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Verdict of 13: A Detection Club Anthology
For the first time in thirty years, England’s famed Detection Club has invited its most masterful and entertaining authors to create, especially for this collection, thirteen extraordinary stories of deception and detection, each brilliantly tied to the other by the single mysterious clue of trial by jury. But that tantalizing thread has been skillfully twisted to present a dozen plus one tales as individually puzzling as they are collectively spectacular, from a Kiplingesque tale of exotic India to a trip down murderer’s memory lane, childhood criminals to other-worldly crimes, blind luck to a cat’s eye view of murder, and schoolboy skullduggery to ghostly crimes of passion.
(Publisher’s description)
Contents: Great-aunt Allie’s flypapers / P. D. James — The rogue’s twist / Gwendoline Butler — Twenty-one good men and true / Dick Francis — Verdict of three / Michael Gilbert — Cloud nine / Christianna Brand — Pelly and Cullis / Michael Innes — Something the cat dragged in / Patricia Highsmith — The postgraduate thesis / Celia Fremlin — Gup / H. R. F. Keating — Murder at St Oswald’s / Michael Underwood — Morepork / Ngaio Marsh — Who killed the cat? / Peter Dickinson — Waiting for Mr McGregor / Julian Symons
(Publisher’s description)
Contents: Great-aunt Allie’s flypapers / P. D. James — The rogue’s twist / Gwendoline Butler — Twenty-one good men and true / Dick Francis — Verdict of three / Michael Gilbert — Cloud nine / Christianna Brand — Pelly and Cullis / Michael Innes — Something the cat dragged in / Patricia Highsmith — The postgraduate thesis / Celia Fremlin — Gup / H. R. F. Keating — Murder at St Oswald’s / Michael Underwood — Morepork / Ngaio Marsh — Who killed the cat? / Peter Dickinson — Waiting for Mr McGregor / Julian Symons
245 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 31, 1978
1 person is currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Julian Symons
260 books67 followersJulian Gustave Symons is primarily remembered as a master of the art of crime writing. However, in his eighty-two years he produced an enormously varied body of work. Social and military history, biography and criticism were all subjects he touched upon with remarkable success, and he held a distinguished reputation in each field.
His novels were consistently highly individual and expertly crafted, raising him above other crime writers of his day. It is for this that he was awarded various prizes, and, in 1982, named as Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America - an honour accorded to only three other English writers before him: Graham Greene, Eric Ambler and Daphne Du Maurier. He succeeded Agatha Christie as the president of Britain's Detection Club, a position he held from 1976 to 1985, and in 1990 he was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the British Crime Writer.
Symons held a number of positions prior to becoming a full-time writer including secretary to an engineering company and advertising copywriter and executive. It was after the end of World War II that he became a free-lance writer and book reviewer and from 1946 to 1956 he wrote a weekly column entitled "Life, People - and Books" for the Manchester Evening News. During the 1950s he was also a regular contributor to Tribune, a left-wing weekly, serving as its literary editor.
He founded and edited 'Twentieth Century Verse', an important little magazine that flourished from 1937 to 1939 and he introduced many young English poets to the public. He has also published two volumes of his own poetry entitled 'Confusions about X', 1939, and 'The Second Man', 1944.
He wrote hie first detective novel, 'The Immaterial Murder Case', long before it was first published in 1945 and this was followed in 1947 by a rare volume entitled 'A Man Called Jones' that features for the first time Inspector Bland, who also appeared in Bland Beginning.
These novles were followed by a whole host of detective novels and he has also written many short stories that were regularly published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. In additin there are two British paperback collections of his short stories, Murder! Murder! and Francis Quarles Investigates, which were published in 1961 and 1965 resepctively.
His novels were consistently highly individual and expertly crafted, raising him above other crime writers of his day. It is for this that he was awarded various prizes, and, in 1982, named as Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America - an honour accorded to only three other English writers before him: Graham Greene, Eric Ambler and Daphne Du Maurier. He succeeded Agatha Christie as the president of Britain's Detection Club, a position he held from 1976 to 1985, and in 1990 he was awarded the Cartier Diamond Dagger from the British Crime Writer.
Symons held a number of positions prior to becoming a full-time writer including secretary to an engineering company and advertising copywriter and executive. It was after the end of World War II that he became a free-lance writer and book reviewer and from 1946 to 1956 he wrote a weekly column entitled "Life, People - and Books" for the Manchester Evening News. During the 1950s he was also a regular contributor to Tribune, a left-wing weekly, serving as its literary editor.
He founded and edited 'Twentieth Century Verse', an important little magazine that flourished from 1937 to 1939 and he introduced many young English poets to the public. He has also published two volumes of his own poetry entitled 'Confusions about X', 1939, and 'The Second Man', 1944.
He wrote hie first detective novel, 'The Immaterial Murder Case', long before it was first published in 1945 and this was followed in 1947 by a rare volume entitled 'A Man Called Jones' that features for the first time Inspector Bland, who also appeared in Bland Beginning.
These novles were followed by a whole host of detective novels and he has also written many short stories that were regularly published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. In additin there are two British paperback collections of his short stories, Murder! Murder! and Francis Quarles Investigates, which were published in 1961 and 1965 resepctively.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 8, 2022
Very good selection of stories by later Detection Club members. Best stories are ones that I knew by Michael Underwood and P. D. James, but there are also very good stories I had never seen by Gwendoline Butler, Peter Dickinson, and Michael Gilbert. Worst stories are the too-cute Christiana Brand fantasy, and the too-annoying HRF Keating gossip story.
February 27, 2022
A good short mystery that has great characterizations of boys and just the right amount of twist you want in a mystery, even if it is a short story.
May 17, 2025
It's been ages since I've read a collection of short stories, and after reading these, I recall why. While each of these is a fine example of British detective writing, I find that short stories are not as developed and detailed as I generally enjoy.
July 28, 2021
A diverse collection of mystery stories that creatively involve a jury or some sort. Most are well-written, with the quality ranging from excellent to average.
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December 15, 2023Read so far:
P.D. James / Great-aunt Allie's flypapers (aka The Boxdale inheritance) --3
Gwendoline Butler / The rogue's twist --
Dick Francis / Twenty-one good men and true --3
*Michael Gilbert / Verdict of three --
Christianna Brand / Cloud nine --2
Michael Innes / Pelly and Cullis --
*Patricia Highsmith / Something the cat dragged in --
*Celia Fremlin / The postgraduate thesis --
*HRF Keating / Gup --
*Michael Underwood / Murder at St. Oswald's --
Ngaio Marsh / Morepork --3
Peter Dickinson / Who killed the cat? --
*Julian Symons / Waiting for Mr. McGregor--
P.D. James / Great-aunt Allie's flypapers (aka The Boxdale inheritance) --3
Gwendoline Butler / The rogue's twist --
Dick Francis / Twenty-one good men and true --3
*Michael Gilbert / Verdict of three --
Christianna Brand / Cloud nine --2
Michael Innes / Pelly and Cullis --
*Patricia Highsmith / Something the cat dragged in --
*Celia Fremlin / The postgraduate thesis --
*HRF Keating / Gup --
*Michael Underwood / Murder at St. Oswald's --
Ngaio Marsh / Morepork --3
Peter Dickinson / Who killed the cat? --
*Julian Symons / Waiting for Mr. McGregor--
Read
December 16, 2015Not finished but the first PD James story is a quiet little tale but excellent.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews