Scan barcode
softrosemint's review
3.5
Definitely one of the more consistent entries, though it appears that Edwards struggled a bit here to find stories with strong connections to Scotland. There are quite a few short stories that are very, very short which sometimes left me feeling a little... unsatisfied but they are still very clever.
Favourite entries: "The Edinburgh Mystery" by Baroness Orczy, "The Honour of Israel Gow" by G.K. Chesterton, "Footsteps" by Anthony Wynne, "The Man on Ben Na Garve" by H.H. Bashford, "The Fishermen" by Michael Inness (an excellent twist and it reminded me of my favourite Agatha Christie novel, though I cannot mention which one without giving away the twist), and "The Running of the Deer" by P.M. Hubbard (easily the best prose I have read in this series; incredibly atmospheric, too).
Favourite entries: "The Edinburgh Mystery" by Baroness Orczy, "The Honour of Israel Gow" by G.K. Chesterton, "Footsteps" by Anthony Wynne, "The Man on Ben Na Garve" by H.H. Bashford, "The Fishermen" by Michael Inness (an excellent twist and it reminded me of my favourite Agatha Christie novel, though I cannot mention which one without giving away the twist), and "The Running of the Deer" by P.M. Hubbard (easily the best prose I have read in this series; incredibly atmospheric, too).
pewterwolf's review
3.0
Review Taken from The Pewter Wolf Reads
***eProof gifted by US publisher via NetGalley in exchange for honest review/reaction***
As you expect from a collection of short stories, each story from a different author and all different lengths, not all stories are going to everyone’s taste. Some you will enjoy, others not so much. And because I took a long time to read the collection, I did a me thing and didn’t make any notes on the stories I liked the stories I wasn’t a fan of. I did hugely enjoy the titled story – The Edinburgh Mystery by Baroness Orczy, as well as Josephine Tey’s Madame Ville d’Aubier.
A little uneven in quality, but this does make me intrigued and excited over the other British Library Crime Classic titles I have on my TBR and a few others on my radar… hopefully, will get round to reading them soon!
***eProof gifted by US publisher via NetGalley in exchange for honest review/reaction***
As you expect from a collection of short stories, each story from a different author and all different lengths, not all stories are going to everyone’s taste. Some you will enjoy, others not so much. And because I took a long time to read the collection, I did a me thing and didn’t make any notes on the stories I liked the stories I wasn’t a fan of. I did hugely enjoy the titled story – The Edinburgh Mystery by Baroness Orczy, as well as Josephine Tey’s Madame Ville d’Aubier.
A little uneven in quality, but this does make me intrigued and excited over the other British Library Crime Classic titles I have on my TBR and a few others on my radar… hopefully, will get round to reading them soon!
krobart's review
4.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2022/09/22/review-2032-the-edinburgh-mystery-and-other-tales-of-scottish-crime/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2022/09/22/review-2032-the-edinburgh-mystery-and-other-tales-of-scottish-crime/
andyn5's review
4.0
Editor Martin Edwards did a bang up work on this anthology.
This collection of short stories are mostly set in Scotland or are written by Scottish authors. He goes from famous authors like Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to fresher and less known authors and stories. All the stories are different, with different paces and tones. I enjoyed some stories more than others, but I never left bored or felt like I needed a break, which usually happens when I read anthologies.
I felt like the middle of the book has the most intriguing stories and it was impossible to put down at that point. That's the section of the Golden Age of crime fiction, which is right up my alley, so no surprises there.
I particularly like the introduction to the author in the beginning of each story. It's a great summary of who each author is and where each story was first published.
From all the stories, some of my favourites were Markheim by R. L. Stevenson, A Medical Crime by J. Storer Clouston, Footsteps by Anthony Wynne, Madame Ville D'Aubier by Josephine Tey, The Fishermen by Michael Innes, The Running of the Deer by P. M. Hubbard, and Hand in Glove by Jennie Melville.
I found this a great read and I enjoyed discovering different authors and their works. Recommend it to the fans of crime fiction.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher to for the advanced ARC!
This collection of short stories are mostly set in Scotland or are written by Scottish authors. He goes from famous authors like Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to fresher and less known authors and stories. All the stories are different, with different paces and tones. I enjoyed some stories more than others, but I never left bored or felt like I needed a break, which usually happens when I read anthologies.
I felt like the middle of the book has the most intriguing stories and it was impossible to put down at that point. That's the section of the Golden Age of crime fiction, which is right up my alley, so no surprises there.
I particularly like the introduction to the author in the beginning of each story. It's a great summary of who each author is and where each story was first published.
From all the stories, some of my favourites were Markheim by R. L. Stevenson, A Medical Crime by J. Storer Clouston, Footsteps by Anthony Wynne, Madame Ville D'Aubier by Josephine Tey, The Fishermen by Michael Innes, The Running of the Deer by P. M. Hubbard, and Hand in Glove by Jennie Melville.
I found this a great read and I enjoyed discovering different authors and their works. Recommend it to the fans of crime fiction.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher to for the advanced ARC!
boitevide's review
3.0
Anthologies are often a mixture of disappointment and delight, and this one is as well. Another installment in the British Library Crime Classics series, The Edinburgh Mystery and Other Tales of Scottish Crime treats us to a variety of mysteries threaded together by their (sometimes tenuous) connections to the highlands. The draw for many will be the inclusion of a Sherlock Holmes short story, ultimately a somewhat dissatisfying turn by a titan of detective fiction, and the remainder of the collection feels rather uneven. Several of the stories feel dated to the point where enjoyment is off the table. But the marvelous thing about anthologies is that they afford the reader an opportunity to discover heretofore unknown authors and unexpectedly delightful new favorites. 'Edinburgh' meets the mark in this respect, and there are enough gems to warrant a read for fans of Golden Age mysteries. Of particular note is the titular entry, a well-conceived bonbon of a mystery from the author of The Scarlett Pimpernel.
johnwgrey's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
jackievr's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
tombomp's review
2.0
2.5? Ish.
It's really hard to rate these because mystery short stories is kind of my popcorn. I've read a lot in the British library series and most of the stories are just competent at best. But I still am drawn to them. There's something about the format with the ending on a solution that really appeals to me. And even though I feel like it probably doesn't help the average quality I really appreciate that the editor makes the effort to bring in lots of mystery writers and from lots of times - even when the obscurer writers probably didn't need rediscovering it's a cool look at the past and that compensates somewhat. It's just hard in quality terms to pick any one collection over any other.
Broadly the stories here are fine, although I admit I preferred to round down because the last two stories ended on a weird note where I had no idea how I was supposed to understand the reveal. There's a couple others which whiff a bit or seem overly complicated for a mundane ending but it's not too bad. In a way the worst is the Chesterton story - as per usual he comes across as a tedious narrow minded bigot, using his usual broad brush attacks on any non Catholics to also attack Scottish people in general (or as he calls them "scotch". Yeesh.) The ending is silly but ok but the general contempt visible throughout is unpleasant. I never really understood how Chesterton became so popular, all his stories are bad in this way.
It's really hard to rate these because mystery short stories is kind of my popcorn. I've read a lot in the British library series and most of the stories are just competent at best. But I still am drawn to them. There's something about the format with the ending on a solution that really appeals to me. And even though I feel like it probably doesn't help the average quality I really appreciate that the editor makes the effort to bring in lots of mystery writers and from lots of times - even when the obscurer writers probably didn't need rediscovering it's a cool look at the past and that compensates somewhat. It's just hard in quality terms to pick any one collection over any other.
Broadly the stories here are fine, although I admit I preferred to round down because the last two stories ended on a weird note where I had no idea how I was supposed to understand the reveal. There's a couple others which whiff a bit or seem overly complicated for a mundane ending but it's not too bad. In a way the worst is the Chesterton story - as per usual he comes across as a tedious narrow minded bigot, using his usual broad brush attacks on any non Catholics to also attack Scottish people in general (or as he calls them "scotch". Yeesh.) The ending is silly but ok but the general contempt visible throughout is unpleasant. I never really understood how Chesterton became so popular, all his stories are bad in this way.