights, the first volume in His Dark Materials, won the 1995 Carnegie Medal of the Library Association as the year's outstanding English-language children's book. For the Carnegie's 70th anniversary, it was named in the top ten by a panel tasked with compiling a shortlist for a public vote for an all-time favourite. It won that public vote and was named all-time "Carnegie of Carnegies" in June 2007. It was filmed under the book's US title, The Golden Compass. In 2003, His Dark Materials trilogy ranked third in the BBC's The Big Read, a poll of 200 top novels voted by the British public.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
February 22, 2022
Some were good. Some were okayish. One was an incomplete excerpt. Not fair to the reader. And a few were not detective stories at all.
.
.
August 2, 2009
Great selection of short stories by authors that have become the "standard" of the mystery genre (Christie, Sayers, Ellery Queen, etc.) that are kid-readable and appealing... but all adult characters so this one is for the at-least-10-and-up crowd for sure.
Adults will appreciate Pullman's short intro notes breaking down the the different mystery sub-genres / story-types.
Adults will appreciate Pullman's short intro notes breaking down the the different mystery sub-genres / story-types.
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July 11, 2017Weak sauce, Phil Pullman. Weak sauce. They weren't even all detective stories.
September 15, 2023
My favorite story was “The Inspiration of Mr. Budd.” I definitely want to read more Dorothy Sayers now. I also enjoyed “Murder at St. Oswald’s” by Michael Underwood, set at a boys’ public school in 1929. As Philip Pullman says in his introduction, “The sort of detective stories I enjoy most are the ones that give us a sense of the world around the detective.”
June 7, 2012
Wonderful selection of detective short stories by various authors. Some I've heard of and read, some I've hear of and not read, while others I've not heard of at all, and obviously not read!
There is a small 2-3 paragraph introduction to each story and nice drawings scattered throughout the book. I am also going to make a note of some authors and look up more of their work - i.e., Simon Templar for one. I have heard of The Saint but I haven't read any of his adventures. And the one here made me chuckle by the end.
Even though this book is geared toward the young crowd, I would recommend it to anyone for a quick read of different samplings of detective stories. Very good!
There is a small 2-3 paragraph introduction to each story and nice drawings scattered throughout the book. I am also going to make a note of some authors and look up more of their work - i.e., Simon Templar for one. I have heard of The Saint but I haven't read any of his adventures. And the one here made me chuckle by the end.
Even though this book is geared toward the young crowd, I would recommend it to anyone for a quick read of different samplings of detective stories. Very good!
June 6, 2017
I came across this at a used bookstore and picked it up because I'm always up for a short story anthology. Unfortunately, despite the promising introduction, most of the stories in this book can't even be truthfully described as detective stories; some aren't even mysteries. Their quality varies a bit, but not as much as in most such anthologies, usually falling squarely into "mediocre." I don't know if I'll even bother holding on to it, because I if I wanted to re-read any of the stories I did like (namely, the Christie, Sayers, Asimov, and Bentley ones), I could find them in their native collections, which would be better than this one.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - The Speckled Band - This is one of the most popular Sherlock Holmes stories, if not the most popular, but it's never been one of my favorites. It's good, certainly, but the characters just aren't that appealing, and there's not as much detecting going on as in, for instance, "The Red-Headed League" or "A Case of Identity."
Ellery Queen - Cold Money - This is the first Ellery Queen story I've read, and I did enjoy it, though I didn't love it. The plot is terribly predictable, and the solution poorly formed (the murderer could as easily have been someone else, and in fact I thought it was going to be someone posing as the actual murderer).
Agatha Christie - The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb - This is also the first Christie story I've read. I wasn't expecting to like it, but I did. I actually found Poirot really entertaining.
Erich Kästner - Emil and the Detectives - I've never read this book, though it's mentioned in one of my favorites, Guus Kuijer's The Book of Everything , and despite Pullman's assertion that it's "one of the best children's books ever written," this "extract" did nothing to woo me. In addition to the plot being far-fetched and the characters uninteresting, the writing is extremely clunky.
Dorothy L. Sayers - The Inspiration of Mr. Budd - I've read a couple of the Lord Peter Wimsey novels, but none of Sayers' short stories till now. It was fun, and has a marvelous ending, but it's where the book starts to move away from actual detective stories, though it comes closer than much of what follows.
Raymond Smullyan - From the Files of Inspector Craig - These aren't stories at all, only logic puzzles in the form of "Given a few facts about A, B, and C [not stand-ins; they really are referred to as A, B, and C], and given that no one else was involved in a crime, who is innocent, and who is guilty?" Each one is only a couple paragraphs long. Sort of diverting, but not the kind of thing that works in an anthology like this, in my view.
Damon Runyon - Butch Minds the Baby - Pullman actually admits in his introduction that this isn't a detective story, and though he could have made that preface to half these entries, it's particularly true here. It follows the misadventures of a group of New York gangsters. I couldn't even read it because the prose was so over-the-top, but I don't feel as though I missed anything.
