Rating: 4 Stars
Source: NetGalley
Description: These fourteen stories have 2 things in common - the first is that at least one murder will be committed and the second is that the story takes place in a vacation destination. The authors range from well known with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and G.K. Chesterton to the more obscure Leo Bruce and Gerald Findler and everyone in between.
Genre: Mystery
Why I Picked This Book: I love classic mysteries and an anthology sounded like the best way to get introduced to some new authors.
My Impression: I love Martin Edwards as an editor for this book. We get a nice introduction to the book itself followed by a short biography of each author before the mystery they are responsible for. I could feel Edwards' enthusiasm for the author and their work which in turn made me more enthusiastic and interested. It was also thanks to his book The Golden Age of Murder about mystery authors from this time period that made all of 14 of the authors listed here familiar names to me. I enjoyed comparing the different voices of the different authors and finding the similarities. While some added more humor and some were a little darker there's still a detachment that is common for this time period. While at least one person will meet a rather grisly end in each of the stories it's almost soothing reading. The pacing of all the stories is a little slow which I also find common for this story and this isn't a book I can imagine sitting down and reading in one sitting. This is more of a sitting outside on a lovely day enjoying one story at a time while imaging you're on holiday kind of book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Yes definitely. I've just heard that there is a Christmas anthology that Edwards is editing so that is definitely on my list!
Would I Recommend this Book?: If you enjoy classic mysteries this one is not to be missed!
Challenges Met?
Anthologies are great for new discoveries, I agree ! It looks like a perfect summer read and that cover is lovely :)
ReplyDeleteThe cover is gorgoues! It definitely put me in the mood for vacation!
DeleteGlad you enjoyed this one! I just finished Capitol Crimes, another collection edited by Martin Edwards and I enjoyed that one even more. Again classic crime, but those stories all take place in London.
ReplyDeleteOoh I'll have to look for that one!
DeleteThis sounds wonderful... I'm always drawn to books with vacation-like settings and I love the cover, too!
ReplyDeleteI love vacation books as well especially since we won't be traveling much this summer.
DeleteWhat fun! It sounds like there are some great authors in this anthology.
ReplyDeleteThere really are! There's a lot of really great authors here.
DeleteI love the sound of this one...and the cover. Great way to be introduced to a stellar cast of authors.
ReplyDeleteThere were a lot of authors in this one that I'd heard of but never read. It was a lot of fun!
DeleteI am not a classic mystery reader, but I do like the idea of picking up a story at a time and enjoying it. When an anthology like this has mostly good quality stories as well then that is extra good.
ReplyDeleteI think even if you're not a huge classic mystery lover you might still enjoy this because you can read it in bits and pieces.
DeleteSounds good...I don't usually read many classics but an anthology sounds like a great idea.
ReplyDeleteYou might enjoy this one because you don't have to commit to a whole book and the short story format cuts down on the slow pacing that can be a problem.
DeleteOh that sounds like something my mom and grandmom would love. They both really like the classic types.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a good intro to classic stories and authors and I love when we get good editorial notes on authors and stories. I missed this on NetGalley, but maybe my library will have it.
ReplyDeleteI love these editions and have started a mini collection of them, I've just got three :) I hadn't seen or heard much about this one though, it sounds good!
ReplyDelete