Customer Reviews

Detective Duos: The best adventures of 25 crime-solving twosomes

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This book presents a varied selection of stories featuring crimes solved by partners, by autbors ranging from Edgar Allen Poe to Julie Smith. Although the quality of the stories varies depending on the skill of the author in using the short story form, they are all interesting. The introductory essay preceding each story gives a good summary of the author's work as a whole, not just those works which feature the duo in the story. Especially valuable is the long Introduction to the book. which discusses the many partnerships in crime-solving which appear in works too long to appear in this collection as well as those which do. I found this work to be enjoyable and a wellspring of leads to authors I had overlooked.

An anthology of stories with crime solving twosomes - it's a winning idea. Unfortunately, the editors couldn't decide if they wanted to present an historical review or a collection that holds up to today's standards and expectations. Some of the stories are true winners, capable of delighting contemporary audiences as much as they did the original readers. Some stories, however, are seriously dated...not just in setting, but in mindset and perspective. While it is possible to ask respect for those pieces from an historical point of view, it is harder to claim that they make for compelling reading today.