Michael Underwood - Murder at St. Oswald's - This also doesn't involve any detecting, only a group of middle schoolers attempting murder. I've certainly read worse, but it wasn't what I call compelling.
Isaac Asimov - The Cross of Lorraine - Again, not a detective story, as there's no crime, though there is some deduction. It was enjoyable on its own merits, though. Although I did feel a prick of annoyance at the male main character running after a woman because he has a crush on her... she's not that into you, bro.
Leslie Charteris - The Newdick Helicopter - Hey, an honest-to-God detective story! It's fun enough and has a cute little twist ending, though it's not really exciting.
Italo Calvino - The One-Handed Murderer - An Italian folktale that involves no detection, nor in fact any crime, despite the title. I like folktales, but this was just whatever. "Bluebeard" would have been a much more appropriate inclusion.
E.C. Bentley - The Little Mystery - Another actual detective story. Although the broad points of the plot are pretty predictable, especially to anyone who's read the Sherlock Holmes story "The Copper Beeches," the details aren't. The characters aren't super endearing, but they're likeable enough. One of the better stories for sure.
Tony Fletcher - Fingerprinting a Ghost - A (supposedly) true story, though written like a short story. It was interesting, but again wholly predictable.
Andrew Vachss - It's a Hard World - Again, no detecting, just villainy. I gather from Pullman's introduction that we're supposed to find the main character sympathetic? I certainly didn't feel anything for him at all. The mechanism by which he defeats his opponents is clever, but it could have been used in a better story.
Stephen Leacock - Maddened by Mystery - A parody of detective stories, but I found it tiresome and pointless rather than funny.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - The Speckled Band - This is one of the most popular Sherlock Holmes stories, if not the most popular, but it's never been one of my favorites. It's good, certainly, but the characters just aren't that appealing, and there's not as much detecting going on as in, for instance, "The Red-Headed League" or "A Case of Identity."
Ellery Queen - Cold Money - This is the first Ellery Queen story I've read, and I did enjoy it, though I didn't love it. The plot is terribly predictable, and the solution poorly formed (the murderer could as easily have been someone else, and in fact I thought it was going to be someone posing as the actual murderer).
Agatha Christie - The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb - This is also the first Christie story I've read. I wasn't expecting to like it, but I did. I actually found Poirot really entertaining.
Erich Kästner - Emil and the Detectives - I've never read this book, though it's mentioned in one of my favorites, Guus Kuijer's The Book of Everything , and despite Pullman's assertion that it's "one of the best children's books ever written," this "extract" did nothing to woo me. In addition to the plot being far-fetched and the characters uninteresting, the writing is extremely clunky.
Dorothy L. Sayers - The Inspiration of Mr. Budd - I've read a couple of the Lord Peter Wimsey novels, but none of Sayers' short stories till now. It was fun, and has a marvelous ending, but it's where the book starts to move away from actual detective stories, though it comes closer than much of what follows.
Raymond Smullyan - From the Files of Inspector Craig - These aren't stories at all, only logic puzzles in the form of "Given a few facts about A, B, and C [not stand-ins; they really are referred to as A, B, and C], and given that no one else was involved in a crime, who is innocent, and who is guilty?" Each one is only a couple paragraphs long. Sort of diverting, but not the kind of thing that works in an anthology like this, in my view.
Damon Runyon - Butch Minds the Baby - Pullman actually admits in his introduction that this isn't a detective story, and though he could have made that preface to half these entries, it's particularly true here. It follows the misadventures of a group of New York gangsters. I couldn't even read it because the prose was so over-the-top, but I don't feel as though I missed anything.
Michael Underwood - Murder at St. Oswald's - This also doesn't involve any detecting, only a group of middle schoolers attempting murder. I've certainly read worse, but it wasn't what I call compelling.
Isaac Asimov - The Cross of Lorraine - Again, not a detective story, as there's no crime, though there is some deduction. It was enjoyable on its own merits, though. Although I did feel a prick of annoyance at the male main character running after a woman because he has a crush on her... she's not that into you, bro.
Leslie Charteris - The Newdick Helicopter - Hey, an honest-to-God detective story! It's fun enough and has a cute little twist ending, though it's not really exciting.
Italo Calvino - The One-Handed Murderer - An Italian folktale that involves no detection, nor in fact any crime, despite the title. I like folktales, but this was just whatever. "Bluebeard" would have been a much more appropriate inclusion.
E.C. Bentley - The Little Mystery - Another actual detective story. Although the broad points of the plot are pretty predictable, especially to anyone who's read the Sherlock Holmes story "The Copper Beeches," the details aren't. The characters aren't super endearing, but they're likeable enough. One of the better stories for sure.
Tony Fletcher - Fingerprinting a Ghost - A (supposedly) true story, though written like a short story. It was interesting, but again wholly predictable.
Andrew Vachss - It's a Hard World - Again, no detecting, just villainy. I gather from Pullman's introduction that we're supposed to find the main character sympathetic? I certainly didn't feel anything for him at all. The mechanism by which he defeats his opponents is clever, but it could have been used in a better story.
Stephen Leacock - Maddened by Mystery - A parody of detective stories, but I found it tiresome and pointless rather than funny.
April 3, 2021
My dad stopped by for a visit today and I asked him to pick the next book for review. He pulled down this compilation of detective stories by Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and others. Like all compilations it's got some hits and misses, so I'll go through each short story individually.
It starts off with a strong player, The Speckled Band by Arthur Conan Doyle. A woman comes to Baker Street with the story of her twin sister's suspicious death and the violent behavior of her stepfather. In the days up to the twin sister's wedding she reported to her sister of the smell of cigar smoke and a low whistling sound heard in her room. One night the household is awoken by a scream and they find the twin sister speaking of a speckled band before she dies (of fear?). Now the other sister is due to be married, and a sudden round of construction her stepfather has ordered for the house has forced the girl to sleep in her dead sister's room, where she has begun hearing the whistle and smelling cigar smoke.
They Can Only Hang You Once by Dashiell Hammett is a Sam Spade and one of the best of the lot. It's clever and has a great twist ending. Two down on their luck cousins are taking care of their wealthy uncle for all the obvious reasons. But someone attacks the uncle, kills one of the women in the house, and knocks off the butler. Who's the murderer and who's looking to inherit?
I'd read The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb by Agatha Christie somewhere before, I'll probably find it in one of my AG anthologies, but it hadn't impressed me before nor does it now. It is a Hercule Poirot story where he goes to Egypt to investigate a curse killing off an excavation crew, a plot and solution that can now be found in many mysteries (and at least one romance that I've happened across).
The next story is actually an excerpt of the children's book Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner. It's only the first several pages and it's clear who the perpetrator is from the get go, but the forward to the story insists that it is the greatest children's book ever written. But you couldn't tell that from the excerpt, in which the theft occurs several pages in with nothing else before of after. It's a pass; so sleepy that even the main character dozes through it.
The Inspiration of Mr Budd by Dorothy L. Sayers is a sweet little story about a timid hairdresser who is hard up for business, until the day he recognizes his customer as a wanted murderer from a description in the local paper. Not a detective story but a satisfying read; well written if a touch obvious.
From the Files of Inspector Craig by Raymond Smullyan isn't a short story at all but two pages of short logic puzzles, all of the 'if A is this and B is that' variety.
Butch Minds the Baby by Damon Runyon is, as you will find me saying of many of these stories, not a detective story. It's a first person tale about a team of safecrackers, and Big Butch in particular who's been charged by his wife to babysit for the night. But the score is enough to tempt him and he brings the baby along, which turns out to save his hide when the cops catch him. A good story for the language; I can read this again and again just absorbing Mr. Runyon's skill at creating individual voices.
Murder at St Oswald's by Michael Underwood is the story of a group of school boys attempting to poison one of their teachers. They pull it off and see the body in the garden shed, but when school officials look for him he is no where to be found. It's good enough, and it's a mystery story if not a detective one since it follows the worried school boys and not the police.
The Cross of Lorraine by Isaac Asimov is my favorite of the collection. It involves a group of friends called the Black Widowers who gather for a monthly banquet. The guest of the month puts a riddle to them of a woman he'd met on a train and who had disappeared on him. One of the few detective stories in the bunch, it's solved through discussion and each voice is unique and enjoyable.
The Newdick Helicopter by Leslie Charteris is about a detective called The Saint who hears from his friend about a man cheating folks into buying shares in a helicopter business which he holds no patents to. The Saint investigates and sees something the conman doesn't, buying up the controlling interest and out-conning the conman. A good story and, I suppose, there is a smidgen of investigating done near the end.
Cold Money by Ellery Queen is a charming detective story about a thief released from prison returning to the same hotel room he was originally caught in. The police discover that the stolen money had been hidden there, and despite staff assuring officers that he'd received no visitors and hadn't left the room since he checked in, the thief is dead and the money gone. But one small observation has the whole case solved in moments. A very good one and it gave me a good turn trying to figure it out, even after the clue came up.
More From the Files of Inspector Craig by Raymond Smullyan is another two pages of puzzles in the same vein as the first.
The One-Handed Murderer by Italo Calvino is the retelling of an Italian folktale about a murder pursuing a princess for vengeance. It is brilliant! I wasn't expecting much from it in the beginning as I'd misread the forward as it being a fairy tale, most of which have been either written or edited to make everything the woman's fault. But folk tales are generally kinder to the female sex and in this one the princess is not only the heroine, but she become so despite the everyone around her telling her time and again that she is making the whole affair up, even after she has proven them wrong before (i.e. she proves a murderer has been trying to kill her and the king finally believes her, but when he shows up again in disguise the king goes back to dismissing her terror). That said, it's not a detective story at all and there's not even investigating done in it which a least the others have, so I have no idea why it's here.
