Murder in Miniature: and Other Stories

by Leo Bruce, Barry Pike (Compiler), B.A. Pike (Compililation)

Of the 28 stories that comprise this book, only two were previously collected. Ten stories feature the popular sleuth Sgt Beef, eight stories feature Sgt Grebe, and ten stories have no series character. The stories were written in the 1950s for newspapers, but readers will recognize Bruce's gift for entertaining dialogue and characterization. There are brilliant passages in this book, and if mystery fans can only read a few pages a night before going to bed, this is the ultimate night stand book. As the New York Times said, these are "brisk little narratives." Bruce is indeed the pre-eminent author of the classic detective novel, and readers of this story collection will not be disappointed.

Genres: Mystery, Short Stories

262 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1992

About the author

Pseudonym for Rupert Croft-Cooke.

Reviews

[Catherine Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Leo Bruce's stories especially the Sergeant Beef ones. These weren't all Sergeant Beef and usually the ones that weren't were not as good as the ones that were. There were some very short ones which were ok to pass a few moments but consequently hadn't got a lot of character and were more about being tricky. A few were just unpleasant and two were just variations on the same mystery. So not my favourite outing with Leo Bruce but still has entertainment value.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots and lots of very short detective stories that share a lesser number of plots. Like the Father Brown stories, they are best read separately as reading one ofter the other results in an awful lot of repetition.

I love the Sergeant Beef stories which are funny as well as clever. The volume begins with about twenty of these. Once Beef disappears the book tails off.

The stories are all plot based and the plots present a problem that is then unravelled by deductive thinking by the police officer or detective. Some would have delighted Edward de Bono and his “Lateral Thinking” exercises.

To be filed under “glad I read it but won’t be reading it again”.

[Umer Abbas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick and light read as expected. The stand out stories with good puzzle elements and detection are obviously sergeant Beef's

"chicken or egg" "blunt instrument" and "piece of paper".

[Olena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Supremely enjoyable

[Adam Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable collection of 28 classic stories from the pen of Leo Bruce. Full review at: https://murderatthemanse.substack.com...

[Tamsin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Beef stories are fun; others not so much.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories by the master. The best The scene of the crime. A man talks to an old man who lives in a house where a murder has been committed many years ago. Buy some clever deduction he comes to the conclusion that the nephew had been the murderer only to learn that the old guy was indeed the nephew. Some years older than the uncle. Very nice. Other stories not quite as strong.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy these short stories by Leo Bruce, but much prefer his novels with Carolous Dean as protagonist.