From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Capital Crimes: London Mysteries

Martin Edwards (Editor),

Arthur Conan Doyle

Start date: June 1, 2022

Finish date: June 30, 2022

Discussion: Group reads

Why we're reading this: Winner of the poll for our June group read
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What Members Thought

Dec 23, 2015 Judy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-library-crime-classics

An intriguing selection of short London-based mysteries by a variety of writers. Probably the most memorable for me is the opening non-Holmes tale by Arthur Conan Doyle, which is more horror than crime - I wished I hadn't read this one before bedtime, but it was a brilliant story. Also included are a Campion story by Margery Allingham and a Doctor Thorndyke story by R. Austin Freeman and a great story by Anthony Berkeley which was an early version of his novel The Poisoned Chocolates Case, fortu ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

May 06, 2022 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is an interesting collection of stories set in London. I must admit that I often struggle with short stories, but I thought this was a well-collated collection with a good range of authors, from Arthur Conan Doyle, Anthony Berkeley, Margery Allingham and E.M. Delafield.

For lovers of Golden Age detective fiction, one of the highlights is "The Avenging Chance," by Anthony Berkeley, a short story which later became, "The Poisoned Chocolates Case." The Allingham story, "The Unseen Door," also f ...more

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May 05, 2022 Susan in NC rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Enjoyed this anthology of London-set mysteries.

As a mystery fan, these collections are a fun way to try out different Golden Age mystery writers, some well known in that group, like Margery Allingham, others, like E. M. Delafield, known more as a humor writer. Here, though, she serves up a chilling story of a deceptively devoted husband, and a seemingly whiny, paranoid, hypochondriac wife, with a gut punch at the end!

There were several standouts for me; the stories are all very different, rough ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Feb 09, 2025 Bev rated it really liked it

Shelves: british-mystery, bought-2015, anthology, mount-tbr-2025, vintage-mystery, mystery, shortstories

Martin Edwards and the British Library Crime Classics team take on the Big Smoke in this collection of mysteries set in England's capital city. We have stories set in the late Victorian period through the 1940s and a range of authors from the well-known Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to those less well-known for mysteries such as E. M. Delafield (whom I had never heard of) and Hugh Walpole (whom I don't associate with mysteries). I have to say that this is one of the strongest collections of short stori ...more

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Mar 13, 2015 Damaskcat rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

It is interesting reading stories from some of the less well known names from the Golden Age of British crime fiction in this fascinating collection of short stories compiled and edited by Martin Edwards who also writes an introduction to the book and brief details of the author at the beginning of each story. Margery Allingham and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are well known in the field but you may not have realised for example that E M Delafield ('Diary of a Provincial Lady') also wrote crime fictio ...more

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Jun 19, 2022 Lynnie rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2022, short-stories, london, british-library-crime, golden-age-detective-story, kindleunlimited

Overall a good selection of stories though I wish that London had had a more starring part in some of the stories. My favourites were "The Holloway Flat Tragedy", "The Little House", "The Avenging Chance", "The Unseen Door" and "Cheese". ...more

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Jan 06, 2017 Yorky Caz rated it it was amazing

Shelves: blcc

Fantastic! I hope there will be another collection of stories like this. So many fantastic forgotten authors. Well done to the British Library for giving us to chance to discover some fantastic tales

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