Silent Nights

Silent Nights. Edited by Martin Edwards. 2015. Poisoned Pen Press. 298 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Love mystery and detective stories? Love British mystery and detective stories? Treat yourself to this collection of SHORT STORIES edited by Martin Edwards. Each mystery is set during the holidays. So many authors are included in this collection, you're almost sure to find your favorite author. But what I loved even more than finding "favorite authors" was finding new-to-me authors. Edwards introduces each story by providing readers with a little information about the author and the story included. Some of these stories are rare and almost forgotten. All are "vintage" or "classic" stories. I think the most recent being from the 1940s.

The book includes:

• The Blue Carbuncle by Arthur Conan Doyle
• Parlour Tricks by Ralph Plummer
• A Happy Solution by Raymund Allen
• The Flying Stars by G.K. Chesterton
• Stuffing by Edgar Wallace
• The Unknown Murderer by H.C. Bailey
• The Absconding Treasurer by J. Jefferson Farjeon
• The Necklace of Pearls by Dorothy L. Sayers
• The Case Is Altered by Margery Allingham
• Waxworks by Ethel Lina White
• Cambric Tea by Marjorie Bowen
• The Chinese Apple by Joseph Shearing
• A Problem in White by Nicholas Black
• The Name on the Window by Edmund Crispin
• Beef for Christmas by Leo Bruce

Probably my favorite short story was Waxworks by Ethel Lina White. I also enjoyed Cambric Tea by Marjorie Bowen.

Short stories aren't my favorite thing to read. But I do love a good mystery. I thought this one was worth reading because it introduced me to some new-to-me authors. And it talked about what else they'd written--including novels. The book gives readers a taste of various authors and their detectives.

© 2016 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews