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Crime on the Coast & No Flowers by Request
Not yet published
Expected 1 Jan 54Crime On the Coast brings murder and intrigue to a raucous seaside resort in this classic mystery with a strange twist, a mistaken victim, and an elusive heroine.
-written with Detection Club members: Valerie White, Laurence Meynell, Joan Fleming, Michael Cronin, and Elizabeth Ferrrars.
-written with Detection Club members: Valerie White, Laurence Meynell, Joan Fleming, Michael Cronin, and Elizabeth Ferrrars.
149 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
About the author
John Dickson Carr
377 books543 followersAKA Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson and Roger Fairbairn.
John Dickson Carr was an American author best known for his mystery fiction, whose work also reached audiences through radio, film, and television. He wrote extensively for radio, particularly for the American anthology series Suspense and its British counterpart Appointment with Fear, introduced by Valentine Dyall. Carr also contributed numerous dramas to the BBC, writing both mystery stories and propaganda scripts during World War II. His radio career included Cabin B-13, a half-hour mystery play first broadcast in 1943. The story was later expanded into a CBS radio series that ran during 1948 and 1949, with Carr writing all 23 scripts. Some episodes drew on his earlier work, while others reworked devices associated with G. K. Chesterton. Cabin B-13 also became the basis for the screenplay of Dangerous Crossing, a 1953 film directed by Joseph M. Newman and starring Michael Rennie and Jeanne Crain. During the late 1940s, Carr hosted Murder by Experts, a Mutual radio series originating from WOR in New York City. The program featured guest mystery writers, whose work Carr introduced to listeners. Several of his stories and novels were adapted for the cinema. The Man with a Cloak appeared in 1951, followed by Dangerous Crossing in 1953. The Emperor's Snuffbox was adapted as That Woman Opposite in 1957, while The Burning Court was loosely adapted as the French film La Chambre Ardente in 1962. Carr's fiction also provided material for television, especially anthology programs that did not depend on recurring characters. His detective Colonel March was adapted for the television series Colonel March of Scotland Yard, which began in 1954 and starred Boris Karloff as Colonel March. The series ran for 26 episodes in the United States and premiered in Britain the following year. These adaptations brought Carr's distinctive mystery writing to audiences who may not have encountered his novels, while demonstrating the versatility of his plots in different media. His radio scripts, screen work, and television adaptations form an important part of his career as a mystery writer, extending his reputation beyond the printed page. They also show how his carefully constructed mysteries, often centered on unusual crimes and puzzling circumstances, could be reshaped for performance without losing their central appeal. His work for broadcasting was particularly substantial, linking his literary career with the popular entertainment industries of both Britain and the United States. His output in these media complemented rather than replaced his novels.
John Dickson Carr was an American author best known for his mystery fiction, whose work also reached audiences through radio, film, and television. He wrote extensively for radio, particularly for the American anthology series Suspense and its British counterpart Appointment with Fear, introduced by Valentine Dyall. Carr also contributed numerous dramas to the BBC, writing both mystery stories and propaganda scripts during World War II. His radio career included Cabin B-13, a half-hour mystery play first broadcast in 1943. The story was later expanded into a CBS radio series that ran during 1948 and 1949, with Carr writing all 23 scripts. Some episodes drew on his earlier work, while others reworked devices associated with G. K. Chesterton. Cabin B-13 also became the basis for the screenplay of Dangerous Crossing, a 1953 film directed by Joseph M. Newman and starring Michael Rennie and Jeanne Crain. During the late 1940s, Carr hosted Murder by Experts, a Mutual radio series originating from WOR in New York City. The program featured guest mystery writers, whose work Carr introduced to listeners. Several of his stories and novels were adapted for the cinema. The Man with a Cloak appeared in 1951, followed by Dangerous Crossing in 1953. The Emperor's Snuffbox was adapted as That Woman Opposite in 1957, while The Burning Court was loosely adapted as the French film La Chambre Ardente in 1962. Carr's fiction also provided material for television, especially anthology programs that did not depend on recurring characters. His detective Colonel March was adapted for the television series Colonel March of Scotland Yard, which began in 1954 and starred Boris Karloff as Colonel March. The series ran for 26 episodes in the United States and premiered in Britain the following year. These adaptations brought Carr's distinctive mystery writing to audiences who may not have encountered his novels, while demonstrating the versatility of his plots in different media. His radio scripts, screen work, and television adaptations form an important part of his career as a mystery writer, extending his reputation beyond the printed page. They also show how his carefully constructed mysteries, often centered on unusual crimes and puzzling circumstances, could be reshaped for performance without losing their central appeal. His work for broadcasting was particularly substantial, linking his literary career with the popular entertainment industries of both Britain and the United States. His output in these media complemented rather than replaced his novels.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 25, 2010
I can see why Dorothy L. Sayers had the reputation of treating her peers in the Detection Club of the 1950s as though she were better than they were. Because she was.
Apparently, the members of the Detection Club---a tight association of British mystery writers who met regularly for dinner and conversation that generally turned into monologues by Sayers---played with community fiction, that is, mysteries written by several of them. They broke each story up into pairs of chapters, and each author got a pair. They're short mysteries, six authors apiece. They were published in a series of volumes.
This volume contains two. And, boy, oh boy, can you tell the difference in quality as you progress from chapter to chapter!
They're fairly insipid little mysteries, and most of the authors have long since vanished from posterity.
But, still. Dorothy L. Sayers.
Apparently, the members of the Detection Club---a tight association of British mystery writers who met regularly for dinner and conversation that generally turned into monologues by Sayers---played with community fiction, that is, mysteries written by several of them. They broke each story up into pairs of chapters, and each author got a pair. They're short mysteries, six authors apiece. They were published in a series of volumes.
This volume contains two. And, boy, oh boy, can you tell the difference in quality as you progress from chapter to chapter!
They're fairly insipid little mysteries, and most of the authors have long since vanished from posterity.
But, still. Dorothy L. Sayers.
December 15, 2025
I usually love vintage mysteries but these two failed to work for me. I love John Dickson Carr and this was my first Dorothy Sayers but I wasn’t a fan of the other authors taking on different chapters.
March 15, 2018
Do you remember the old "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" where Clive Anderson would get film & theatre styles from the audience and then have his panel act out a scene, but he would keep buzzing and changing the style? The resulting sketch could be funny, but often the storyline established in the first segment would be completely obliterated by the time the players reached the end. That was the closest analogue I could come up with for what it feels like to read these two Detective Club member-penned pieces.
Both stories start out fairly strong, to the extent that I vaguely wished that John Dickson Carr had completed "Crime on the Coast" itself, or that Dorothy L. Sayers had continued to write "No Flowers By Request." Both of those pieces were entertaining, and entirely in keeping with the normal authorial voice that I expect from Carr and Sayers' works. But within short order (specifically, two short chapters), each tale fell apart, with the jarring transition from voice to voice and emphasis to new and different emphasis. Even Gladys Mitchell, whose style I otherwise quite like, seemed almost featureless in her contribution to "Flowers". Indeed, "Crime" at least holds it together to reach some kind of ending, even if it's miles away from what Carr might have done. "Flowers" doesn't even really do that.
So as an historical curio for fans of any of these authors in particular, you might actively seek this book out to read. Otherwise? Unless you just have an hour to kill and a 120-page quota to make, you could safely give this volume a miss.
Both stories start out fairly strong, to the extent that I vaguely wished that John Dickson Carr had completed "Crime on the Coast" itself, or that Dorothy L. Sayers had continued to write "No Flowers By Request." Both of those pieces were entertaining, and entirely in keeping with the normal authorial voice that I expect from Carr and Sayers' works. But within short order (specifically, two short chapters), each tale fell apart, with the jarring transition from voice to voice and emphasis to new and different emphasis. Even Gladys Mitchell, whose style I otherwise quite like, seemed almost featureless in her contribution to "Flowers". Indeed, "Crime" at least holds it together to reach some kind of ending, even if it's miles away from what Carr might have done. "Flowers" doesn't even really do that.
So as an historical curio for fans of any of these authors in particular, you might actively seek this book out to read. Otherwise? Unless you just have an hour to kill and a 120-page quota to make, you could safely give this volume a miss.
February 27, 2026
3.5 Round robin mysteries by multiple golden age mystery authors who were members of the Detection Club. It was interesting the different style changes & directions in the story like any round robin. I wonder what path earlier writers would have taken in their stories if they'd been the only one. It would also be interesting for all the writers to start with the same characters/premise/set up & then write their own novellas & then compare the different stories & see what routes the different authors would go. I think that would make for an interesting kind of book as well.
November 28, 2023
Crime on the coast was great
Flowers by request, I had a hard time following
Flowers by request, I had a hard time following
July 18, 2026
Mildly entertaining but not on the level of their best work.
March 12, 2013
Sayers: provided a forerunner to Mrs. Pollifax, and a nice set-up. I got this for free, and it was worth the two chapters of DLS - the rest was unreadable.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews