The Edinburgh Mystery

And Other Tales of Scottish Crime

By: Martin Edwards, Various

Narrated by: Sarah Barron, David Monteath, Mark Meadows, John Telfer

From the dramatic Highlands to bustling cities, the unique landscapes and locales of Scotland have enthralled and shaped generations of mystery writers. This new collection presents 17 classic stories, spanning a period from the 1880s to the 1970s, by a host of Scottish authors alongside writers from south of the border inspired by the history and majesty of the storied country. Featuring vintage tales by Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson and Baroness Orczy together with mid-20th-century mini-masterpieces by Margot Bennett, Michael Innes and Cyril Hare, this anthology also includes a rare Josephine Tey short story, reprinted for the first time since 1930.

©2022 The British Library Board, Martin Edwards (P)2023 Soundings

Great mystery shorts

Story’s were fun & left me wanting more. All are very well written. I enjoyed listening to the short stories

A Somewhat More Eclectic Edwards Collection

I don’t know if that’s due to the provenance of these stories, all Scottish in some way, shape or form, however tenuous, or from the authors themselves. Let’s just say that many are not in the mold of the classic Golden Age Detective tradition, which is fine, of course. But after listening to three other Martin Edwards collections, all more or less conforming to that mold, I found it a little disconcerting. Here’s what you’ll find on tap:

Markheim, by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Field Bazaar by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Edinburg Mystery, by Baroness Orczy
The Honor of Israel Gow, by G. K. Chesterton
A Medical Crime, by J. Storer Clouston
Footsteps, by Anthony Wynn
The White Line, by John Ferguson
The Body of Sir Henry, by Augustus Muir
Madame Ville-d’Aubier, by Josephine Tey
The Man on Ben Nagave (sp?), by H. H. Bashford
Before Insulin, by J. J. Connington
The Case of the Frugal Cake, by Margo Bennet
Thursday’s Child, by Cyril Hare
The Alibi Man, by Bill Knox
The Fisherman, by Michael Innes
The Running of the Deer, by P. M. Hubbard
Hand in Glove, by Jenny Melville

As with all the Edwards collections, this is a chance to find works by well-known (Doyle, Stevenson, Chesterton, Tey, Orczy) lesser known (Hare, Wynn, Ines) and unknown authors – at least, unknown to me. Compiling this list has reminded me of how much I enjoyed many of these tales. It will certainly bear a second listening.