Fingerprinting a Ghost by Tony Fletcher (from Memories of Murder ) is a story of exactly what it sounds. A tale from the memoir of a police fingerprint specialist tells a tale wherein the police are contacted by the Psychical Research Society to print a pair of hands that had been appearing at séances held at a home in South Manchester. The original attempts gain interest among the force as the fingerprints appear as long scratches across the paper, and photographs show creased cushions as though being sat on by someone, until an article in the Daily Mail brings the police chief down on them and puts a stop to it all. Not a detective story so much as a ghost story.
It's a Hard World by Andrew Vachss is a about a man on the run outfoxing his pursuers. Not a detective story but I'm not sure what else to call it.
Maddened by Mystery by Stephen Leacock is a parody of detective stories wherein the solution is obvious but the ending is all colors of messed up. Good for a quick read but I wouldn't want to sit through a book of them.
The verdict? For a detective story compilation there weren't many detective stories in it. However, the stories were good and some were really great so I'll go ahead and recommended it.
It starts off with a strong player, The Speckled Band by Arthur Conan Doyle. A woman comes to Baker Street with the story of her twin sister's suspicious death and the violent behavior of her stepfather. In the days up to the twin sister's wedding she reported to her sister of the smell of cigar smoke and a low whistling sound heard in her room. One night the household is awoken by a scream and they find the twin sister speaking of a speckled band before she dies (of fear?). Now the other sister is due to be married, and a sudden round of construction her stepfather has ordered for the house has forced the girl to sleep in her dead sister's room, where she has begun hearing the whistle and smelling cigar smoke.
They Can Only Hang You Once by Dashiell Hammett is a Sam Spade and one of the best of the lot. It's clever and has a great twist ending. Two down on their luck cousins are taking care of their wealthy uncle for all the obvious reasons. But someone attacks the uncle, kills one of the women in the house, and knocks off the butler. Who's the murderer and who's looking to inherit?
I'd read The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb by Agatha Christie somewhere before, I'll probably find it in one of my AG anthologies, but it hadn't impressed me before nor does it now. It is a Hercule Poirot story where he goes to Egypt to investigate a curse killing off an excavation crew, a plot and solution that can now be found in many mysteries (and at least one romance that I've happened across).
The next story is actually an excerpt of the children's book Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner. It's only the first several pages and it's clear who the perpetrator is from the get go, but the forward to the story insists that it is the greatest children's book ever written. But you couldn't tell that from the excerpt, in which the theft occurs several pages in with nothing else before of after. It's a pass; so sleepy that even the main character dozes through it.
The Inspiration of Mr Budd by Dorothy L. Sayers is a sweet little story about a timid hairdresser who is hard up for business, until the day he recognizes his customer as a wanted murderer from a description in the local paper. Not a detective story but a satisfying read; well written if a touch obvious.
From the Files of Inspector Craig by Raymond Smullyan isn't a short story at all but two pages of short logic puzzles, all of the 'if A is this and B is that' variety.
Butch Minds the Baby by Damon Runyon is, as you will find me saying of many of these stories, not a detective story. It's a first person tale about a team of safecrackers, and Big Butch in particular who's been charged by his wife to babysit for the night. But the score is enough to tempt him and he brings the baby along, which turns out to save his hide when the cops catch him. A good story for the language; I can read this again and again just absorbing Mr. Runyon's skill at creating individual voices.
Murder at St Oswald's by Michael Underwood is the story of a group of school boys attempting to poison one of their teachers. They pull it off and see the body in the garden shed, but when school officials look for him he is no where to be found. It's good enough, and it's a mystery story if not a detective one since it follows the worried school boys and not the police.
The Cross of Lorraine by Isaac Asimov is my favorite of the collection. It involves a group of friends called the Black Widowers who gather for a monthly banquet. The guest of the month puts a riddle to them of a woman he'd met on a train and who had disappeared on him. One of the few detective stories in the bunch, it's solved through discussion and each voice is unique and enjoyable.
The Newdick Helicopter by Leslie Charteris is about a detective called The Saint who hears from his friend about a man cheating folks into buying shares in a helicopter business which he holds no patents to. The Saint investigates and sees something the conman doesn't, buying up the controlling interest and out-conning the conman. A good story and, I suppose, there is a smidgen of investigating done near the end.
Cold Money by Ellery Queen is a charming detective story about a thief released from prison returning to the same hotel room he was originally caught in. The police discover that the stolen money had been hidden there, and despite staff assuring officers that he'd received no visitors and hadn't left the room since he checked in, the thief is dead and the money gone. But one small observation has the whole case solved in moments. A very good one and it gave me a good turn trying to figure it out, even after the clue came up.
More From the Files of Inspector Craig by Raymond Smullyan is another two pages of puzzles in the same vein as the first.
The One-Handed Murderer by Italo Calvino is the retelling of an Italian folktale about a murder pursuing a princess for vengeance. It is brilliant! I wasn't expecting much from it in the beginning as I'd misread the forward as it being a fairy tale, most of which have been either written or edited to make everything the woman's fault. But folk tales are generally kinder to the female sex and in this one the princess is not only the heroine, but she become so despite the everyone around her telling her time and again that she is making the whole affair up, even after she has proven them wrong before (i.e. she proves a murderer has been trying to kill her and the king finally believes her, but when he shows up again in disguise the king goes back to dismissing her terror). That said, it's not a detective story at all and there's not even investigating done in it which a least the others have, so I have no idea why it's here.
Fingerprinting a Ghost by Tony Fletcher (from Memories of Murder ) is a story of exactly what it sounds. A tale from the memoir of a police fingerprint specialist tells a tale wherein the police are contacted by the Psychical Research Society to print a pair of hands that had been appearing at séances held at a home in South Manchester. The original attempts gain interest among the force as the fingerprints appear as long scratches across the paper, and photographs show creased cushions as though being sat on by someone, until an article in the Daily Mail brings the police chief down on them and puts a stop to it all. Not a detective story so much as a ghost story.
It's a Hard World by Andrew Vachss is a about a man on the run outfoxing his pursuers. Not a detective story but I'm not sure what else to call it.
Maddened by Mystery by Stephen Leacock is a parody of detective stories wherein the solution is obvious but the ending is all colors of messed up. Good for a quick read but I wouldn't want to sit through a book of them.
The verdict? For a detective story compilation there weren't many detective stories in it. However, the stories were good and some were really great so I'll go ahead and recommended it.
August 5, 2025
3.58⭐
Introduction (1998) • essay by Philip Pullman ✔
The Speckled Band • [Sherlock Holmes] • (1892) • Arthur Conan Doyle 5⭐
Cold Money • Ellery Queen 3⭐
The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb • [Hercule Poirot] • (1923) • Agatha Christie 5⭐
Emil and the Detectives (an extract) • Erich Kästner 3.5⭐
From the novel Emil and the Detectives, Chapter 3 The Journey to Berlin Begins; Chapter 5 Emil Gets Off at the Wrong Station; and Chapter 6 Streetcar Line 177.
The Inspiration of Mr. Budd • (1939) • Dorothy L. Sayers 4⭐
From the Files of Inspector Craig • Raymond Smullyan 4⭐
Butch Minds the Baby • Damon Runyon 3.5⭐
Murder at St. Oswald's • Michael Underwood 4.5 ⭐
The Cross of Lorraine • [Black Widowers] • (1976) • Isaac Asimov 4.25⭐
The Newdick Helicopter • [Simon Templar] • (1933) • Leslie Charteris 3.5⭐
More From the Files of Inspector Craig • Raymond Smullyan 4⭐
The One-Handed Murderer • Italo Calvino 3⭐
The Little Mystery • E.C. Bentley 3.5⭐
Fingerprinting a Ghost • Terry Fletcher (from Memories of Murder: The Great Cases of a Finger-print Expert Chapter 7 "Variety is the Spice of Life" p. 132-142) 4.25⭐
It's a Hard World • (1987) • Andrew Vachss 3.25⭐
Maddened by Mystery • Stephen Leacock (variant of Maddened by Mystery, or the Defective Detective) 4⭐
Introduction (1998) • essay by Philip Pullman ✔
The Speckled Band • [Sherlock Holmes] • (1892) • Arthur Conan Doyle 5⭐
Cold Money • Ellery Queen 3⭐
The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb • [Hercule Poirot] • (1923) • Agatha Christie 5⭐
Emil and the Detectives (an extract) • Erich Kästner 3.5⭐
From the novel Emil and the Detectives, Chapter 3 The Journey to Berlin Begins; Chapter 5 Emil Gets Off at the Wrong Station; and Chapter 6 Streetcar Line 177.
The Inspiration of Mr. Budd • (1939) • Dorothy L. Sayers 4⭐
From the Files of Inspector Craig • Raymond Smullyan 4⭐
Butch Minds the Baby • Damon Runyon 3.5⭐
Murder at St. Oswald's • Michael Underwood 4.5 ⭐
The Cross of Lorraine • [Black Widowers] • (1976) • Isaac Asimov 4.25⭐
The Newdick Helicopter • [Simon Templar] • (1933) • Leslie Charteris 3.5⭐
More From the Files of Inspector Craig • Raymond Smullyan 4⭐
The One-Handed Murderer • Italo Calvino 3⭐
The Little Mystery • E.C. Bentley 3.5⭐
Fingerprinting a Ghost • Terry Fletcher (from Memories of Murder: The Great Cases of a Finger-print Expert Chapter 7 "Variety is the Spice of Life" p. 132-142) 4.25⭐
It's a Hard World • (1987) • Andrew Vachss 3.25⭐
Maddened by Mystery • Stephen Leacock (variant of Maddened by Mystery, or the Defective Detective) 4⭐
November 28, 2022
There were a couple exceptional stories in here “The inspiration of Mr. Budd” by Sayers for one, but for the most part the stories didn’t feature detectives and one “story was actually just an excerpt. The illustrations were adorable, and everything was appropriate for the whole family, which I appreciated.
