Ανθολογία Αγγλικού Αστυνομικού Διηγήματος, Β' τόμος

by Patricia Craig (Editor), Παλμύρα Ισμυρίδου (Translator), Ανδρέας Αποστολίδης (Translator)

Η αστυνομική ιστορία όπως τη γνωρίζουμε σήμερα, γεννήθηκε τη δεκαετία του 1890 με τις Περιπέτειες του Σέρλοκ Χολμς και από τότε εξελίσσεται διαρκώς. Η δημοτικότητα του αστυνομικού αφηγήματος έχει άρρηκτη σχέση με την πικάντικη γεύση του, τη δύναμή του να εξάπτει την περιέργεια του αναγνώστη και να απορροφά το ενδιαφέρον του, εμμένοντας στους κανόνες του είδους (όσο ελαστικοί κι αν έχουν γίνει). Κάθε εποχή έχει δημιουργήσει ένα επιμέρους είδος αστυνομικής μυθοπλασίας που αποτελεί χαρακτηριστικό δείγμα των ιδιαιτέρων συνηθειών και εθίμων της, από τις νηφάλιες και σοβαρές εξιστορήσεις, που άρχισαν να εμφανίζονται στα χνάρια του Σέρλοκ Χολμς, έως την ανέμελη αστυνομική έρευνα, που ευδοκίμησε στη δεκαετία του '20 και μετά.
Με συγγραφείς όπως ο Anthony Berkeley, ο Freeman Wills Crofts, ο Carter Dickson, και ο Edmund Crispin, η έκθεση του μοτίβου της διελεύκανσης ενός μυστηρίου απέκτησε σε μέγιστο βαθμό επιδεξιότητα, αυθεντικότητα και ευφυία. Ένας αυξανόμενος ρεαλισμός είναι ορατός στη μεταπολεμική περίοδο, αν και δίχως να παραγνωριστεί το στοιχείο της διασκεδαστικότητας. Και καθώς πλησιάζουμε το παρόν, βλέπουμε ότι η αστυνομική ιστορία προσαρμόστηκε σταδιακά για να στεγάσει κι άλλες πλευρές της σύγχρονης ζωής, όπως τη θλίψη, τον καθημερινό έρωτα ή την αδυναμία σωφρονισμού.
Αυτή η συλλογή τριάντα τριών διηγημάτων, όπως μεταφράζεται εδώ από τις εκδόσεις της Οξφόρδης, δείχνει το εύρος, τη ρώμη και τη διαρκή συναρπαστικότητα του αστυνομικού διηγήματος και υπογραμμίζει τη σημασία του ως βαρόμετρου των κοινωνικών τάσεων και των λογοτεχνικών πρακτικών. Συγκεντρώνει μια μεγάλη γκάμα διηγημάτων, και συγγραφείς που συγκαταλέγονται στην αφρόκρεμα της αγγλικής αστυνομικής λογοτεχνίας του 19ου και του 20ου αιώνα.

Περιεχόμενα
NGAIO MARSH (1899-1982) - Θάνατος στον αέρα
CYRIL HARE (1900-1958) - To δίλημμα της δεσποινίδος Μπέρνσαϊντ
GLADYS MITCHELL (1901-1983) - Ντέηζυ Μπελλ
MARGERY ALLINGHAM (1904-1966) - Το τρία είναι τυχερός αριθμός
NICHOLAS BLAKE (1904-1972) - Η Λέσχη των Δολοφόνων
CARTER DICKSON (1906-1977) - To σπίτι στο δάσος των ξωτικών
MICHAEL INNES (1906-1994) - Οι Ερινύες
CHRISTIANNA BRAND (1907-1988) - Η σφηκοφωλιά
JULIAN SYMONS (1912-1994) - O δολοφόνος
MICHAEL GILBERT (1912-2006) - Ο φόνος του Μάικλ Φίνεγκαν
MICHAEL UNDERWOOD (1916-1992) - Φόνος στο Σαιντ Όσβαλντ
P. D. JAMES (1920-) - Οι μυγοπαγίδες της μεγάλης θείας Αλίκης
EDMUND CRISPIN και GEOFFREY BUSH (1921-1978) - O Μπέηκερ πεθαίνει
Η.R.F. KEATING (1926-) - Ένaεπικίνδυνο πράγμα
RUTH RENDELL (1930-) - Ντατούρα
ROBERT BARNARD (1936-) - Ο οξφορδιανός τρόπος θανάτου
REGINALD HILL (1936-) - Φέρτε πίσω το γάτο!
SIMON BRETT (1945-) - Τι κάνει η μητέρα σας;
ΒΙΟΓΡΑΦΙΚΑ ΚΑΙ ΒΙΒΛΙΟΓΡΑΦΙΚΑ ΣΗΜΕΙΩΜΑΤΑ

