Murder by the Seaside: Classic Crime Stories for Summer

Vintage Summer Murders

by Cecily Gayford

GK Chesteron, Cyril Hare and Michael Innes contribute to this collection of ten classic crime stories, including seemingly impossible murders on Cornish beaches, deadly honeymoons, poisoned gifts, and a baffling case of apparent patricide that only Sherlock Holmes can unpick.

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

223 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Anissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

***Review to come.***
Another enjoyable seasonal collection by Gayford.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ten stories linked to the seaside. Some better than others.

The Boscombe Valley Mystery not the seaside but over blackmail between two men returned from Australia with one wanted his daughter to marry the other’s son to get his fortune.

Weight and see an ingenious way to get an alibi foiled by a heavy detective.

Error at daybreak a man appears dead but is it an illusion to avoid prison.

The Absence of Mr Glass is when appearances are not all what they appear to be.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here we have a collection of ten classic crime stories all based around summer holidays - what a surprise considering the title of the book.

What I would say is that along with a variety of styles and characters the type of story varies greatly too. The stories here I felt ranged from cleverly formed dedication and heart felt adventure all the way to contrived events that seemed to have a the soul purpose of promoting and elevating the hero of the story.

I guess like any collection of classic stories you get all sorts and yes some may seem easier to read (and accept) than others but at they all represent a milestone in the genre and so even if I struggle to accept some of them I cannot deny their importance in the genres evolution. So yes an interesting mix and certainly a series I will be looking to explore further on.

[Mar · Rating 3 out of 5]

3'5

[Hailey Sawyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I spent nearly twenty dollars on this book at the time I got it. Was it worth it? Let's find out!

Now because this is a short story collection instead of a single story, I'll be changing up my review structure for this one. So instead of the blurb, then my likes, my mixed feelings, and dislikes for the story, I'll be giving mini reviews for each story that only contain my thoughts and overall grade for it.

The Boscombe Valley Mystery (Arthur Conan Doyle): I gotta admit, I was not at all a fan of this one. It was kind of cool to learn that Australia had gold mines and how they had a distinct yell called Cooee. But most of it was just Sherlock and other characters sitting down and spouting exposition, which made a less than forty page story feel like a forty million page story. It also doesn't even take place at the seaside, even though the theme of this anthology is supposed to be murder mysteries that take place at the seaside. It makes me question why this story was even included at all.

Overall Grade for This Story: F

Weight and See (Cyril Hare): Compared to the last story, this one was a lot more enjoyable! While it still doesn't take place at the seaside, there was a lot less sitting and expositing. In fact, a lot of the exposition was combined with action, making the story more engaging without skimping on important information. It also manages to pull this off in less than twenty pages. The ending was kind of funny too. The one thing that irked me aside from not taking place at the seaside was the fact that it's never explicitly or implicitly revealed why Mr. Wellman didn't want his wife to know where her worker's compensation money was going. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think mysteries are supposed to leave unanswered questions unless it's going to have a sequel.

Overall Grade for This Story: D+

Error at Daybreak (John Dickson Carr (Carter Dickson)): Finally! A story that takes place at the seaside! The way it also describes the seaside is fantastic as well, with one of my favorite descriptions being, "The surf was driving in now, with deepening thunder. A wave veered against the rocks and flung up a ghostly mane of spray." I also like how the story handled the greyish figure. It really keeps the reader guessing as to whether it's a human or a monster. On the one hand, the figure is implied to be covered in grey hair. On the other hand, it killed Kane via stabbing, which seems more like something a human might do. I also found this part to be pretty funny, "'Oh, come! You won't be able to dodge responsibility like that, Doctor,' said Lionel, who always dodged responsibility."

Overall Grade for This Story: A+

The Absence of Mr. Glass (G.K Chesterton): Yes! Another story set at the seaside! Though it was a bit slow at the beginning, it doesn't take forever to pick up. I found it quite hilarious how Father Brown and Miss McNab kept telling Dr. Hood to untie the guy they found but Dr. Hood just keeps expositing about who Mr. Glass could be. Though it's later revealed that the knots are the kind that would allow the guy to untie himself. I also found it interesting that just when Dr. Hood thinks he's solved the case, everything he thought he knew is turned on its head by the priest, who basically reveals that the tied up guy is actually a conjuror who was practicing his tricks and solves the mystery. It's a really nice twist that actually makes sense.

Overall Grade for This Story: A-

Razor's Edge (Anthony Berkely): This is the third story that's actually set at the seaside and I'm so glad that this collection is actually getting on track. I like how it gives the reader enough clues to believe that the wife murdered her husband because she was having an affair with some guy named Barton due to her husband's supposed abusive behavior and shady profession, but then in the end it's revealed that Mrs. Hutton and her husband were working together to fraudulently get the life insurance money by murdering Barton and having Mrs. Hutton give a fake yet detailed description of her husband. If I had one complaint, I would say that, even though the story attempts to give the policemen distinct personalities, but they just end up kind of blending together.

Overall Grade for This Story: A-

The Furies (Michael Innes): I have very mixed feelings about this story. On the one hand, it does take place at the seaside and we do get to learn a lot about Miss Pinhorn, a lady who, on the surface was a patriotic, generous, fun loving old woman, but behind the scenes was a "frugal to herself", trust deficient, and paranoid mess. On the other hand, the entire story just consists of people sitting down and expositing all of this, as well as the entire mystery of her death and how it was solved. Half the time, I barely knew who was talking. In short, it's basically "Show, Don't Tell Violation: The Story".

Overall Grade for This Story: C-

Daisy Bell (Gladys Mitchell): Yup. It's another story that takes place at the seaside. At this point, I'll only mention the setting if it's anything else other than the seaside. Honestly, this is the first story in this entire collection where I don't have all that much to say. I think it's because there's nothing particularly remarkable about it, but there's nothing particularly awful about it either.

Overall Grade for This Story: C

A Mystery of The Sand-Hills (R. Austin Freeman): Definitely a much more engaging read than the last story. I was really intrigued by some of the clues (such as the money that has turned black, the dew and spider webs on the boots, etc). They made me question whether something supernatural is going on with Roscoff or not. Heck, it even made me question whether or not Roscoff is a beggar based on the clothing he left behind and whatnot.

Overall Grade for This Story: A+

Superintendent Wilson's Holiday (G.D.H & M. Cole): This story seems to have a bit more of a comedic tone than the other stories. I think it's because nothing seemed to go right for Wilson. First, he's forced to go on a vacation, even though he's really passionate about his job. Then, he and his buddy have to trek through the middle of nowhere just to find a specific place. Then they encounter a crime scene. I felt so bad for him and was rooting for him to catch a break. But despite all of this, Wilson actually manages to keep a cool head, which just made me all the more invested in him.

Overall Grade for This Story: A+

Man Overboard (Edmund Crispin): I think this story certainly ended things with a bang. It's really short. Like, seven pages short and it delivers a couple of really good twists and turns (such as making the reader think the police are working on a missing person's report involving two American brothers but it actually turns out that the brother's were in on an insurance fraud scheme that required someone to be swept overboard). The only real issue I had with it was that it was a little tough to follow at the beginning, but thankfully, it dissolves by its second page.

Overall Grade for This Story: A

Overall, Murder By the Seaside is a very mixed bag. Half of the stories are fantastic! But the other half are either mediocre or downright terrible. If I hadn't spent nearly twenty dollars on it, I wouldn't be so harsh on it. In short, not worth the money.

Overall Grade: C+

[Gorgia Banach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this compilation of ten little seaside murder mysteries. I found the format easy to read as they were all short stories and easily digestible.
Some of them were a bit hit and miss but that’s to be expected. It was a different way of reading a murder mystery and in such short form it felt like I was watching an episode of Poirot or Miss Marple.
Would recommend this compilation and looking forward to reading some more.

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a good book that I was able to read sporadically on the tube due to its short story format. Some stories had a penchant for over explaining and describing but overall most were very good. The absence of mr glass was a more ridiculous story while weight and see also had a humorous pretence, but my favourite was the boscombe valley murder. Boscombe valley was a slightly Australian based mystery which meant that I could work out a few of the ‘clues’ before it was explained and mentioned places from home which I always love to see.

[Sara Raquel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
This is a collection of ten classic crime stories set during summer by the sea. This is an entertaining read, especially if you're on the beach and you're craving a light mystery. It's a cozy type of mystery, nothing too dark or scary. I especially liked the first ones. After a few stories, they started to get a bit repetitive and I wasn't very intrigued. But it's still a book I would recommend to someone who's looking for a short book to bring on holidays.

[Mo · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5 stars.

Most of the stories did not really impress me and I had a hard time keeping my attention.

[Larissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sommige verhalen waren veel leuker dan andere maar vond het niet geweldig

[Izzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall rating: 2,3 rounded of to a 2.

The Boscombe Valley Mystery: it was okay. I feel that the killer lacked real motive. But I did like the characters. 2,5☆

Weight and See: it was good I liked how everything mostly made sense and there was nothing really that was bad. 3☆

Error at Daybreak: so this reminded me of a book so I was kinda like "yah I've seen it..". The "victim" was selfish and sad for doing the thing he did... I don't understand why the main character was there at all to be honest. It also felt kinda flat to me. 2☆

The absence of Mr. Glass: I thought there were too many details in the first few pages and not enough after. Nonetheless it was fun and I did like it. 2,5☆

Razor's Edge: uhm I don't know what to think of this I was constantly confused by who was talking and who everyone was. I just wasn't hooked. 1,5☆

The Furies: It was okay I didn't understand why the main character was telling the story to a doctor and someone else instead of the police. But sure whatever you do you I suppose. I did like the irony soo 2,5☆

Daisy Bell: uhm 1☆ I don't understand any part of this story. Not joking I was and still am very confused.

A Mystery of the Sand-Hills: 1,5☆ I was very confused. And if I'm honest I have know idea who the murderer is, but maybe that's what they wanted? I don't know, anyway I was also confused by the timeline and I thought it took them way too long to (partially) figure the case out.

Superintendent Wilson's Holiday: 3,5☆ thos has been my favourite so far. It was long, had lots of details and background information. I also really enjoyed the twist and it was easy to follow.

Man overboard: 3☆ I liked it it was fun, it was also only 6 pages long. Somehow I didn't find it hard to follow and there were enough details.


Conclusion: I think that if you like murder mystery there should be a story in here which you will atleast not hate.
Overall rating: 2,3 rounded of to a 2

[Matteo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ✨️

[Francisco Veladas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fez-me perder o gosto por ler durante uns tempos, ainda bem que finalmente o acabei.

[Colin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must learn to resist these attractively designed compilations of ‘Golden Age’ detective stories set around seasonal themes (usually Christmas or summer). They seldom deliver much for the reader to get their teeth into and serve primarily as an illustration of how far crime fiction has come since the Second World War. This collection features several stories written in flat, workmanlike prose where an inventive (for which read far-fetched) plot device is the only element of the tale in which the writer seems interested. A couple of stories raise the quality level: the Sherlock Holmes adventure The Boscombe Valley Mystery - which incidentally has nothing to do with the seaside - and Gladys Mitchell’s stylish and funny story Daisy Bell.

[Vivien Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good little collection of very clever stories. Well put together.

