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Classic Detective Stories from a Suitcase of Suspense
Includes:
The Adventures of the Sussex Vampire by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Blue Geranium by Agatha Christie
The Stolen Rubens by Jacques Futrelle
Ask Me Another by Frank Gruber
The Riddle of the Yellow Canary by Stuart Palmer
Sweating it out with Dover by Joyce Porter
The Adventures of the Sussex Vampire by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Blue Geranium by Agatha Christie
The Stolen Rubens by Jacques Futrelle
Ask Me Another by Frank Gruber
The Riddle of the Yellow Canary by Stuart Palmer
Sweating it out with Dover by Joyce Porter
143 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2002
2 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Agatha Christie
5,725 books75.6k followersAgatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 2, 2025
Great choice for a reader on the move!
CLASSIC DETECTIVE STORIES is a compilation of six (well, you guessed it in one!) classic detective stories. THE ADVENTURE OF THE SUSSEX VAMPIRE and THE BLUE GERANIUM are a pair of very middle-of-the-pack Sherlock Holmes and Jane Marple stories (respectively) and do nothing to aid this anthology in achieving a more stellar review. As with any anthology, there’s a worst and there’s a best. The runt of this particular litter is definitely ASK ME ANOTHER by Frank Gruber. THE STOLEN RUBENS by Jacques Futrelle and THE RIDDLE OF THE YELLOW CANARY by Stuart Palmer are both 4-star efforts but the star of the entire field was definitely SWEATING IT OUT WITH DOVER by Joyce Porter.
Although the overall rating comes in at a marginal 3-stars, the real beauty of this little number is its format. A small font on quite small pages means that, as books go, this book occupies a virtually negligible amount of space in your suitcase. Just the thing for traveling. And, of course, because it’s short stories, it can be picked up and put down and read even in the presence of an endless string of distractions and stops and starts. Despite its somewhat lacking literary values, it’s a great idea for the mobile reader.
Paul Weiss
CLASSIC DETECTIVE STORIES is a compilation of six (well, you guessed it in one!) classic detective stories. THE ADVENTURE OF THE SUSSEX VAMPIRE and THE BLUE GERANIUM are a pair of very middle-of-the-pack Sherlock Holmes and Jane Marple stories (respectively) and do nothing to aid this anthology in achieving a more stellar review. As with any anthology, there’s a worst and there’s a best. The runt of this particular litter is definitely ASK ME ANOTHER by Frank Gruber. THE STOLEN RUBENS by Jacques Futrelle and THE RIDDLE OF THE YELLOW CANARY by Stuart Palmer are both 4-star efforts but the star of the entire field was definitely SWEATING IT OUT WITH DOVER by Joyce Porter.
Although the overall rating comes in at a marginal 3-stars, the real beauty of this little number is its format. A small font on quite small pages means that, as books go, this book occupies a virtually negligible amount of space in your suitcase. Just the thing for traveling. And, of course, because it’s short stories, it can be picked up and put down and read even in the presence of an endless string of distractions and stops and starts. Despite its somewhat lacking literary values, it’s a great idea for the mobile reader.
Paul Weiss
June 19, 2023
Six short stories by Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jacques Futrelle, Frank Gruber, Stuart Palmer and Joyce Porter.
All good, some slightly better than the others, the best for me being Joyce Porter's 'Sweating It Out with Dover', featuring her Detective Inspector Dover, although one can never discount Christie and Doyle, who are always worth a read!
All good, some slightly better than the others, the best for me being Joyce Porter's 'Sweating It Out with Dover', featuring her Detective Inspector Dover, although one can never discount Christie and Doyle, who are always worth a read!
March 21, 2016
I laughed at the last story.
July 16, 2018
“CLASSIC DETECTIVE STORIES” - READER'S DIGEST
“The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“Holmes had read carefully a note which the last post had brought him. Then, with the dry chuckle which was his nearest approach to a laugh, he tossed it over to me.” (p7). Thus opens this foreboding Sherlock story.
