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Oxford Bookworms Collection
Crime Never Pays
Murder: the unlawful, intentional killing of a human being - a terrible crime. But murder stories are always fascinating. Who did it? And how? Or why? And was it murder, or just an unfortunate accident? Who will triumph, the murderer or the detective? This collection contains a wide range of murder stories, from the astute detection of the famous Sherlock Holmes, to the chilling psychology of Ruth Rendell.
This collection contains stories by Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell, Graham Greene, Angela Noel, Dorothy L. Sayers, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Margery Allingham, and Patricia Highsmith.
This collection contains stories by Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell, Graham Greene, Angela Noel, Dorothy L. Sayers, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Margery Allingham, and Patricia Highsmith.
144 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2001
27 people are currently reading
269 people want to read
About the author
Clare West
152 books55 followersClare West has over twenty years of TEFL classroom experience in the UK and abroad, and has led teacher workshops in Europe and South America. Associated with Cambridge examination courses, she became a freelance author, contributing to Oxford Bookworms and Dominoes and serving as Series Editor for Oxford Bookworms Playscripts.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 11, 2022
I should read more Conan Doyle, and Highsmith!
An anthology of crime short stories found in the dusty family bookcase. I’m positive I’ve read this in high school. Go for the Best, consider the Good, avoid the Meh.
The Best.
★★★★★ “Sauce for the Goose”, by Patricia Highsmith. [4.5]
★★★★☆ “The Adventure of the Retired Colourman”, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. [3.5]
The Good.
★★★☆☆ “The Companion”, by Agatha Christie. [3.5]
★★★☆☆ “The Fountain Plays”, by Dorothy L. Sayers.
★★★☆☆ “Ricochet”, by Angela Noel.
★★★☆☆ “A Glowing Future”, by Ruth Rendell. [2.5]
The Meh.
★★☆☆☆ “Three is a Lucky Number”, by Margery Allingham. [2.5]
★★☆☆☆ “The Case for the Defense”, by Graham Greene.
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PERSONAL NOTE :
[2001] [144p] [Anthology] [Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
Debería leer más Conan Doyle, ¡y Highsmith!
Una antología de cuentos cortos de crimen hallada en la polvorienta biblioteca familiar. Estoy seguro que leí esto en la secundaria. Ir por lo Mejor, considerar lo Bueno, evitar lo Meh.
Lo Mejor.
★★★★★ “Salsa para el Ganso”, por Patricia Highsmith. [4.5]
★★★★☆ “La Aventura del Retirado Colourman”, por Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. [3.5]
Lo Bueno.
★★★☆☆ “El Acompañante”, por Agatha Christie. [3.5]
★★★☆☆ “La Fuente Toca”, por Dorothy L. Sayers.
★★★☆☆ “Ricochet”, por Angela Noel.
★★★☆☆ “Un Futuro Brillante”, por Ruth Rendell. [2.5]
Lo Meh.
★★☆☆☆ “Tres es un Número Suertudo”, por Margery Allingham. [2.5]
★★☆☆☆ “El Caso para la Defensa”, por Graham Greene.
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NOTA PERSONAL :
[2001] [144p] [Antología] [Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
An anthology of crime short stories found in the dusty family bookcase. I’m positive I’ve read this in high school. Go for the Best, consider the Good, avoid the Meh.
The Best.
★★★★★ “Sauce for the Goose”, by Patricia Highsmith. [4.5]
★★★★☆ “The Adventure of the Retired Colourman”, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. [3.5]
The Good.
★★★☆☆ “The Companion”, by Agatha Christie. [3.5]
★★★☆☆ “The Fountain Plays”, by Dorothy L. Sayers.
★★★☆☆ “Ricochet”, by Angela Noel.
★★★☆☆ “A Glowing Future”, by Ruth Rendell. [2.5]
The Meh.
★★☆☆☆ “Three is a Lucky Number”, by Margery Allingham. [2.5]
★★☆☆☆ “The Case for the Defense”, by Graham Greene.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[2001] [144p] [Anthology] [Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
Debería leer más Conan Doyle, ¡y Highsmith!
Una antología de cuentos cortos de crimen hallada en la polvorienta biblioteca familiar. Estoy seguro que leí esto en la secundaria. Ir por lo Mejor, considerar lo Bueno, evitar lo Meh.
Lo Mejor.
★★★★★ “Salsa para el Ganso”, por Patricia Highsmith. [4.5]
★★★★☆ “La Aventura del Retirado Colourman”, por Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. [3.5]
Lo Bueno.
★★★☆☆ “El Acompañante”, por Agatha Christie. [3.5]
★★★☆☆ “La Fuente Toca”, por Dorothy L. Sayers.
★★★☆☆ “Ricochet”, por Angela Noel.
★★★☆☆ “Un Futuro Brillante”, por Ruth Rendell. [2.5]
Lo Meh.
★★☆☆☆ “Tres es un Número Suertudo”, por Margery Allingham. [2.5]
★★☆☆☆ “El Caso para la Defensa”, por Graham Greene.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[2001] [144p] [Antología] [Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
August 24, 2015
This is nice. I used to love this type of book, but it was a while till I returned to reading them. It's like using a loved pair of jeans.
Might keep it for some of the writing exercises.
Might keep it for some of the writing exercises.
March 3, 2021
My favourite story is last one, Sauce for the Goose by Patricia Highsmith.
December 18, 2012
"The texts have NOT been abridged or simplified in any way..." It was great for me to read not simplified stories. There were some words I didn't know but I was able to follow the stories. It includes:
The Companion by Agatha Christie
The Case for the Defence by Graham Greene
A Glowing Future by Ruth Rendell
Ricochet by Angela Noel
The Fountain plays by Dorothy L. Sayers
Three is a lucky number by Margery Allingham
The Adventure of the Retired Colourman by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sauce for the Goose by Patricia Heighsmith
Actually, when I picked up some books from "The OXFORD BOOKWORMS COLLECTION" I was so upset to find out that there is no advantage for"the general public" unlike "the professors" or "the students" in that they can borrow more books and borrow them for longer periods during the long winder holiday. I, "the general public," wanted to borrow something thick and I saw those books with silver outside. I took a quick look at the back and missed the words "NOT." When I started to read the very first page, I realized there were some unfamiliar words. I looked at the back again and saw the word "NOT."
It turned out I really enjoyed the stories.
The Companion by Agatha Christie
The Case for the Defence by Graham Greene
A Glowing Future by Ruth Rendell
Ricochet by Angela Noel
The Fountain plays by Dorothy L. Sayers
Three is a lucky number by Margery Allingham
The Adventure of the Retired Colourman by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sauce for the Goose by Patricia Heighsmith
Actually, when I picked up some books from "The OXFORD BOOKWORMS COLLECTION" I was so upset to find out that there is no advantage for"the general public" unlike "the professors" or "the students" in that they can borrow more books and borrow them for longer periods during the long winder holiday. I, "the general public," wanted to borrow something thick and I saw those books with silver outside. I took a quick look at the back and missed the words "NOT." When I started to read the very first page, I realized there were some unfamiliar words. I looked at the back again and saw the word "NOT."
It turned out I really enjoyed the stories.
December 4, 2013
I have read five short stories in the crime never pays crime collection.
The ones who I have read is the following: The companion, The case for the defence, a glowing future, Three is a lucky number and Sauce for the goose.
I enjoyed the majority of the stories. I would say that some stories were good and some were the opposite. The ones I didn´t enjoy felt outdated. It felt like the short story was written several ages ago which made it boring and uninteresting. The reason for this might be because these kind of short stories isn´t the ones who I prefer, I think a short story is to short to welcome the reader into another imaginary world and to catch the readers attention which will make the reader want to read more and more.
I am more into novels or stories which has a sequel.
I would recommend Three is a lucky number, A glowing future and Sauce for the goose to read. I found the other two stories simply weird or tedious.
I would rate this book 3 out of 5 stars. My reason for this is simply because I only enjoyed 3 of the 5 stories.
The ones who I have read is the following: The companion, The case for the defence, a glowing future, Three is a lucky number and Sauce for the goose.
I enjoyed the majority of the stories. I would say that some stories were good and some were the opposite. The ones I didn´t enjoy felt outdated. It felt like the short story was written several ages ago which made it boring and uninteresting. The reason for this might be because these kind of short stories isn´t the ones who I prefer, I think a short story is to short to welcome the reader into another imaginary world and to catch the readers attention which will make the reader want to read more and more.
I am more into novels or stories which has a sequel.
I would recommend Three is a lucky number, A glowing future and Sauce for the goose to read. I found the other two stories simply weird or tedious.
I would rate this book 3 out of 5 stars. My reason for this is simply because I only enjoyed 3 of the 5 stories.
December 11, 2013
I think it was a quite good read but it had been better if we didn't had to read it instead got it recommended but after all it was a okay book with multiple crime stories that were werry well written. Some of them were a bit stupid but most of them were interesting. The stories wasn't super long witch is quite nice when you just want to read a shorter story. I think it is good for a book to have so many different stories about Crime so you have some change and the text was really mixing around with the text and no one was like the other and that made the stories really separated so you cant mix them together. They were all readable and no one was too hard to be reed but some of them were still a bit of a challenge. I don't relay like reading books i rather see things on TV or whatever but from time to time it is nice to have a read.
August 14, 2021
This is an excellent selection. I read these looking for new stories for my students and I don't think there's a single story that is not selection-worthy.
Also these are not abridged or modified versions of the stories, and, still, I find the language is very accessible for B2 and C1.
The introductions to the stories and the summaries I found very useful, but the real jewel are the discussion questions and the activities to study the vocabulary and make the students think. OI love the Cambridge Bookworm collection. I wish I had had access to them as a student, tbh.
Also these are not abridged or modified versions of the stories, and, still, I find the language is very accessible for B2 and C1.
The introductions to the stories and the summaries I found very useful, but the real jewel are the discussion questions and the activities to study the vocabulary and make the students think. OI love the Cambridge Bookworm collection. I wish I had had access to them as a student, tbh.
June 26, 2015
It was good, I read this book for my English class and some of the short stories have a difficult vocabulary but I could understand. I loved two stories, Three is a Lucky Number and the one about Sherlock Holmes. Those were my favourites! However, I hated the last one! It was awful.
September 19, 2011
A must read i guez...! awesome..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 10, 2015
Such a great read. I really enjoyed the stories from Margery Allingham and Patricia Highsmith. I'll be checking out more of their work!
July 13, 2015
Quite good!
May 3, 2019
Un rollo nada instructivo ni ameno
January 22, 2026
I enjoyed this very much, especially the Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers, and Patricia Highsmith.
All except for the story by Angela Noel. What a nasty piece of obvious, cheap, manipulative prose. It would take a sick mind to write a story like that. Shame on you Angela Noel, you displayed no talent here.
All except for the story by Angela Noel. What a nasty piece of obvious, cheap, manipulative prose. It would take a sick mind to write a story like that. Shame on you Angela Noel, you displayed no talent here.
Want to read
November 29, 2022Purchased at Livraria Sa’ Da Costa, Lisbon €5
August 14, 2023
Aqui, gostei de todos, daria mais foco nos contos da Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers e Ruth Rendell (talvez o crime mais "bárbaro" do livro).
November 16, 2025
esta bien, quería leer algo en inglés que me enganchara y cumplió la función
February 24, 2025
7/10
Have a spooky #Samhain with this collection of short stories. Intriguing or simply disturbing, these short tales, made by the masters of thriller, are perfect for a scary night, for those of us who dislike scary things.
I liked some more than others (as it was to be expected), being my favourite maybe the Christie's one (#TheCompanion), with the star appearence of #MissMarple
Have a spooky #Samhain with this collection of short stories. Intriguing or simply disturbing, these short tales, made by the masters of thriller, are perfect for a scary night, for those of us who dislike scary things.
I liked some more than others (as it was to be expected), being my favourite maybe the Christie's one (#TheCompanion), with the star appearence of #MissMarple
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews