annieb123
Written on Jan 7, 2020
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes is a well curated collection of 16 classic detective stories from the late 19th through the early 20th centuries. Released 18th Dec 2019 by Dover, it's 352 pages and available in paperback format.
These are classics and many will already be familiar to connoisseurs of detective fiction. The anthology contains stories by Baroness Orczy, R. Austin Freeman, G. K. Chesterton, Maurice Leblanc and 12 others, all strong writers; there's not a stinker in the bunch. One aspect of this collection which I liked a lot was that usually the selected stories are linked more tightly geographically; American, British, Antipodean, or what have you. These stories are selected from all regions and backgrounds, including a new-to-me Uncle Abner story by Melvin Post.
This would make a superlative rainy day read, or a good source of further reading for fans of the genre who might not be familiar with all the Victorian detective authors. It's great that these stories are being preserved and presented to new generations of fans.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.