Martin Edwards has edited and written the introductions to a number of short story collections published by Poisoned Pen Press. Often these titles look back to the “golden age” of mystery fiction.

This title includes fifteen tales in all. Some of the authors whose works are included are Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, Agatha Christie, Josephine Bell and Michael Gilbert. Readers may recognize that these authors are British and that this book is titled Continental Crimes. Yes, it is true that all of these authors set stories in other parts of Europe.

Sometimes readers want to immerse themselves in long novels. There are other times when a short story is just right. For those times, this is a welcome collection.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

Always a favourite of mine the British Classic Crime series. I think it should be classified as a separate genre. Dignified even in murder, detectives slowly go about their daily work with precision and class.

Set in cities, idyllic countrysides and in the Riviera the stories change the tone with the change of scenery.

A lovely read for all seasons

If you love some of the other books in this series, you will enjoy this one!
A great mixture of well known and lesser known authors with nice stories that are entertaining, sometimes silly or overdone but all in all a nice reading experience and perfect to fit in between other heavier and harder to read books.

Continental Crimes* is a British Library Crime Classics collection of short stories. I am not always a fan of short stories that are mysteries. They frequently feel a bit rushed. I did enjoy these. They are all set, in whole or in part, on the continent. I particularly remember A Bracelet at Bruges by Arnold Bennett. A woman is showing off her new bracelet while standing by a canal. It somehow gets dropped in and is gone forever--supposedly. There is also a story by Agatha Christie, one by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and G.K. Chesterton, among others. As with any short story collection, some are better than others.

From http://www.bookbarmy.com

Is it possible to have a crush on a publisher?

My heart beats faster, my fingers fondle their book covers, and my wallet giddily opens its arms -- all for The British Library Crime Series by Poisoned Pen Press.

Just look at these beauties, I mean really, what mystery reader could resist?
I first became aware of this series with my first purchase of THIS long lost favorite mystery. Since then I have cultivated a insatiable craving finely-tuned taste for this Poisoned Pen Press imprint.

In 1997, husband and wife founders, Robert Rosenwald and Barbara Peters, who are also the owners of the legendary Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, Arizona, saw an opportunity to re-publish the wonderful British mysteries novels of the 1930's and 1940's. They tapped into every bibliophile's secret desire --out of print titles, long lost authors, and beautiful covers to lovingly add to a bookcase:

“We knew that mystery readers wanted complete collections, so we thought we could make a business out of that.”
I've read several of these and, while some are better than others, all are well-plotted mysteries graced with some classic crime writing and completely interesting settings - in short they are pure fun escape reading.

There are locked room mysteries (Miraculous Mysteries), murders in Europe (Continental Crimes), small village settings (Death of a Busybody), and dead bodies in crumbling manors (Seven Dead).
In short, there's a British mystery for you in The British Library Crime Series. You got to love any publisher/bookseller who states this as their mission statement:

We are a community Bound By Mystery.

and who gathers praise such as this:

Hurrah to British Library Crime Classics for rediscovering some of the forgotten gems of the Golden Age of British crime writing.(Globe and Mail)

Might I suggest you support this fine enterprise by buying the books direct from their website ~ just click this logo.

There is such an other worldliness about placing your story in another country. You take your readers out of their comfort zones in the first break of the story. Without the creature comforts of their own lives, readers are automatically put on edge. Throw in a mystery and suddenly we are simultaneously wishing for our own beds and looking or shoulders for the next crime. Martin Edwards has put together a lovely collection of short crime stories. This anthology has all the best thrills a fan of Poirot and Marple could ask for. You have damsels, socialites, rogues, lovers and of course the police.

If you are tired of the same old villages or the noise of London is too much and leaves you longing for Golden Age mysteries that still have a bit of a surprise to them, then I highly recommend this collection. It gives you just what you need. Beautifully put together and spaced out so that you are not in France forever and then in Italy forever. You are bounced around the continent which I feel adds a whirlwind sense to match the characters. I don’t typically like antholigies as I have an unhealthy distrust of short stories. This one however has opened me back up to honoring the short and long stories. It introduces you to new author and new viewpoints. Even if you do not particuarly like one story there is bound to be a dozen more that you will enjoy.


