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1mpossiblealice's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fun gimmick for a book of short stories, but I think it would have been way more interesting if the detective had been given part of the story first and had to try and figure out how the murder was done, and then was provided with the solution. In most of them, he already knows the solution so of course it's easy for him to say he would have figured it out.
Story-wise, some were better than others - I did enjoy the twist in the Anthony Berkley one which was interesting as I thought I wasn't going to like it when I started reading it. Having recently read The 12:30 from Croydon by Freeman Wills Crofts, his story was pretty much the exact same plot but with a different murder method, which was a bit tedious.
Worth a read for the interesting idea of it, but nothing amazing, however I did like the inclusion in this edition of the Agatha Christie true crime article.
Story-wise, some were better than others - I did enjoy the twist in the Anthony Berkley one which was interesting as I thought I wasn't going to like it when I started reading it. Having recently read The 12:30 from Croydon by Freeman Wills Crofts, his story was pretty much the exact same plot but with a different murder method, which was a bit tedious.
Worth a read for the interesting idea of it, but nothing amazing, however I did like the inclusion in this edition of the Agatha Christie true crime article.
awebofstories's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
If you are a genre reader, do you ever want to pull back the curtain and see how your favorite writers hone their craft? Here, the legendary Detection Club has allowed readers to do just that.
This collection features short stories by six Golden Age Detection members: Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, Ronald Knox, Anthony Berkeley, Freeman Wills Croft, and Russell Thorndike. In these stories, the authors try to create an unsolvable crime. I should clarify that the intent to is to create a crime where the police could never find the culprit, not that the crimes are unsolvable by the readers, which is what I initially thought would be the case. A critique follows up each story by Superintendent G. W. Cornish, formerly of Scotland yard. In his reactions, he breaks apart each story, describes how Scotland Yard would handle it, and decides whether or not it is truly unsolvable.
I had never read any of these authors before (except for an unrelated essay at the end by Agatha Christie, another member of The Detection Club). I had only ever heard of Sayers and Allingham. Yet, I thoroughly enjoyed this collection and found it a great way to meet new-to-me authors. I found each story well-crafted and only felt a little let-down with the final story by Freeman Will Crofts. However, that may have been because its setup was too similar to another story earlier in the collection.
There are two other books from The Detection Club of this era, and I immediately added those to my TBR. I am planning to expand my reading into this era of literature and this gave me a chance to discover authors who are lesser known in the current day.
This collection features short stories by six Golden Age Detection members: Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, Ronald Knox, Anthony Berkeley, Freeman Wills Croft, and Russell Thorndike. In these stories, the authors try to create an unsolvable crime. I should clarify that the intent to is to create a crime where the police could never find the culprit, not that the crimes are unsolvable by the readers, which is what I initially thought would be the case. A critique follows up each story by Superintendent G. W. Cornish, formerly of Scotland yard. In his reactions, he breaks apart each story, describes how Scotland Yard would handle it, and decides whether or not it is truly unsolvable.
I had never read any of these authors before (except for an unrelated essay at the end by Agatha Christie, another member of The Detection Club). I had only ever heard of Sayers and Allingham. Yet, I thoroughly enjoyed this collection and found it a great way to meet new-to-me authors. I found each story well-crafted and only felt a little let-down with the final story by Freeman Will Crofts. However, that may have been because its setup was too similar to another story earlier in the collection.
There are two other books from The Detection Club of this era, and I immediately added those to my TBR. I am planning to expand my reading into this era of literature and this gave me a chance to discover authors who are lesser known in the current day.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
tahlia__nerds_out's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
halellery's review against another edition
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.
maccymacd's review
4.0
Extremely interesting and thought provoking! 'Six against the Yard' takes six of the most well loved crime writers of the day and challenges each of them to write a 'perfect crime story.' This is then analysed by a real, retired detective who informs us whether or not the ideas are credible enough to be believed in real life.
A couple of the stories were excellent and the others were good. I won't spoil it but clearly it is more difficult to execute (pardon the pun) a real life perfect crime than it is to write about one for fun.
I enjoyed the book however, and was interested to dip into other authors I have not yet read to see what they were all about.
A couple of the stories were excellent and the others were good. I won't spoil it but clearly it is more difficult to execute (pardon the pun) a real life perfect crime than it is to write about one for fun.
I enjoyed the book however, and was interested to dip into other authors I have not yet read to see what they were all about.
joshdoesntread's review
2.0
thank you everyone (not you margery allingham) for being dull as dirt and thank you ex-superintendent cornish for being the worst part of this book and building entire cases against these stories based on nothing except conjecture and your own personal hearsay... i had a marvellous time getting frustrated at you!!
julesgou's review
4.0
Wow. It's been a while since I've done this...
Anyways, I was quite impressed with "Six Against the Yard". There was really one story that I didn't enjoy.
I found the idea so fascinating. Six authors vs an ex-superintendent of the Scotland Yard.
The idea of a perfect murder is one that has been around for a while. And the question is, is there ever a perfect murder? Did any of these authors do it? Well, my friends, you will have to read the book to find out!
I personally believe that there is no such thing as a perfect murder. Yes, there are hundreds of murders that haven't been solved, but, it is my personal belief that each one of those murderers do not get away with it. Because, the things we do always come back to haunt us. I don't care who you are; but every action, every decision we make sets off a chain reaction. And somehow, the negative ones always seem to come back to us.
But, it was interesting to see these detectives battle the law and try to escape it. I really loved the fact that Cornish went into lots of detail when he decided whether or not the murder was perfect. As the novel went on, I found myself looking at those details myself and trying to find the weak spot in the murder that was being performed.
Definitely a novel that detective fiction lovers should check out!
Anyways, I was quite impressed with "Six Against the Yard". There was really one story that I didn't enjoy.
I found the idea so fascinating. Six authors vs an ex-superintendent of the Scotland Yard.
The idea of a perfect murder is one that has been around for a while. And the question is, is there ever a perfect murder? Did any of these authors do it? Well, my friends, you will have to read the book to find out!
I personally believe that there is no such thing as a perfect murder. Yes, there are hundreds of murders that haven't been solved, but, it is my personal belief that each one of those murderers do not get away with it. Because, the things we do always come back to haunt us. I don't care who you are; but every action, every decision we make sets off a chain reaction. And somehow, the negative ones always seem to come back to us.
But, it was interesting to see these detectives battle the law and try to escape it. I really loved the fact that Cornish went into lots of detail when he decided whether or not the murder was perfect. As the novel went on, I found myself looking at those details myself and trying to find the weak spot in the murder that was being performed.
Definitely a novel that detective fiction lovers should check out!
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