I finished this book a few months ago but have not had the opportunity to write a review.
It has been a while since I have read a compilation of short stories like this. This one is by Cecily Gayford. And I did enjoy it. It was nice to be able to read a whole story in just a number of hours and then move onto the next one in the same genre.
The ten authors are Arthur Conan Doyle (honestly it was this name which attracted my initial attention), Anthony Berkeley, John Dickson Carr (Carter Dickson), Gladys Mitchell, Cyril Hare, G.K. Chesterton, Micheal Innes, R. Austin Freeman, G.D.H. & M. Cole, and Edmund Crispi.
The stories have a death, an investigation and are located near or at the seaside hence the book title. Numerous characters are amusing but several are quite stereotypical.
Some of the stories are quite enjoyable. One or two left me wondering if it would ever catch the attention of a writer’s agent today. They all have a good premise but I think it’s the way some of the stories are written which made the difference. A few seem to be just a few people speaking about what happened and a couple had some sections of what might be called info-dumping.
But overall for some light reading, for when you just want to relax with a mystery but don’t really want to overwork your brain, this is a good book.
Happy Reading!
syc
trippingdifferently 