I've enjoyed some other titles from this series and this one didn't disappoint. Great for fans of Golden Age mysteries. Thank you very much for the ARC, it was a pleasure reading it. Also, lovely cover!

The British Library’s Crime Classic, Guilty Creatures, is once again edited by Martin Edwards. It’s a collection of 14 short stories, all featuring animals, birds, insects, etc.. The stories are:
'The Adventure of the Lion's Mane' - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
'The Case of Janissary' - Arthur Morrison
'The Sapient Monkey' - Headon Hill
'The Green Parrakeet' - F Tennyson Jesse
'The Oracle of the Dog' - GK Chesterton
'The Man Who Hated Earthworms' - Edgar Wallace
'The Courtyard of the Fly' - Vincent Cornier
'The Yellow Slugs' - HC Bailey
'Pit of Screams' - Garnett Radcliffe
'Hanging by a Hair' - Clifford Witting
'The Man Who Shot Birds' - Mary Fitt
'Death in a Cage' - Josephine Bell
'The Man Who Loved Animals' - Penelope Wallace
'The Hornets' Nest' - Christianna Brand

I’m glad I read the book, as it introduced me to some new authors, such as F Tennyson Jesse and Headon Hill. I thought Brand’s The Hornets’ Nest was well done, as Inspector Cockrell suggested various solutions, only to show that they couldn’t be right.

However, I’m afraid most of the tales left me cold. The Man who Hated Earthworms; Pit of Screams; and The Man Who Loved Animals are not mysteries at all and one wonders why they were included. Bailey’s The Yellow Slugs was disappointing. Reggie Fortune is hard going and this tale just wasn’t worth the effort.

Not up to the usual BLCC standard!

Any fan of mysteries from this period, and any animal lovers are in for an absolute treat! This was a delightful collection of mysteries in a variety of styles, all sharing the common theme of animals. I enjoyed the forward that talks more in depth about the role of animals in mysteries. I would have eagerly read a whole book on that topic alone.
Some stories I was familiar with and others were new to me. I can't say I loved every individual story, but as an overall look at animals in mysteries of that time I was very pleased.

A Menagerie Of Vintage Crime…
Another wonderful themed collection of classic crime with an interesting and enlightening introduction from Martin Edwards. On this occasion, the fourteen tales of vintage crime have a menagerie of creatures as a theme - be they birds, animals, insects and even fish and some more exotic than others, As always with a collection it’s a mixed bag but there is certainly something here for every aficionado of classic crime.