Murder in Midsummer: Classic Mysteries for the Holidays

Vintage Summer Murders

by Cecily Gayford (Editor), Ruth Rendell (Contributor), Arthur Conan Doyle (Contributor)

A rock pool with a deadly secret. A bank holiday heatwave dominated by the murder of an unknown man.A sun-drenched picnic that ends in a sinister locked-room mystery. And an Adriatic holiday interrupted by a beautiful couple ... who aren't quite who they seem to be.All these, and many more, can be found in these classic stories of summertime murder and mayhem, featuring masters of the genre from Dorothy L. Sayers to Arthur Conan Doyle. From St Mark's Square in Venice to the English seaside, their tales will puzzle, entertain and prove that - no matter how far you travel - there's no rest for the wicked.Selected by Cecily Gayford

Genres: Short Stories, Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Summer, Anthologies, Cozy Mystery

289 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Shauna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title is very misleading. I suspect it was chosen purely to appeal to fans of the Midsomer Murders books and tv series. As the various stories were chosen for their supposedly seasonal setting they vary in quality. I really enjoyed the ones by Ruth Rendell and R Austin Freeman.

[Lyn Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of vintage mystery short stories, aiming perhaps at the audience that enjoys the tv series Midsomer Murders.
None is as wildly improbable as MM, and they take less time to read than it does to watch a tv episode.

[rachelle (m00dreads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable anthology of summery murder mystery classics. Perf for lazy afternoons.

Carr’s “The House in Goblin Wood” was the clear star of the collection, imo. Coming in second is Dorothy Sayers’ "The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face". Honorable mention goes to Chesterton’s “The Oracle of the Dog”

[✨ kathryn ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5
This was a super fun collection of quaint murder mysteries to read. All set in the summer/on summer holidays, it made for the perfect read as the British summer comes to an end. I enjoyed the majority of the stories, but especially "Achilles Heel," "The House in Goblin Wood," "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane," and "Dead Mountain Lion." I'm intrigued to read the other seasonal selections that Gayford has put together.

[Niki (nikilovestoread) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, this is a hard collection to review. About half the stories were 5 stars and the other half were complete misses. I did find a few authors that I want to read more of their work, but I don't think I would recommend this collection. The quality varies too much to really enjoy many of the stories.

[Miglė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Irgi labai geras rinkinys, nors kai kurie apsakymai atrodė, nežinau, gal kiek morališkai pasenę ar vietomis kiek per dramatiški?
Visų neminėsiu, tik kelis, kurie labiau įsiminė.
R. Austin Freeman "The Blue Scarab", man atrodo, vienas iš tų kiek pasenusių atvejų. Žinutė ant skarabėjaus, kuri nurodo, kur pakasti pinigai? Bet užtat skaitydama sugalvojau, kaip kitaip būtų galima jį išrišti, hehe.
John Dickinson Carr "The Goblin Wood" - žiauriai geras! Ir šiurpus, ir netikėtas, ir žmogiški santykiai savitai atspindėti. Žodžiu. Sužadėtiniai Eve ir Bill pasikveičia garbų serą Henrį susipažinti su Vicky. Kai buvo maža, Vicky buvo dingusi iš savo šeimos vasarnamio, nors visos durys ir langai buvo uždaryti iš vidaus. Vėliau lygiai taip pat netikėtai atsiradusi pasakojo visiems, kad pateko į kitą pasaulį, ir visada po to, ir mirus jos turtingiems tėvams, nenustojo melžti savo reputacijos kaip maždaug "laumių vaiko". Dar Vicki tiesiog nepakenčiamai su visais flirtuoja, ypač su Eve sužadėtiniu Bilu. Eve nori, kad visi nuvažiuotų į tą namą ir kad seras Henris pagaliau atskleistų jos apgavystes. Bet ar tikrai viskas yra taip, kaip atrodo?
G. K. Chesterton "The oracle of the dog" - labai tvarkinga klasikinė istorija, kažkaip ypatingai nesujaudino, bet paprastai ir puikiai suregzta.

[Karelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comme toujours dans les recueils de nouvelles, ça peut être très inégal: ainsi, il y avait des excellentes nouvelles (celle de Dorothy L. Sayers, de John Dickson Carr et de G. K. Chesterton particulièrement) comme il y en avait des très mauvaises (je m’excuse Ellis Peters, mais pour vrai, non), et d’autres seulement peu mémorable. C’était quand même une délicieuse lecture d’été.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

[2.5/5] De esta colección de historias cortas de misterio solo se salvan tres; del resto ya me he olvidado. Entre la mediocridad (que incluye un Sherlock Holmes sorprendentemente aburridísimo) he descubierto a un par de autores de los cuales me gustaría leer más, punto positivo.

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

About 3.5 stars.

[Solocol · Rating 1 out of 5]

A collection of the most boring short stories by some of the greatest detective writers...

