Sinister Spring

Sinister Spring: Murder and Mystery from the Queen of Crime by Agatha Christie

Published by Harper Collins UK

ISBN 9780008470906

This is a delightful collection of Agatha Christie short stories that have some connection to the spring season. The book contains a good mix of stories featuring her recurring characters--Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Tommy and Tuppence, Mr. Parker Pyne, Mr. Satterthwaite, and Harley Quin. If you're new to Agatha Christie, this would be an excellent introduction to her work. If you've been reading Christie for years, like I have (about half a century now!), it's like a lovely visit with old friends and a couple of surprises thrown in. This collection is the latest in the seasonal series, all of which are wonderful and well worth reading. Every time I sit down with a Christie I know I am going to have a happy reading experience and this book was no exception. It did not disappoint and I highly recommend it.

Stories included:

The Market Basing Mystery

The Case of the Missing Lady

The Herb of Death

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Swan Song

Miss Marple Tells a Story

Have You Got Everything You Want?

The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan

Ingots of Gold

The Soul of the Croupier

The Girl in the Train

Greenshaw’s Folly

I received a copy of the e-book in exchange for a fair review. I thank NetGalley and Harper Collins UK.

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Guilty Creatures

 Guilty Creatures: A Menagerie of Mysteries

edited by Martin Edwards

published by British Library

ISBN: 978-0-7123-5344-1

This book is part of the British Library Crime Classics series, which consists of republications of 'classic crime' books that have gone out of print. These books were written by authors who may have been well known at the time, but who have been forgotten. I've discovered many authors via this series, but I don't think I was aware that they also published short story collections. Short stories, classic mysteries, new-to-me authors--what's not to love? This kind of thing is right up my street. 

This is a fun collection in which each story has something to do with critters of one kind or another. There are a few more well-known authors included, like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (a Sherlock Holmes story), G.K. Chesterton (a Father Brown story), and Christianna Brand, but I had never heard of most of the authors in the book. Many of these were happy surprises and I would love to read more of their work. In my opinion, the Sherlock Holmes story that opens the book was the weakest in the collection. It seemed very obvious. However, one of the interesting things about this collection is seeing the scientific views of the time as understood by the authors. In the case of the Holmes story in particular, the scenario might not have seemed so obvious at the time. The rest of the stories were stronger and the ending of one had me wondering what was going on right up until the last sentence, which made me gasp.

I really enjoyed reading this and I look forward to reading more of these short story collections. I highly recommend this and other British Library Crime Classics if you're someone who likes classic mysteries, 'forgotten' authors, and/or short stories. 

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