The Edinburgh Mystery: And Other Tales of Scottish Crime (British Library Crime Classics): 102 Paperback – 10 May 2022

Book arrived quickly and as described.

An interesting collection of short stories, all in a Scottish setting, from the Birders to the Highlands.Some are written by authors of Scottish birth and others who have set their story in Scotland.There is a good mix of authors, most of whom I had never read before.Some of the stories are worthy of 5* but others only a 2*, in particular, the Father Brown story, which I just didn't get.Good collection overall.

I like to read short mysteries, and this book contains several that all have a connection to Scotland. They range from Robert Louis Stevenson and Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes over Baroness Orczy, Josephine Tey, Cyril Hare till Michael Innes in the 1960s, and also includes a couple of authors I hadn't heard of before.Like in every collection of short stories they are of different quality, some more gothic, others simple or not easily understandable, and there's also fun in some of those. There were some I didn't like much, but most of them were to my taste. It took me a while though to read them all. On the whole a good collection.

The British Library Crime Classic The Edinburgh Mystery and Other Tales of Scottish Crime with an introduction by Martin Edwards is published in the US by Poisoned Pen Press. I enjoy these books: both the novels and the collections of short stories. Although the majority of the pieces were first published between 1920 and 1960, there are some outliers. In this collection of seventeen short stories, we have one from 1885 by Robert Louis Stevenson through to a 1974 one by Jennie Melville. There is also a very short Sherlock Holmes piece that was never issued in Conan Doyle’s five books of short stories. It’s available on the Internet, but I’m pleased to have an “official” copy in a book.I don’t know whether to be disappointed or impressed with myself. For once, I was familiar with several of the stories, including the Holmes story mentioned above and GK Chesterton’s Father Brown story, The Honour of Israel Gow. That’s unusual for me: the British Library collections normally contain very few, if any, stories that I’ve read before. However, I was very happy to read and enjoy them again.Some (Most? All?) of the stories evoke the times in which they were written. John Ferguson’s 1929 story, The White Line, is set on board a fast Atlantic liner where the passengers dress for dinner. (Oh, I did enjoy the line “[T]here was a hush on the ship that reminded McNab of a Sunday afternoon he once had to pass in Tunbridge Wells.” – that did make me snigger in sympathy!) The Body of Sir Henry, by Augustus Muir and first published in 1929 has a young unsupported brave rural policeman as its protagonist. Some of the stories have an interesting denouement, e.g. the 1933 story, The Man on Ben Ne Garve, by H.H. Bashford and Bill Knox’s 1965 story, The Alibi Man. I really didn’t expect those outcomes. But some others are, I’m afraid, rather predictable. Perhaps the author struggled with the confines of the word count or perhaps their heart wasn’t in it, but the answer to whodunnit in both Margot Bennett’s The Case of The Frugal Cake (1955) and J.J.Connington’s Before Insulin (1936) is “The obvious suspect, obviously!”. That said, Connington’s explanation of HOW theydunnit is superb, even if the WHO is predictable.If you enjoy mysteries, with or without Scottish characters / settings / authors, I can whole-heartedly recommend this book. Although I cannot guarantee there will be unfamiliar stories for you, I am really really confident some will be new to you.

This varied and enjoyable anthology of short stories edited by the vastly knowledgeable Martin Edwards reflects the output of Scottish authors and stories set in the dramatic landscapes of Scotland itself. In his fascinating Introduction, Edwards points out that while the phrase “Tartan Noir” reflects the current crime writing trend for successful Scottish authors, the background of excellence of Scottish crime fiction extends many decades back.Accordingly Edwards has brought us a collection of stories that, while not all are set in the country, reflect the diversity of output from Scottish sources from 1885 to 1974. While I always look to discover Golden Age and Second World War based novels, this wide time span kept me greatly entertained while on my yearly visit to Scotland, and I certainly enjoyed the way that the countryside was reflected in several of these stories. After all, in sparsely populated areas of the countryside the suspects are few and there are unexpected dangers. I really enjoyed this book and am so grateful for the opportunity to read and review it.The novel opens with a convoluted story by the Scot Robert Louis Stevenson, where a crime results in a sort of mental torture of someone involved. There is an obvious need for the ultimate detective who, though English, was a product of Scottish imagination and observation. In “The Field Bazaar” a very short piece featuring Sherlock Holmes and Watson, he explains his reasoning once more to the incredulous doctor. One of the stories with the “slenderest” connection to Scotland in this collection features a society scandal and mystery from Baroness Orczy of Scarlet Pimpernel fame, but is certainly interesting and offers an implied view of the Scottish legal view of justice. G.K.Chesterton’s Father Brown reaches a quiet and unexpected conclusion to an incident. Anthony Wynne continues his reputation for “impossible crimes” with an unsettling mystery, while John Ferguson writes of an onboard romance. Josephine Tey’s story is of French foreboding, while others write of mysteries in various settings. The sporting possibilities of Scottish estates, fishing and shooting, take centre stage in some stories, while the final story is quite a twist.It is obviously difficult to give a true flavour of each of the seventeen stories in this excellent book, especially while avoiding giving too much away about whodunnit, whydunnit or what on earth happened. This is especially true when, as Edwards says he has “aimed to showcase a diverse range of settings, styles and storylines”. There are several advantages to an excellent selection of stories like this one - it means that the reader can dip into short tales of crime and mystery and if they prove less than enthralling, they have not invested too much time and effort in trying to follow a full length novel. The variety of the stories means that there will be something for everyone, and the benefit of Edwards’ informative introduction to the life and times of each author means that it is perfectly possible to find longer and other works by a particular writer. As such, this book is a perfect depiction of Scottish writing of the twentieth century in itself, and a valuable introduction or reminder of writers with a diversity of approach. I really recommend this as an entertaining book to dip into, as well as increasing the appetite for further writing of the Golden Age and well beyond.

A great introduction to the variety of Scottish Mystery Authors. Wonderful short mysteries to read while enjoying a cup of tea and a biscuit. Enjoy!

Please see above.

I’m not crazy about this collection of short stories. Some don’t even feel that Scottish. Some are too vague or abrupt or inconclusive. A couple are annoying. There is good storytelling to be found among the tales. But even the stories by some of my favorite authors are not their best work.I’ve enjoyed most of the short story collections in the British Library Crime Classics series, but I wasn’t impressed with this one.