Here's a book with an interesting pedigree. According to David Brawn's introduction to a new edition, the book of short stories called The Crime Club, first published in book form in 1915, contained stories written by two former London policemen, Frank Froëst and George Dilnot. More than a decade later, the book was republished by Collins as part of what Collins then called The Detective Story Club - a series which later evolved into the Collins Crime Club, a label which lasted into the current century and which is now being offered by the revived Collins Crime Club imprint of HarperCollins.
All that said, what will you find in the newly re-published (and expanded) story collection called The Crime Club? It's the subject of today's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the complete review by clicking here.
What you'll find is a collection of short, early mystery stories by Frank Froëst (whose credentials, we are reminded by the book jacket, included "late CID Scotland Yard," and George Dilnot - stories dealing with crime and offering some interesting insight into the methods of London police in the early years of the 20th century. About the club, the opening chapter tells us:
You will seek in vain, in any book of reference, for the name of the Crime Club. Purists may find a reason in the fact that a club without subscriptions, officials, or headed notepaper is no club at all. The real explanation probably is that the club avoids advertisement. It is content to know that even in its obscurity it is the most exclusive club in the world.
That chapter is followed by 14 stories about crimes investigated (and solved) by a variety of senior police officials presumed to be members of The Crime Club. There is murder, to be sure, but not much. The stories are mostly about lesser crimes. There are a lot of thefts, cheats and frauds in these stories. There’s not much in the way of fair-play clueing involved either. It's worth remembering that these stories predate the Golden Age, and the "puzzle mystery" really came into its own in that later period.
To be honest, I'd have to say that the overarching theme of the book – the notion of a “Crime Club” of experienced detectives – really doesn’t add a whole lot to the stories. The bottom line, really, is that we are given a group of interesting stories, and some interesting problems in detection, without much really holding them together. Still, the stories are enjoyable and I suspect you would probably have fun with them as examples of relatively early mystery shorts with nicely defined characters. You’ll find them in the book called The Crime Club, by Frank Froëst and George Dilnot, with a new introduction by David Brawn, and it has been republished as one book in the Collins Crime Club imprint from Harper-Collins, along with what appear to be the fairly lurid cover illustrations.
Comments