Another good collection of classic crime from British library crime. These are great books as they give you the chance to read not only familiar authors but to try authors that you don't know as well. Fourteen stories here and I enjoyed most of them. As ever in short story collections some appeal more than others. There are only three I wasn't keen on. The G. K. Chesterton story is an odd one as I've always found with him that I like the story but find his prose borders occasionally on the unreadable. It can be so flowery and this is a good story but the writing is hard work. The F. Tennyson Jesse story was a bit silly for me. And then we have H.C. Bailey. The praise heaped on him in the notes in these books baffles me. I've yet to read a story by him I've enjoyed. I just don't like his writing style. But that's just me. Anyway, the rest of the book was good and well worth reading. Conan doyle is as reliable as ever and other standouts for me were edgar Wallace, vincent cornier (daft but fun), mary fitt, josephine bell and christianna brand. I already have the next collection ordered.

which they are invited to pitch their detecting powers against those of legendary detectives. As this magnificent collection of Crime Classics by the British Library has set out to prove, Christie was only one of many, and the works of other crime writers are more than worth a reissue: the collection already sports an impressive number of wonderful titles, all portraying the same period with as much talent, by the likes of (among others) E. C. Lorac, J. Dickson Carr and John Bude. Several of these titles are volumes of short stories collected under a specific theme by British Library series consultant Martin Edwards. 'Guilty Creatures. A Menagerie of Mysteries' is one such selection, and how enjoyable it is! The chosen tales are varied, some weirder or more surprising than others, but all involve animal intervention. And how pleasurable to find, heading the volume, a little-known case of Sherlock Holmes written by Doyle in his later writing life. Lovers of old fashion crime fiction, this is a treasure trove.I thank the publisher for a sample copy.

Most of us know of the Golden Age of crime fiction through Agatha Christie whose novels are run of the mill on libraries and bookstore's shelves around the world. She was far from alone writing in this genre, however. Many other good crime writers also connected with the "play fever" between the two world wars, taking their reader's away from the economic depression and the still darkening international horizon by offering stories in which they were invited to pitch their detecting powers against those of legendary detectives. As this magnificent collection of Crime Classics by the British Library has set out to prove, the works of other crime writers are more than worth a reissue: the collection already sports an impressive number of wonderful titles, all portraying the same period with as much talent, by the likes of (among others) E. C. Lorac, J. Dickson Carr and John Bude. Several of these titles are volumes of short stories collected under a specific theme by British Library series consultant Martin Edwards. 'Guilty Creatures. A Menagerie of Mysteries' is one such selection, and how enjoyable it is! The chosen tales are varied, some weirder or more surprising than others, but all involve animal intervention. And how pleasurable to find, heading the volume, a little-known case of Sherlock Holmes written by Doyle in his later writing life. Lovers of old fashion crime fiction, this is a treasure trove.I thank the publisher for a sample copy.

The British Library’s Crime Classic, Guilty Creatures, is once again edited by Martin Edwards. It’s a collection of 14 short stories, all featuring animals, birds, insects, etc.. The stories are: 'The Adventure of the Lion's Mane' - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 'The Case of Janissary' - Arthur Morrison 'The Sapient Monkey' - Headon Hill 'The Green Parrakeet' - F Tennyson Jesse 'The Oracle of the Dog' - GK Chesterton 'The Man Who Hated Earthworms' - Edgar Wallace 'The Courtyard of the Fly' - Vincent Cornier 'The Yellow Slugs' - HC Bailey 'Pit of Screams' - Garnett Radcliffe 'Hanging by a Hair' - Clifford Witting 'The Man Who Shot Birds' - Mary Fitt 'Death in a Cage' - Josephine Bell 'The Man Who Loved Animals' - Penelope Wallace 'The Hornets' Nest' - Christianna Brand I’m glad I read the book, as it introduced me to some new authors, such as F Tennyson Jesse and Headon Hill. I thought Brand’s The Hornets’ Nest was well done, as Inspector Cockrell suggested various solutions, only to show that they couldn’t be right. However, I’m afraid most of the tales left me cold. The Man who Hated Earthworms; Pit of Screams; and The Man Who Loved Animals are not mysteries at all and one wonders why they were included. Bailey’s The Yellow Slugs was disappointing. Reggie Fortune is hard going and this tale just wasn’t worth the effort. Not up to the usual BLCC standard!