April 22, 2024
An interesting little compilation of “detective” stories, and even that term seems to be used loosely. I enjoyed most of the stories, some were just ok, but I was a little put off by the fact that Emil and the Detectives was incomplete. If you are going to include a story, include the whole thing. Nothing spectacular, but they were all good enough.
September 26, 2017
Great collection of fifteen great stories that dive into mystery and suspense.
June 9, 2019
This was fun :) I love detective murder mysteries especially Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Highly recommend !
April 11, 2020
Disappointing and head-scratching choice of stories. Some can barely even be called "detective stories". Nice drawings, but that's about it.
May 9, 2021
A few are cool, but many aren’t even detective stories.
September 7, 2021
does anyone know the number for dominos?????
December 31, 2021
I choose to read a four of the stories that had been recommended by another review, and enjoyed them. However found this light touch enough.
September 21, 2023
Enjoyed the book
July 28, 2017
Heart failure, blood poisoning and suicide? All at once? In The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb by Agatha Christie, Sir John Willard died after he entered an ancient tomb. It was thought to be a heart attack, but other characters die mysteriously as well. One dies of blood poisoning while another dies of tetanus followed by suicide. The curse of the Pharaoh is following those who dishonor the tomb. Hercule Poirot sets off to Egypt to investigate the “curse” and whodunnit?
Also, in The Speckled Band by Arthur Conan Doyle, Helen lives with her stepfather Dr. Roylott, a very difficult man. Helen’s sister Julia died in her sleep, just a few weeks before she was to marry. Helen, also to be married, finds that her step-father moves her into her late sister's room. During her first night, she experiences the same eeriness as her sister. And, Sherlock Holmes is approached to save Helen and find out whodunnit?
These stories appear in Philip Pullman’s book, Whodunnit, a collection of detective short stories. Here, the mood follows a pattern. When exiting from a story, the mood is relieved, but quickly intensifies with the beginning of a new one. In these particular stories, the pattern in the mood is exactly the same. The mood is light, yet curious in the exposition when the client approaches the detective and intensifies as the plot continues. The mood is intense and serious at the climax, yet settles immediately as the detectives crack the case.
Whodunnit: Detective Short Stories is a beautiful collection of some of the classic short detective stories. I personally enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend this to all adult and young adult readers. The suspenseful mood that is consistent in each narrative can be understood by anyone, especially because the author, Philip Pullman includes his own views on each short story to introduce the mystery. I enjoyed how Pullman manages to keep the reader puzzled as all of his chosen stories have a uniquely different mystery to be revealed. Whodunnit: Detective Short Stories is enjoyed by many and it will force you to flip the page with every story and find out whodunnit.
~Ishva
Also, in The Speckled Band by Arthur Conan Doyle, Helen lives with her stepfather Dr. Roylott, a very difficult man. Helen’s sister Julia died in her sleep, just a few weeks before she was to marry. Helen, also to be married, finds that her step-father moves her into her late sister's room. During her first night, she experiences the same eeriness as her sister. And, Sherlock Holmes is approached to save Helen and find out whodunnit?
These stories appear in Philip Pullman’s book, Whodunnit, a collection of detective short stories. Here, the mood follows a pattern. When exiting from a story, the mood is relieved, but quickly intensifies with the beginning of a new one. In these particular stories, the pattern in the mood is exactly the same. The mood is light, yet curious in the exposition when the client approaches the detective and intensifies as the plot continues. The mood is intense and serious at the climax, yet settles immediately as the detectives crack the case.
Whodunnit: Detective Short Stories is a beautiful collection of some of the classic short detective stories. I personally enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend this to all adult and young adult readers. The suspenseful mood that is consistent in each narrative can be understood by anyone, especially because the author, Philip Pullman includes his own views on each short story to introduce the mystery. I enjoyed how Pullman manages to keep the reader puzzled as all of his chosen stories have a uniquely different mystery to be revealed. Whodunnit: Detective Short Stories is enjoyed by many and it will force you to flip the page with every story and find out whodunnit.
~Ishva
July 25, 2011
Phillip Pullman has chosen some excellent short stories for this attractively packaged collection. Designed with older children, teenagers and young adults in mind - obvious only in two puzzle sections and possibly the choice of an extract from 'Emil and the Detectives' - this book would appeal to anyone who enjoys crime and mystery stories.
Some old favourites appear. Whilst some, such as Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Speckled Band', will doubtless be familiar to most readers, others probably won't be. Many of the biggest names of mystery fiction are covered: Agatha Christie (with a Poirot story, 'The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb'), Dashiell Hammett (Sam Spade's most conventional detective story, 'They Can Only Hang You Once') and Dorothy L. Sayers (in fine form with 'The Inspiration of Mr Budd'). There are also stories of crisp deduction from Ellery Queen, roguish adventure from Leslie Charteris and the Saint, and intuition and lateral thinking from Isaac Asimov.
Pullman doesn't confine himself to the usual suspects, however, and there is also an Italian folktale and part of a memoir of a fingerprint expert recalling an unusual request. My personal favourite is 'Butch Minds the Baby', a beautifully deadpan tale of New York criminals.
Well worth buying for any teenagers you know who might be interested - or simply reading yourself.
Note this volume is sometimes also listed as `Whodunnit? Detective Stories' (with two'n's) and was previously called simply `Detective Stories'.
Some old favourites appear. Whilst some, such as Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Speckled Band', will doubtless be familiar to most readers, others probably won't be. Many of the biggest names of mystery fiction are covered: Agatha Christie (with a Poirot story, 'The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb'), Dashiell Hammett (Sam Spade's most conventional detective story, 'They Can Only Hang You Once') and Dorothy L. Sayers (in fine form with 'The Inspiration of Mr Budd'). There are also stories of crisp deduction from Ellery Queen, roguish adventure from Leslie Charteris and the Saint, and intuition and lateral thinking from Isaac Asimov.
Pullman doesn't confine himself to the usual suspects, however, and there is also an Italian folktale and part of a memoir of a fingerprint expert recalling an unusual request. My personal favourite is 'Butch Minds the Baby', a beautifully deadpan tale of New York criminals.
Well worth buying for any teenagers you know who might be interested - or simply reading yourself.
Note this volume is sometimes also listed as `Whodunnit? Detective Stories' (with two'n's) and was previously called simply `Detective Stories'.
May 6, 2014
Philip Pullman is a writer of extraordinary talent, and so I’d be willing to take his judgement in most matters of art and literature. Here, he reveals sixteen of his favourite detective stories, featuring some of the greatest sleuths of all-time including Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot and Sam Spade.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first picked this up, but I quickly settled in – in fact, the first story in the collection is The Speckled Band, one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s best Sherlock Holmes short stories. That was followed by They Can Only Hang You Once by Dashiell Hammett and The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb by Agatha Christie, both of which are fantastic short stories which will leave you begging for more.
One of the more intriguing short stories in the collection is a non-fiction piece by Tony Fletcher – ever heard of him? I don’t blame you if you haven’t – he’s an ex-copper, who wrote about his experience on the force in Memories of Murder. This particular piece recounts the story of an ex-colleague, a veteran of the force, who was called in to fingerprint a ghost – whether you believe in the supernatural or not (I don’t), it makes for interesting reading.
And that’s not all – other authors to contribute to the collection include Dorothy L. Sayers, Isaac Asimov, Raymond Smullyan, Michael Underwood and Leslie Charteris. Even if you’re not a fan of the traditional detective story, this is well worth a read – who knows? You might even get hooked!
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first picked this up, but I quickly settled in – in fact, the first story in the collection is The Speckled Band, one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s best Sherlock Holmes short stories. That was followed by They Can Only Hang You Once by Dashiell Hammett and The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb by Agatha Christie, both of which are fantastic short stories which will leave you begging for more.
One of the more intriguing short stories in the collection is a non-fiction piece by Tony Fletcher – ever heard of him? I don’t blame you if you haven’t – he’s an ex-copper, who wrote about his experience on the force in Memories of Murder. This particular piece recounts the story of an ex-colleague, a veteran of the force, who was called in to fingerprint a ghost – whether you believe in the supernatural or not (I don’t), it makes for interesting reading.
And that’s not all – other authors to contribute to the collection include Dorothy L. Sayers, Isaac Asimov, Raymond Smullyan, Michael Underwood and Leslie Charteris. Even if you’re not a fan of the traditional detective story, this is well worth a read – who knows? You might even get hooked!
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January 5, 2009 this book is about many detective stories cobined in one book and with the writers name wirten in every chapter such as Agatha Christie, Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle, and Dorothy L. Sayers all of this writers and many more agreed on Philip Pullman the Author of this detective book to put it in one whole together. This book tells about a mystery about the crime, murder, kidnnaping, and a little less robery. Once when your almost done with the crime scene and gave out info, and clues. once the chapter is done and figured out the mystery the killer is revealed and continue to the next chapter of the book and figure out all of the mystery.
This detective book is hard to figure once done reading a chapter. Of cousre the chapter gives clues on what had happen to the suspect but it sometimes confusing as well to the thing its not easy to complete the whole mystery, and what was the point of the suspect doing the crime.
the detective book is awesome it helps your mind to think on what is happenning and to try using the clues for help in each mystery but you have to use memory on what had happen and it would be great for the readers to read this kind of books and its also exciting by readfing and imagining on what's happening
This detective book is hard to figure once done reading a chapter. Of cousre the chapter gives clues on what had happen to the suspect but it sometimes confusing as well to the thing its not easy to complete the whole mystery, and what was the point of the suspect doing the crime.
the detective book is awesome it helps your mind to think on what is happenning and to try using the clues for help in each mystery but you have to use memory on what had happen and it would be great for the readers to read this kind of books and its also exciting by readfing and imagining on what's happening
August 28, 2014
I read this as a break between other novels while trying to figure out what to pick up next.
I gave this a three, because some of the stories I genuinely enjoyed, but others were childish and didn't seem to fit the rest of the collection. The last story, in particular, was one I wish I had simply skipped over.
If you're looking for an easy read that is mildly entertaining, but not challenging, then this is for you. Almost all of these mysteries were easy to solve before getting to the end of the first page or two, but some were still entertaining because of the 'vintage' nature of them. 'Vintage' meaning the old-fashioned style of writing and the inclusion of swashbuckling detectives, etc. However, this is not one I'll be keeping, as I can guarantee I won't be picking it up again.
I gave this a three, because some of the stories I genuinely enjoyed, but others were childish and didn't seem to fit the rest of the collection. The last story, in particular, was one I wish I had simply skipped over.
If you're looking for an easy read that is mildly entertaining, but not challenging, then this is for you. Almost all of these mysteries were easy to solve before getting to the end of the first page or two, but some were still entertaining because of the 'vintage' nature of them. 'Vintage' meaning the old-fashioned style of writing and the inclusion of swashbuckling detectives, etc. However, this is not one I'll be keeping, as I can guarantee I won't be picking it up again.
April 7, 2011
This book has 16 short mysteries, some solved by by famous detectives, some left an open end. But it's still a great book with challenging tales.
You know how criminals are everywhere, detectives are everywhere too. Anyone could be smart and analyze facts and predict and so. That's also what scientists do too.
This book reminds me of my favorite detective stories, by Sir Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes was a worldwide famous man lived in London. He's sooooo intelligent! You guys should check him out, lol.
You know how criminals are everywhere, detectives are everywhere too. Anyone could be smart and analyze facts and predict and so. That's also what scientists do too.
This book reminds me of my favorite detective stories, by Sir Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes was a worldwide famous man lived in London. He's sooooo intelligent! You guys should check him out, lol.
December 19, 2016
The stories are a lot of fun although not especially diverse in range (and some of the excerpts feel really incomplete when presented as short stories), and the introductions from Philip Pullman give the book a cohesive feel overall. They aren't all classic whodunits in structure and some don't involve any detectives, but they relate thematically with the inherent paranoia and tension that define the genre. As with any collection, the stories are hit-and-miss, and the misses for me all seem to draw heavily on dated racial stereotypes and tropes.
January 2, 2025
I enjoyed all the mini mysteries in this compilation, but "Butch minds the Baby" was just too hilarious to keep to myself. I had to read it aloud to the kids. They adored Butch and John Ignatius Junior and the old New York accents. (If you like Butch too, you'll also like O. Henry's "The Ransom of Red Chief.") I would recommend "Butch" for age 7 and up. My 4th grader also enjoyed “Murder at St. Oswald’s,” which I would recommend for age 10 and up. The rest were more mature storylines for older kids and adults- nothing inappropriate, just higher level.
January 18, 2014
An excellent selection of detective stories suitable for children and adults alike. It was great to be introduced to some authors I've never considered before, and have certainly added their other works to my "to read" list. The selection is mainly classic detective stories, of both the cosier kind and the hard-boiled. It's intrigued me to read some of the other Red Hot Reads of short stories for children.
February 24, 2021
I really loved some of these stories and am a huge fan of the genre. I really liked being introduced to some new authors I had not previously experienced, though some were (in my opinion), pretty flimsy stories. I will look out for the authors I’ve now ‘met’ and look forward to some great future murder mysteries and whodunnits!
August 19, 2014
An excellent choice of stories. Some traditional classics, such as Sherlock Holmes and Poirot, and some chilling ones as well as some comic ones. Each story has an introduction by Philip Pullman and they just add to the experience. I highly recommend this book.
November 3, 2014
This book had some really good stories but had a lot of stories that i did not count as a mystery. I also thought the last story was terrible! I solved it really quickly while it took the detective four days. But i did really like some stories in it though.
April 3, 2021
I wanted to like this book more. Some didn’t age well (tinge of orientalist weirdness) some weren’t even mysteries and even if the author prefaced that it’s still obnoxious. A few gems, a few duds, some weird ones thrown in for good measure.
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