As ever with these anthologies, part of the joy of reading them comes from the mix of authors included, ranging from the well-known (Arthur Conan Doyle, G. K. Chesterton and Edgar Wallace) to the somewhat less familiar (Christianna Brand, Mary Fitt and Clifford Witting). Also of note is the seam of darkness running through this collection, with several of the stories channelling a rather sinister vibe not always associated with ‘cosy crime’ fiction from this era. It’s something that gives this anthology an interesting edge, very much in line with the predatory characteristics one might observe within the animal kingdom itself. On that ominous note, I’ll start with some of the gentler stories here and work my way up to the more ruthless end of the spectrum… When you see a bug in your home, what do you do? Do you leave it alone? Do you kill it, or ask someone else to do the dirty work for you? Or do you ever try to catch it and set it free outside? Why do you make those This story went on a little longer than I expected it to. It lays out the foundation of the place and the people pretty well before even venturing into the possible plot. There is a strange couple looking after an even stranger girl whose only sole care is for a green Parakeet. A visitor to the neighbourhood gets attached to her and therefore ends up speeding up the end of the events. This last part was not satisfying to someone like me.(2 stars)

Guilty Creatures: A Menagerie of Mysteries Kindle Edition

Since the dawn of the crime fiction genre, animals of all kinds have played a memorable part in countless mysteries, and in a variety of roles: the perpetrator, the key witness, the sleuth’s trusted companion. This collection of fourteen stories corrals plots centred around cats, dogs and insects alongside more exotic incidents involving gorillas, parakeets and serpents -- complete with a customary shoal of red herrings.in the wrong place at the wrong moment, while the guy next to him is miraculously spared for no reason at all. As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods.

Guilty Creatures: A Short Film By Dacre Montgomery | An Guilty Creatures: A Short Film By Dacre Montgomery | An

I wish I could find more of F Tennyson Jesse's stories featuring the unique detective Solange Fontaine. She's the daughter (and professsional partner) of a scientist, but her detecting is based on her intuitive sense of evil, even in the most innocent of situations. I liked this story about a French family of modest means. The sweet, elderly parents are devoted to their adopted daughter, who is devoted to her pretty parakeet. What could possibly be wrong in this picture? This felt very familiar, although the end result was new. There is a bank robbery, and a young man with a sterling reputation is the accused. The way the issue is resolved is different but provides no opportunity for the reader to make an educated guess. (2 stars)

Extract

I was so pleasantly surprised by this anthology. To be honest, I usually favor full-length novels over short story collections, but I had a great time reading this. There was so much variety in tone and style, so it never felt redundant or repetitive. The story introductions by editor Martin Edwards also gave some great insight into each of the writers and their careers—thanks to this, my TBR list just got even longer! Amongst my favourites are G. K. Chesterton's riveting The Oracle of the Dog, Penelope Wallace's The Man Who Loved Animals (the ending in particular) and Christianna Brand's The Hornet Nest. The most memorable will always be the short but effective The Pit of Screams by Garnett Radcliffe. Not exactly realistic but it need not be. Each author has his/her unique writing style, some are more engaging than others, all fascinating.

Act 2, Scene 2 - Video Note: The Play Within the Play

Ham. 'Tis well. I'll have thee speak out the rest of this soon.-- Good my lord, will you see the players well bestow'd? Do you hear? Let them be well us'd; for they are the abstract and How does he explain that Morrison (who wrote for a living) published only seven stories about Dorrington, while he filled four collections of stories about Martin Hewitt? If Hewitt hadn't been popular with readers, Morrison would have ditched him in favor of featuring Horace Dorrington. I absolutely loved this one. So bizarre and quirky, just the kind of tone I like in a classic. I really enjoyed the personalities of these characters, and the criminal that they manage to thwart was just hilarious. The story here moves through several years before reaching a conclusion but going from start to finish felt engaging. A man loses jewellery stolen by an insect, or so he claims. These claims almost ruin his life, but he keeps moving on. I found the explanation more plausible than I would have imagined given how things had happened.(3 stars)I enjoyed the writing and the secrecy behind the narrating voice. A woman is chatting up a man who claims to have great skills with all animals. he seems like he is lonely and alone. I was, therefore, thrown by the ending, which felt almost unnecessary. I will not go any further into it because that twist is what drives the plot. (2 stars) RALPH: We should also notice Shakespeare's wonderful language in this passage. He takes a common proverb at the time — "Murder will out," meaning a murder can't be kept secret — and turns it into this line: "For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak with most miraculous organ." It’s always a joy to receive one of the latest British Library Crime Classics releases through the post, and this clever anthology of short stories, Guilty Creatures – a Menagerie of Mysteries, is no exception to the rule. (My thanks to the publishers for kindly providing a review copy.) Included here are fourteen vintage mysteries, each featuring an animal, bird or invertebrate of some description as an integral component in the case. As Martin Edwards notes in his introduction:

Guilty Creatures Sitting at a Play: A Note on Hamlet, Act II Guilty Creatures Sitting at a Play: A Note on Hamlet, Act II

Hated by their Elven brethren and feared by the world at large. These slave-mongering beings stand tall and confident in the knowledge that they as a whole are of the elite. In this latest collection of 14 Golden Age British mystery stories, the general theme that Edwards has used is the presence of animals or creatures of some type. As has been the case with others in this series of books, the results can be uneven at times. And here, in the animal realm, that uneven quality was more evident. But there are two stories that scored a 5 for me. The first is The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane which is written from Holmes’ point of view as it occurred after Holmes’ and Watson’s retirement. This adds an interesting tone to the narrative. My second 5* read was long enough to qualify as a novella, I believe. This is The Yellow Slug by H.C. Bailey. Interesting story with touches of psychology and interesting treatment of children.So some excellent and varied stories and, as always, despite the varying quality in these anthologies, they are a great way of being introduced to new authors to look out for.