I’ve been a fan of the “Mammoth Book” series for years. This volume from 2007 features many enjoyable stories. My favorites are Ed Hoch’s “The Problem of the Black Cloister” and “A Shower of Daggers.” I’m an admirer of underrated writer Arthur Porges and his “No Killer Has Wings” shows why he should be better known. I also liked Peter Tremanyne’s “The Stuart Sapphire.” Bill Pronzini provides his usual high quality story-telling in “Proof of Guilt.” If you’re in the mood for an impossible crime or a perfect mystery, here are 30 stories to delight you. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Copyright & Acknowledgements –vii
Perfectly impossible / Mike Ashley — 1
An almost perfect crime / William F. Smith — 3
The X Street murders / Joseph Commings — 25
Locked in death / Mary Reed & Eric Mayer — 43
Wingless Pegasus / Gillian Linscott — 63
Duel of shadows / Vincent Cornier — 79
The 45 steps / Peter Crowther — 96
Contrary to the evidence / Douglas Newton — 128
The impossible footprint / William Brittain — 142
Three blind rats / Laird Long — 155
Death and the rope trick / John Basye Price — 172
The problem of the black cloister / Edward D. Hoch — 188
A shower of daggers / Edward D. Hoch — 204
The hook / Robert Randisi — 223
The mystery of the Sevenoaks Tunnel / Max Rittenberg — 240
The red ring / William Le Queux — 254
Observable justice / Will Murray — 267
On the rocks / J.A. Konrath — 298
Eternally yours / H. Edward Hunsburger — 310
Murder in monkeyland / Lois Gresh & Robert Weinberg — 327
No killer has wings / Arthur Porges — 342
Benning’s School for Boys / Richard A. Lupoff — 355
The episode of the nail and the requiem / C. Daly King — 378
The impossible murder of Dr. Satanus / William Krohn — 398
The Stuart sapphire / Peter Tremayne — 413
The flung-back lid / Peter Godfrey — 434
The poisoned bowl / Forrest Rosaire — 452
Proof of guilt / Bill Pronzini — 486
Slaughterhouse / Barry Longyear — 496
The birdman of Tonypandy / Bernard Knight — 511
Sounds terrific.
Patti, I have over a dozen of these “Mammoth Book” anthologies. Fun reading if you’re willing to accept some “filler” stories.
Since I don’t like reading e-books or audio books, these things just aren’t for me. I bought one years ago, “Big Book of the Pulps”, and just couldn’t handle it–too big and bulky and cumbersome. Also don’t like sitting at a table to read. Picky, picky, picky, right? That’s me. It does look interesting though.
Michael, that Big Book of Pulps was terrific.
Rick, I agree with you and Michael. Yes, THE BIG BOOK OF PULPS was terrific, but Michael is right about its unwieldy size.
Michael, the paperback version of THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF PERFECT CRIMES AND IMPOSSIBLE MYSTERIES can be held comfortably. You would enjoy this book!
The MAMMOTH BOOKs put out by Robinson in the UK and, formerly, the folded Carroll & Graf in the US were all fat but relatively little productions, often running to 500 pages or so but light and in dimensions not too much larger than a digest-sized magazine. And both publishers liked using thin, light paper. No one ever broke their arms picking up a single MAMMOTH BOOK of anything…
Yesterday was Ashley’s 72nd birthday. How the years accumulate.
One thing that didn’t help Porges’s reputation much was the number of rote “problem” stories he published in sf even more than in mystery…dumb aliens, usually, foiled by some basic physics-based trick on the part of a captured or threatened human space-traveler…and somewhat similarly notional shorts in crime fiction. However, some of his genuinely clever, or at very least clever-enough, stories, such as the fantasy “$1.98” were thrown into shadow by the mountain of easy gimmick filler. Kind of the Randall Garrett track, only at shorter lengths, usually (Christopher Anvil also blighted his career a bit with similar five-finger exercises in sf…if Campbell wasn’t buying them this week, someone else would…so let’s keep grinding them out!).
Todd, I heard that “five-finger exercise” rationale for a lot of writers. They have to eat, too, so grinding out stories that editors will buy makes marketing sense if not artistic sense.
Yes…what keeps food on the table vs. furthering the art…not everyone can keep doing their best reliably. I certainly can’t.
I am with Patti. This does sound terrific.
neeru, THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF PERFECT CRIMES AND IMPOSSIBLE MYSTERIES is terrific (if can cope with a few clunkers). Used copies are available online at reasonable prices and I’m sure your local Library could acquire it for you.
This one first came out in 2011 and I am pretty sure (my memory being what it is these days) I must have read it. But, as I am not positive, and as the Kindle edition is available for $1.99, I might just buy it and read it again. After all, I probably wouldn’t remember the stories anyway!
Favorite authors in this group: Hoch of course, also Pronzini and Commings and Cornier
I checked a few years after 2011 and didn’t see it, so I bought it.
Jeff, I’m guessing most publishers today would not be interested in reprinting THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF PERFECT CRIMES AND IMPOSSIBLE MYSTERIES.
Jeff, I have the Carroll & Graf version, but I’m glad there is a Kindle edition available, too.
I have the Kindle edition, and have read the first few stories. I’m overwhelmed with short story anthologies just now!
Rick, I go through stages of reading a series of novels and then switching to reading a series of short stories. I’m reading novels right now.
I’m still reading GRANT, and have a novel from the library sitting here, but short stories always beckon.
Rick, GRANT took us a couple of months to listen to with the unabridged audio book version (38 CDs!). I have three short story collections beckoning me, but I’m going to read a couple of novels, a couple of non-fiction books, and listen to two audio books first.
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OK! Putting a link in is triggering your blog’s Warning Beacon, apparently. Check TomCat’s entry this week for Arthur Porges appreciation and re-appraisal!
Todd, thanks for the heads up on the Porges appreciation. Porges is an underrated writer who deserves some love.