[Tansy Hepton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read. Good short stories from classic crime writers. Just the sort of book to have in a holiday home for guests to dip in and out of.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of short stories, mainly from the mid twentieth century, is a tempting prospect, especially when they are “classic mysteries”. Despite the setting of the first one from Ruth Rendell, most of these stories take place in Britain, with the unifying theme of them taking place in the summer. The variety of stories and the well known authors who produced them is a guarantee of ten well written mysteries, often revolving around at least one unexpected death and detection. Not all of those who seek the truth and solve the suspicious deaths are professional detectives, some are people who happen to be in the right place at the time. Some of the authors employ their own creations to seek the truth, thus Lord Peter Wimsey is drawn into a murder investigation by his clever observations in Dorothy L. Sayers story, providing possibly my favourite tale.This is a well chosen collection of stories which is always interesting and entertaining, giving a fair range of times and places. I found it a varied and interesting collection which was easy to read, without the need to retain clues for an entire novel.

The oldest story in this book is probably the one written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring a now retired Sherlock Holmes who is drawn in to the investigation of a sudden seaside death. A lot of crime story collections feature one of Conan Doyle’s short stories; proof of his tremendous output with no apparent diminution of quality. Margery Allingham’s “quiet fair man in the horn rims stood listening affably as was his habit” to an extraordinary tale. The story of Campion’s deductions, though brief, is effective and possibly the most memorable in its simplicity. R. Austen Freeman draws a tale of an old death, whereas John Dickson Carr tells of a complicated series of events. Chesterton uses his kindly elderly priest to disentangle a complex story of canine distress. Not all of the tales end with a deduction, but resolution is rarely straightforward.

This is a book of excellent stretches of imagination with much to recommend it, as the setting is always well used and the characters involved well delineated. The only negative is that there is no context for the stories, not even the date, or further information concerning the authors. The “Credits” section at the end gives some copyright details of some of the stories, and copyright holders are invited to communicate their details for future editions. Despite this, this is a well chosen collection of stories which neatly spans the period sometimes called the “Golden Age of Detection”, and is a very readable book.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining collection of crime short stories, all set in the summertime.

The book offers a selection of ten stories, all by fairly well known authors and most reasonably satisfying. The reason I have awarded four stars instead of five is that, unlike the similar collections published by the British Library, most of the stories are already well known amd heavily anthologised. Out of the ten stories, I have previously read six, I was unsure about one leaving a mere three that I am fairly sure were new to me.

Despite this caveat, this is a pleasing collection and I would imagine that anyone new to classic crime authors would find this a very pleasant introduction to some of the best.

For reference, my favourite stories were:

Achilles Heel' by Ruth Rendell, which has been a favourite for a long time and I was very pleased to find it included. Featuring Inspector Wexford, her series detective.

The House in Goblin Wood by John Dickson Carr. Not one of my favourite authors but the solution and the perpetrator of the crime took me by surprise which is unusual in a short story (in my experience)

My least favourite stories were:

The Exploding Battleship by Michael Innes. I have never been a fan of this author and I often find his work in an anthology of this sort at the bottom of my list; as always, his story is uninteresting and fails entirely to engage me. Practically a non-story, to be honest, not even saved by being set in Venice, possibly my favourite city in the world.

Dead Mountain Lion by Ellis Peters. The last story, I disliked it intensely. It is (IMO) overlong, boring and misogynistic - I found it hard to believe it was written by a woman

[Siew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quaint little collection of short mystery stories, its pleasantly entertaining I would say, not too bad.

It's one of those books where you don't feel like you can't wait to finish it but you'll just pick it up for a quick short read when you're bored. Also appreciate how most of the stories move forward fast with almost no drag. Other than that, it's also nice to sample all the different writing styles of the authors featured.

Downside though, it took me some getting used to with the style of writing since they were mostly written by authors more half a century ago, so the reading flow was a little awkward at times. Some stories were enjoyable, some had very lame endings.

Overall, if there was an instant version of books akin to instant noodle as to food, this would be it.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice, compact volume of murder mystery short stories. All the stories were interesting and well written. I've just one complaint: this collection is called 'Murder in Midsummer,' and the blurb on the back states that all these stories take place in the summer. However, some of these stories do not mention the season at all, and the last story is set in the snow-capped Dolomites. I think I'm slightly disappointed because I was expecting the weather to almost be a character in itself, or be used as pathetic fallacy. But although I didn't receive what I was expecting, I still enjoyed all the stories and recommend it to those who enjoy Wexford, Father Brown or Midsommer Murders.

[Brian Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

So-so collection of murder mystery stories. The title seems to be trying to get people who like "Midsomer Murders" type mysteries to pick it up.

Featuring some well known characters (Holmes, Father Brown, Wexford etc) as well as some one-shots from authors like Ellis Peters (not Cadfael, unfortunately).

