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A review by tombomp
Resorting to Murder: Holiday Mysteries by Martin Edwards
3.0
I didn't like this as much as [b:Capital Crimes: London Mysteries: A British Library Crime Classic|25238476|Capital Crimes London Mysteries A British Library Crime Classic|Martin Edwards|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1427583888s/25238476.jpg|44957318] in the same series because I didn't really find any of the stories exceptional (except for the Sherlock Holmes story The Devil's Foot which opens the collection, but that feels kind of cheating) and some dragged quite a bit but I still enjoyed this trawl through the short stories of the Golden Age. Again the very short intros to each story are interesting and appreciated.
For ones I'll mention for having some particularly interesting feature:-
Murder! by Arnold Bennett: The story is told from the murderer's perspective and it's not amazing but the ending has a really nice twist
"Dr Austin Bond, having for the nth time satisfactorily demonstrated in his own unique, rapid way that police officer were a set of numskulls, bade the superintendent a most courteous good-evening, nodded amicably to the detective-sergeant, and left in triumph"
A Posteriori by Helen Simpson: A part humorous take on the sensibilities of middle class women of the period travelling abroad and unravelled by their own self-importance. Not really a mystery but I liked it.
Cousin Once Removed by Michael Gilbert: A very short one but well written and the ending is a very satisfying take on "crime doesn't pay"
The Vanishing of Mrs Fraser by Basil Thomson: Not especially stand out but notable because it follows the storyline of what's now an urban legend. Contains some fun playing around with the amateur detective/police relationship stuff.
Of the ones I didn't like much I'll note that the Chesterton tale is very typical of him - a heavy handed "atheists are bad!! science means nothing without faith" type thing. It's about as well executed as such a thing can be but it made me roll my eyes a bit. A Mystery of the Sand Hills wasn't bad but very strong on the "long explicit descriptions of deductions" type thing. It was hard to follow and drew me out of the story a lot. The rest were generally enjoyable although not particularly exciting. You'll probably like it if you're into golden age mystery stuff.
For ones I'll mention for having some particularly interesting feature:-
Murder! by Arnold Bennett: The story is told from the murderer's perspective and it's not amazing but the ending has a really nice twist
Spoiler
The police believe it's a murder but the amateur detective comes in and "proves" it was actually a suicide, remarking on the police's stupidity, allowing the murderer to get away with it"Dr Austin Bond, having for the nth time satisfactorily demonstrated in his own unique, rapid way that police officer were a set of numskulls, bade the superintendent a most courteous good-evening, nodded amicably to the detective-sergeant, and left in triumph"
A Posteriori by Helen Simpson: A part humorous take on the sensibilities of middle class women of the period travelling abroad and unravelled by their own self-importance.
Spoiler
Also the title is a ridiculous punCousin Once Removed by Michael Gilbert: A very short one but well written and the ending is a very satisfying take on "crime doesn't pay"
The Vanishing of Mrs Fraser by Basil Thomson: Not especially stand out but notable because it follows the storyline of what's now an urban legend
Spoiler
the vanishing from a hotel room where the staff say she was never there oneOf the ones I didn't like much I'll note that the Chesterton tale is very typical of him - a heavy handed "atheists are bad!! science means nothing without faith" type thing. It's about as well executed as such a thing can be but it made me roll my eyes a bit. A Mystery of the Sand Hills wasn't bad but very strong on the "long explicit descriptions of deductions" type thing. It was hard to follow and drew me out of the story a lot. The rest were generally enjoyable although not particularly exciting. You'll probably like it if you're into golden age mystery stuff.