Murder by the Book

Another collection put together by Martin Edwards, this one pulling together so-called bibliomysteries, stories that are literary adjacent. So they feature bookstores or libraries, maybe play off of a book, perhaps an author dies.  A lovely little collection. 

A Lesson in Crime by GDH and M. Cole

A mystery author is riding a train when a man joins him in his compartment. The man then proceeds to let the author know all the ways in which his last book failed. Instead, the man exhorts the author that he should write simpler murders and then proceeds to demonstrate exactly how that might work.

Trent and the Ministering Angel by E. C. Bentley

The story opens with two men, Trent and Selby, sitting in their club talking about an unusual client that Selby has recently had. Usually the man, Landell, works with one of Selby's associates but the associate was laid up with a broken leg so Selby goes to visit Landell when the man's wife, a termagent who keeps her husband under her thumb, sends a letter. He is not sure why he goes but this story raises Trent's antennae and the two are off on a mystery to look for a secret will.

A Slice of Bad Luck by Nicholas Blake

Nigel Strangeways is the guest of honor at an Assassins dinner, a sendoff of the Detectives' Club. Everyone there is a mystery writer or related to crime somehow. An author who has only two novels under his belt, Herbert Dale, remarks that it would be a marvelous setting for a murder. Then the lights go out and a man is murdered.

The murderer seems to come out of nowhere but an interesting story.

The Strange Case of the Megatherium Thefts by S. C. Roberts

A Watson and Holmes story, again told from the viewpoint of Dr. Watson. Professor Wiskerton comes from the Megatherium where a number of books from the lending library have been lost from circulation.

Short story with an interesting finish. 

Malice Domestic by Philip MacDonald

Carl Borden is a writer of middling fame whose marriage with his wife Annette has been on the rocks lately. And he is having stomach cramps. After his wife feeds him. But he is not the one who dies.

A lovely little short story with a twist.

A Savage Game by A. A. Milne

A wealthy man dies leaving his money to two people -- his niece who has taken care of him and his nephew (her brother) who is a test driver for racing cars. The three of them had been together the day he died along with a man who translates books. They each had some tea which caused two of them to fall asleep in front of the fire. When the scholar wakes up, the uncle is dead; stabbed through the heart. 

The Clue in the Book by Julian Symons

Warnings for outdated language about disabilities.

Francis Quarles appeared in many short stories as a detective. In this book, an Quarles is visiting the family of Silas Brinn. He has had a stroke but is surviving thanks to the care of his daughter, Mary, and hsi indefatigable secretary, Sam Clemens. 

After dinner, Silas is found dead by an apparent suicide but Quarles thinks things might not be so cut and dried. 

The Manuscript by Gladys Mitchell

A girl is dead. It seems that she may have been killed by a man who has a habit of trying to rehabilitate criminals. Though, to be fair, he usually collects their stories to write about in his collection. 

REALLY short.

A Man and His Mother-In-Law by Roy Vickers

Arthur Penfold is a businessman. He married once and, after six months, his wife left a note behind. He has married again but this time, his mother-in-law stands in the way of his happiness. It's just too bad he buys her a book that leads to his downfall.

Grey's Ghost by Michael Innes

"Grey's ghost is black." At a gathering, people are talking about different engimatic phrases that people have called at said on the telephone. This particular phrase sets up a story wherein Appleby is able to decipher it's meaning.

Dear Mr. Editor... by Christianna Brand

An epistolary short story that was hard to understand at first but with a fantastic twist.

Murder in Advance by Marjorie Bremmer

A popular playwright is killed. But the man seems to have no enemies and his plays are highly enjoyed. At least the ones that have been released so far. 

A Question of Character by Victor Canning

A look at toxic masculinity in action: Geoffrey Gilroy isn't going to kill his wife because he's in love with another woman (though he is). No, he is going to kill her because she is better at everything than he is, including being an author. Lovely twist. 

A Book of Honour by John Creasey

The first person narrator makes the acquaintance of a man named Baburao, a book seller. Baburao is an incredibly good salesman who works his way up from selling books on the street to owning many bookstores. His biggest sadness in life is that his oldest son, Krishna, seems to be on the path to evil. It is with the narrator's help that the boy is brought to justice. 

We Know You're Busy Writing by Edmund Crispin

As the title suggests, there is folly in interrupting an author at work. 

Chapter and Verse by Ngaio Marsh

A bookseller tries to contact Roderick Alleyn about a Bible that is related to his town. Troy is on hand to talk to the man and she is the one to let Roderick know that she thinks the man's death is not an accident. 

Four stars

This book comes out September 6, 2022

ARC kindly provided by Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories edited by Martin Edwards

With a series of stories from the Golden Age, all set at winter holidays, this set of stories is a lovely tome to read in front of a roaring fireplace. The story from which this anthology takes its title is a locked room mystery that takes place when a group of railway travelers is stranded at a hotel that they are warned not to stay at. But what else are they to do?
Also included are stories by well-known authors and names that have been lost to the past alike, this is a lovely story for when the snow starts to fly.

Four stars
This book came out October 1
ARC kindly provided by Poisoned Pen Press and Edelweiss
Opinions are my own

Blood on the Tracks Martin Edwards (Edited by)

The collections put together by Mr. Edwards can sometimes be hit or miss for me. This one was more on the hit side. With a number of familiar names like Baroness Orczy, Lord Peter Wimsey, Doctor Thorndyke, this book hits the spot for a good collection of favorite reads.

This book came out July 3
Four stars
ARC kindly provided by Edelweiss

Continental Crimes by ed. by Martin Edwards

I usually enjoy the stories picked out by Mr. Edwards for his anthology series. And the book started off well, I enjoyed "A Bracelet at Bruges" and "The Secret Garden." But the rest of the stories didn't really hold my attention. I think that these were perfectly fine stories, they just didn't resonate with me at this point in time.

Two and a half stars
This book comes out August 1

The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books by Martin Edwards

There's unfortunately not a lot to say about this book. Martin Edwards has put together several good anthologies of classic mysteries based on various themes: crimes on the continent, locked room mysteries, winter crimes. Here, he writes short descriptions of the 100 books that have helped to frame mysteries as we know them today. These are not the 100 best books by anyone's standards but it is a nice mix of names that I knew and names that were new to me.

Three and a half stars
This book comes out August 1

Crimson Snow: Winter Mysteries by Martin Edwards

The Ghost's Touch by Fergus Hume
I had read The Mystery of a Hansom Cab and enjoyed it so I wasn't surprised that I enjoyed this short story as well. The narrator (Lascelles) is spending Christmas at Ringshaw Grange where the owner is very poor but has the family estate while his cousin is very rich but has no property. The narrator is invited to the family estate for Christmas where it turns out the entire party is all men under the age of thirty. Also at the family estate? A ghost that is supposed to be a former Ringshaw bride who kills people who sleep in a certain room. The room the rich cousin is put in. The rich cousin who has a heart problem. 

Lascelles smells a rat and surreptitiously switches rooms with the rich cousin. The story plays out in a wonderful and enjoyable manner.

Four stars.

The Chopham Affair by Edgar Wallace
A blackmailing gigolo (Alphonse/Alphonso RIbiera) is found dead in a car next to an equally dead car thief.

Short, sweet, interesting. 4 stars

The Man with the Sack by Margery Allingham
Albert Campion has been invited to Christmas by one of his insufferable relatives. At first he's going to decline, but then his cousin writes him also pleading for him to come. It seems that she is in love with a poor man whose father was sent to jail for theft but her mother is pushing her at the young man of their guests, the son of an insufferable, newly wealthy family.
On the way down, Albert sees someone that he recognizes, a thief that he saw prosecuted many years ago. But he puts it in the back of his mind as he settles in for Christmas with his family, with the rich guests, and his cousin's beau. There is mention of a twelve thousand pound (cost, not weight) necklace that, of course, goes missing and the beau is immediately accused of the theft.

Pure Campion goodness, 4 stars

Christmas Eve by S. C. Roberts
A Sherlockian play where a young woman comes to Holmes for help because her employers necklace has been stolen but Holmes can't seem to follow the plot.

Serviceable, three stars

Death in December by Victor Gunn
Chief Inspector Bill "Ironsides" Cromwell is going to his assistant's family home for Christmas. Begrudging and grumbling as usual, he is nonetheless as shocked as his assistant to see a mysterious figure in the drive who disappears and leaves no footprints. Then someone brings up the subject of the family "Death Room" and a particularly annoying neighbor becomes insistent on spending the night, despite the host's obvious discomfort. In a surprise, he is not the one who ends up dead. Rather he sees a dead body but it has then mysteriously disappeared and now he has descended into what may be permanent lunacy.
Ironsides seems to have a clear idea of what might have happened even when the others seem stymied. The solution is a little out there but I enjoyed it.

Four stars

Murder at Christmas by Christopher Bush
A former swindler is murdered. There are a few of his victims in the small town and it's up to the narrator to help figure out how, with so many good alibis, the man could have died.

Three stars

Off the Tiles by Ianthe Jerrold
A woman, trying to help her neighbor get into her locked house, has fallen off the roof. Was it the neighbor who hated the dead woman for trying to woo her nephew into the arts (literally, he's a painter)? Or was there something more sinister at work?

An interesting twist, three and a half stars

Mr. Cork's Secret
Monsieur Aloysia, hotel manager, has a few problems. His hotel is overrun by the press hoping to get pictures of a film star and his new wife (who haven't yet arrived), his hotel is booked to the gills and there are still people asking to come, and there's a dead body in room 143. Luckily, the well-known insurance man, Mr. Cork, is one of the people wanting a room. It seems Mr. Cork has ensured some of the film stars' jewelry for a rather fabulous amount and he wanted to see about his investment. And it's a good thing he did so he can help solve the murder.

Three stars

The Santa Claus Club by Julian Symons
A detective is hired to protect a man who is receiving threatening letters. The man is a very rich one who gathers with other rich men to very ostentatiously raise money for charity every year. They take turns dressing up as Santa and collecting the funds. Our detective's customer ends up dead by the detective is able to solve the case.

Three stars

Deep and Crisp and Even by Michael Gilbert
I'm not sure that I completely understood this one. A young policeman, Petrella, is left in charge while in between Superintendent's and believes that something nefarious may be going on at the local boarding house.

Two stars

The Carol Singers by Josephine Bell
Mrs. Fairlands lives in her converted house quite happily, even at eighty-one years old. At least, she lives that way until Christmas Eve when she is robbed, tied up, and left to die in her own home. It's up to Inspector Brooks to figure out this... rather confusing mystery.

Three stars

Overall a nice pick of mysteries and a book I enjoyed. 4 stars
This book came out January 3

Resorting to Murder -- Anthology edited by Martin Edwards

Summer is (finally) arriving in Montana. And this book is a perfect accompaniment to sunny days and higher temps. As I sat outside my summer cocktail, I quite enjoyed many of the stories in this book. Most are from famous authors but feature stories not well known (Conan Doyle's "Devil's Foot") or lesser known works/detectives. While it was fun reading some stories about detectives I might not otherwise know, there were some stories that were lesser known for specific reasons (ahem, they aren't as good as the author's regular works.)
An interesting mix of Golden Age (and some others) authors makes this worth a read.