An Anthology of 13 tales of crimes that take place in the English countryside. These tales are from Victorian and Edwardian times The crimes are varied and don’t necessarily involve death. There are also property crimes such as theft, vandalism and more.

The majority of the stories were published in periodicals of the time and many only that one time. Some of the authors became well known, some not.

“The Amber Beads” by Fergus Hume was an interesting read for me, as I had read “The Mystery of a Hansom Cab” in 2023 and found that a good read with a number of twists and turns to untangle. The book was published in Australia a year before the first Sherlock Holmes mystery and was a huge success for a number of years. The short story was just as enjoyable.

The introduction is also interesting as it gives the background of the authors and their writing. Some of the authors I’ve read before. Learning of their backgrounds made the stories more interesting and has given me more authors to explore. ( )

Vey similar to Rivals of Shrlock HOlmes, and including some of the same authors, but with stories set outside London. The authors included are Catharine Perkis, Arthur Morrison, Dick Donovan, M. McD. Bodkin, Fergus Hue, L.T. Meade, J. S. Fletcher, Jacques Futrelle, Richard Marsh, Victor l. Whitchurch, and Ernest Bramah. ( )

A collection of short stories featuring the Rivals of Sherlock Holmes ( )