The British Library – Carol's Notebook

So, who else is dreaming of vacations right about now? This collection of British mystery short stories centers around vacations/holidays. Our detectives are supposed to be enjoying themselves, but are of course drawn into solving whatever crime has occurred, most often a murder. Like any anthology, some stand out above others. A few of my favorites: "The Adventure of the Devil's Foot" by Arthur Conan Doyle is one I've read before. A woman is found dead and two of her brothers are completely insane. I always enjoy Holmes and this one is not an exception. "The Hazel Ice" by H.C. Bailey - Reggie Fortune is Bailey's series detective. This time, he's in Switzerland and ends up investigating the death of a fellow tourist. This was really enjoyable. I should search out more of the Fortune stories. "Holiday Task" by Leo Bruce - Sergeant Beef is on vacation in Normandy when "the most detected man in the French prison service" is killed in...

I thoroughly enjoyed the storied in The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories. Each short story/mystery is set around Christmas, but aside from that one connecting feature, it's a great variety, from typical whodunnits, to spy stories, to a ghost story. The stories are as follows: "A Christmas Tragedy" by Baroness Orczy "By the Sword" by Selwyn Jepson "The Christmas Card Crime" by Donald Stuart "The Motive" by Ronald Knox "Blind Man's Hood" by Carter Dickson "Paul Temple's White Christmas" by Francis Durbridge "Sister Bessie" or "Your Old Leech" by Cyril Hare "A Bit of Wire Pulling" by E.C.R. Lorac "Pattern of Revenge" by John Bude "Crime at Lark Cottage" by John Bingham "'Twixt the Cup and the Lip" by Julian Symons Most of the authors were new to me, but there wasn't really a bad one in the bunch. Granted, some are better than others, as in any collection, but there's...

Publisher: The British Library

Resorting to Murder edited by Martin Edwards

The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories edited by Martin Edwards