Genres: Mystery, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Thriller, Noir, Mystery Thriller

512 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrific re-read for me. This collection of short stories is one you read over time such as at the lunch table or as a supplement to more serious works. And it is well worth it as it contains not only some of the great golden age mysteries that we know but many that we do not. The authors are all familiar to the mystery buff although there were several that I didn't know had written short stories. There was one story which was also made into a very well received film but the ending was completely different and changed the entire thrust of the story (I won't reveal which story). And it was still great!

So if you need a big book to pick up at intervals and are a mystery lover, I would recommend this one.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories in this volume rate four stars overall, since some of them are the best short stories by particular authors (Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, Anthony Berkeley, Christianna Brand, E.C. Bentley, Carter Dickson), and many others are excellent: I particularly like the Ruth Rendell, P.D. James, and G.K. Chesterton stories. That said, this seems a quite randomly-edited collection. Not all of these are detective stories at all--call them mysteries or thrillers. The choices for some authors (e.g., Margery Allingham, Dorothy L. Sayers) seem quite haphazard. And some of these are just awful stories--I dislike the Reginald Hill, Gladys Mitchell, Robert Barnard, and Julian Symons stories in particular. I suppose I'm just being picky. Should I even mention that Carter Dickson isn't English? No, probably not. I enjoyed a few of the stories I'd never seen before (by H.C. Bailey, Michael Underwood, & Michael Innes), and wish this was either more definitive or more quirky. Picky picky picky.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such an interesting collection of British mystery short stories, starting from the early 1900s and ending in the 1980s. I enjoyed more of the early ones than the later ones, but there are so many great authors featured here: P.D. James, Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy L. Sayers, to name a few.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Όπως κάθε ανθολογία, η συγκεκριμένη συλλέγει αστυνομικά διηγήματα της ύστερης βικτωριανής και μεταβικτωριανής εποχής. Κάποιες καλύτερες κάποιες χειρότερες ώς ήταν αναμενόμενο, με κάποια κλήση στις δεύτερες. Η επιλογή των ιστοριών είναι αμφισβητούμενη μιας και πέρα από τους κλασικούς του είδους (Christie, Berkeley, Doyle) οι υπόλοιπες ιστορίες ήταν σχετικά αδύναμες και ίσως δημιουργήσουν εσφαλμένες εντυπώσεις για τους δημιουργούς τους που έχουν να δείξουν σίγουρα καλύτερα πράγματα. Αυτό γιατί οι συγκεκριμένες επιλογές, ξέφευγαν από την νόρμα του κλασικού αστυνομικού μοτίβου (αυτό που οι ίδιοι οι συγγραφείς έχτισαν άλλωστε) και εστίαζαν πιο πολύ στο γιατί παρά στο πως και το ποιος.

Εν τέλει, τον ρόλο του το βιβλίο ως ανθολογία, δεν τον επιτελεί πετυχημένα. Για ένα-δύο ανάλαφρα απογεύματα και για όσους δεν ενοχλούνται από τις εναλλαγές μεταξύ συγγραφικών στιλ όπως εγώ, είναι ικανοποιητικό. Για όσους ξεκινούν τώρα την επαφή με την αστυνομική λογοτεχνία, υπάρχουν πολύ καλύτερες συλλογές εκεί έξω που δεν θα τους αποθαρρύνουν ούτε θα απογοητεύσουν. Και σίγουρα θα τους κατευθύνουν σωστότερα μέσω καλών επιλογών διάφορων συγγραφέων.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are so many English detective stories! Kudos to Craig for keeping the selection manageable, and choosing older stories that are still readable today, as well as modern stories by a variety of authors. As usual, some were better than others, but there's enough content here to keep most readers happy.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

A representative collection of just what the title says. Some stories are great, others not so much. Choice, however, is a matter of taste, and the introductory material and many, many good stories make this worth the read.

