Detective Stories

by Peter Washington (Editor)

Now, in the appealing and collectible Pocket Classics format, an anthology of beloved, classic detective stories—riveting and irresistibly addictive tales of crimes and those who unravel them.

Beginning with modern masters such as Sara Paretsky, Ruth Rendell, and Ian Rankin, this collection works its way back through the golden age of the 1920s and ’30s to the genre’s source in Edgar Allan Poe and Arthur Conan Doyle. The famous detectives who stalk these pages range from the brilliant and eccentric (Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Poe’s C. Auguste Dupin) to the deceptively unlikely (G. K. Chesterton’s humble priest, Father Brown; and Agatha Christie’s tweedy spinster, Miss Marple); from the tough-guy private eyes created by Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler to accidental bystanders, such as the perceptive neighbors in Susan Glaspell’s haunting “A Jury of Her Peers.”

From classic whodunits featuring Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason and Georges Simenon’s Inspector Maigret to Jorge Luis Borges’s postmodern tribute to Poe in “Death and the Compass,” the stories in this volume will tantalize, perplex, and amaze.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Anthologies, Read For School, Collections

384 pages, Hardcover

First published October 6, 2009

Reviews

[Ｆｒａｎｋｈ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not even going to bother writing an in-depth review for this anthology because it was such a disappointment. I've grown up with the detective genre and it's still the kind of literature I go back to both for comfort and excitement. The fact that it took me a whole month (and a few trying two weeks) to finish this one shows that my enthusiasm had dwindled significantly halfway.

The selection of writers for this volume was an intriguing one; a few of them were even prominent ones like Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allan Poe. There are also authors I am quite fond of like Sara Paretsky and Jorge Louis Borges (his "Death and the Compass") is one of my favorites from this collection). Nevertheless, I believe the lacklustre result of this volume has something to do with the fact that the story choices were themselves often average with cases that can be so humdrum that you would wonder as a reader why you even wasted your time reading them.

On the plus side, the few standouts of this collection were given a chance to shine through (People Don't Do Such Things, The Blue Geranium, Silver Blaze, and A Jury of her Peers). That remote possibility was the only thing that kept me reading, though it happened rarely.

There is also this disconcerting thematic connection in three or four stories found herein (which was basically a formula composed of (A) a detective is caught up in exposing a duplicitous woman who is either the perpetrator of the crime or a conspirator of the scheme; (B) she is also always the scorned lover/willing participant in the scenario). I didn't care much for the theme because it was stereotypical if not slightly sexist. It makes me wonder if the editor had a weird fixation for such plot set-ups. Compiling these stories together was a bad decision; they are so obviously interchangeable after a while once I tried recalling one of them.

I can't recommend this to anyone but at least it encouraged me to read Paretsky again, and look forward to Borgess' Labyrinths which is in my reading list for next year.

NOT RECOMMENDED: 6/10

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Washington compiled an outstanding collection of detective stories in this volume. He roughly arranged stories from newest to oldest. I read this for our book club at work where we typically read one or two short stories per week and complete it in a semester. We began the collection back in January, reading the first selection. At that point we decided we would rather read them in reverse order--oldest to newest--so we could see the influence older authors might have on the newer ones. Of course, the book club was interrupted by COVID-19, so we did not resume our read until fall semester. We then did not meet in person, but on Zoom. We enjoyed the collection.

Stories included were "The Takamoku Joseki" by Sara Paretsky, "Window of Opportunity" by Ian Rankin, "People Don't Do Such Things" by Ruth Rendell, "Inspector Ghote and the Miracle Baby" by H. R. F. Keating, "Mademoiselle Berthe and Her Lover" by Georges Simonon, "Death and the Compass" by J. L. Borges, "Leg Man" by Erle Stanley Gardner, "I'll Be Waiting" by Raymond Chandler, "The Gatewood Caper" by Dashiell Hammett, "The Blue Geranium" by Agatha Christie, "A Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell, "The Blue Cross" by G. K. Chesterton, "Silver Blaze" by Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Stolen Cigar Case" by Bret Harte, "Long Looked-for, Come at Last" by James McLevy, and "The Purloined Letter" by Edgar Allan Poe.

If you are looking for a great selection of detective stories, I highly recommend this collection. It features a nice binding and a ribbon bookmark. It is not available on Kindle or other electronic formats.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleasant collection of detective stories, organized in (mostly) reverse chronological order. Nearly all of these are good, with a few undoubted (if over-anthologized) classics (by Doyle, Christie, and Chesterton), and a couple piercing satirical looks at the genre and the world (by Glaspell and Borges).

My favorites, aside from those, were the Chandler, Rendell, and Rankin stories. My least favorites were the very long and dull Simenon and Gardner stories, the labored Bret Harte Holmes parody, and the “real” Scottish detective story. And am I the only one who is annoyed by how pointlessly wordy “The Purloined Letter” is?

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, so I thought this was going to be a fun book where I could match wits with the various detectives, NOT a bunch of stories that tell me how great each detective is and how he (or she) solved whatever mystery.

Does anyone have any recommendations for detective stories whose authors allow the reader the same info as the detective so the reader can try to solve the puzzle?

[Marya Gates · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a few good stories, but mostly I just wondered why this collection was put together at all. No cohesion. Mostly boring, overlong short stories. I like my short detective fiction quick and pulpy I guess. Beautiful cover though.

[EuroHackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. An unusually strong collection of stories from some of the best-known (pulp/short story) crime writers. Of the 16 total, I only found 1 completely unreadable and and 2 rather boring. Interestingly enough, these were among the earliest stories in the collection. As this collection is printed in reverse-chronological order, these lead balloons were at the end.

My favorites included:
[+] People Don't Do Such Things by Ruth Rendell
[+] Leg Man by Erle Stanley Gardner, featuring series character Pete Wennick
[+] The Gatewood Caper by Dashiell Hammet, featuring series character the Continental Op
[+] The Blue Geranium by Agatha Christie, featuring series character Miss Marple

[Adia · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a few celebrities (Christie's Miss Marple, Chesterton's Father Brown, Poe's Dupin, and, ofc, Sherlock Holmes), but most of the detectives featured made me never want to read about them again. the mysteries themselves were nothing shockingly clever, either. still fun.
Favorites:
-People Don't Do Such Things
-The Gatewood Caper
-Mademoiselle Berthe and her Lover

[Marianne (Boricuan Bookworms) · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay... I liked some of the stories, but others put me to sleep or didn't make much sense. I thought some stories were just dumb... praising the detectives and telling me how awesome they were but never actually showing it. Eh.

"People Don't Do Such Things" by Ruth Rendell is easily my favorite.

[Bookworm In Distress · Rating 2 out of 5]

God, it took me a year to finish this. All I have to say is that I’m disappointed, even more so because this book was a birthday present from my boyfriend. Don’t really have much to say. There were a few really good stories from great authors (Conan Doyle and Edgar Alan Poe), but still weak compared to other stuff they have written.

