British, British-detective, crime-fiction, classic-crime, anthology

A fine collection of well written short stories by some well known authors as well as some who have been allowed to slip into obscurity. Each has its own merits and are amazing as they were all written in a time predating forensics. These are the building blocks upon which later mysteries of detection stand. Outstanding collection and well worth keeping!
I did notice a review that seemed unaware that scientific method refers to the gathering of verifiable data from which to deduce a conclusion, much like fitting clues together to achieve a diagnosis with or without the tools of Western medicine.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

Another in a series of British Library Crime Classics, all of which I have enjoyed, some to a greater extent than others, most of them celebrating lesser-known authors and works from the Golden Age of detective fiction.

This short story collection focuses on the use of “scientific methods” in solving the crimes, although at times the use of the word “scientific” is quite tenuous. The science used here includes dentistry, optography (which is now recognized as being false), killer bees, medical equipment, ballistics, chemistry, footprints, cigarette ash.

As with other short story collections, this is a mixed bag – some are better than others, but just about everyone is enjoyable. It is enjoyable to see some old friends (Sherlock Holmes, Lord Peter Wimsey) as well as being introduced to some new ones. It seems that some of these stories rely a bit too heavily on using science to break an alibi as opposed to solving the mystery, but they’re interesting nevertheless. My only quibble was with Doctor Morelle, and his treatment of his assistant Miss Frayle – I understand that this was written at a different time with views different from ours today, but it was really difficult to deal with his abusive personality.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

This is an anthology of stories with an element of science used to detect the crimes. As with all collections, some are better than others, predictably, my favourite here was 'In the Teeth of the Evidence' by D. L. Sayers and I plan to read her novels soon. I can see why some of these authors have disappeared into obscurity, but it's nice to be given the chance to sample them and see whether to try and track down more of their works.

*Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest opinion*

When I first saw this book, I knew that I would probably love it, just because it showcased my favorite aspect of early detective stories, the scientific detective. After all, wasn’t that the premise behind the early great detectives such as Holmes and Thorndyke? They were the experts who could test, measure, and analyze the truth out of the smallest baffling clue left by every criminal. This collection showcased those talents perfectly. I would recommend it to anyone who likes vintage mysteries.
It begins with a masterpiece of observation and analysis by Doyle and then follows up with a little tale of horror and level-headed skepticism by L. T. Meade. The following stories are equally puzzling. In some manner, they all rely on the detective’s knowledge of the cutting edge science of their day. Today, some of the science reads more like science fiction, but most of it is easily recognizable as the precursor of modern scientific methods. I enjoyed the glimpses of the early days of forensic.
There were very few ‘mild’ curse words.
I received this as a free ARC through NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press. No favorable review was required. It was my pleasure to provide my honest opinion.

The Measure of Malice is part of a series re-publishing material from what's been called the Golden Age of detective and mystery fiction. My previous experiences with the series have been with full-length works. The Measure of Malice is a curated set of stories, loosely connected because of the use the detective makes of medical or scientific knowledge. Martin Edwards, who knows this literature better than anyone else, opens the book with a substantial introduction and provides short introductions for each story, providing background on authors, real-life connections, and scientific knowledge of the period.

I found this volume to be a fun read and appreciated both learning more about the "Golden Age" and meeting up with new detectives. The variety in cases and characters keeps things interesting. My one disappointment with the book—and this is an issue of genre, not of this book in particular—is that the short story format leaves little room for character development. If you've had the pleasure of reading, say, the full collection of Holmes short stories, you see a fascinating deepening of the Holmes-Watson relationship. But a single story (and the book does include one Holmes story) can't provide that kind of character development. The focus is on the puzzle, and its effectiveness determines the stories' success.

If you want to explore this literary period, The Measure of Malice is a good place to start and will help you find specific authors—and characters—that make you want to read more.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an electronic review copy of this book. The opinions are my own.

The great thing about these short story collections from the British Library Crime classics ist that they all introduce you to a range of new writers and if there is one that you don't enjoy as much, it isn't long before you are onto the next one. Fortunately, I don't think that there was one story that I didn't enjoy in this little collection. Even better, as well as the authors that were new to me, there were one or two old favourites. Particularly as there was a Lord Peter short story from Dorothy L. Sayers which I hadn't come across before.
I do find short stories a little harder to read, they tend to be a little longer than most chapters, so you can't squeeze one if you don't have long to sit and read and I don't tend to like going from story to story if I'm sitting reading for longer. With this collection, I've been reading one in between each longer length novel or novella. It's taken me a little while to get through because of that, but my enjoyment hasn't diminished as a result.
This is a great collection to dip into with a range of great stories from authors that you may not have come across before.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

"The Measure of Malice" is a collection of 14 short stories written between 1891 and 1955. These stories were mainly clue-based puzzle mysteries told as the events happened, and science played a role in the mysteries. Sometimes you can guess whodunit, but usually the sleuth is mentally seeing clues that the reader knows nothing about or is at least as quick to understand the clues as a reader. Overall, there was occasional use of bad language. There was no sex. Overall, I'd recommend this mystery collection.

The included stories are:
The Boscombe Valley Mystery by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Horror of Studley Grange by L. T. Meade and Clifford Halifax
The Tragedy of a Third Smoker by C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne
The Man who Disappeared by L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace
The Cyprian Bees by Anthony Wynne
The English Filter by C. E. Bechhofer Roberts
The Contents of a Mare’s Nest by R. Austin Freeman
After Death the Doctor by J.J. Connington
The Broken Toad by H. C. Bailey
In the Teeth of the Evidence by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Case of the Chemist in the Cupboard by Ernest Dudley
The Purple Line by John Rhode
Blood Sport by Edmund Crispin
The New Cement by Freeman Wills Crofts

A very enjoyable selection of short stories from the Golden Age of English crime writers all featuring some type of scientific tool to solve or conduct the crime. A mixture of the well known and less known writers.
I found it interesting that a lot of the authors had pen names, the characters all stopped for lunch or dinner, everyone had servants, women were very much the weaker sex and being murdered by dry ice was a shattering experience.
Dr Morelle was a highlight for me with his cringe worthy snobbish sexist language accompanied by poor Miss Frayle who seemed to be seething with ability but not permitted to shine. Two great characters for a social study.

If you like mysteries and crime stories and have not read any of the British Library Crime Classics you are missing out. Someone brilliant thought of reissuing gems from the past which had fallen into obscurity, and getting Martin Edwards to edit them. I have a read a ton of these, both the novels and the collections of short stories, and have thoroughly enjoyed them.

“The Measure of Malice” is one of the short story anthologies. There is always a theme to the collection, and in this case it is science. It was very interesting to see how and what writers from the past thought about scientific advances of their periods. I especially liked the stories by Dorothy L Sayers, (yay! Lord Peter Wimsey), Ernest Dudley, Edmund Crispin, and Freeman Wills Crofts. If the names of these authors, and the others in the book are not familiar, you have a wealth of interesting writers to discover. These were all big names in their time, and so worth rediscovering in the twenty-first century.

New writers are always coming along, so it is no surprise that when people pass away or retire from writing that they can fall into obscurity. But for those of us who love mysteries and crime stories it would be a true pity for these wonderful novels and stories to be lost forever. The British Library Crime Classics in the UK, and Poisoned Pen Press in the US have done mystery readers a real favor, and I, for one, thank them.

Editor Martin Edwards has done it again: His latest anthology — this time focusing on Golden Age short stories featuring what was at the time the latest in forensic innovation — contains quite a few gems.

While it’s hard to pick a favorite, I have to settle on “The New Cement” by Freeman Wills Crofts — even though I have to eat crow to admit it. I had read a short story of Croft’s before in a previous Edwards anthology, and then tried Mystery in the Channel, which I found lackluster. I will have to give Croft, who I’ve been avoiding like the plague, another chance!

R. Austin Freeman’s Dr. John Thorndyke is always a treat, and so he is here in “The Content’s of a Mare’s Nest.” J.J. Connington’s “After Death the Doctor,” John Rhode’s “The Purple Line” and Edmund Crispin’s “Blood Sport” were also wonderful. H.C. Bailey’s “The Broken Toad” would have convinced me that I needed to track down more books featuring surgeon and Home Office consultant Reggie Fortune; however, luckily, I’ve already devoured Call Mr. Fortune.

Of course, some of the short stories are better than others. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Boscombe Valley Mystery is serviceable, but not up to Conan Doyle’s usual standard. The rest, while not in the top tier, were still worth a read, although Ernest Dudley’s cantankerous Dr. Morelle in “The Case of the Chemist in the Cupboard” pretty grating. What a self-involved bully Dr. Morelle is! Still, another great anthology to enjoy.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, British Library and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review.

Another super fun collection from British Library Crime Classics - there are two, maybe three, clunkers (I think I've lost my taste for Victorian mysteries) and once or twice I literally went, "huh?" when the scientific twist was revealed by our detective. Like, if you don't know how a barometer (for instance) works then the a-ha moment is going to sail right by. For the puzzle solving reader this could be frustrating so I decided to just let these wash over me without trying my hand at a solution. This is a series that goes from strength to strength - A hearty recommend!

Good mix of stories, recommended for mystery fans. I'm an anthology and science fan, so this was a good fit for me. It includes a nice mix of stories and authors. Enjoy.

I really appreciate the advanced copy for review!!

This is an interesting group of short stories linked by the use of science with the work of detection. Beyond some Agatha Christie, this isn't my usual area of interest so all the stories were new to me and I found most of them held my interest although I felt the standard of writing was a little patchy - some were really good and others less so. I think that might be because as early C20th pieces some of them have aged better than others. The lovely sense of period adds an extra element of interest on top of what are occasionally slightly underwhelming plotlines and the collection offers a great deal of variety in tone and period ranging from the 1920s to the 1950s.
Without going through each story, The Boscombe Valley Mystery was my favourite, although all of them, being fairly bite-size, were well worth reading and work well as a commuter read or a short read before bed.
It's worth three and a half stars but as I can't award that I've opted for 3.

I received this ARC via Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press, in return for an honest review. Martin Edwards compiled an excellent set of short stories from the ‘Golden Age’ of mystery writing, with the stories based on scientific deductions and methods. I appreciated that he prefaced each story with information about the author, their backgrounds and influences. With a few exceptions, all were new authors to me and I enjoyed this resurrection/compilation. Almost all the stories stand up, even with the advances in scientific method and the changes in cultural norms. Of the 14 short stories, two come to mind that contain jarring references to either people of color or the depiction of a female character. A third was written, by the original author, in a format that I found difficult to follow. Those were annoying but are minor compared to the overall high quality of the writing and Mr. Edwards’ excellent work in the story placement and descriptions. It was also interesting that several stories were written by women, forced to write under pseudonyms. I highly recommend this compilation, if you’re a fan of the scientific method of detecting and interested in stories from the mystery ‘golden age’.

An anthology of short stories of mystery with a scientific bent. These as usually are a mixed bag of mysteries from the golden age era and prior, and they are interesting if we remember that detection was all done without our modern technology. Most I enjoyed, some I had read before and enjoyed the return visit and a few others where okay. All in all it was a very interesting amble into the past of detection fiction

This is one of the better anthologies in this series for me partly because the stories feel organically connected and partly because they all work. What holds them together is science and rational logic. There's a good mix of familiar names and the unknown, with emphasis on the detecting side of crime investigation.