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sharkybookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
Six renowned Golden Age crime authors write “the perfect crime” and Superintendent Cornish from Scotland Yard gives his professional opinion on whether the crime would indeed have been unsolvable…
This wasn’t quite what I was expecting - I thought each story would be a mystery to be solved, and both the reader and Superintendent Cornish would attempt to solve it. However, in almost each, we know from the outset who commits the crime with the story explaining how they go about doing so and commentary at the end from Cornish about how Scotland Yard would have approached the crime and the likelihood of the murderer getting away with it.
So I didn’t get the kick out of trying to solve the murders that I thought I would, but it was actually very interesting to read Cornish’s commentary and get an insight into how Scotland Yard operated at the time and how the psychology of criminals was understood by the police. Things have certainly changed in the last 90ish years! (Thankfully!)
This edition includes a 1929 essay by Agatha Christie about a real-life unsolved case, which is interesting enough and vaguely relevant in that it remains unsolved (as far as I know), so could be considered a “perfect crime.” But since it is inconclusive and doesn’t fit the format of the rest of the book, it does feel a little shoe-horned in.
A fun idea, but the execution results in less mystery-solving and more insight into the operation of Scotland Yard at the time.
tompicklesedi's review against another edition
2.0
Sorely disappointed. Other than the Dorothy L. Sayers piece each story was a serious struggle to get through, and the conclusions unrewarding as well. Boo.
cimorene1558's review against another edition
3.0
Six short murder stories (not actually mysteries, in most cases, as almost all are narrated by the murderer), each supposed to be "the perfect murder", by famous mystery authors of the first half of the 20th century, and then a retired Scotland Yard detective weighs in and tells you why they aren't perfect. The stories range between mildly entertaining and extremely well-done (not surprisingly, the Dorothy Sayers entry is the best, although I've read it elsewhere), but I find the police commentary rather irritating. A fun idea, but not a must-read volume by any means.
halellery's review
3.0
Tales of the perfect crime, as imagined by some of the best mystery writers of old.
That certainly caught my eye. And the crimes themselves were actually a really good read. Would recommend, would read again, and all.
The commentary of the ex-CID though; that I could've done without. It all amounts to conjecture which isn't backed by anything at all, and delivered in this supremely irritating condescending tone, which had me wanting to side with the criminals, even though I'm a bit bourgeois, like Poirot, and disapprove of murder and don't excuse it.
Worse. It made me want to put down the book.
Note to self: If rereading, skip the CID-crap.
That certainly caught my eye. And the crimes themselves were actually a really good read. Would recommend, would read again, and all.
The commentary of the ex-CID though; that I could've done without. It all amounts to conjecture which isn't backed by anything at all, and delivered in this supremely irritating condescending tone, which had me wanting to side with the criminals, even though I'm a bit bourgeois, like Poirot, and disapprove of murder and don't excuse it.
Worse. It made me want to put down the book.
Note to self: If rereading, skip the CID-crap.
helena_chris's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
Started off strong but became repetitive in the second half.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Alcoholism
traceymlee's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
julia_may's review against another edition
3.0
If I wasn't reading this for a book club discussion, I would've chucked it a long time ago. It was a slogfest and the format, frankly, sucked. The stories are too short to get "meaty" and apart from a couple, weren't at all compelling. The best ones are the first and the last, by Margery Allingham and Freeman Wills Crofts respectively. I was surprised to find that Dorothy L Sayers' story was quite lukewarm and arguably there wasn't even a murder there. Agatha Christie's essay on an unrelated real-life unsolved case was a non-event; it shed no light and provided no interesting perspective.
#1 Margery Allingham - 4*
#2 Father Ronald Knox - 3*
#3 Anthony Berkeley - 2*
#4 Russell Thorndike - 2*
#5 Dorothy L Sayers - 3*
#6 Freeman Wills Crofts - 4*
Russell Thorndike's story contains some of the most revolting race-related statements and value judgements I've encountered in Golden Age Detective stories.
#1 Margery Allingham - 4*
#2 Father Ronald Knox - 3*
#3 Anthony Berkeley - 2*
#4 Russell Thorndike - 2*
#5 Dorothy L Sayers - 3*
#6 Freeman Wills Crofts - 4*
Russell Thorndike's story contains some of the most revolting race-related statements and value judgements I've encountered in Golden Age Detective stories.
sammibreads's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
3.0
6 different stories by 6 different authors so you’re always gonna have some you like and some you didn’t. The mysteries were very short but they were well written. Unfortunately the thing that made me pick it up - the criticism from the ex-superintendent - is what let it down for me. Wasn’t very balanced and a bit cringe at times. But the short stories were fun and easy!