[Jay Maxfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

This anthology is somewhat eclectic in nature with a wide range of divergent detective short stories. If you are new to crime/detective fiction then I wouldn't recommend this volume as some of the stories contained within this volume are difficult reads and some of them border on the meaningless and boring - a comment & rating of each story below. Saying that there are some classic's amongst them - however many of these stories are commonly chosen for anthologies and hence for keen readers of crime short stories you are bound to have read many of the selection beforehand. If you enjoy classical crime short stories then I would recommend two anthologies from the British Library Classic Crime series - The Long Arm of the Law & Miraculous Mysteries as these stories are well selected and most of them aren't in other common anthologies. I would give this collection of stories 6.5 out of 10 as I don't think much care was shown in the selection or order of stories - as well as the fact the compiler could of supplied an introduction to the genre and there aren't any details about the authors e.g. when & where they lived and a bit about their careers.
*** SARA PARETSKY - The Takamoku - Set in the USA early 1980s, readable but not particularly interesting denouement
**** IAN RANKIN - Window of Opportunity - Set in Scotland, modern day - easy to read and enjoyable - some improbable ideas
**** RUTH RENDELL - People don't do such things - London mid 1970s - easy to read, it has her interesting Roald Dahlesque twist - improbable ending
*** HRF KEATING - Inspector Ghote & the Miracle Baby - India 1990 - easy to read & enjoyable - but doesn't feel like a detective story more like a Miss Marple observation
** GEORGES SIMEON - Mademoiselle Berthe & Her Lover - Paris 1947 - longer short story that didn't seem to go anywhere I was left wondering why the story was written as it's boring and unmemorable - and definitely shouldn't have been in this anthology
* J L BORGES - Death & the Compass - Argentina early 1960s - complex difficult read - it will lose most readers as it's setting, humour and secondary meanings are mostly lost in translation - as well as being just too complex and perhaps for most of us - meaningless
** ERLE STANLEY GARDNER - Leg Man - USA late 1930s kidnapping plot - easily guessable story line and a plot that didn't keep me entertained enough to stay awake
* RAYMOND CHANDLER - I'll be waiting - USA late 1940s gangster mob story - this author was well regarded in his time - however his linguistic style is very dated and in part not understandable without a dictionary for modern day readers - this story doesn't really go anywhere.
**** DASHIELL HAMMETT - The Gatewood Caper - USA early 1920s hard boiled crime - not always an interesting or readable author - however this story is both easy and enjoyable
**** AGATHA CHRISTIE - The Blue Geranium - England early 1930s. Christie wrote some very enjoyable & interesting novels however her short stories are sometimes erratic. This story however is one of her better ones and includes the adorable Miss Marple. Commonly found in anthologies.
**** SUSAN GLASPELL - A Jury of Her Peers - USA (written in 1917) - Sisterhood tale by a feminist writer - which I enjoyed as the women protagonists had to decide to stand together or throw another woman into the arms of the law. However it only just qualifies as detection.
**** G K CHESTERTON - The Blue Cross - England 1910 and was the first Father Brown story. I find the father Brown stories on the whole somewhat nervy including this one - however it is one of the better ones - my favourite is The Hammer of God. The modern day TV Series (with Mark Williams as Father Brown) is so different in a good way from the original stories that I haven't bothered to read any Father Brown stories for many years.
**** ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE - Silver Blaze - England 1892 - this story is found in so many anthologies - it is easy to read and very enjoyable - even if it's your third or fourth time reading it.
* BRET HARTE - The Stolen Cigar Case - USA Pastiche/Farcical Parody of Sherlock Holmes story (Hemlock Jones) - thank goodness this is a short - short story as it isn't enjoyable and the joke has past it's sell by date as well as the fact I cannot see why this story is in a detective anthology collection - as it is the antithesis of detective fiction.
* JAMES MCLEVY - Long Looked-for, Come at Last - Scotland 1830s - I am totally baffled by the compiler's choice of this story - it sounds more like true crime and the story doesn't fit to this anthology as it can be summed up as - Police Office eventually catching a slippery villain that he's been after for 15 years.
** EDGAR ALLAN POE - The Purlioned Letter - set in Paris early 1840s with C. Auguste Dupin being an early Sherlock Holmes. Poe is considered the father of Crime Fiction - however his Crime Fiction was virtually forgotten soon after it was published - you will realize why after reading his stories. This story is about the most accessible of his 4 or so crime stories - even so it's a difficult read in parts. Poe always gets sidetracked and goes into heavy philosophising about issues that will baffled the vast majority of us - his denouements however are a different kettle of fish - understandable and clever, even more so for the time period that they were written in.

[Jason Furman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding collection of detective stories. They are printed in reverse chronological order from Sara Paretsky and Ian Rankin to Bret Harte and Edgar Allen Poe. Every story was excellent and it was the right mix and number of them.

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like most of the writers included here. If I'd have based my opinions on the evidence of this book I would have liked the writers alot less.

[Felix Cortes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just like "Death and the Compass", "A Jury of her Peers" and the "Silver Blaze". The rest was very boring.

[Kayt O'Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasingly-pocket-sized hardback of detective stories, this included a good variety that were all, crucially, detective stories. (Yes, I know that's what it says on the cover. No, I don't always trust descriptions, I've read too many collections that include police procedurals and thrillers.) Some of the authors, particularly the older stories, I had heard of; many I had never read, and some of the more recent authors I hadn't even heard of before.

A main flaw in this collection is the lack of any information about each story, whatsoever. Not even when each was written! That's crucial information--most stories are set in the time they were written in, and as a reader I need to know at least a rough decade to be able to understand the context. I had to resort to looking up the copyright information for each story in the back, but my copy somehow didn't include information for every story--so I was lost.

Personally, I would have preferred a little preface to each story (just a sentence or two) about either the author or the story itself, but at a minimum, just including the original date published under the story title would have made reading it a lot smoother and less confusing.

But also, absent any extra information, we get tonal whiplash moving from one story to the next. One story is just a bad-natured parody of Sherlock Holmes ("The Stolen Cigar Case" by Bret Harte), which would at least have been more tolerable if context was given that it was written while the Sherlock Holmes stories were still being written, rather than when he was the public-domain reference everyone knows today. But the stories themselves span over a century between them, and having to struggle to figure out when things were set every time distracted from any pleasure the reading could have given.

[Charles Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice little book, full of enjoyable bite-sized crime stories. Some of the reviewers here have been a trifle mean, I feel. There are some good stories, recent and older, and some absolute stand-outs.

I enjoyed the Earl Stanley Gardner, the Chandler and the Christie - those last too, admirable as they are, tend to be more tolerable in small doses.

But quality will out and Simenon's 'Mlle Berthe and Her Lover' has Maigret in top form as he is roused from his retirement to save a possibly innocent man from being arrested for murder. The story will keep you guessing to the end. What is so special, though, as ever with Simenon, is his rare feel for people. Few crime writers can create characters with such truthfulness and honesty.

Where most writers create criminals, victims and detectives who feel tailor made for their stories, Simenon somehow brings you ordinary, believable people, whichever side they are on. And none more believable, or full of life, as Maigret himself.

Borges is also excellent here, learned and thought-provoking as ever. 'Death and the Compass' covers murder, the Kabbalah, equilateral triangles and a strangely symmetrical French villa.

But my favourite has to be Bret Harte's bullseye parody of the genius amateur detective genre - 'The Stolen Cigar Case.'

'It is raining,' he said, without lifting his head... 'I see that your umbrella is wet, and that your overcoat has drops of water on it.'
'I sat aghast at his penetration.'

Loads of fun. Recommended.

[Paul Secor · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointment. Part of the problem is that detective/mystery stories are probably best served by longer forms than short stories. Novels and novellas provide the space for situations and characters to develop. (Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories are an exception. Conan Doyle was at his best within the short story format.)
And the Holmes story, "Silver Blaze" is one of the most successful in this collection. To that one, I would add stories included by Raymond Chandler, Georges Simenon, and Ruth Rendell, though if one wants the best Chandler and Simenon detective tales, read the novels. I won't comment on Rendell's novels, since I believe I've only read one.
As for some of the rest, the entries by Sara Paretsky, Ian Rankin, H.R.F. Keating, Dashiell Hammett, and Agatha Christie, are throwaways.

I would have liked to have seen a preface or introduction by the editor included, to justify his choices. I doubt I would have been persuaded to have a different opinion, but it might have been interesting.

Edit - When I wrote my review, I forgot about Susan Glaspell's "A Jury of Her Peers". I'd add that to the successes in this collection, though my rating still stands.

[Catherine Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best compilation of detective stories I have read. There were only a couple that I thought could have been left out. Literary and quirky. I enjoyed this book very much.

[Ciara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A real mix of gooders and stinkers

[Jill McGillicuddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Discovered some new to me writers. Normally I don't read short stories, but a lot of these were good.

[Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of detective stories.

[John Ollerton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some were rather good whilst some were fillers.

[Emilee Burkett]

Proofed for high school students. A decent anthology of detective stories. Took a good while to get through though

[Googoogjoob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty solid selection of stories. Spanning, in their origins, from 1844 to 1995; arranged in roughly reverse-chronological order. There's a good spread of stories ranging from early detective fiction (Poe, McLevy) through early/proto-Golden Age stuff (Doyle, Chesterton), hardboiled fiction (Hammett, Chandler, Gardner), and post-war fiction of both the more traditional private detective (Paretsky) and the police procedural (Keating, Rankin) forms. The Golden Age of Detective Ficton is, surprisingly, rather lightly treated, with a single story apiece by Christie and Simenon representing the period- and nothing by, say, Sayers or Marsh or Bentley or Bailey- perhaps just an indication of the tastes of the editor.

While most all of the stories are worthy, some aren't actually detective fiction, properly, at all- Rendell's "People Don't Do Such Things" is crime fiction, but with no detective in sight, and the perpetrator walks free; Borges's "Death and the Compass" is almost a burlesque on the detective story; Glaspell's "A Jury of Her Peers" features the aftermath of a crime, but isn't really a mystery at all, and has its own thematic concerns; Harte's "The Stolen Cigar Case" is an excellent parody of Sherlock Holmes, but not exactly detective fiction in its own right.

The flip side of the inclusion of all the big names and notable stories in this anthology is that there isn't much unexpected or surprising- this is a cute volume to have around, and makes for good light reading, but it doesn't make for a very good way to discover new writers. McLevy is probably the most obscure author included here, but he's also of almost entirely historical interest.

For as nice as the book is as an object (a nice cloth cover, heavy pages, etc), and as prestigious as its lineup of authors is, it's also curiously sparse as an anthology. There's no introduction, no explanation or justification for the editor's selections. There are no author biographies, no publication dates or textual sources given (except as can be deduced from the copyrights- of the stories still in copyright, anyway); there's no context given for recurring detectives, no context given for the stories' places in the history of the genre, no critical context. Maybe Sherlock Holmes or Miss Marple need no introduction, but something would be nice.

[Linda Howe Steiger · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gift several years ago from a friend, I picked this up a few nights ago feeling at loose ends, and became absorbed. What an excellent collection! Each story is very different from the others, each written by a master, together they offer the range of this my favorite sub-genre of literature. Not a dud among them if one is willing to read outside the boundaries of one's favorite type of mystery. Everything from Sara Paretsky to Brete Harte (who knew, and such a funny satire of Conan Doyle--who's also included of course), even Borges. As I said a bit of everything--a chase motif, a puzzle, a riddle, psychology, suspense. A couple of longer offerings--I particularly liked the Simenon. Nice in a guest room or on the bedside table or the airplane, as well as in a classroom. And so say I who thought I didn't particularly like the short story mystery.

[Jaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great escape for me. Short stories from the creators of our favourite detectives. It could not have been an easy task for Peter Washington to choose sixteen authors. His choices range from the current decade to the early 1800s; each a classic in their own right. I have to admit that Bret Harte was my least favourite (sorry) but that leaves 15 amazing thrillers. My top pick? Chandler and "I'll be waiting". A must for mystery lovers and a great way to check out some wonderful authors if you are new to the genre.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great collection of stories. The variety and page length is perfect. I have never read any of these authors so it was a great introduction to some that I will read again and others I probably won’t. I was expecting a little more suspense and mystery overall but did not find that in most of these stories.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely book. Threadsewn pages, nice acid free paper, lovely little size and red ribbon bookmark. Have discovered a couple of 'new' authors I wasn't aware of and will find more from them now: Susan Glaspell and H.R.F. Keating.

[mithra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read and personally, I enjoyed all of the stories with the exception of the last one, which is did not enjoy as much because I found there was too much side banter.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like any anthology, some stories better than others. Particularly excellent: Susan Glaspell's 'A Jury of Her Peers.'