The Penguin Book of Gaslight Crime: Con Artists, Burglars, Rogues, and Scoundrels from the Time of Sherlock Holmes (Penguin Classics)

Marvelous Collection of Short Stories. Good quick reads before bed. No nightmares, but daily contemplation inspired by clever crooks.

Short, fun, and the best of the best. Loved it and keep it handy to pick up at the brief, lingering time

Oh, how I loved this volume of short mystery stories. Each of them were witty and funny. All of the stories but one aren't detective stories; they're from the point of view of the criminal; which was interesting. As the title suggests, there are all manner of criminals: gentlemen thieves, rogues, con men, burglars etc. No murderers though, and the thieves get away with their crimes. The stories are all pretty suspenseful; not super suspenseful as they're written in an older style, but intriguing enough to make you want to finish each story in one go. The volume begins with "The Episode of the Diamond Links" by Grant Allen, and concludes with "Four Square Jane" by Edgar Wallace (the only story here featuring a female, and one of my favorites too.) I'm planning to read The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime soon as well. Their is a short 1 1/2 page bio-note on each author before their story, and an introduction by Michael Sims, though I confess I just skimmed over the bio-notes and didn't read the introduction at all.So, yes, this was a marvelous, though slender, volume of amazing short mysteries, each with their own style and distinctive twists. I liked the cover too; the hand is surreptitiously stealing the Penguin logo. A clever, simple cover that fits the contents well.All of my reviews can be read at my blog (novareviews.blogspot.com).

I'm willing to pay extra for public domain works that have been properly formatted and proofed with good hyperlink navigation, non-generic cover, and a separate table of contents. Especially when they've been carefully selected for an omnibus like this one. But Penguin is asking more than the cost of the physical copies! I might pay as much as $2.99, but never $12.99! If they keep this up, they may have to change their name from penguin to dodo. I won't buy anything from them.

A book of short stories, each one short enough to read on a short journey or before bed! Good bio's before each story introducing each writer.An all round great read.