Tag Archives: British Library Crime Classics
Guilty Creatures: A Menagerie of Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards
This is another solid collection by the British Library Crime Classics series – this time featuring stories with animals! The creatures in these stories are sometimes instrumental to the committing of the crime, and on others, they provide evidence to find out the two-legged guilty parties! The anthology begins with a story by Arthur Conan […]
The Chianti Flask by Marie Belloc Lowndes
The Chianti Flask is a peculiar addition to the British Library Crime Classics series as it is mostly a love story set on top of a mystery. 🙂 The story begins with a trial where Laura Dousland, a young woman in her twenties, is being tried for the murder of her husband Fordish, who was […]
Two-Way Murder by E. C. R. Lorac
Publication of Two-Way Murder marks a momentous moment in the British Library Crime Classics series, as it is the first time the book is getting published after being “lost” for over six decades! This last novel by E. C. R. Lorac, written shortly before her death, had slipped through the cracks upon her passing in […]
Murder’s a Swine by Nap Lombard
Murder’s a Swine is a unique addition to the British Library Crime Classics series as Nap Lombard is actually the pen name of the husband and wife writing duo Neil Stewart and Pamela Johnson. They co-wrote a pair of crime novels during their thirteen years of marriage featuring Agnes and Andrew Kinghof, a young amateur […]
The Corpse in the Waxworks by John Dickson Carr
When I learnt that Edgar Allan Poe was one of John Dickson Carr’s literary influences, I felt quite apprehensive about reading The Corpse in the Waxworks. I’m not a fan of Poe, as his stories are way too sinister for my taste. But I was hooked by this novel’s opening (“Bencolin [Carr’s detective] wasn’t wearing […]
A Surprise for Christmas and Other Seasonal Mysteries Edited by Martin Edwards
British Library Crime Classics publishes a Christmas anthology each year and curling up with it on Christmas Eve has now become a tradition of mine. But alas, like with many other things in 2020, it didn’t go the way I hoped this Christmas, and I didn’t quite manage to pick this up until a few […]
The Progress of a Crime by Julian Symons
If I were to pick the top three vintage crimes writers I discovered thanks to British Library Crime Classics, Julian Symons would undoubtedly make that list. I loved The Color of Murder which I read a while back, which is more of commentary on the justice system than a whodunit. Similarly, The Progress of a Crime which was inspired […]
Checkmate to Murder: A Second World War Mystery by E. C. R. Lorac
Checkmate to Murder is set during the Blitz, and the story begins in Rosanne and Bruce Manton’s dilapidated studio apartment in Hampstead, London. Rosanne and Bruce, two siblings, are a wood engraver and an artist, respectively. With the war, their income streams have dried up, and now they are constantly oscillating between “absolutely broke” and […]
The Man Who Didn’t Fly by Margot Bennett
The Man Who Didn’t Fly, shortlisted for both the Gold Dagger and Edgar awards in 1955, is one of my favorites among the British Library Crime Classics I have so far read. In it, four men had arranged to fly to Dublin on a small plane from an obscure airport in England. But on the […]
Settling Scores: Sporting Mysteries by Martin Edwards
Settling Scores was such a curious read for me because I tend to avoid activities that require physical exertion! Chess has always been my idea of sports (if you’d like a good chess story, I highly recommend The Royal Game by Stefan Zweig and Theory of Shadows by Paolo Maurensig), and the limited knowledge I […]
Death in White Pyjamas and Death Knows no Calendar by John Bude
John Bude is one of my favourites out of all the vintage crime novelists I’ve discovered thanks to British Library Crime Classics, and I got a double dose of fun here in what must be their thickest book so far! According to Martin Edwards’ Introduction, Bude wrote both Death in White Pyjamas and Death Knows […]
Murder in the Mill-Race: A Devon Mystery by E. C. R. Lorac
Whenever I feel under the weather, like I’m feeling these days (I have an annoying infection!), Classic Crimes are my go-to genre. These cozy novels don’t take a lot of mental capacity, and surprisingly, they have a calming effect on me (perhaps because my troubles pales next to getting murdered!). 😀 In Murder in the Mill-Race, […]
Deep Waters: Mysteries on the Waves edited by Martin Edwards
December is my favorite time of the year to curl up with a British Library Crime Classic anthology. When days are short and dark, my mood calls for grim stories, preferably bite-sized. Not only does Deep Waters fit the bill, but also being an islander, I especially appreciate crime tales set at sea. For me, […]
Death Has Deep Roots by Michael Gilbert
After the exceptional Death in Captivity, which I quite enthusiastically reviewed here, Death Has Deep Roots was a bit of a letdown. In Death Has Deep Roots, Gilbert once again writes about what he knows best. There’s no question that the law and war are his familiar grounds. Before becoming a partner at a London based law firm, Gilbert […]
Death in Captivity by Michael Gilbert
Michael Gilbert’s Death in Captivity is the twelveth British Library Crime Classic I read, and let me tell you it’s not their usual murder mystery offering. Set in 1943 after the Sicilian Campaign when Allies had started gaining momentum in the war-front, this vintage crime novel takes place in Campo 127, a prisoner-of-war camp in […]
