The Best Crime Stories Ever Told

by Dorothy L. Sayers (Editor), Otto Penzler (Introduction)

When acclaimed mystery writer Dorothy L. Sayers first began compiling anthologies of the best crime stories in the 1920s and ’30s, the genre was in the flush of its first golden age. While it is hard to imagine today—after every possible mystery plot has been told, retold, subverted, and played straight again by hundreds of writers over nearly a century—in Sayers’s day there were still twists that had never been seen, and machinations of crime that would shock even jaded Jazz Age readers.

Now today’s fans of mystery and crime can experience a handpicked collection featuring 26 outstanding stories from this era, originally chosen by Sayers and newly introduced by Otto Penzler. As a prolific writer of the genre, Sayers understood the balance between solvability and obfuscation that is the defining feature of great crime stories—and these are some of the greatest.

This is a treasure trove for fans of classic mystery stories!

Contents: Lord Chizelrigg’s missing fortune / Robert Barr — The ordinary hair-pins / E. C. Bentley — The biter bit / William Wilkie Collins — The mystery of the sleeping-car express / Freeman Wills Croft — Blind Gap Moor / J. S. Fletcher — The Regent’s Park murder / Baroness Orczy — Miss Bracegirdle does her duty / Stacy Aumonier — Cut-throat Farm / J. D. Beresford — The Damned Thing / Ambrose Bierce — Secret worship / Algernon Blackwood — No. 17 / Mrs. E. Bland — The open boat / Stephen Crane — Riesenberg / Ford Madox Ford — The prayer / Violet Hunt — The well / W. W. Jacobs — Mr. Justice Harbottle / J. S. Le Fanu — The haunted and the haunters / Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Lord Lytton — The great return / Arthur Machen — The story of the Greek slave / Frederick Marryat — Anty Bligh / John Masefield — The bell-tower / Herman Melville — Rose Rose / Barry Pain — Berenice / Edgar Allan Poe — Sredni Vashtat / “Saki” (H. H. Munro) — Called to the rescue / Henry Spicer — The inexperienced ghost / H. G. Wells

Genres: Mystery, Short Stories, Anthologies, Crime, Mystery Thriller

566 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2012

About the author

The detective stories of well-known British writer Dorothy Leigh Sayers mostly feature the amateur investigator Lord Peter Wimsey; she also translated the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri.

This renowned author and Christian humanist studied classical and modern languages.

Her best known mysteries, a series of short novels, set between World War I and World War II, feature an English aristocrat and amateur sleuth. She is also known for her plays and essays.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy...

Reviews

[Laurel Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a collection! The title seems misleading to me; perhaps it might be called "Stories to Get a Mystery Writer's Juices Running," or something of the sort. The six stories classified as "Detection and Mystery" are what we tend to think of today as mystery stories. The authors, all British, include E. C. Bentley, Wilkie Collins, and Baronness Orczy. The other twenty offerings are headed "Mystery and Horror"; familiar authors include Ambrose Bierce, Stephen Crane, Ford Madox Ford, Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, (whose first line, you will be relieved to know, is 'A friend of mine, who is a man of letters and a philosopher, said to me one day, as if between jest and earnest— “Fancy! since we last met I have discovered a haunted house in the midst of London.”'), John Masefield, Herman Melville, Saki, W. W. Jacobs, Edgar Allan Poe, and H. G. Wells. I like to imagine Dorothy Sayers' sifting through hundreds of stories and coming up with twenty-six of the English-speaking world's finest. This volume is worth several readings.

[Joy]

(I listened to this as an audio book as it was included with Audible)
The title is a bit of a misnomer as some of the stories aren't actually about crimes. Rather it is a collection of classic (late 19th century and early 20th century, I think) short stories in 2 sections: Detection and Mystery (6 stories) and Mystery and Horror (20 stories). I only listened to the first section as I really don't like horror stories. As such, I don't feel qualified to give a rating for the book as a whole.
I did enjoy the first section though and the narrator was pretty good - I especially enjoyed his narration of 'The biter bit'.

[Marybeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got to read some old stories that I've never seen before, so I enjoyed it quite a bit. I prefer the six stories in Detection and Mystery over the much larger collection of Mystery and Horror, but The Damned Thing by Ambrose Bierce was definitely worth a look. My favorites were Rose Rose by Barry Pain, The Inexperienced Ghost by H. G. Wells, and especially Sredni Vashtar by Saki. I've never read Saki before and now I think I need to search out more. It had the kind of creepy, chilly horror that I like and was quite unexpected.

[Dwight Koslowski · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't think there was a story in this collection that was written later than the 19th century. Further, most of the stories are not about crime, or involve a crime in only the most remote way. For example, one or two are simply gothic ghost stories, and the only crime involved is because someone was murdered. This is not a collection of crime stories as they are thought of today. Some are fantasies, some are horror stories. If you're looking for something in the "criminal" genre, avoid this book.

[SK · Rating 4 out of 5]

The narration was fine in every story except when the narrator has to do an accent that's not British or American. His German accent was ATROCIOUS. He sounded very like Schwarzenegger doing his Terminator lines, Austrian American via Hollywood. Ditto for Greek and any Mid-Eastern accent. Almost made me want to not finish any story where the characters weren't British, but I persevered.
Ms. Sayers chose some great stories, they're different from usual mysteries or thrillers, some with even certain supernatural aspects.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poorly titled. The first half dozen are golden age style of crime/mystery stories and though not very modern, mainly enjoyable.
Beyond that, unless you enjoy supernatural suspense, you can skip the rest. Some are decent. Worth listening to? Probably not all of them. Certainly don’t suffer through any with the narrator’s execrable German accent, they are not worth it. He sounds like a bad Swarzenegger impersonation.

[Carl Palmateer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rated it lower as the title is misleading and the stories while fine are often not great.

I enjoyed the book but was confused by the title. Although there are a few crime stories most of the book is supernatural stories. The stories are fine, there is a decided British/Continental tilt to the selection which is good. This way lesser known stories and authors can be found.

[Humbledaisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

After listening to this collection created by Dorothy L. Sayers - I’ve come to the conclusion that she and I do not have the same taste in supernatural (or fantastic) crimes. The first half of classic crime capers - 100 percent agree. The second section - well, I limped through it. The Saki short story and the final moments of H.G. Wells’ story really didn’t balance out the dreck.

[Jacque' Spellman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of the book is actual crime stories, but the second half is paranormal stories.

[Karen M · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting collection in some ways - but some are just too wordy. However Saki’s Sredni Vashtar is a diamond in this collection of gems from the past.

[Hazel Newlands · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened from Audible. Lots of famous authors but not my favourite stories from them. Badly narrated for most of the chapters. Not many crime stories as mostly supernatural tales.

[Ktbird · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where so many stories today find their inspiration ...

[SHALINI AGGARWAL · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not having the best beginning to the new year, book wise!
Have already given up on 2!
Cheers to the next one.

[Deborah · Rating 2 out of 5]

As other reviewers have said, the title is misleading.

Very few of the stories were crime stories. I liked some of the stories in this book but wouldn't really recommend this book to anyone.

[Tuxlie]

A collection of classics and little-known gems�chosen by a master from the golden age of detective fiction. When acclaimed mystery writer Dorothy L. Sayers first began compiling anthologies of the best crime stories in the 1920s and �30s, the genre was in the flush of its first golden age. While it is hard to imagine today�after every possible mystery plot has been told, retold, subverted, and played straight again by hundreds of writers over nearly a century�in Sayers�s day there were still twists that had never been seen, and machinations of crime that would shock even jaded Jazz Age readers.Now today�s fans of mystery and crime can experience a handpicked collection of over thirty of the most outstanding stories from this era, originally chosen by Sayers and newly introduced by Otto Penzler, a leading expert and connoisseur in the field of mystery literature. As a prolific writer of the genre, Sayers understood the difficulty of putting together a mystery that was not only sufficiently challenging (so that the solution was not immediately obvious to the reader), but also solvable without forcing the writer to cheat. That balance between opacity and solvability remains the greatest challenge of writing great crime stories�and these are some of the greatest.Authors appearing in this collection include:Edgar Allen PoeHerman MelvilleH. G. WellsWilkie CollinsStephen CraneJ. S. Le Fanu This is a treasure trove for real fans!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun read---a very large collection of short mysteries mostly from the early 1900's including Wilkie Collins, Edgar Allen Poe, etc. Sayers was a superb writer and her choices are almost all very good and showcase how the genre has developed.

[Margareth8537 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't go on listening to this. I was getting so annoyed with the narrator's attempt at English rural accents. All his Londoners sounded Australian.
Managed about a quarter of it and gave up. Didn't think the stories selected were that great either

[Kevin Shoop · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is literary merit and/or historical value to many of these stories. But (1) the title of this volume is completely misleading--less than a quarter of the stories could be categorized as "crime"--and (2) BORING BORING BORING. Somehow, though, I powered through this seemingly endless book. Not recommended for people who are actually looking to read crime stories.