[Sam Middleton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and easy summer read. Every story is essentially a variation on the typical Sherlock Holmes-style format of the gentleman sleuth and a Dr. Watson surrogate, but each one is clever and has the charm of classic English mysteries.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Anirudh Mannattil · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mixed bag overall, with some interesting tales here and there. I fear, however, that I might entirely forget the existence of this collection a few months from now though, given how little impact and value for remembrance the series has as a whole.

[Mrs Schuller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished in two evenings. Funny little Victorian / 1950’s murder mysteries. If you like the older Agatha Christie you may like it. Nothing to write home about, but a fun little deviation from more serious texts :)

[Joyce Heinen · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Murder by the Seaside” is a short story collection, filled with ten murder mysteries set during the summer, written by classic authors. These stories were not specifically written for this collection, because this was released in 2022.

While the seaside is the red thread through this collection, it’s not that present in all the stories. I don’t read classic novels often, so of all the authors that had stories in this collection, Arthur Conan Doyle was the only author I had read from before. The rest were all new to me.

There were a few stories I particularly liked. “Weight and See” by Cyril Hare is a story about a woman that was found dead in her house, with a blow to the head and no forced entry. I enjoyed the simplicity of this story, with the detective going over all the evidence he has in the house. “The Furies” by Michael Innes follows the death of Miss Pinhorn, a wealthy woman that wasn’t very loved by people. I felt a lot like a “Knives Out” type of story. “Error at Daybreak” by John Dickson Carr follows Bill, who is visiting his friend at his beach house and he sees him collapse. And he believes he was murdered. This story had a fun twist. But my favorite story was “Razor Edge” by Anthony Berkeley, where a woman reports her husband missing after he went swimming and didn’t return. They find a body, which is identified as his and they questions is: was his drowning accidental or was it murder? We follow the autopsy closely and it felt like an episode of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”. These stories really stood out. The Sherlock Holmes story, “The Boscomb Valley Mystery” by Arthur Conan Doyle, was also enjoyable. The rest of the stories were pretty forgettable, rating them from 2 to 3 stars.

I expected this book to be as good as it was, with some really good stories, some average ones and some I didn’t really care about. It’s easy to read, even though it’s more classic writing and slower paced, but because the stories are so short, you really fly through.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A third collection of crime based short stories with a summer theme and, in my opinion, the most disappointing. Although all penned by Golden Age authors, none of the stories were particularly interesting or memorable. I had read 50% of them before but I had to really rack my brains to bring them to mind; the only one I knew immediately was The Boscombe Valley Mystery, the seemingly obligatory Sherlock Holmes story.

For what it's worth:

My favourite story

Razor Edge by Anthony Berkeley. I do like Berkeley's writing style, so although this is not one of his best stories, it still stood out for me in this collection
The Furies by Michael Innes. I do not usually like Innes but this very short offering was quite intriguing

Least favourite

Man Overboard by Edmund Crispin. I do enjoy Crispin's novels but I rarely like his short stories and this, to me, is one of his worst. Heavily used in anthologies, I didn't like it any better on this reading than I did on the first.
Daisy Bell by Gladys Mitchell. I do not think Gladys Mitchell has aged well this story was garbled, confusing and pointless

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ten typical crime mysteries from a bygone era, all set on the British coastline & all well-chosen for their imitable inspiration for a new generation of whodunnits by contemporary writers who change both the characters' essential identities & the language & verbal mannerisms - not to mention their 'gender' solidarity as mostly masculine men going about being 'toxic' towards women (Miss Marple 'clones' never appear: scandalous, or what? What!).
All these engrossing-enough, vari-length stories - & at least, one was written by a person with a...well...a person who identifies as a 'woman'?...is that the right term these days? - were all a blast from the past & had overlapping plots & deductions by the clever detectives...but all ticked the box of being believable for the inter-war years (1918-1930)...& perhaps, post-war (1945-1955).
I was content with that.

[The_Cozy_Critique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ten classic murder mysteries. I must admit I only brought this book because of the cover and having recently been in holiday to Cornwall at the time. I didn’t even realise this was ten short stories instead of one! I like that each chapter is another story. I like reading by chapters so I have no choice but finish an entire one.

The only issue with this was that I wasn’t eager enough to keep picking up this book. What was the point when you knew that another chapter would be about another murder?

Most stories I had enjoyed, especially the first. But I can see that they’re already all too similar and repetitive! If you’re into murder mysteries this is a good anthology to to pick up for your next beach trip!

A perfect read for reading in between your other books or for a short vacation or train journey etc.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This delightful collection of ten classic crime stories revolves around summer holidays, offering a mix of mystery and intrigue. Like a box of chocolates, you may find one odd taste in a collection of short stories. My personal favourite is Superintendent Wilson's Holiday. Nothing goes right for Wilson, but the well-thought-out crime makes it all worthwhile. Another one is Razor's Edge by Anthony Berkeley. A story about a wife kills her abusive husband. Simple, right? Wrong. The plot twist makes this one enjoyable.
In short, if you're in the mood for some classic crime stories this summer, this collection is worth a read.
find my detailed review here

[camy m · Rating 4 out of 5]

solid 4/5! this was a great book to have around when i wanted to read, but didn’t feel like i could commit to an entire book. would definitely be a great beach read since most of the stories are quite short, but i think since the stories are mostly like old english detectives, some of the writing is a bit higher brow and might need more attention than your typical summer book. i had to re-read a good deal of it, especially when the detectives go on their little explanation spree.

top stories for me were:
the absence of mr. glass (my fav!!)
error at daybreak
superintendent wilson’s holiday

least liked stories were:
daisy bell (🍅)
boscombe valley mystery
the furies

[Pirate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A worthy title if you wish to ward off rivals for a lounger by the pool or an umbrella at the beach...though the Germans would have to speak English of course....it is light fare even if it is about murder and some pretty poor stories within but balanced by classics from Conan Doyle and Chesterton. Easy reading and whiles away a couple of hours. I left it at the hotel where I was staying and saw that someone had picked it up from the improvised library soon afterwards..I will be keeping a keen eye out to see if murder has indeed been afoot at that establishment.....

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story 1 ->4/10 could guess who the killer is early on
Story 2->6/10 innovative story but average
Story 3-> 6/10 very tangled and weird
Story 4->7/10 funny at the end
Story 5 -> 5/10 very simple
Story 6 ->8/10 great simple story but unsatisfying ending
Story 7 ->3/10 -> very boring 1
Story 8 -> 2/10 awful log into and very confusing ending
Story 9 -> 4/10 dnf it at the end because it became boring and too long
Story 10 ->5/10 average and short but an ok read
Overall pretty average and basic. Ok to read once but very forgettable and not worth to read twice.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up in a book store while on vacation in England and it's perfect for a holiday at the beach! Having little mystery stories was easy to digest and great to read by the sea! Although you don't need to be familiar with the locations or be reading on the beach to appreciate this writing.

I wouldn't say I was a short stories reader but I really enjoyed this. For me it was a mix of well known authors and British seaside settings, added with classic stories and characters, such as Sherlock Holmes and DI Mallett. It was a delight to read some oldies!

[Isaure · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I bought it I was really looking for a summer reading and I took it only for its cover I must admit. So I had no idea it was actually composed of many short stories and not a big one. That was my first deception and then I found myself enjoying one or two of them but they all looked too similar and most weren’t mind-blowing. I wouldn’t particularly recommend this book and I must admit that it isn’t worth the money I spent on it.

[Kait · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like classic murder mysteries, this is a good anthology to pick up for your next beach trip. But due to the individuality of the stories (10 total, one per chapter), it gave me two separate problems. One, it was really easy to put down and not pick back up– what’s the urgency when each chapter is a complete, different story? Two, since each chapter is by a different author, I had to adjust my mindset each time for a different tone and pace, making it hard to want to make the effort.