BVLawson

Robert Weinberg is the author of more than twenty-five books, many of them dealing with science and pop culture, and Stefan Dziemianowicz is an independent scholar and writer and expert on pulp fiction. Together they teamed up with the late Martin H. Greenberg to edit 100 Dastardly Little Detective Stories, part of the "100" series published by Barnes and Noble in the 1990s and reprinted about ten years later.

The stories selected for this anthology run the gamut from the classics, by O. Henry ("The Mystery of the Rue de Peychaud"), Charles Dickens ("An Artful Touch"), Bret Harte ("The Stolen Cigar-Case"), and Jack London ("The Leopard Man's Story") to more modern practitioners such Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini. Writing styles cover most of the bases, from hard-boiled to the more Sherlockian-thoughtful detectives.

As with most anthologies, there are a few hits and a few misses, but this particular grouping is interesting due to the inclusion of those classic authors who aren't always associated with detective writing, as well as many unknowns. There's also a contribution from none other than Abraham Lincoln, "The Trailor Murder Mystery," which first appeared on the front page of the Quincy Whig in 1843. Coming in at 576 pages, this anthology isn't exactly "light" reading in weight, but there are plenty of gems that will make for an entertaining, quick, read.