Being a collection, there's a mix of good and not so good stories set in different locations and at different times.
There's nothing unexpected, making this a good holiday read and will possibly get picked up again when I need a quick time filler.

[Knightley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love detective fiction - particularly British detective fiction so I loved this - some of my favourites were here - Father Brown, Inspector Wexford to name a couple. I discovered new detectives that I had not met yet and so I now own books that star these characters to see how we get on. I liked the short story format for introducing me to people I wanted to read more about.
Highly recommend!

[BrianC75 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this to be a bit of a roller coaster ride. Some stories and authors were very good, others mediocre and a couple verged on the diabolical. Whoever compiled the anthology obviously struggled to find short crime stories to sit under the ‘Midsummer’ umbrella as several were not even tenuous in their content.
Overall a little like a normal British midsummer - patchy sunshine with some rain and one or two dreadful thunderstorms.

[Dignan107 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories by crime writers. Most of the authors I am yet to read much if any of their work:

Ruth Rendell - Achilles Heel. My favourite story in this collection. Must read more Inspector Wexford

Other stories really passed me by whilst on a Turkish sun lounger. Don’t know what it is about Arthur Conan Doyle but just can’t grasp or get interested in any of his work.

Sped through this short story collection whilst enjoying the very hot Turkish sun

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

“κυμάτων ανήριθμον γέλασμα - the dimpled surface of the waves in the sunlight” - the Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face. Dorothy L. Sayres

“something that’s arbitrary without being authoritative” - the Oracle of the Dog. G.K.Chesterton

“He kissed her wet cheeks, not like a lover at all, more like a father picking up a hurt child” - Dead Mountain Lion. Ellis Peters


if anyone is interested in short classic murder in midsummer storys this book here is that.
three and a half stars

[Sipz and Storiez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice collection of classic mystery stories. The best part was that none of them were by Agatha Christie, so I got to read some new stories by Dorothy Sayers and Arthur Conan Doyle. I also enjoyed the stories by Ruth Rendell and G.K. Chesterton, and would now like to read more by these authors. There was also one gruesome one where they cut up the victim and stuffed her in a Fortum and Mason picnic basket. Eww!

[Emma Pérez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, it was quite disappointing. I bought it because I saw it was a mystery, and on top of that, it was a short story, making it much easier and faster to read. With the exception of three stories (which have a five-pointer), the book felt long and boring overall. It didn't excite me, and I was surprised. The only stories I even remotely recommend are those by John Dickson Carr, Ruth Rendell, and Ellis Peters (in that specific order).

[Plum-crazy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the title suggests this is an assortment of classic stories featuring murder & mayhem in the summertime, & as with so many short story collections this was a mixed bag for me.

On the whole they were entertaining enough - although I just couldn't get into G K Chesterton's offering & abandoned it - but nothing stood out as a favourite.

Overall a decent read for those who like the traditional style of crime mysteries.

[Agnesxnitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stalled on the last story in this collection, written by Ellis Peters, but not a Cadfael story.
However I raced through the rest of this anthology of murder mysteries all based around getting away from it all, proving that being far from home is often more dangerous than being at home!
Going on my To Keep bookshelves :)

[Chrystyna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murder in Midsummer by various authors - Mixed

A collection of short stories by various crime authors all based around summer and holidays. As with all such anthologies, some are better than other. Mostly good, just one or two that didn't hit the mark for me. An enjoyable read none the less.

#review

[Angie Rhodes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic tales of murder and mystery, set in the Summer, from Dorothy L Sayers, Ruth Rendell and Carter Dickson to name just three.
Each story will have as Agatha Christie's famous little Belgium detective says"the little grey cells working;

[Lia Marcoux · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice blend of stories. A little hit-and-miss - it's got possibly the worst Sherlock Holmes tale of all, and nothing will convince me to like Peter Wimsey - but there's a couple authors in here I'd like to read further, particularly John Dickson Carr.

[Adam Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointing collection of short stories, mostly unrelated to the theme of midsummer. A few of the better ones I had already read elsewhere. The other highlight was Dickson Carr's "The House in Goblin Wood," which provided a good example of Carr's flair for the bizarre and macabre.

[Julia Rice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting little collection of short stories all along the theme of holiday settings. It gave me an overview of various crime writers and is a good way of comparing styles. It features some of the most well-known crime fiction characters, such as Sherlock Holmes (of course!) in 'The Adventure of the Lion's Mane', Father Brown in 'The Oracle of the Dog' and Ruth Rendell's DI Wexford in 'Achilles Heel'. This last story is the opening one of the book and probably my favourite. Another I really liked was Margery Allingham's 'The Villa Marie Celeste', more of a riddle solved than a crime, but clever. I enjoyed this collection, perfect midsummer escapism.