Resorting to Murder: Holiday Mysteries, A British Library Crime Classic

Edited by: Martin Edwards
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Publishing Date: June 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4642-0375-6
Reviewed by: Mary Lignor
Review Date: June 26, 2015

There are fourteen stories in this collection, gathered by the British Library Crime Classics and Spy Classics series. The holiday mysteries in the title refer to all types of holidays, not just the big ones (Christmas, New Year’s, etc). The entries are all Classic British writers including such amazing authors as Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, Helen Simpson, and Patricia Highsmith.

As always, the holidays let us all get away from it all and so does a really good detective novel. This collection is full of vintage mysteries that combine sitting on the beach with a good book, especially a murder book. The reader is able to go to the golf course in England and on to a small hotel in Paris and then on to the Swiss Alps and the White Cliffs of Dover. The authors are right on the mark, and the stories are varied and even include the victims and suspects on a summer holiday.

Each of these stories is a real gem as the readers will find out in Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventure of the Devil’s Foot which brings us to a case where Doyle tells the readers how it was solved by Mr. Sherlock Holmes. It’s a really terrific story. A few stories by Dame Agatha Christie are mentioned in the book along with the fact that she loved holiday mysteries. Unfortunately, those stories are not included in this collection. Regardless, it's still a great selection of stories. Finally, the editor, Martin Edwards, has written a very interesting introduction to the book and told a little about each story before beginning the narrative.

Quill says: Resorting to Murder is a perfect holiday book or, for that matter, a perfect read for any time of the year.