Great British Detectives

by Martin H. Greenberg (editor), Edward D. Hoch (editor)

-Leslie Charteris, "The Beauty Specialist:" The Saint battles a master criminal called the Z-Man.

G.K. Chesterton, "The Oracle of the Dog:" This novella, about an impossible crime, is considered by many to be the best of the Father Brown stories. The Mystery Writers of America chose it as one of the best mysteries of all time.

Michael Gilbert, "The Cleaners:" The only novella featuring Inspector Patrick Petrella. Mr. Gilbert won the 1987 MWA Grand Masters Award.

Dorothy Sayers, "The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey:" In a rare adventure outside of Britain, Lord Peter becomes involved in strange doings in the Basque region of northern Spain.

Genres: Mystery, Anthologies, Fiction, Short Stories

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Martin Harry Greenberg was an American academic and speculative fiction anthologist. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned over 8,200 original short stories. He founded Tekno Books, a packager of more than 2000 published books. In addition, he was a co-founder of the Sci-Fi Channel.

For the 1950s anthologist and publisher of Gnome Press, see Martin Greenberg.

Reviews

[Watchdogg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of four novellas by British authors. Sort of interesting but only one truly enjoyed. That one, "The Cleaners" by Michael Gilbert, published in 1977 contained a line that describes a scene that I have seen in movies, but never before read in a book. It is quite memorable. pg. 123 -

"The Coroner said, 'Yes, I see,' and the jury tried to look as though there was some point which they ought to be thinking about...." LOL

[Lisa Kucharski · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final book in the Academy Mystery series of novellas. This one focusing on Great British Detectives, (not THE Great British Detectives-- so more a selection from the group.)

The longest story is by Leslie Charteris (The Saint) The Beauty Specialist, shorter one is G.K. Chesterton (Father Brown) The Oracle of the Dog, Michael Gilbert (Insp. Patrella) The Cleaners, and Dorothy Sayers with The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey.

The Saint story is the longest and since the style of writing is different from others it felt extremely flamboyant here than when I simply read the books solo. A interesting mystery, where it takes a thief to catch a thief, which is how the Saint works.

I found it odd that the Patrella story wasn't in the police procedurals, as this character's stories are wonderfully rich in detail of police detecting. It's a convoluted story where various departments (who just can't share info) keep hampering Patrella's efforts. Most of Patrella's stories are in collections of short stories- find them if you like this.

The Father Brown story, I've read before and it's one where Brown stays in his room and the information comes to him from an observer. (Felt a little like a Nero Wolfe format- though before it's time.) In this one, Father Brown is more reflective and a bit more terse than in other stories- but still proves not only who did it, but that he sees people and animals more clearly.
The Lord Wimsey story would be good to read during a scary storm, it's an interesting setting and an interesting and theatrical set up, not in the same was as the Saint. Truly diving into a role.

While I liked the stories, they did feel like they rubbed each other the wrong way at times. If you love these authors may not be a problem. But if you find this and read it, give a day or two to clean the palette before diving into the next story.

[Nancy Thormann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars - 1.5 for Dorothy Sayers and 1.5 for Michael Gilbert. I don't like their novels because they drag on for too long. Their short stories are in this book are quite good possibly because they have to get to the point more quickly.

Leslie Charteris writes the Simon Templar stories. There's nothing "wrong" with this story except that I think he's trying to turn Simon Templar into Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolf rolled into one. It doesn't work for me. I'm also too used to seeing Roger Moore in the role of Simon Templar. Roger Moore appears to be more of a gentleman than the character in the book is. This wasn't one of my favorite stories.

G. K. Chesterton "The Oracle of the Dog". This is the first Father Brown story that I've read and I wasn't impressed. There's a dog in the story that turns out to be "psychic" and it helps Father Brown solve the mystery. Don't get me wrong - animals can be very psychic, more so than humans. If it wouldn't have been for the dog, Father Brown would not have come up with the answer to the mystery. I guess the problem that I have is this: in 1983, the Mystery Writers of America voted this story to be the best mystery story of all time. I'm wondering why. I've read many mysteries in my time and this one was mediocre - in my opinion. I thought the stories by Michael Gilbert and Dorothy Sayers were better than this. That's just me. Other people will have their own opinions.

[Michael Morrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

With a title like that, this should be a classic, a great book.
Sorry, it isn't.
Leslie Charteris is a ... well, at least in this entry, he is a terrible writer. He badly over-writes, trying, I guess, to make his character a real character. I just could not finish the first story.
Even Michael Gilbert's "The Cleaners" disappoints, and he's usually dependable.
Dorothy Sayers' "The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey" doesn't really meet expectations, and she is nearly always better.
Well, maybe my three-star rating is off. Maybe two would be more accurate, but you read this small collection, knowing all the people connected, except maybe Charteris, usually do, not just better, but well, and you decide.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great British Detectives, edited by Martin H Greenberg and Edward D Hoch, is a collection of four novellas by some of the best known names in British crime fiction. In it, we have selections by Leslie Charteris, G. K. Chesteron, Michael Gilbert, and Dorothy L. Sayers. We meet the Saint, Father Brown, Inspector Patrick Petrella, and Lord Peter Wimsey.

Charteris' story, "The Beauty Specialist," is classic Simon Templar--a modern day Robin Hood who takes from the crooks and the swindlers and gives back to swindled. He likes nothing more than come up against a self-modeled master criminal and show him (or her) a trick or two. In this one, the Saint comes up against the "Z-Man"--a blackmailer who has come up with a twist on the blackmailing game. (Four stars)

"The Oracle of the Dog" by G. K. Chesteron involves an "impossible crime." A man goes into a garden summer house with only one door. A host of witnesses are prepared that no one entered the summer house after his last visitor left and the victim was seen most obviously alive and showing him out. And yet, Colonel Duce, is found stabbed to death not ten minutes later. Father Brown uses the "oracle of the dog" to solve the mystery. The novella is considered by many to be the best of the Father Brown Stories and in 1983 was chosen by the Mystery Writers of America as one of the best mysteries of all time. (three and a half stars)

Michael Gilbert's story, "The Cleaners," features Inspector Patrick Petrella. Initially Petrella is called in to aid a colleague with the murder of Bernard Francis Nicholls, but he soon finds himself drawn into a plot involving high stakes and money laundering. This one was not my cup of tea at all. I didn't find Petrella to be a sympathetic character at all and I didn't like the way he was handled by his author. The wrap-up left a bit to be desired. (two stars)

"The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey" by Dorothy L Sayers finds my favorite aristocratic sleuth in one of his rare adventures outside England. Lord Peter becomes interested in a rather grotesque revenge--plotted and carried out in the Basque region of northern Spain. It is up to Lord Peter to rescue a damsel in distress from the evil machinations of her jealous husband. (four stars)

Over all, a fairly sold group of stories. I love the Saint and Lord Peter and like Father Brown in small doses. I have enjoyed Micheal Gilbert's Smallbone, Decease--but I'm not sure I'll seek out any more Petrella stories. Three and a half stars total for the collection.

[Someone · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really enjoy this book very much.
The first story had an extremely arrogant main character, who seemed to think himself above law and see lowly on cops which made the character very unlikable. I was annoyed at the fact that he didn't seek help from the police which would have ended the case very fast and safe and there was a twist at the end, but not really a surprising one, or an enjoyable one.
The second story was very unbeliebable and made me wonder if the writer did any research on dogs behaviours before writing this story. I have never seen any of my friends dogs act in such a way as described in the story not to mention how unlikely it is for a dog to be unmoved by its masters death. Also, the murder itself was a weird one in my point of view and the reasons weren't clearly explained enough.
The third story, I actually gave up reading it as it just went all over the place. First it started off with a trial, making the readers think the book is going to be about it, then it went off in a tangent and started talking about some money being lost from the company. Then there was some chase, 3 ladies randomly coming into the scene, some body inspection and the whole story seemed like it was lacking flow. Not to mention how all the names made everything more confusing.
The last story was a reasonable one, but not reasonable enough to be in a 'detective' book. Everything was predictable and nothing was complicated. The only mystery was how the man did all his magic tricks.

[Steve Goble · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a very mixed bag of four novellas and short stories.

The Charteris tale features the Saint, very much a wish-fulfillment character. The Saint is very cocky, his hunches always pay off and sometimes he never seems to break a sweat. He also sometimes makes leaps in logic that go beyond the available evidence. If you do not take the too seriously, however, the Saint stories are a blast. The stories can be fun, but this one plays into the Saint's perfections a bit too much. I am a Saint fan, but he was a bit too Saintly for me in this story.

I did enjoy the Chesterton tale. Father Brown tends to solve crimes more by observing human nature and by applying a keen common sense than by playing detective; he notices little things that others miss.

I did not care much for the Gilbert story. It is more of a police procedural than a mystery, which is just fine when the cops and the case are interesting. That was not the case here.

The Sayers' story was a brief, enjoyable read. It was my first brush with Lord Peter Wimsey. The mystery was not very mysterious, but the setting and plot and some superstitious peasants gave it color and made it fun.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great collection of four great stories. "The Beauty Specialist" by Leslie Charteris featuring the Saint; "The Oracle of the Dog" by GK Chesterton, featuring Father Brown; "The Cleaners" by Michael Gilbert featuring Inspector Patrick Petrella; and "The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter" by Dorothy L. Sayers featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. These are all great mysteries and the book is an excellent introduction to four of the greatest detectives.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this one quite as much as the earlier ones in the series, probably because I was already familiar with three of the four authors/characters, so I didn't have the joy of discovering a new character I liked. (The one story by an author I hadn't read, "The Cleaners," was my least favorite one.)

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Four mystery novellas by four of the top names in British mystery writing: Leslie Charteris, G.K. Chesterton, Michael Gilbert and Dorothy L. Sayers.

Entertaining, but not my favorite mystery genre.