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elusivity's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 STARS
An enjoyable anthology mostly filled with older stories of one Great Detective or another. The better ones have their own quirks and history, twists and turns, and just high-quality writing. A great majority are located in a melodramatic world, or whimsical world, very different from more recent stories that tend to be more firmly grounded in reality. Some of my favorites are:
-THE SCAPEGOAT--Christianna Brand: melodrama, lots of twists, and illustration of human psychology through the Freudian lens that was so popular at that time;
-THE RUBBER TRUMPET--Roy Vickers: Elmore Leonard-type shenanigans narrated by an ironic jane Austen voice, a great combination;
-THE CAVE OF ALI BABA--Dorothy L. Sayers: Lord Wimsey navigating James Bond's world;
-SUPERINTENDENT WILSON'S HOLIDAY--Margaret Cole: a very fair story about murder by a cliffside that the reader could solve along with the detective;
-THE BITER BIT--Wilkie Collins: I typically have no patience for Victorian writing, but in this epistolary story Wilkie Collins is having fun playing a silly amateur detective with some no-nonsense policemen, and also, shenanigans;
-WE KNOW YOU'RE BUSY WRITING--Edmund Crispin: Don't interrupt a debt-ridden writer trying to complete his job, even the mildest of British men has a limit; the actual writing, turns of phrases, etc, are hilarious;
-MURDER!--Arnold Bennett: the tale of someone who did get away with it;
-THE EYE OF APOLLO--G.K. Chesterton: Father Brown being a little gray mouse as drab as melodramatically possible, versus a golden New Priest of Apollo;
-THE WOMAN IN THE BIG HAT--Baroness Orczy: A ladylike but powerful and respected female Great Detective!
-THE GIRL WITH THE RED-GOLD HAIR--June Thomas: well-written and empathetic;
-THE EVIDENCE OF THE ALTAR BOY--George Simenon: Inspector Maigret solves a case while feverish in bed, sneaking pipe smoking and a sip of run whenever his wife's back's turned.
An enjoyable anthology mostly filled with older stories of one Great Detective or another. The better ones have their own quirks and history, twists and turns, and just high-quality writing. A great majority are located in a melodramatic world, or whimsical world, very different from more recent stories that tend to be more firmly grounded in reality. Some of my favorites are:
-THE SCAPEGOAT--Christianna Brand: melodrama, lots of twists, and illustration of human psychology through the Freudian lens that was so popular at that time;
-THE RUBBER TRUMPET--Roy Vickers: Elmore Leonard-type shenanigans narrated by an ironic jane Austen voice, a great combination;
-THE CAVE OF ALI BABA--Dorothy L. Sayers: Lord Wimsey navigating James Bond's world;
-SUPERINTENDENT WILSON'S HOLIDAY--Margaret Cole: a very fair story about murder by a cliffside that the reader could solve along with the detective;
-THE BITER BIT--Wilkie Collins: I typically have no patience for Victorian writing, but in this epistolary story Wilkie Collins is having fun playing a silly amateur detective with some no-nonsense policemen, and also, shenanigans;
-WE KNOW YOU'RE BUSY WRITING--Edmund Crispin: Don't interrupt a debt-ridden writer trying to complete his job, even the mildest of British men has a limit; the actual writing, turns of phrases, etc, are hilarious;
-MURDER!--Arnold Bennett: the tale of someone who did get away with it;
-THE EYE OF APOLLO--G.K. Chesterton: Father Brown being a little gray mouse as drab as melodramatically possible, versus a golden New Priest of Apollo;
-THE WOMAN IN THE BIG HAT--Baroness Orczy: A ladylike but powerful and respected female Great Detective!
-THE GIRL WITH THE RED-GOLD HAIR--June Thomas: well-written and empathetic;
-THE EVIDENCE OF THE ALTAR BOY--George Simenon: Inspector Maigret solves a case while feverish in bed, sneaking pipe smoking and a sip of run whenever his wife's back's turned.
camerontrost's review
2.0
This is undeniably a mammoth book, but it was lacking in truly great detective stories; you know what I mean, the kind that focus on a mystery and provide clues which will enable the astute and imaginative reader to have a crack at solving it. With a title like "The Mammoth Book of Great Detective Stories" and a total of twenty-six tales, the mystery fan expects clues, red herrings, and twists and turns galore. In fact, there were only a few captivating tales, so I can't give the anthology more than 2/5 stars overall.
Here are the contributions that I think are worth mentioning:
Margaret Coles' story was the standout murder mystery, including a great setting, clues, and even a map, while Leslie Charteris and Freeman Wills Crofts offered thought-provoking howdunnits, one involving a child's toy and the other a murder on a train. Dulcie Gray and June Thomson provided tales of psychological suspense, exploring the murderous mind, and Dorothy Sayers took us on an action-packed adventure with Lord Peter Wimsey.
Twenty-six
Here are the contributions that I think are worth mentioning:
Margaret Coles' story was the standout murder mystery, including a great setting, clues, and even a map, while Leslie Charteris and Freeman Wills Crofts offered thought-provoking howdunnits, one involving a child's toy and the other a murder on a train. Dulcie Gray and June Thomson provided tales of psychological suspense, exploring the murderous mind, and Dorothy Sayers took us on an action-packed adventure with Lord Peter Wimsey.
Twenty-six
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