Reviews

Bodies from the Library: Lost Classic Stories by Masters of the Golden Age by Tony Medawar

ssejig's review

4.0

A delightful collection of lesser-known short stories from well-known authors. They include A.A. Milne, Arthur Upfield, Agatha Christie, and more.
My favorite story was Jeffrey and Veronica who meet as strangers at Monte Carlo. Both have recently left their positions (or so they say) and are enjoying a vacation before finding work again. But a night in a casino means that Veronica has left with the wrong bag and that sets off a curious chain of events.
I wish that the stories and the author's biographies had been switched. It would have been nice to have some background to the stories before hearing them.

murph2244's review

4.0

This was a really neat collection of detective stories and plays lost to the ages until this publication. Most of them seemed pretty standard for the genre, but there were a few that I found interesting, none more so than the one by A.A. Milne, creator of Winnie the Pooh, that had several strange parallels to the plot of Knives Out. I also thought Medawar did a great job editing the collection, including short bios of each author and disclaimers ahead of the stories that contained outdated racial stereotypes. Overall, none of the stories were particularly groundbreaking, probably why they went unpublished for so long, but it's a fun read if you're a fan of the genre.

sammystarbuck's review

3.0

Some of these stories are pretty good, some less so. One or two of them made me chuckle, which are probably going to be the ones that will stay with me. none of them however, are particularly exceptional.

pricklyplant's review

Too many uninteresting stories in a row.

ruth's review

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

libgremlin's review

4.0

A fun and entertaining collection of short stories from the Golden Age of crime fiction - sometimes from writers you've never heard of, sometimes from writers you know, but not as crime writers, with some "forgotten" stories by big names like Agatha Christie of Margery Allingham thrown in the mix. A great way to spend a cozy evening.

craftysilicate's review

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.0