I struggled to get through this one. The first few stories were especially weak, which made it even harder to persist. The later stories were somewhat better, and I wish they would have been moved toward the beginning of the book to encourage interest in reading to the end, but I eventually made it all the way through.
Perhaps these stories struggle because of modern television detective shows–which I might be slightly addicted to–which always leaves me expecting more excitement, or perhaps (and more probably) they’re just not as good and lasting as Sherlock Holmes (which I do enjoy.)
From the outset, these stories are considerably dated with the first mystery (The Great Ruby Robbery) being a case only because of how stupid and “flighty” women are, to later in the book with “The Divination of the Zagury Capsules” where the lead detective has brought a “Hindoo snake charmer” home with him from India, complete with a basket of cobras, who is the real brains behind the operation since it is evident the white detective is too stupid to find his own keys if he misplaced them.
Some stories are of course better than others. If you skip toward the end, the stories are slightly more interesting. In the middle, “The Duchess of Wiltshire’s Diamonds” is interesting because the reader knows the crime (and the criminal) the entire time and just sees it happening. “The Ninescore Mystery” is also worth reading in that it has a female detective and uses a mother’s emotions to solve the case. “Cinderella’s Slipper” is another one with a female detective who is obviously admired and respected for her intelligence, and this one felt like she actually had a mystery to solve. (Truth be told, I liked the stories with the women detectives more than the others for the most part.)
Unfortunately, most of these stories are pretty forgettable, and I can understand why they haven’t been compiled before now and why most of their authors have been largely forgotten to history.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Dover Publications in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion.