Customer Reviews

Crime through Time 2

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really enjoyed this book. I had read the first Crime Through Time book and I think this one is better because the settings and situations were more intriguing. One of my favorites is the delightful "Murder One" about the worlds first caveman murder. I also liked how there were segments of history not always focused on; such as the contribution of the chinese to the advancement of the railroad and the feelings of an Irish frontier woman. There is also a nice mix of main characters who are doing sleuthing for the first time. There was only one story that was obviously part of a series and not able to stand alone. I found it to be the exception however and not the rule.

I really enjoyed this sequel to "Crime through Time" more than the original. I thought the stories were much more insightful and interesting. My favorites were the first two stories;( especially "Murder One") for their wit and pacing. The collection of writers and story locations were mostly far removed from the first book as well. A delightful read!

If you want to pick up one anthology to represent some of the best writing in the historical mysteries genre, this is it. Better by far than the Mammoth books (although they are good bargains), and better than the first and third CRIME THROUGH TIME. Some of the stories that stuck in my mind were the first murder (in the Stone Age), and the chilling story of a young Venetian woman. Most of the stories stand very well on their own, and some might tempt you to read further works by their authors. Some of the authors I was already acquainted with, while others were completely new (and delightful surprises) to me.

...which was to complete, or as near as I can at this time, my collection of Decius Metellus stories by John Maddox Roberts. So I can't speak to the rest of the book; I give it a straight 'average' rating overall since I can't say good or bad about the book as a whole.

However, the Metellus story is VERY WEAK! I'm glad this was never included in one of Mike Ashley's "Whodunnit" books because there is no question at all about whodunnit. I won't spoiler it any further, but this was a very lame story. I appreciate that it might be hard to do an entire mystery, plot, resolution in a few pages...but it almost felt like Roberts was following some kind of high school handbook on "how to write a short murder mystery." Argh. Well, at least it's on my shelf now.

This was an enjoyable collection of historical crime stories, although not as good, I think as Mike Ashley's Historical Whodunnit collections. These are all new, and the Ashley works also include some classics. This is a trifle more literary, not necessarily a good thing to my mind. Most of the stories are detective fiction, but a few are simply short stories about grim events, which I didn't find as interesting. But I include the contents, so you can look and see if your favorite authors are represented.

CONTENTS: Murder One by Walter Satterthwait -- The Etruscan House by John Maddox Roberts -- Domesday Deferred by Edward Marston -- The Moveable City by Edward D. Hoch -- The Case of the Santo Niño by Anne Perry -- Anna and the Mirror by Dianne Day -- Mizu-Age by Laura Joh Rowland -- A Scientific Education by Nancy Kress -- A Mule Named Sal by Miriam Grace Monfredo -- Sense and Sensuality by Robert Barnard -- The High Constable and the Rochester Rappers by Maan Meyers -- The Ballad of Gentleman Jem by Gillian Linscott -- The Hungry Ghost of Panamint by William F. Wu -- The Promised Land by Sharan Newman -- Memerizing Bertie by Carole Nelson Douglas -- A Man of My Stature by Jan Burke -- Fearful by Sarah Smith -- Unsinkable by Elizabeth Foxwell -- Dorothy Past and Present by Michael Coney.