100 Dastardly Little Detective Stories

Selected by Robert H. Weinberg, Stefan Dziemianowicx & Martin. H. Greenberg

As long as mysteries before bedtime don't bother you, this is a perfect book for the bedside table. These 100 short stories are usually less than five pages each. When you're tired but still have to read before going to sleep (like me) you can pick this up and read one or two stories. You won't get caught up in a story line that would keep you away for another hour as you ignore the next day to read.

Many of these stories are murder mysteries, but not all. There are a few parodies of Sherlock Holmes. There are some that sound like the detectives have been featured in other stories by the author. Some are sharp stories that pull the reader along to try to solve. Others are meant to be (and usually are) humorous. There's a little bit of everything in these short stories. Although the title includes "detective" not all include the standard detective. Some are people who suddenly find themselves in the middle of a story. One or two don't really have a detective at all. Some are sly, some are fun, some are mysterious, some not as good, and all are readable.

Barnes and Noble originally had these published in 1993. They have been back on their bookshelves recently. My daughter knew I would enjoy these. She's right. There's an added feature to these stories. Many of the authors are not well known. But there are a few names you might recognize from other work - James Barrie, Charles Dickens, O. Henry, Jack London, and even Abraham Lincoln.