The Long Arm of the Law - (British Library Crime Classics) by Martin Edwards (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder

"Tired of newspaper headlines that accuse cops of malfeasance or worse? Veteran editor Edwards has the perfect antidote: 15 reprints of stories from 1908 to 1966 showing English police officers at (generally) their most sterling." --Kirkus Reviews

In classic British crime fiction, dazzling detective work is often the province of a brilliant amateur--whereas the humble police detective cuts a hapless figure. The twelve stories collected here strike a blow for the professionals, with teasing mysteries to challenge a hard-working police officer's persistence and scrupulous attention to detail. As in his previous anthologies for the British Library Crime Classics series, Martin Edwards introduces readers to fascinating neglected gems of British crime writing as well as uncovering lesser-known stories by the great novelists of the golden age. Each of these stories combines realism with entertainment, skilfully blending the conduct of a criminal investigation with a compelling murder-mystery plot.

Review Quotes

Drawing on his encyclopedic knowledge of mystery fiction's golden age, Edwards (Continental Crimes) has put together an anthology of 15 lost gems focused on the often-maligned official British detectives rather than the typically more eccentric and brilliant private investigators. The breadth of Edwards's expertise is demonstrated in the first entry, The Mystery of Chenholt, by Alice and Claude Askew from The Adventures of Police Constable Vane M.A., on Duty and off, a 1908 volume so rare that even the British Library lacks a copy. This clever tale establishes atmosphere and characterizations in just a few pages, as a constable named Reggie is dispatched to the quiet Surrey countryside to recover from a traumatic night in the mummy house, only to be called upon by a butler desperate to save his employer's wife from her husband, whom he believes is poisoning her. Also notable are Christianna Brand's ingenious After the Event, in which her series sleuth, Inspector Cockrill, investigates a murder during a production of Othello, and Freeman Wills Crofts's inverted mystery, Fingerprints. Edwards also includes lesser-known tales by authors such as Michael Gilbert and Nicholas Blake.-- "Publishers Weekly"

Knowledgable background introductions along with stories that have been long out of print make this a must-read for aficionados of golden age mysteries--Lesa Holstine "Library Journal"

Tired of newspaper headlines that accuse cops of malfeasance or worse? Veteran editor Edwards (Continental Crimes, 2017, etc.) has the perfect antidote: 15 reprints of stories from 1908 to 1966 showing English police officers at (generally) their most sterling.-- "Kirkus Reviews"

About the Author

MARTIN EDWARDS is an award-winning crime writer best known for two series of novels set in Liverpool and the Lake District. He is a series consultant for British Library Crime Classics, Chair of the Crime Writers' Association, and President of the Detection Club. The Golden Age of Murder, his study of the Detection Club, was published in 2015 to international acclaim, and won the Edgar, Agatha, H.R.F. Keating and Macavity awards for the year's best book about the genre.