Murder by the Book: Mysteries For Bibliophiles

by Martin Edwards (Editor), G.D.H. Cole (Contributor), Margaret Cole (Contributor)

There is no better hiding place for clues—or red herrings—than inside the pages of a book. But in this world of resentful ghost writers, indiscreet playwrights, and unscrupulous book collectors, literary prowess is often a prologue to disaster. Readers should be warned that the most riveting tales often conceal the deadliest of secrets.

Featuring much-loved Golden Age detectives Nigel Strangeways, Philip Trent, Detective Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn, and others, a bookish puzzle threatens an eagerly awaited inheritance; a submission to a publisher recounts a murder that seems increasingly to be a work of nonfiction; an irate novelist puts a grisly end to the source of his writer's block.

Genres: Mystery, Short Stories, Fiction, Crime, Books About Books, Anthologies, Classics

304 pages, Paperback

First published August 10, 2021

About the author

Martin Edwards has been described by Richard Osman as ‘a true master of British crime writing.’ He has published twenty-three novels, which include the eight Lake District Mysteries, one of which was shortlisted for the Theakston’s Prize for best crime novel of the year and four books featuring Rachel Savernake, including the Dagger-nominated Gallows Court and Blackstone Fell, while Gallows Court and Sepulchre Street were shortlisted for the eDunnit award for best crime novel of the year. He is also the author of two multi-award-winning histories of crime fiction, The Life of Crime and The Golden Age of Murder. He has received three Daggers from the Crime Writers’ Association and two Edgars from the Mystery Writers of America and has also been nominated three times for Gold Daggers. In addition to the CWA Diamond Dagger (the highest honour in UK crime writing) he has received four other lifetime achievement awards: for his fiction, short fiction, non-fiction, and scholarship. He is consultant to the British Library’s Crime Classics, a former Chair of the CWA, and since 2015 has been President of the Detection Club.

Reviews

[Anissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love books and doubly so crime fiction about bookish things. Writers, publishers, booksellers, book clubs, bibliophiles, librarians, archivists... I could go on. Bring me all the stories! So of course when I heard Murder by the Book was coming out in the British Library Crime Classics series, I had to order a copy. I was not disappointed and here are my thoughts on the stories inside:

A Lesson in Crime by G.D.H and M. Cole- in which the murder of a writer on a train provides an interesting puzzle of motive. Easy enough to figure out fairly early but still a good story.

Trent and the Ministering Angel by E.C. Bentley- in which a deceased client leaves a clue for his executors about the who and why of his demise. Very cleverly done and the culprit deserved all the scorn and jail time they can be sentenced to.

A Slice of Bad Luck by Nicholas Blake- in which a murder takes place at a dinner held for writers of detective fiction. I originally read this enjoyable tale in Murder at Christmas: Ten Classic Crime Stories for the Festive Season by Cecily Gayford under the title The Assasin's Club. A very memorable and good story no matter the name.

The Strange Case of the Megatherium Thefts by S.C. Roberts- in which stolen books are the crime and the clues leading to the culprit are good. Points for this one mentioning the Diogenes Club (the club which contained the most unsociable men in London and forbade talking save in the Strangers Room). A fave haunt of Mycroft Holmes and a place that I appreciated as a reader. I remain of the same mind as when I was thirteen and came across this place in a Sherlock tale that there are women who would appreciate such a club. A truly and reliably quiet place to read. 

Malice Domestic by Phillip MacDonald- one of my favourites & I fell for the misdirection to my complete joy! In which a writer husband is having strange bouts of illness that give his doctor cause for concern. Just one question remained for me by the end: What was in those letters and who were they from?!

A Savage Game by A.A. Milne- in which a country house murder is cleverly pulled off and more cleverly solved. Always pay attention to the details. 
The Clue in the Book by Julian Symons- in which the clues to the identity of a murderer play out in the library with real author names and pseudonyms. Very good.

The Manuscript by Gladys Mitchell- in which an author's plan to get ex-convicts stories down for a book leads to a murder. 

A Man and his Mother-in-Law by Roy Vickers- in which a singularly selfish and self-absorbed man manages to marry twice, learn nothing about women and then gets his due in the end from a mistake with a book gifted for a birthday. Great story for the character study alone. 

Grey's Ghost by Michael Innes- in which ghostwriter and writer lines are blurred until things fade to Black. 

Dear Mr. Editor... by Christianna Brand- in which our narrator is mad and that makes for a breathtaking read. 

Murder in Advance by Marjorie Bremner- in which subtle habits tell who the killer is. Very well done.

A Question of Character by Victor Canning- in which both husband and wife are authors and one being eclipsed sets them off on a murderous trajectory. One of my faves and kept me on edge as I read. Lots of talking back to this story. Loved it. 

The Book of Honour by John Creasey- in which a friendship is forged over years and this one actually has a bit of a happy ending. I liked this a lot more as I read it and appreciated its poignancy. 

We Know You're Busy Writing... by Edmund Crispin- in which all the wish-fulfillment is here for anyone who has ever had to hear (adjust your pronouns accordingly): "But are we so bad? I mean, he's self-employed, he's got all the time in the world, he can work just whenever he likes. Not like you and me. He's got it made." I'm not saying what happens is right.... but I did derive joy reading this one.

Chapter and Verse by Ngaio Marsh- in which the crossword obsessed will find something to smile about. I am of that group but found this one a tad dry.

Crossword words I collected here: gallimaufry, dandiacal, sedulously and frippet.

As usual, the forward and introductions to the stories are very well done by Martin Edwards. And compliments to this book having a note about slurs and attitudes of some at the time these stories were written being retained. I've read about 20 of the British Library Crime Classics and haven't been bombarded with such things but for those stories that do contain them, I'm glad I've read them. I will, of course, continue with the series.

Recommended.

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another winner in the British Library Crime Classic series, edited by Martin Edwards. This edition contains 16 short stories which are centered around mysteries linked by a literary theme which certainly will appeal to the bibliophile.

I am familiar with most of the authors: E.C. Bentley, GDH Cole, Christianna Brand, etc., but there are also authors with whom I am unfamiliar. It is always fun to find the works of obscure writers which seldom show up in anthologies.

The majority of the stories are well done and cleverly plotted but there are two by noted mystery writers that IMO could have been omitted. One of them is totally confusing and left me wondering what is was about; the other seemed to presume that the reader was unfamiliar with pen names and gave away the murderer on the second page (and it was not an inverted mystery).

It was a delightful read for the mystery lover, as are all the books in the British Library Crime Classic series.

[K.J. Charles]

OK collection of murder mysteries with a bookish theme, nothing terribly special among them aside from the heavily anthologised We Know You're Busy Writing which is, admittedly, the perfect wish fulfilment murder for any writer.

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another anthology from the British Library Crime Classics series, this one with books/authors as it's theme.

I really enjoyed these ones, and unlike most anthologies, there weren't any I felt were particularly weak, though naturally some were better than others. I really liked the A.A. Milne story, so much so, I'm now reading The Red House Mystery, which I'd been meaning to get to for ages. The other One I really liked was the Victor Canning one, 'A Question of Character'.

One I'll be dipping into from time to time.

[Sarah-Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder by the Book is a collection of "golden age" mystery stories connected in one way or another to the world of books—which makes it pretty much perfect as far as I'm concerned. Sometimes an author is the "detective"; sometimes a book offers the answer to a mystery; sometimes the mystery itself is a missing book. Editor Martin Edwards has provided an excellent selection of stories and offers a brief, engaging introduction to each, contextualizing it in the chronology of mystery writing in general and bibliophile mysteries in particular. I raced through this book, and enjoyed every piece in it, which generally isn't the case with anthologies like these that tend of offer a win-some, lose-some reading experience.

The mysteries here are engaging, and offer reasonably complex puzzles, given that each is just a story and nothing larger. Because these titles are from the past (mostly in the last 100 years), they have their anachronisms, which Edwards acknowledges in his introduction to the collection. What struck me, though, about this introduction is that while Edwards is pretty articulate in acknowledging racial/ethnic stereotyping, he doesn't give similar attention to gender stereotyping, which is even more present in the stories. Frankly, I expect stories in collections like this to reflect the biases of their time, but I find it interesting that here one kind of bias seems to require a greater apology than another. This really isn't a criticism of the book or of Edwards, it's just an observation about the times we live in and what different folks feel obliged to acknowledged.

If you're looking for an entertaining read that you can devour in small bites, you'll enjoy Murder by the book.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher; the opinions are my own.

[Janelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Golden Age detective fiction and I am also a huge fan of bibliomysteries! This anthology of 16 short stories is therefore right up my alley. I loved this collection!

I really liked the format of this book. The introduction by Martin Edwards was informative and introduced me to some bibliomysteries I had never heard of. I also really liked the brief bio of the author before each short story.

My favourite story in the collection was " Dear Mr. Editor..." by Christianna Brand. Wow!

I will read anything published in the British Library Crime Classics collection and was so pleased to be given advance access to this latest publication.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this new anthology, we have more Golden Age stories edited by Martin Edwards, here with a common theme involving books or writers of some kind. I found this collection very even in quality and interest, with eight stories marked as 5 or 5+ (my own superlative category). Only one rating at 3.5 with all others at 4. And my comments on my kindle reflect this.

To be continued…

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

[Michaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the British Library Crime Classics series of books, and as a reader I was looking ahead to this edition. It´s always good to read short stories, but there´s also the chance that some in the collection are not as good as others. Here though I liked most of them, starting with the story A Lesson in Crime by the author couple Cole. One or two weren´t easy to understand and some also too creepy for my taste. On the whole another very good addition to the series.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

[Maine Colonial · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read an advance e-galley provided by the publisher via Netgalley.

Some of my favorite Golden Age writers have stories in this “bibliomystery” collection, including Ngaio Marsh, Edmund Crispin, Christianna Brand, Michael Innes, Nicholas Blake, and Victor Canning. (Though I actually came to enjoy Canning because of his non-mystery Mr Finchley comic novels.)

As I read, I began to notice that the book connection with several of these stories is slight. But I decided I didn’t care, for the simple reason that quite a few of the stories in this book are very entertaining, and not just the ones by the big names in mystery. Many are in the bad-guy-outsmarts-himself vein, which I’ve always enjoyed.

If you like Golden Age of Mystery tales and you enjoy short stories, this is a good choice.

[Yibbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mysteries centered around books and their world. What more could a mystery book lover want? It was fun seeing how these authors drew their clues from the pages of books, honored their literary heroes, or vented their frustration at authors, publishers, and readers alike. Even the locations were excitingly varied. Some were as British as you can get, some are more generic, and one is marvelously exotic.
Many of these stories were written after the Golden Age of mystery. Still, most of them still have a vintage feel. There are old mansions, train journeys, and childhood memories.
Most of these stories were very clean. ‘Malice Domestic‘ by Philip MacDonald, however, included strong profanity.
I received this as a free ARC through NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press. No favorable review was required. All opinions are my own.

[Nursebookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder by The Book
Martin Edwards

This is a fantastic collection and a must read for any murder mystery afficionado - a bibliomystery of the best kind. This collection is so well curated and had everything for any reader. I enjoyed most of the stories in the collection and discovered many authors new to me, and i am already looking at their back list to enjoy more of their writing. I have loved the British Library Crime Classics and this one is a great addition to my collection.

[♥ Sandi ❣ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

Sixteen short mystery stories. They are British literary crime classics. Before each story is a small bibliography of it's author. Each of the story authors have now passed away.

A nice selection of short mysteries, all referring to something in the book industry - a book, a library, a publisher.

[Elizabeth (Alaska) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful anthology. It is mostly made up of stories published in the fifties and earlier, but also includes a very few published later, the last story by Ngaio Marsh having been first published in 1973. Martin Edwards prefaces each story with a brief biography of the author which included some of that author's major works. The included stories were cited for their original places of publication.

My favorite story was "Malice Domestic" by Philip MacDonald. I shared the highlights of this story, including its twist ending with my face to face book group. This story was also appeared on the TV show Alfred Hitchcock Presents. I have read Ross MacDonald and another member of my group is a fan of John D. MacDonald. We were amused that there is at least one more crime writer named MacDonald with which neither of us was familiar. Anyway, I have enthusiastically added one of his titles to my over-burdened wish list.

Edwards says that Gladys Mitchell is sometimes listed as one the of the "Queens of Crime" alongside Sayers, Allingham, et al. Her included story was titled "The Manuscript" and is the shortest of the anthology at only 5 pages. I'm glad to see that I already had her on my wish list and vow to acquire it sooner rather than later.

Before I finished, I noted that I had several other anthologies by Edwards also on that wish list. I'm pleased that my library holds four of them. I remarked to myself that these older crime stories are a good way to sample authors I might not get to otherwise. And, even if I choose not to read one of their novels, the stories themselves are all highly entertaining. I'm happy to find a fifth star for this.

[Alisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of stories is tied together by books… there are crime novelists, collectors, and so forth, or sometimes it’s a case of some important information hiding within the pages of a book. The stories are mostly very compelling, and are by a mix of authors of varying degrees of renown. What I didn’t enjoy were the multiple stories told through the eyes of murderers and would-be murderers. Too hard-boiled for me. Depending on what kind of crime fiction you can handle, your mileage may vary. Some of the stories were more traditional detective tales, and those were pretty good.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this digital review copy!

[Judy Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories which touch either lightly or very heavily on one particular topic are often not entirely successful for me. This book, however, edited by Martin Edwards makes good connections for me, probably because the field is so wide for authors to choose from. Each of the short stories contained in this collection leads to a book or a segment of the book production industry. Sometimes it is a little bit of a stretch, but they all get there in the end. Edwards calls this a "sub-branch" of the genre and this collection is packed with a wide variety of plots and crimes that engaged my attention all the way through. Many of my favorite authors have one of their works included and each story was new to me. As is usual with an anthology of this type there is a short biographical feature of each author at the beginning of their contribution as well as information for when and where the story first appeared. The following is a list of titles and authors included.

A Lesson in Crime - George Douglas Howard Cole and Margaret Cole
Trent and the Ministering Angel - E. C. Bentley
A Slice of Bad Luck - Nicholas Blake
The Strange Case of the Megatherium Thefts - S. C. Roberts
Malice Domestic - Philip MacDonald
A Savage Game - A. A. Milne
The Clue in the Book - Julian Symons
The Manuscript - Gladys Mitchell
A Man and His Mother-in-Law - Roy Vickers
Grey's Ghost - Michael Innes
Dear Mr. Editor... - Christianna Brand
Murder in Advance - Marjorie Bremner
A Question of Character - Victor Canning
The Book of Honour - John Creasey
We Know You're Busy Writing, - Edmund Crispin
Chapter and Verse - Ngaio Marsh

This collection holds a lot of good stories, pretty much something for everyone who enjoys the "classic" type of crime detection stories. Many of my favorite authors are included and some of their contributions were surprising to me regarding how different this story was from their well-known primary detective novels. This is one of the best anthology compilations I've seen from Martin Edwards in quite a while. I really liked it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an e-galley of this anthology.

[Jan C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay mixture of golden age mystery stories. It ended on an Alleyn story. I picked it up the other night and forgot that it was an Alleyn story by Ngaio Marsh because his wife took the lead in the beginning while Alleyn and Fox were clearing something else up. So all of a sudden, Alleyn and Fox come on the scene and I thought "oh, yes, this is Marsh". I'd completely forgotten.

Some stories were better than others. And it was okay.

[Catie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Lesson in Crime - 4 Stars
Trent and the Ministering Angel - 3.5 Stars
A Slice of Bad Luck - 3 Stars
The Strange Case of the Megatherium Thefts - 3 Stars
Malice Domestic - 3.5 Stars
A Savage Game - 3 Stars
The Clue in the Book - 3 Stars
The Manuscript - 2.5 Stars
Grey’s Ghost - 4 Stars
Dear Mr. Editor - 3.5 Stars
Murder in Advance - 3 Stars
A Question of Character - 4 Stars
The Book of Honour - 4.5 Stars
We Know You’re Busy Writing…. - 4 Stars
Chapter and Verse - 3 Stars

[Rosemarie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Out of 15 short stories in the book, less than half were three stars, and a couple were one star, thus the rating.
It was the least enjoyable compilation of short stories in the BLCC, and I've read a number of them.

[JacquiWine · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5 Stars)

It’s always a pleasure when one of these British Library Crime Classics anthologies drops through the door, especially in this instance given its literary focus! Murder by the Book is a collection of sixteen short stories that qualify for the genre of ‘bibliomysteries’. More specifically, each of these stories revolves around something bookish. For instance, a mystery featuring a book or someone who works in the book trade – a writer, bookseller, publisher or librarian, perhaps. Alternatively, the crime might take place in a bookish location such as a library or bookshop. All of these permutations are valid, and many of them are showcased in this entertaining collection.

As ever with these anthologies, some entries are stronger than others, so I’ll focus on some of my favourites for this review. Luckily, there are several very enjoyable stories here, more than enough to keep lovers of vintage mysteries interested and engaged. There’s also a good mix of well-known writers – E. C. Bentley, A. A. Milne, Edmund Crispin and Ngaio Marsh – and less familiar names – Philip MacDonald, Roy Vickers and Marjorie Bremner. In fact, some of my favourite stories were written by *new* authors (i.e. new to me), which came as a very pleasant surprise.

Some of the best stories in this anthology feature crime writers, perhaps unsurprisingly given their penchant for crafting mysteries. In A Lesson in Crime, by husband-and-wife-team GDH and M. Cole, a rather self-satisfied but sloppy crime writer gets a taste of his own medicine when a stranger starts chatting to him during a train journey to Cornwall.

“Now in that book,” the stranger went on, “you call the heroine Elinor and Gertrude on different pages. You cannot make up your mind whether her name was Robbins with two b’s or with one. You have killed the corpse in one place on Sunday and in another on Monday evening. That corpse was discovered twelve hours after the murder still wallowing in a pool of wet blood… (p. 19)

While it’s relatively easy to work out where this one is heading, the premise and the quality of the writing make it a pleasure to read.

To read the rest of my review, please visit:

https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2021...

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favourites:

“Malice Domestic” ◾ Philip MacDonald
“The Clue in the Book” ◾ Julian Symons
“A Man and his Mother-in-Law” ◾ Roy Vickers
“Dear Mr. Editor…” ◾ Christianna Brand
“Murder in Advance” ◾ Marjorie Bremner
“A Question of Character” ◾ Victor Canning

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Diverting; uneven. The introductions to each piece are always interesting ... sometimes more than the story itself.

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

How does editor Martin Edwards do it? I have lost count of how many anthologies of mostly British, mostly Golden Age writers Edwards, a lawyer and a mystery writer in his own right, has compiled, and, yet, this anthology of book-related short stories does not have a single bad entry. Not one!

Favorites? It’s hard to have them with so many contenders, but I think they’d be Philip MacDonald’s “Malice Domestic,” Christianna Brand’s “Dear Mr. Editor…,” A.A. Milne’s (yes, that A.A. Milne) “A Savage Game,” Edmund Crispin’s “We Know You’re Busy Writing,” and Victor Canning’s “A Question of Character.” The only short stories that weren’t excellent were S.C. Roberts’ “The Strange Case of the Megatherium Thefts” by S.C. Roberts and John Creasey’s “The Book of Honour,” which were still good enough.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, British Library Crime Classics and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This solid collection of short mysteries was intelligently curated by the editors. Formal, mildly archaic and very British, these tales nevertheless were astute, relatable and very entertaining. From jilted lovers to dastardly con artists, these stories are highly recommended for armchair detectives and book lovers alike!

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading the stories in this book with Shedunnit Book Club.

September 2023: A Lesson in Crime by GDH and Margaret Cole; 2.5⭐
October 2023: Trent and the Ministering Angel by E. C. Bentley; 4⭐
November 2024: A Slice of Bad Luck by Nicholas Blake; 2⭐
December 2023: The Strange Case of the Megatherium Thefts by S.C. Roberts; 2⭐
January 2024: Malice Domestic by Philip MacDonald; 4⭐
February 2024: A Savage Game by A.A. Milne; 3.5⭐
March 2024: The Clue in the Book by Julian Symons; 2⭐
April 2024: The Manuscript by Gladys Mitchell; 1.5⭐
May 2024: A Man and his Mother-in-Law by Roy Vickers; 4⭐
June 2024: Grey's Ghost by Michael Innes; 3⭐
July 2024: Dear Mr. Editor... by Christianna Brand; 4.5⭐
August 2024: Murder in Advance by Marjorie Brenner 3.5⭐
September 2024: A Question of Character by Victor Canning 4⭐
October 2024: The Book of Honour by John Creasey 2.5⭐
November 2024: ‌We Know You’re Busy Writing, But We Thought You Wouldn’t Mind If We Just Dropped In For A Minute by Edmund Crispin 3⭐
December 2024: Chapter and Verse by Ngaio Marsh 4⭐

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and tremendously engaging murder mystery collection. All of the sixteen stories were so entertaining to read. I recommend this book to anyone who has a penchant for murder mysteries. My personal favourite is We Know You’re Busy Writing... by Edmund Crispin. I also liked Philip MacDonald’s Malice Domestic.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

[Les Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again I have a problem giving * out of 5. Wish it was 10. This volume’s stories range from 2 to 5. So sadly have to give it an unfortunate 3 (7 out of 10).

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beware writers!

Whenever one of these British Library anthologies, be it crime, science fiction or horror, pops through my door, I rub my hands in glee, knowing that at least some of the stories will be great and I’ll be treated to a raft of authors, both old favourites and new acquaintances. This one contains sixteen stories, all connected in some way to books, book collectors or authors. I came to the conclusion, in fact, that being a writer is a very dangerous thing – so many of them seem to become either murderers or murder victims! Plenty of big names here – Ngaio Marsh, Julian Symons, Christianna Brand, etc. - and a few less well known ones, though through reading so many of these anthologies I’m beginning to recognise and look forward to some of the names which turn up regularly even if I’ve not yet read any of their novels.

The overall quality of the stories is unusually high. The lowest rating I gave was three stars (meaning OK), but by far the majority were either good or excellent. Eight out of the sixteen earned the full five stars. The variation in styles is also wide, from traditional “closed circle” and “impossible crime” mysteries, to humorous and self-mocking takes on the life of the poor downtrodden mystery writer, all the way to full-on thriller-style stories.

With such a cornucopia of goodies, it’s extremely hard to pick just a few to highlight, but here goes – three picked fairly randomly from my favourites to give a flavour of the variety…

A Question of Character by Victor Canning – Geoffrey Gilroy is a moderately successful thriller writer, but his wife, who had never written before their marriage, has now become a publishing sensation. When he finds himself being referred to as “Martha Gilroy’s husband”, he decides she’s got to go – a nice little murder will salve his vanity, plus it will allow him to marry his mistress, a woman who happily shows no inclination to write books of any kind. He plans the murder meticulously, but you know what they say about the best-laid plans! This is great – it becomes a fast-paced thriller half-way through and builds up some real page-turning tension.

Book of Honour by John Creasey – Malcolm Graham, our narrator, is a book distributor in colonial-era India. One day he gives a little money to a poor man, Baburao, who is trying to sell cheap postcards to eke out a living. Baburao uses the money to set up a rickety shelf from which he sells books. He approaches Malcolm, who again helps him, this time by allowing him to select some of his company’s books to sell, on credit. Baburao uses this favour wisely again, until eventually he has set up a thriving business as a bookseller, with his own shops. But Baburao never forgets his poor origins, and spends his time and money helping those in the famine camps. There is a crime in this one, and it’s rather a heart-breaker, but the overall story is of these two good men, Malcolm and Baburao, and their mutual respect and growing friendship. I thought it was excellent, full of humanity and warmth.

You’re Busy Writing by Edmund Crispin – Ted Bradley is a thriller writer who longs for peace to write. He sets himself a target of 2,000 words a day, but between the telephone, his cleaning lady and her laundry worries and random visitors at his cottage, he finds he’s constantly losing his flow just at the point when he’s come up with a killer metaphor or thrilling clue! On this day he’s already been interrupted countless times when a couple he barely knows turn up at his door, invite themselves in and make it clear they intend to spend the whole day and evening there, drinking his booze and keeping him from his work, until it’s dark enough for them to elope together, deserting their respective spouses. Let’s just say Ted finds a drastic way to solve his problem. Very funny, laugh out loud at some points, and one can’t help feeling it’s written from Crispin’s own experience, although hopefully he found other ways to rid himself of unwanted interruptions!

One final thought – the last four stories in the book are four of the very best. I’ve said it before, but anthologists should always aim to start with a great story or two to get the busy reader’s attention and goodwill, and then keep the rest of the best to end with, and that way the reader will promptly forget if any of the ones in the middle were a bit disappointing. This anthology starts with the weakest story of all in my opinion, but, dear reader, it’s worth rushing past that one because goodies await you in abundance! Highly recommended.

NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, the British Library.

www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthologies for me are usually like boxed chocolates - there are some I love, some I like, and then some that are going in the trash uneaten. With British Library Crime Classics anthologies, though, I generally devour all the stories greedily.

I'd read a few of the stories before, such as the Innes, Brand, and Crispin ones, but there was a Trent story by Bentley that I hadn't encountered, and enjoyed. The star of the collection for me, though, was the John Creasey story, "The Book of Honour." That story alone would have earned this four stars from me, even if the other stories were absolute dreck, which they were not.

Each of these stories has something to do with books. Books are sold, books are written, and books are stolen. Most of the stories are written by authors with whom the reader will be familiar, but there are a few, like the ones by the Coles and Bremmer, that are unexpected delights.

Recommended for those who love books and those who write them, and those who love a good Golden Age mystery.

I received an advance copy from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

4/5 stars

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Martin Edwards, on behalf of British Library Crime Classics, has unearthed another collection of solid crime stories. It contains sixteen stories— long as well as short. All are readable. Some were especially good, brimming with the British wit and sense of macabre.
My favourites are~
1. E.C Bentley's "Trent and the Ministering Angel";
2. Philip MacDonald's "Malice Domestic";
3. Edmund Crispin's "We Know You're Busy Writing..." (the best story in terms of presentation);
4. Ngaio Marsh's "Chapter and Verse".
Other stories were good; but these four are brilliant.
Overall, a dependable collection for lovers of crime.

[Dogsandbooksanddogsandbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delight to travel the pages of classic bibliomysteries. Yes, they speak to their times such as in the 1930's but that is part of the charm. Moreover, before each short story, a snippet of history is included about the author and their place in the crime genre.
I'd recommend to anyone that enjoys a solid murder mystery involving books in anyway or just a classics crime fan.