*This eBook was provided by NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for honest feedback**

Another interesting collection of largely Golden Age mystery stories, edited by Martin Edwards, this time featuring British tourists, travelers or detectives with at least part of the action occurring on the continent rather than entirely in Britain. This change of scenery often changes the tone or pace of the story but in most cases leaves the sparkle of the story intact. The authors continue British, or of mixed heritage, I.e. French-English.

In one exemplary section, Marie Belloc Lowndes wrote stories about one Hercules Popeau, who was created before Christie's Hercules Poirot mysteries became famous. I enjoyed "Popeau Intervenes", which does not seem to have all of the quirkiness that has always bothered me with Poirot. Lowndes obviously didn't achieve the success of Christie and I have always been out of step with the vast majority of the reading public regarding M. Poirot.

My second example is "Petit-Jean", written by Ian Hay, the pen name of Major General John Hay Beith, a mystery story actually set just behind the front lines during WWI. Hay/Beith was a decorated veteran of the Battle of Loos so knew the reality of the Belgian war zone. Makes for a story with an interesting feel to it.

Once again these are largely Golden Age mystery stories that will be enjoyed by anyone who likes classic mysteries. For me, there may have been slightly fewer of the top notch stories than in some other of Edwards' collections but just the two I mention here remind me of the quality of the overall book. I do recommend this book to mystery lovers.

Rating 3.5 raised to 4 *

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

The Brits abroad... 3½ stars

This is another in the British Library's series of anthologies of vintage crime stories edited by Martin Edwards. This time, the focus is on Continental Europe as the authors take us to casinos in Monte Carlo, catacombs in Rome, castles on the Rhine, in search of the usual murder, mystery and mayhem. To be clear, this is British authors visiting the Continent – I believe there's a new anthology coming along soon containing stories by non-Brits translated into English, some for the first time, which should be fun.

I found this collection quite variable in quality. Although there were certainly enough 4 and 5 star stories to keep me entertained, there were also several stories that didn't quite cut it as far as I'm concerned. Partly this is to do with the settings – I freely admit I prefer the traditional English manor house or village, or the foggy streets of London, as the setting for my vintage crime fix. But also it's because sometimes I felt the setting wasn't really brought to life terribly well, or there was a touch too much of that British condescension towards all foreigners.

Oddly there were also a couple of stories where the attitude towards (lower-class) women goes well over the out-dated line towards outright misogyny – not a thing I'm normally aware of in vintage crime. Something about going abroad seems to bring out the worst in Brits, I think! I hasten to add that one of these stories was written by a woman, Josephine Bell, who clearly felt that her young female murder victim had brought her fate on herself by her unladylike behaviour in pursuing a man - it actually contains the line “She was asking for it!” The other one was by Michael Gilbert who rounds his story off with the equally astonishing line: “Many a successful marriage has been founded on a good beating.” Well, Mr Gilbert, should you ever propose to me, I'll be sure to give you a sound thrashing before I reply...

There's also plenty of good stuff, though. There's the usual mix of well known and more obscure names among the authors, and a nice mix of crimes, from 'impossible' mysteries to revenge murders, blackmail, theft, greed and even the occasional haunting. Here's a little selection of some of the ones I enjoyed most...

The New Catacomb by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – I know I nearly always select the Conan Doyle story, but that's because he's such a great storyteller. This one is a lovely little revenge tale which climaxes in a catacomb in Rome. An interesting story well told, and with some effective touches of horror – make sure you don't read it if there's any danger of a power outage...

A Bracelet at Bruges by Arnold Bennett – While Kitty is showing her her new expensive bracelet to another woman, it somehow gets dropped into a canal in Bruges and is lost. Or is it? This is more of a howdunit with a neat solution and has a rather charming little romance thrown in. But the reason I enjoyed it so much is that it reminded me of the sheer quality of Arnold Bennett's writing – an author I loved when I was young, though for his fiction rather than crime, and had more or less completely forgotten. Must revisit him!

The Room in the Tower by J Jefferson Farjeon – our narrator, a writer, goes to stay in a castle on the Rhine looking for inspiration and atmosphere for his book. Perhaps he gets more atmosphere than he anticipated though when he gets lost in the gloomy corridors and ends up in the haunted tower. The story in this one is a bit weird but Farjeon builds up the tension well and there are some genuinely spooky moments.

So even though this isn't my favourite of these anthologies, there's still plenty to enjoy. And I haven't even mentioned the Agatha Christie story...

3½ stars for me, so rounded up.

NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press.

Martin Edwards has already earned the title of Invaluable Curator of Golden Age Detective Fiction, and every anthology volume he edits and introduces for the British Library Crime Classics series (made available here in the U.S. through Poisoned Pen Press) is delightful confirmation. I have previously reviewed two collections in the series, Serpents in Eden and Crimson Snow, and the recently released Continental Crimes offers the same satisfaction for classic mystery fans: an assortment of stories by authors familiar and unknown, this time focusing on plotlines that cast a wider net and venture beyond comfortable old England.

France is especially well-represented here, and the setting likely appealed to the largely U.K.-based writers because of its proximity and its glamorous and romantic southern coastal towns. Marie Belloc Lowndes, E. Phillips Oppenheim, and F. Tennyson Jesse each deliver intrigue and deception among the aristocrats – or those just pretending to be – in stories set on the French Riviera. Oppenheim tells a tale of international espionage among the tony hotels in "The Secret of the Magnifique". Jesse lets her protagonist, Solange Fontaine, observe a lovers' triangle with the objective air of a psychoanalyst in "The Lover of St. Lys". And Lowndes, whose detective Hercules Popeau (a creation that appeared before Agatha Christie's similarly named Belgian detective, Edwards informs us) eavesdrops shamelessly on the conversations of hotel guests in "Popeau Intervenes", manages to outwit both the suspicious Russian Countess Filenska and the sinister-sounding Doctor Scorpion!

Some of the most recognized names in crime fiction are also represented here, and the choices are sound ones. While Arthur Conan Doyle's Italy-set "The New Catacomb" suffers from being both similar to Edgar Allan Poe's unforgettable "The Cask of Amontillado" and three times longer than that compact story, G.K. Chesterton's entry "The Secret Garden" has everything that I adore about his best Father Brown tales: a bizarre murder (here the beheading of a victim in an enclosed garden), a moment of utter bafflement for the reader, and the blinking, unremarkable Father Brown ready to demystify with an explanation that grounds the bizarre tableau once more in reality.

And the most recognized name of all is included, albeit with a lesser-known detective and story. Agatha Christie's Parker Pyne helps a woman on a train bound for Istanbul in "Have You Got Everything You Want?" After some encouragement from professional problem-solver and fellow passenger Pyne, the woman confides that she's worried about what might happen to her on the trip, based on a scrap of writing she saw on her husband's blotting paper: "Just before Venice would be the best time." While I am hardly the Christie acolyte that so many other GAD readers understandably have become, there is something admirable and clever in the way the Queen of Crime spins a story with three characters (not counting Pyne) and a hook and effortlessly manages to engage the reader and keep the actions moving forward with the efficiency of a European express train. It's a minor tale, but it's masterfully done.

My favorite discoveries in Continental Crimes include "Petit-Jean" by First World War soldier and playwright Ian Hay (Major General John Hay Beith), a lively and wryly comic story about a British military unit stationed in France and its relationship with a pair of native lads, Jean and Henri (or 'Nrri', as Captain Crombie refers to him in his labored lingua franca). It's an uncommon scenario, and Hay's deft tone and narrative sweep provided a satisfying story.

Equally enjoyable were "The Room in the Tower" by J. Jefferson Farjeon, a short and effective ghost story about familial defenestration in an imposing German castle tower, and Michael Gilbert's "Villa Almirante", which combines assured writing with the specter of Percy Shelley's death when a poet is found drowned off the Italian coast.

With fourteen tales in this collection – additional authors include H.C. Bailey, Josephine Bell, Arnold Bennett, Stacy Aumonier, and Henry de Vere Stacpoole – Continental Crimes is a great companion to bring along on international travel … or for enjoying in as sedentary a setting as your favorite armchair. I received an eBook reading copy through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don't tend to read much crime fiction and this was the first crime anthology I've ever read. I find anthologies really difficult to rate because I adore some of the stories (like the Agatha Christie story in this collection) and would give it 5 stars, but I also found that a number of the stories weren't brilliant and so can't give the anthology overall this rating.

This collection of short crime stories are all based in continental Europe. I didn't enjoy this collection as much as the others, but did come across some real gems.

5 star stories

> The new Catacomb - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and archaeology
> The secret garden - a father Brown mystery
> Petit-Jean - Set during ww2 and written by the author as he was serving in the conflict
> Have you got everything you want? - Agatha Christie

This collection of continental Europe sited crime stories falls short, to me, of the high bar for quality and content set by Poison Press. The mysteries dragged or, like in the case of the Father Brown entry, were so peremptory and cliche-ridden they reach the point of absurdity. Even Agatha Christie's most irritating sleuth, Parker Pyne, shows up to harrumph around after the lost jewels of an insipid couple on a train or some such nonsense; honestly, I was bored by that point. Not a recommend.

The fourteen stories in this book range from mildly interesting to terrible. Although the editor is at pains to point out the authors' European travel experience, nearly all the stories take place in hotels or railroad stations--or occasionally major tourist sites or stereotypical settings like medieval castles. Most of the characters either act like Edwardian English people, or caricatures of foreigners.

The stories by good authors all have the feel of being rushed out under deadline for quick paydays. They have promising beginnings that go on and on as if the author is putting words on the page while waiting for plot inspiration. Perhaps the last third of the story is a slapdash effort at a hackneyed plot.

Arthur Conan Doyle channels Edgar Allen Poe badly in a story set in Rome and G. K. Chesterton reunites some characters from better stories for a tale so absurd (yes, even by Father Brown standards) that he may have intended it as parody. The women outdo the men a little. Agatha Christie's contribution is the best of this group, it is merely a minor effort without the story to support her trademark ingenious puzzle. Josephine Bell contributes another minor effort, this one with more character interest than Christie's (no surprise there) but it falls short as a mystery.

The bad writers seem to have taken more care with their stories. The story by J. Jefferson Farjeon is above average for him, but only a few of his best stories are worth reading. H. C. Bailey outdid his usual by providing a good mystery for Reggie Fortune, but that just makes it more painful to put up with Reggie for the requisite number of pages. H. de Vere Stacpoole is one of the two authors to leave the hotel/train/railroad station but with a terrible mystery, outrageously padded by being relayed third hand. Marie Belloc Lowndes' detective is so bad that he has trouble solving a case despite the bad guys telling him everything and even then he messes things up. Arnold Bennett comes up with his usual muddle.Ian Hay has an amusing but silly World War I anecdote. F. Tennyson Jesse tries hard, but the result has nothing to recommend it.

The final group of stories is by competent writers who are not first-rank mystery authors. Stacy Aumonier provides a story really set in France, not a stage set in England, and it both echoes Poe and could be considered a proto-noir written in 1926. It's not a great story, but it's interesting. E. Phillip Oppenheim has some fine elements of a juvenile action tale but seems to have included random scenes from a novel rather than a short story. The tale is further damaged by terrible pacing. Michael Gilbert provides some nice atmosphere in a clever but unsatisfying tale.

As always with Mr. Edwards collections it was superb. A variety of short stories set in 'foreign' parts with a nice introduction and further introductions to the authors. The stories certainly are dated but that is part of their charm, and I for one love this old classics. So thank you Mr. Edwards for this gems.

I usually enjoy the stories picked out by Mr. Edwards for his anthology series. And the book started off well, I enjoyed "A Bracelet at Bruges" and "The Secret Garden." But the rest of the stories didn't really hold my attention. I think that these were perfectly fine stories, they just didn't resonate with me at this point in time.

Two and a half stars
This book comes out August 1

There is a lot of really good material in this book, even though some of it appears rather dated.

Continental Crimes is a panacea of intrigue, offering readers a variety of lesser known stories from mystery greats both famous and forgotten.  The machinations of thieves, con artists and murderers are pitted against detectives both professional and amateur.  What all have in common is their European setting - not a single cozy English village to be found.  Like all of Poisoned Press’s anthologies, Continental Crimes prefaces each story with a short biography of the author and an explanation of their place in mystery history.  I enjoyed the variety of puzzles, as as always liked learning about lesser known authors and their works.  It is a bit like finding hidden treasure.  These anthologies make for the perfect 10 minute escape - a story in the time it takes to relax with a cup of coffee or tea.  Of course you can binge read them which is almost as fun.

5 / 5

I received a copy of Continental Crimes from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom

My sincere gratitude to Poisoned Pen Press via Netgallery for the advanced reading copy in exchange of my honest opinion. The British Library Crime Classics series never disappoints, and the new title, "Continental Crimes," has proven, once again, another awesome collection of classic crime stories that would keep their readers entertained for years to come.

Short stories are not easy to compose given writers need to equip with great skill to put together the concise facts, believable characters, and reasonable developments of plots in the absence of great length to build up their stories. The 14 stories included in this compilation, I'm glad to say, represent some of the finest classic crime stories from the golden age of crime fiction period. As the title indicates, the settings of the stories are all located in the romantic continent of Europe. Crime motives ranging from war, scientific experiment, vengeance, greed and passion at settings from the exotic archaeology dig site, remote European countries to the romantic cities across Europe make "Continental Crimes" such a delectable read. In short, readers might not enjoy all 14 stories in this collection, but the vast array of quality choices in this title would not disappoint any serious crime/mystery lovers.

I love the fact that there is a foreword about the theme of the book and as well short introductions about the authors of the chosen pieces. Editor Martin Edwards, given his profound knowledge on the British crime genre, provides great insights for readers to expand their choices of the authors they could choose from. Classic British crime novelists no longer just about Agatha Christie or Arthur Conan Doyle but others who were once popular in the good old times but have been long forgotten by the general public. Authors included in the collections are: Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, Arnold Bennett, G.K. Chesterton, E. Phillips Oppenheim, Ian Hay, F. Tennyson Jesse, Marie Belloc Lowndes, Stacy Aumonier, J. Jefferson Farjeon, H. de Vere Stacpoole, H.C. Bailey, Josephine Bell and Michael Gilbert.

And as always, the beautiful cover arts of the British Library Crime Classics series are to-die-for in my opinion.

Thanks Poisoned Pen Press, once again, for your generous offer to such a great title. Release date, Aug 01, 2017.

Anthologies are, generally speaking ,a tricky business. Whether they are written by one author or by several authors. But "Continental Crimes"happily avoids these traps. These are solid British murder mysteries set in different countries on the continent. There are stories by Agatha Christie, Josephine Bell, Arnold Bennett, Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K.Chesterton and many others....Of course, not all the stories are brilliant, but they are very good and some are brilliant, which makes this a surprisingly very good anthology.

"... crime writers had long understood that foreign settings fascinated their readers. People who had little or no prospect of ever being able to afford to travel extensively took pleasure in experiencing something of the appeal of exotic locales while devouring a good mystery. this was so even in the Victorian and Edwardian eras."

Here you have a book to enlighten as well as to entertain. :)
In this collection of British vintage crime stories, dating from the 1890s to the 1960s, we are leaving "parochial England" behind, visiting continental settings such as France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and more.
The collection includes 14 short stories by well-known authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, G.K. Chesterton and Arnold Bennett and -to me at least- less familiar writers like J. Jefferson Farjeon, H. de Vere Stacpoole, F. Tennyson Jesse & al.

The book starts with a concise, but interesting introduction by the editor, Martin Edwards, about the history of British crime fiction writers "borrowing" continental locations for some of their works. As a big plus, we are offered a short commentary about the author and the story at the beginning of each piece, which I found very helpful for getting the "right" perspective.

Despite it being an anthology of crime fiction, I don't really take any risks in calling it lovely and recommend the stories as an easy read for the summer and for all seasons.