[H]

Finished Hornet's Nest by Brand so far. Meh 1/5, maybe 1.5/5 if generous. It reminds me of Death of Jezebel with multiple false solutions some refuted by some new information (like the guy only having a coughing fit once or twice a year) or some stretch of argument that has no logical basis (paraphrasing - "there's no way the doctor would leave this murder to chance" - he's been working for the guy for a while, it's possible he's been waiting for such a chance for guy to choke then stick his poisoned finger contraption down throat when helping) or some with facts (i.e. guy checking spoon beforehand for cleanliness means it wasn't poisoned or doctor smelling poison means guy must've ingested it through some sort of food).

But there's issues - apparently wife poisoned the oysters then it seems the guy just happened to start choking after eating the peach dish? The poison was THAT delayed? Then the logic is that the wife said "salmons are harder to get at the moment than oysters" which is suspicious which helped lead to her - how's reader supposed to know this? Could just as easily be that some fish are out of season hence why it's difficult for the restaurant/place. And it's all speculation that there's a chemist who saw her that she got a second tin of cyanide from, plus couldn't one of the brothers have taken the poison from tin? Similarly, it could still be a solution like the doctor poisoning his finger tool and the guy happening to choke, etc.

This was recommended to me as Brand's best short story, and I can see the relation to Death of Jezebel, but I don't enjoy either piece. Logic/evidence does not seem always concrete, with some leaps/some assumptions that certain false solutions are incorrect when they haven't been proven so. And the idea of a detective circuitously going around pretending to accuse people is so unnecessary - if a detective is trying to trick the culprit, that's fine, but in this and DoJ, the detective Cockrill knows the true culprit in both cases but still suggests the other fakes as murderers when it doesn't contribute anything at all (no trick to trick true culprit, doesn't give any true new useful information - as long as he locates the chemist, that's strong evidence to use, then learning of her past as ex wife of the son is easy with some digging). Anyway, Brand is disappointing and not for me.

Also know of some of the other stories like Silver Blaze with Sherlock (1.5/5) talking of the curious dog in the night or Knox's story of guy suspended in air in bed so he "starves" in a room filled with food. They are fine. Might try more or might not. These short stories do seem good or above average, but I don't generally like short stories still and also don't feel golden age detection is necessarily my favorite mystery sub-niche. (Shin-honkaku is way better.)

Chesterton's Oracle of the Dog is okay but eh as well. Maybe 1.5-2/5. The trick of stabbing through between the wooden boards is okay ish, then some of the psychology that a dog would just bite someone he hates if he can detect the murderer does make sense. Other psychoanalysis is BS like a dog is angry and will bark/growl at nervous or scared people as that's not always true. Bigger issue is the thing was wordy, esp when the talkative guy had paragraphs, which went WAY too long, reminding me of EQueen. Wasn't too terrible as far as short stories go though, but it's just too wordy, and the wording/writing style was putting me to sleep more than usual (granted I was tired but still, better stories could engage me a bit more).

[Marina Maidou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Η συλλογή των διηγημάτων αυτών καλύπτει μεγάλο εύρος από τις απαρχές του 20ού αιώνα με τα πιο διάσημα ονόματα όπως ο Άρθουρ Κόναν Ντόιλ, ο Τζ. Κ. Τσέστερτον, η Αγκάθα Κρίστι και η Ντόροθυ Σέγιερς και καταλήγοντας σε πιο πρόσφατα στην μεταπολεμική εποχή με την Π.Ντ. Τζέιμς και τη Ρουθ Ρέντελ. Υπάρχει μεγάλη ποικιλία στο στιλ των ιστοριών που κυμαίνεται από το την αυστηρή αναλυτική εξεύρεση του ποιος το έκανε, την ατμοσφαιρική αγωνία, την κοινωνική ματιά ιδωμένη με την οξυδερκή αγγλική ειρωνεία, μέχρι και τη χιουμοριστική απόδοση δραματικών κατά τα άλλα καταστάσεων. Όλη η συλλογή γενικότερα θα έλεγα ότι είναι τα κλασσικά της αγγλικής αστυνομικής λογοτεχνίας και έχει μια ρετρό ατμόσφαιρα, που μου άρεσε πολύ. Μια ανάλαφρη συλλογή που μπορεί να διαβαστεί ακόμα και με ιστορική ματιά, όπου φαίνεται η πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα εξέλιξη της αστυνομικής λογοτεχνίας όχι μόνο στην Αγγλία αλλά σε όλο τον κόσμο.
The collection of these short stories covers a wide range from the beginning of the 20th century with the most famous names such as Arthur Conan Doyle, J. K. Chesterton, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy Sayers and ending up more recently in the post-war era with P.D. James and Ruth Redel. There is an excellent variety in the style of the stories ranging from the strict analytical discovery of "whodunnit", the atmospheric agony, the societal view is seen with the perceptive English irony, to the humorous depiction of other ways dramatic situations. The whole collection, in general, I would say is the classics of English detective fiction and has a vintage atmosphere, which I liked. A light collection that can be read even with a historical look, therefore, to show the exciting development of detective fiction not only in England but all over the world.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.08⭐

The Stir Outside the Café Royal • Clarence Rook 3.5⭐
Silver Blaze • Arthur Conan Doyle 5⭐
The Mysterious Visitor • R. Austin Freeman 4⭐
The Case of Laker, Absconded • Arthur Morrison 4.25⭐
The Oracle of the Dog • G. K. Chesterton 4⭐
The Genuine Tabard • C. Bentley 3⭐
The Dead Leaves • H. C. Bailey 3.5⭐
The Mystery of the Sleeping-Car Express • Freeman Wills Crofts 4.25⭐
The Purple Line • John Rhode 3⭐
Solved by Inspection • Ronald Knox 3.25⭐
The Henpecked Murderer • Roy Vickers 5⭐
Superintendent Wilson's Holiday • G. D. H. Cole and M. Cole 3.25⭐
The Witness for the Prosecution • Agatha Christie 5 ⭐
The Avenging Chance • Anthony Berkeley 5⭐
Murder at Pentecost • Dorothy L. Sayers 4.25⭐
Death on the Air • Ngaio Marsh 4.25⭐
Miss Burnside's Dilemma • Cyril Hare 3.5⭐
Daisy Bell • Gladys Mitchell 3⭐
Three is a Lucky Number • Margery Allingham 4.5⭐
The Assassins' Club • Nicholas Blake 3.25⭐
The House in Goblin Wood • Carter Dickson [John Dickson Carr] 4.25⭐
The Furies • Michael Innes 4⭐
The Hornets' Nest • Christianna Brand 3.5⭐
The Murderer • Julian Symons 3.5⭐
The Killing of Michael Finnegan • Michael Gilbert 5⭐
Murder at St. Oswald's • Michael Underwood 4.5⭐
Great Aunt Allie's Flypapers • P. D. James 5⭐
Baker Dies (aka Who Killed Baker?) • Edmund Crispin and Geoffrey Bush 4⭐
A Dangerous Thing [Mrs. Craggs] • H. R. F. Keating 4⭐
Thornapple • Ruth Rendell 5⭐
The Oxford Way of Death • Robert Barnard 4⭐
Bring Back the Cat! • Reginald Hill 5⭐
How's Your Mother? • Simon Brett 4.25⭐

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

...At this second knock, he heard a shuffling sound inside, and presently the door was opened cautiously half an inch and a bent figure peered out...

We begin in the quirky, primitive age of steam and sea-travel, where code and convention are chiseled in granite foundations. But gaslight and fog obscure the clarity of gentlemanly resolve, and the raving madman emerges, even at the heights of Victoriana. Dickens, Poe and Wilkie Collins set their fictions within the exaggerated social extremes of the period, and lightning strikes.

Enabled by the rise of daily broadsheets and penny magazines, the suspense or crime story takes a little of the 'sensation' mood of high gothic, ala Le Fanu or Radcliffe-- and produces the Mystery genre, where uncertainties arise like hairline cracks in the edifice of empire. A different kind of villain is invented, for whom madness is only secondary, and in whose hands the very logic of a sensible society is at risk.

It is probably worth noting that nihilism was a topic of the era, and that anarchists were learning the first principles of terror. That there was an undercurrent of discord in this high and absolute age of certainty was an unspoken fear. The methodical Professor Moriarty of Conan Doyle is not in the game for profit, but as the Napoleon of Crime he represents evil itself, the force that spins underneath the surface until the center cannot hold.

...Suddenly the woman, for it was a woman, gave a chuckle and opened the door wider.
‘So it’s you, dearie,’ she said, in a wheezy voice. ‘Nobody with you, is there? No playing tricks? That’s right. You can come in – you can come in.’

Much less interestingly, the opposite number to the villain had to have everything that was modern on his side; detection, forensics and the scientific methods of New Scotland Yard are brought to the battle, on the side of the righteous and proper.

The reading public finds this to be intoxicating, addictive, and as the Great War goes by, they become enamored of the mix of Lords and Ladies, titled fops and royalty-- meeting and interacting by necessity with members of the alien parts of society. Showgirls, confidence men, police. The very rigid wall of respectability visibly quakes when the Constable arrives to interview the Archbishop. In Edwardian days the social contract was already tearing, the war brought new inconsistencies in the official story, and detective fiction was on its way.

By the thirties, the outlines of the genre were a little time-worn, with the inevitable locked-room manor-house jigsaw, and the public knew the game too well. The butler was generally responsible. Thus the screwball mystery, with its wit, irreverence, and upside-down logic came into its own; all-night parties and scavenger hunts were the thing, as in the movies. This era's exemplars tempered the nasty business of murder with the equally compelling addition of sex and sly repartee.

Ahead were the psychological mystery and the Noir, both of which added stream-of-consciousness, unreliable narration, paranoia and rotating points-of-view. The angst of yet another world war and its aftermath were to take the genre in strange new directions.

...With some reluctance, the lawyer stepped across the threshold into the small dirty room, with its flickering gas jet. There was an untidy unmade bed in a corner, a plain deal table and two rickety chairs. For the first time Mr. Mayherne had a full view of the tenant of this unsavoury apartment. She was a woman of middle age, bent in figure, with a mass of untidy grey hair and a scarf wound tightly round her face. She saw him looking at this and laughed again, the same curious, toneless chuckle...

But the Oxford Book of English Detective Stories doesn't go too far afield. At its best it concentrates on the real classics and only dabbles in the future (in classic mysteries, beyond the fifties is the future) a little.

What I found interesting were the formal differences between the short stories here-- thirty three of them-- and the mystery novel. In general a mystery is meant to upend things, get the sensibilities of the reader reeling, and that's a tricky business within the frame of the short story. Misleading flashbacks, false clues, dead ends-- these are the tools of the trade in the mystery novel. But the shorter form doesn't have time or scope to include those lateral kinds of strategies; it's difficult to equally 'weight' the realities with the diversions, in the short story.

With much narrower bandwidth, the short mystery needs every single page to set the scene, bait the trap, and still have an interval before the solution presents itself. Random or fanciful red-herrings aren't worth anything here, and a clue really has to be perfectly tailor-made. And thus very impressive when it is done with judgment and style.

...‘Wondering why I hide my beauty, dear? He, he, he. Afraid it may tempt you, eh? But you shall see – you shall see.’

Editor Patricia Craig has given us a superb sampling here, and this is recommended to any newcomer.

... She drew aside the scarf ...

{The Witness For The Prosecution
1933 Agatha Christie}

________________________________________
Quibbles:
* the 'comedy' mystery is a kind of a dealbreaker, best kept out of a classic compilation; there is a major difference between a clever 30's whodunit's vague thread of humor, and a broad, just-for-laffs satire. And the hand of the editor is felt to be interfering with a consistent, serious study of the genre. Once there is slapstick, the spell of murder is broken.
* the imitation period-mysteries, those that parody or present a pastiche of a known format, but fifty or sixty years later, are hard to take seriously.. That is, no one named Jenkins or Carstairs is allowed to murder anyone in the drawing room if it's being written in 1975. Hasn't television taken care of this kind of thing ?

[Mark Higginbottom · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of 33 stories of crime and detection from the Golden Age right up to the modern era ...and what a collection!I have many different volumes of crime fiction stories and what I've found in the past is they are usually all really good bar the odd one or two stinkers.....but this collection surprised me greatly as I really enjoyed every single story bar none!They were all fascinating in their own individual ways and I must admit the greater number of them I had never read before which was a lovely surprise.I highly recommend this collection to anyone with even a passing interest in crime fiction as there is definitely something for everyone in these stories....

[Margaret Conmey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the older stories hardly feel like detective stories at all but it was good to read the Sherlock Holmes story which contains the famous ‘curious incident of the dog ‘
Stories improved as the book reached the Golden Age writers

[BARBARA · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely collection. I would have liked to have a bit more introductory information about the authors (some of whom were completely new to me).

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid stories, but took me two months to finish, so.

[Starry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good, some not.

[Molly Fiddler · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/ 5 stars

Είχε κάποιες καλές ιστορίες, αλλά νομίζω ο πρώτος τόμος είναι καλύτερος.

[Cat. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, this took me over 4 months to read. It was my "sitting in the car waiting" reading. It's a chronologically-arranged collection of stories written by many familiar authors. Some of the older ones were practically impossible to follow, written in common British slang of the era--which bears little relation to American slang of the same era. However, the stories were of a similar high standard.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love mysteries, so what's better on a cold, rainy day than a warm fire, a purring cat, and a book of detective stories?

Featuring authors like Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, P.D. James, Reginald Hill, and many others I am not familiar with, I was pleased with this collection.

It took me a lot longer to finish this book than I expected it would, but our holiday travels, and the lure to read other books interrupted my progress. It's a long book and I found myself almost overwhelmed with the sheer number of stories. I suppose that I was inundated with murderous intent in myriad forms and it was a lot to absorb. The psychological aspects of the tales were utterly, yet morbidly fascinating.

My favorite tales: The Witness for the Prosecution, Three is a Lucky Number, and Great Aunt Allie's Flypapers. I also loved that the story Thornapple brought me back to the Suffolk area and mentions one of my favorite places in England, Bury St. Edmunds.

interesting quotes:

"Elizabeth Bowen put her finger on an essential quality of the genre when she described detective stories as 'the only above-board grown-up children's stories.'" (p. xviii)

"Same like Napoleon. When nothing to do - sleep till there is." (p. 124)

"They were indeed just like mother and daughter - or, rather, like what mother and daughter should be but so often, alas, are not." (p. 296)

"It appeared that Mrs. Wheeler had a son who, as is, I am afraid, so often the case with the children of the most excellent, religious people, had turned out very badly indeed." (p. 298)

new words: ratiocinative, myrmidon, osiers, sinecure, coverts, tump, clerestory, scapegrace, reredos, celerity, post-prandial, trepanning, piscina, jeremiads, spanner, toper, dekko, aetiological, gooping, Ruritanian, tessellated, cretinous, goffered, calumny, minatory, moggy, asperity, philoprogenitive, tetanic, barathea, peroration

[Jeff Hobbs]

Read so far:

*The stir outside the Cafe Royal / Clarence Rook --
Silver blaze / Arthur Conan Doyle --4
*The mysterious visitor / R. Austin Freeman --
*The case of Laker, absconded / Arthur Morrison --
The oracle of the dog / G.K. Chesterton --3
The genuine tabard / E.C. Bentley --3
The dead leaves / H.C. Bailey --3
The mystery of the sleeping-car express / Freeman Wills Crofts --3
The purple line / John Rhode --2
Solved by inspection / Ronald Knox --2
The henpecked murderer / Roy Vickers --3
Superintendent Wilson's holiday / G.D.H. Cole and M. Cole --2
Witness for the prosecution / Agatha Christie --3
The avenging chance / Anthony Berkeley --3
Murder at Pentecost / Dorothy L. Sayers --3
Death on the air / Ngaio Marsh --3
*Miss Burnside's dilemma / Cyril Hare --
Daisy Bell / Gladys Mitchell --2
Three is a lucky number / Margery Allingham --3
The assassins' club / Nicholas Blake --2
The house in Goblin Wood / Carter Dickson --3
Furies / Michael Innes --
Hornets' nest / Christianna Brand --3
*The murderer / Julian Symons --
*The killing of Michael Finnegan / Michael Gilbert --
*Murder at St Oswald's / Michael Underwood --
Great Aunt Allie's flypapers / P.D. James --3
Baker dies / Edmund Crispin and Geoffrey Bush --3
*A dangerous thing / H.R.F. Keating --
Thornapple / Ruth Rendell --
The Oxford way of death / Robert Barnard --3
*Bring back the cat! / Reginald Hill --
How's your mother? / Simon Brett--4

[Rachel Lundwall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent collection of British mysteries, mostly because its thoroughness in covering a time period starting with the Victorian era and ending somewhere in the late 20th century (1980s?). I particularly enjoyed being able to observe for myself the evolution of style and subject matter as time progressed. The editor selected wonderful stories from an astonishing range of authors. It was nice to read a collection that wasn't a repetition of other collections I've read, and this book will prove an efficient and enjoyable way for anyone who enjoys British mysteries to find new authors to read. 4 stars because this doesn't quite achieve "I couldn't put it down" status for me (I look to novels for that), but it still enjoyed an honored position on my bedside table for the past 2-3 weeks where I could casually pick it up and read a hair-raising (or amusing, or puzzling, etc.) story or two before I went to sleep.

[Wayne]

Just to feel the solid shape and weight of this Feast in one's hand;
to foresee oneself snuggled up in a comfy lounge chair with only a cone of lamp light for illumination accompanied by the supportive mug of steamy coffee which will very probably get cold; and preferably 'bad' rainy windy weather rubbing its nose up against the windowpane
...well, BLISS is the only word that will suffice !!!!

I may start dipping into this on this bleak but humid rainless afternoon
in Sydney which is nowhere near the first description...and STILL be TOTALLY satisfied !!

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty poor anthology from Patricia Craig. I should've known how pretentious this was going to be just from looking at her "oh-so-serious" publicity photo. The best thing about this anthology is the cover. Many of the mysteries are difficult to follow or just damn dull. Some are clearly not the best from their authors. For example, "The Adventure of Silver Blaze" may be a favorite of Sherlock Holmes fans (of which I am one), but it contains many untruths about British horse racing in the late Victorian period. Some stories are not whodunnits but whydunnits and some stories feel incomplete.

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great selection and introduction (for me) to the genre. Lots of excellent short stories from the Victorian era and early 20th century, with gentlemenly murders involving poisoned umbrellas and antique envelope openers and more modern tales - Ruth Rendell especially needs further investigation (..groan..)

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A big collection of good British detectives focused on the 20th century. Not too many early works here. The only work that seem to be contemporary with Doyle is the first piece, "The Stir Outside the Cafe Royal" by Clarence Rook. Everything else is from the 1920s on. Great collection for the casual reader, but not for the academic.

[Eric Knibbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine, representative collection. It is necessarily limited to short stories, though, and the English detective fiction genre has done far better with novels (Arthur Conan Doyle being an exception).

[Gina Dalfonzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good collection on the whole, though the failure to include a Peter Wimsey story is a grievous error (and the inclusion of a cheap and annoying Wimsey knockoff called Reggie Fortune is adding insult to injury).

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll be sorry to give this one back to the library. A good source of new authors to try. Although I found myself enjoying a story and looking to see who wrote it only to find the author was someone I already read.

[Vega Subramaniam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best compilation of mystery short stories ever.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked some stories. Other stories I skipped.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much preferred the older, 'classic' detective stories. A fun collection, some I hadn't read before.