Synopses & Reviews
With its fascinating mix of people - rich and poor, British and foreign, worthy and suspicious - London is a city where anything can happen. The possibilities for criminals and for the crime writer are endless. London has been home to many of fiction's finest detectives, and the setting for mystery novels and short stories of the highest quality. Capital Crimes is an eclectic collection of London-based crime stories, blending the familiar with the unexpected in a way that reflects the personality of the city. Alongside classics by Margery Allingham, Anthony Berkeley and Thomas Burke are excellent and unusual stories by authors who are far less well known. The stories give a flavour of how writers have tackled crime in London over the span of more than half a century. Their contributions range from an early serial-killer thriller set on the London Underground and horrific vignettes to cerebral whodunits. What they have in common is an atmospheric London setting, and enduring value as entertainment. Each story is introduced by the editor, Martin Edwards, who sheds light on the authors' lives and the background to their writing.
Synopsis
Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder
Capital Crimes is an eclectic collection of London-based crime stories, blending the familiar with the unexpected in a way that reflects the personality of the city. Alongside classics by Margery Allingham, Anthony Berkeley and Thomas Burke are excellent and unusual stories by authors who are far less well known. The stories give a flavour of how writers have tackled crime in London over the span of more than half a century. Their contributions range from an early serial-killer thriller set on the London Underground and horrific vignettes to cerebral whodunits. What they have in common is an atmospheric London setting, and enduring value as entertainment.
Each story is introduced by the editor, Martin Edwards, who sheds light on the authors' lives and the background to their writing.
About the Author
Martin Edwards has published 16 crime novels and more than 50 short stories. His crime fiction has been short-listed for several awards, and in 2008 he won the CWA Short Story Dagger. He had edited 20 crime anthologies and contributed essays to many reference books and magazines.
Table of Contents
The Case of Lady Sannox by Arthur Conan Doyle A Mystery of the Underground by John Oxenham The Finchley Puzzle by Richard Marsh The Magic Casket by R. Austin Freeman The Holloway Flat Tragedy by Ernest Bramah The Magician of Cannon Street by J. S. Fletcher The Stealer of Marble by Edgar Wallace The Tea Leaf by Robert Eustace and Edgar Jepson The Hands of Mr Ottermole by Thomas Burke The Little House by H. C. Bailey The Silver Mask by Hugh Walpole Wind in the East by Henry Wade The Avenging Chance by Anthony Berkeley They Don't Wear Labels by E. M. Delafield The Unseen Door by Margery Allingham Cheese by Ethel Lina White You Can't Hang Twice by Anthony Gilbert