A review by shanaqui
The Edinburgh Mystery: And Other Tales of Scottish Crime by Cyril Hare, Martin Edwards, Arthur Conan Doyle, Margot Bennett, J.J. Connington, Robert Louis Stevenson, Josephine Tey, Michael Innes, Baroness Orczy, Jennie Melville

mysterious medium-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

This collection wasn't as good as Murder by the Book, I think: it felt a bit contrived, despite the known existence of "Tartan noir", and it pulled in some big names (R.L. Stevenson and Chesterton) via stories that were overwrought and just... not that great. I much preferred the more obscure writers, oddly enough: they tended to be more subtle, and better written.

That said, there were a bunch of those, after the volume leads with Stevenson etc, and that turned out to be fun. There was one near the end that was really atmospheric and felt... atypical, and probably unsatisfying to most crime/mystery fans: the motive is easy to guess, but the setup is totally opaque, and there's no neat ending with a solution to everything. All the same, I really liked that one.

Like most short story collections, a mixed bag, but interesting to see the range of crime stories out there.