Metropolitan Mysteries
A review of Metropolitan Mysteries: A Casebook of London’s Detectives edited by Martin Edwards – 241129
It is a while since I have read one of Martin Edward’s meticulously compiled anthologies for the British Library Crime Classics. Metropolitan Mysteries is a follow up in a way to his earlier Capital Crimes and features a series of eighteen short stories, some shorter than others, all set in London and featuring sleuths who solve baffling mysteries in double-quick time.
One of the joys of dipping into an anthology is to find a writer who is new to you or about whom you have forgotten and Edwards uses his encyclopedic knowledge of the genre to good effect. The jewel in this particular crown is his unearthing of Eric Bennett who seems only to have written one novel, Murder in the Admiralty. His contribution to this collection is a story which was published in the Evening Standard in June 1939.
London is about to host a major international conference, even Hitler has signalled his intention to attend, and the city is being spruced up in anticipation, including Nelson’s Column. Imagine the steeplejack Cockspur’s horror when he discovers the body of the Foreign Secretary, Marriner, on the top ledge of the column. How did he get there and who killed him? Step forward Superintendent Aldgate who even steels his nerve to visit the scene of the crime. For those of us who like an ingenious murder which teeters on the edge of bonkers, this is a marvellous treat and I will not forget the Flying Fakasakis in a hurry.
One of the surprising features of this anthology is how many senior politicians meet their maker and to continue the parliamentary theme there is even a contribution from a sitting MP, William Fienburgh.
London offers a wide range of settings, from the tube where there is a particularly gruesome murder with the body caught in the escalator to bohemian Chelsea and all points between. Some, though, could have been set anywhere like Josephine Bell’s The Case of the Faulty Drier, which will enhance anyone’s phobia of sticking their head under a hair salon’s drier, and Anthony Berkley’s rather impressive portrayal of a deadly wife in Unsound Mind.
The stories run the whole gamut of the genre from whodunits to howdunits to the impossible crime and locked room mystery. In the latter subgenre John Dickson Carr shows his skill to good effect and it is always good to catch up with Dr Gideon Fell once more. For those who like their murders laced with humour, Jefferson Farjeon’s Sergeant Dobbin Works it Out and Michael Gilbert’s Back in Five Years bring a smile to the face.
Curiously, the contributions of the big name writers are generally lightweight, particularly the Dorothy L Sayers and Margery Allingham contributions. While Sherlock Holmes is ineluctably associated with detection in the capital, there cannot be anyone who is tempted to pick up this anthology who has not read The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans. I did, though, make a mental note to explore Baroness Orczy a little more as I found her contribution, The Miser of Maida Vale, both clever and satisfying.
It is definitely a book to dip in and out of and whilst there are no absolute duds, the quality of the stories can be variable. The joys of anthologies!
