Fifty Best Mysteries

As the title states, this is a collection of short mystery stories from the Forties to the Eighties, published in the Ellery Queen magazine, chosen by Eleanor Sullivan to represent the best of their decades. It was interesting to see the shift of emphasis in mysteries over time. Each story is well-written and has a nice mystery, though many I found to be quite predictable. This confirmed something which I already suspected about my taste in mysteries, I don't read them so much for the puzzle, intrigue or creepy feeling that some give, I read them for interesting characters and places, clever writing and humor. That being so, these stories didn't fit me very well. About a third of them were the type I liked, the rest were dull, dull, show more dull to me. So, I'll not keep this, though it might appeal mightily to a different type of mystery reader. show less

Excellent selection of stories from the 1940s through the 1980s. A wide variety of settings, characters, and events. Lots of fun!