Clever! I didn't expect the outcome, but on reflection the plot fits.****
“'It must be an exceedingly delicate and complex affair from your point of view.' (said Ferguson).
'It is certainly delicate,' said my friend (Sherlock), with an amused smile, 'but I have not been struck up to now with its complexity. It has been a case for intellectual deduction, but when this original intellectual deduction is confirmed point by point by quite a number of independent incidents, then the subjective becomes objective and we can say confidently that we have reached our goal. I had, in fact, reached it before we left Baker Street, and the rest has merely been observation and confirmation.'” (p25)
- - -
“The Blue Geranium” by Agatha Christie
It seems that many Victorian era English mystery stories involve a nobleman ashamed of a demented 'neurotic' wife locked away in some upper room. Cool story of finding the most unlikely of murderers, involved in the death of a superstitious woman whose wallpaper was 'herbaceous'.
***
“'I didn't know that Arthur believed in ghosts?'
'Oh! He doesn't. That's what worries him so. And it happened to a friend of his, George Pritchard – a most prosaic person. It's really rather tragic for poor George. Either this extraordinary story is true – or else-'” (p31)
“'Don't let a passion for horticultural accuracy run away with you, Dolly,' said her husband. 'We all know you're an enthusiastic gardener.'” (p38-39)
- - -
“The Stolen Rubens” by Jacques Futrelle
Interesting short story about a con-artist (literally) who almost succeeded in stealing a hugely expensive work of art.***
- - -
“Ask Me Another” by Frank Gruber
A type of Sherlock-Watson dynamo making money by charlatan means. Not very realistic though, the Human Encyclopedia answering every question people can devise to ask?***
- - - -
“The Riddle of the Yellow Canary” by Stuart Palmer
The singing pet canary reveals the true composer! ***
“Sweating It Out With Dover” by Joyce Porter.
A most unappealing detective figures out the murderer and motive! ***
“The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“Holmes had read carefully a note which the last post had brought him. Then, with the dry chuckle which was his nearest approach to a laugh, he tossed it over to me.” (p7). Thus opens this foreboding Sherlock story.
Clever! I didn't expect the outcome, but on reflection the plot fits.****
“'It must be an exceedingly delicate and complex affair from your point of view.' (said Ferguson).
'It is certainly delicate,' said my friend (Sherlock), with an amused smile, 'but I have not been struck up to now with its complexity. It has been a case for intellectual deduction, but when this original intellectual deduction is confirmed point by point by quite a number of independent incidents, then the subjective becomes objective and we can say confidently that we have reached our goal. I had, in fact, reached it before we left Baker Street, and the rest has merely been observation and confirmation.'” (p25)
- - -
“The Blue Geranium” by Agatha Christie
It seems that many Victorian era English mystery stories involve a nobleman ashamed of a demented 'neurotic' wife locked away in some upper room. Cool story of finding the most unlikely of murderers, involved in the death of a superstitious woman whose wallpaper was 'herbaceous'.
***
“'I didn't know that Arthur believed in ghosts?'
'Oh! He doesn't. That's what worries him so. And it happened to a friend of his, George Pritchard – a most prosaic person. It's really rather tragic for poor George. Either this extraordinary story is true – or else-'” (p31)
“'Don't let a passion for horticultural accuracy run away with you, Dolly,' said her husband. 'We all know you're an enthusiastic gardener.'” (p38-39)
- - -
“The Stolen Rubens” by Jacques Futrelle
Interesting short story about a con-artist (literally) who almost succeeded in stealing a hugely expensive work of art.***
- - -
“Ask Me Another” by Frank Gruber
A type of Sherlock-Watson dynamo making money by charlatan means. Not very realistic though, the Human Encyclopedia answering every question people can devise to ask?***
- - - -
“The Riddle of the Yellow Canary” by Stuart Palmer
The singing pet canary reveals the true composer! ***
“Sweating It Out With Dover” by Joyce Porter.
A most unappealing detective figures out the murderer and motive! ***
September 5, 2015
Great fun! Every aspiring mystery writer should read this.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews