Murder in a Heatwave: Classic Crime Mysteries for the Holidays

Vintage Summer Murders

by Cecily Gayford (Editor)

As the days get longer, escape your troubles and take a trip to the desperately hot towns where nightfall lingers and a sun-drenched picnic can end in panic. No matter how murderously high the temperatures rise, these stories will chill you to the bone. So grab a cool drink and step into the shade ... if you dare.

Featuring terrifying tales of summertime murder and mayhem from Dorothy L. Sayers, Arthur Conan Doyle, Carter Dickson, Michael Innes, Baroness Orczy, Margery Allingham, Ian Rankin, Julian Symons, Ethel Lina White and Rex Stout.

Genres: Short Stories, Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Summer, Thriller

256 pages, Paperback

Published May 4, 2023

Reviews

[Cathy]

A good little collection of short stories with some notable names, a nice diversion but none that really grabbed me.

[Shauna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly a warning. Do not buy this book based upon the authors listed on the front cover. Not all of them appear in this book although they do all feature in other books edited by the same person. How this is legal I have no idea!
Although the stories may all be set in summertime some are more relevant than others and it is a real mixed bag, like so many short story collections. The best of the bunch in my opinion is the Ian Rankin Rebus tale set during the Edinburgh Festival in August but as those of us who live in the UK know, that does not necessarily mean hot weather. My least favourite is the Julian Symons one which was over almost before it had begun.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Thirsa H · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did enjoy “A Good Hanging” and “White Cap” but I had trouble staying engaged with some of the others

[Cass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great holiday read. Some stories better than others.

[Lisa Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was in between reading months and couldn’t quite decide about my TBR.

So, I picked up short story collection from my physical TBR pile. The book includes different crime and murder mysteries set in summery and hot climates written by some of the most famous writers of the genre, such as Dorothy L Sayers and Arthur Conan Doyle.

This was the perfect in-between read and absolutely perfect for the current weather.

However, some stories were a bit dull and not as thrilling as I would have hoped for. My favourite was probably “The White Cap”

Nevertheless, I love those themed collections for a little mix-up of my usually reads.

[ghostly_bookish · Rating 3 out of 5]

CAWPILE 5.71
3 STARS

Read because the sun is actually shining!
I'm not really a short story collection reader but I couldn't resist this little paperback.
Some stories were more compelling than others but I had a good time reading them. I surprisingly liked some of the authors and may pick up some of their longer works in the future.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

overall quite an enjoyable and digestible read, but some of the stories definitely fall flat in comparison to the others and are so loosely tied to the ‘heatwave’ that thematically ties the book that i was wondering why they were included when a lot of them were the lacklustre ones in question

[Sandy Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible and boring

[Beachcomber · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars. A good collection of short story mysteries, featuring some already known characters like Rebus, Campion and Nero Wolfe, and some stand alone ones.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Currently the last of the crime based, summer themed collections of short stories edited by Cecily Gayford.
Not my favourite of these collections; I really couldn't remember whether I had come across any of the stories before, even the Sherlock Holmes offering had not been retained

Favourite stories

Adventure of the Cardboard Box by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I must have read this before but I had no memeory of it

Mystery of the Russian Prince by Baroness Orczy. A man in the corner story

White Cap by Ethel Line White

Fourth of July Picnic by Rex Stout

Least favourite

Summer Show by Julian Symons. Very short, not engaging, entirely pointless

The Border Line Case by Margery Allingham. An Albert Campion story. A dreary little tale in which Campion seems more than ever to be a pale imitation of Lord Peter Wimsy.

[Martin Pilkington · Rating 4 out of 5]

There ten stories in this collection. Most of the authors are English , one is Welsh, one is Scottish, one is Hungarian English and two are American. Most of the stories are good, one is too short, for my taste, and I don’t like Rex Stout’s detective Nero Wolfe.

But 8 0ut of the ten stories being at least likeable isn’t a bad return. Short stories aren’t for everyone, sometimes they aren’t for me. You can see I don’t like very short short stories, it wasn’t just the one in the collection, and I don’t like short, or long, stories by Rex Stout. But I do love almost anything, if not everything, by Dorothy L Sayers and Margery Allingham.

So try this one and love the ones I hate and….l

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can be more fun than short murder mystery stories? With ten short stories, from crime writers such as Dorothy L. Sayers, Ian Rankin, and Arthur Conan Doyle, the book gives us a flavour of different styles and characters in short, easy-to-read chapters.

[Claire Lancaster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some shorts deserve 5 starts, others were less gripping but would recommend reading!

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfectly what it is.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine collection of short stories of the murderous variety. Just a shame I read it in the wettest summer in Ireland.

[sibby rdsv · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was so hard to get through all the stories (except the last one). i love mystery books but this one felt way too ‘classy’ and quick and ‘sherlock holmes’ style.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Varied quality of stories, but a great beach read.

[Samantha-jane Osmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad book, but I think I prefer novels. These are great for a taster, but seemed too rushed, and not as easy to work out who did it!

[Ellie Sheckley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 / 5 ⭐️

A short collection of mystery stories, quick and easy to read. Some were more enjoyable that others but that’s the usual case with multiple authors and stories.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of short stories. Some of the authors I'd never read before so it was a lovely taster of their work.

[Emma Innes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good collection of short stories.

[Paul Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A diverse collection of engaging murder mysteries.

[Olena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories, some more holiday-inspired than others but good fun to read in the sun

[Caitlin Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag: some stories were good, others not so much. I enjoyed "The Mystery of the Russian Prince," "White Cap," and "A Good Hanging."

[Charlotte ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh man - I’m sorry but I really didn’t enjoy this. It felt so massively difficult to get through. I so wanted to enjoy short snippets of summery themed mysteries - but it felt like wading through treacle.

I rated each story below - and this is just my personal opinion:

1. 4/5
2. 3/5
3. 2/5
4. 4/5
5. 3.5/5
6. 2/5
7. 2/5
8. 4/5
9. 3/5
10. 1/5

I was very close to DNF’ing but wanted to carry on for the sole purpose of one of the short stories potentially making it worth it. The first few weren’t bad, but it just got worse. I think it just wasn’t for me and I’m sure that fans of very traditional mysteries would love it.

[Tich Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought in Harrogate Waterstones for train journey home. Stories were good with a bit of a twist - good for crime short stories. Just found the last one by Rex Stout unreadable… too US focused and didn’t really translate into a Summer murder for me. Some clever stuff in Ian Rankin’s “A Good Hanging” which I think I’d seen a Ken Stott “Rebus” episode version but still clever.. Passed a good train ride and afternoon in the outside sunshine…

[Jo K Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A selection of crime authors they say and it's true. Some of whom I've never heard of or read before. Whilst generally I don't do short story books 📚. I find this is a great way to discover authors you've never read before and now could possibly want to read.
Some styles for me were harder, going to read than others . Have I found some authors to try? I might indeed have done so.

[Sabine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es waren vier Highlights dabei, der Rest war mir zu konstruiert. Die Story von Rex Stout habe ich abgebrochen, weil der Erzähler in jedem zweiten Satz was Sexistisches raushaut.

[Sabina · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5