Entertainment is afoot. A twist on mystery stories in the classic format make up this collection from Black Beacon. Being not my usual reading area at all, I was pleased at the variety of story. Chiefly, a pairing of tales set around old style carnival and travelling freak shows, impressed. These stories complimented each other perfectly and treated the subject with the nuance it demands. Elsewhere the collection includes fresh takes on a locked room mystery, weary detectives and the police procedural, and skullduggery with the hint of the supernatural thrown in. My one reservation regarding the collection is the contrast in length between the tales included, some being that for a standard short story, others that of a novelette. For a collection of this kind I think it works better to have a consistency of length, as a book of this type is best experienced to pick up and dip into, with the novelettes perhaps gathered together in a separate collection of their own. Having said that, each piece makes a valiant effort to bring something fresh to the genre, and, despite this not being my usual reading choice, I found something of worth in each of the tales. Recommended to fans of mystery fiction seeking out a varied collection of stories high in entertainment value. ( )

Short story collections are one of my favourite things, ideal to dip in and out of (very useful right now at Tour de France time when I'm awake way too late and easily distracted), and they are all the more enjoyable when populated by a rich variety of storytelling styles and subjects. As is the case with the BLACK BEACON BOOK OF MYSTERY.

Made up of a couple of novella length stories, surrounded by some really interesting forms of shorter crime fiction, this is a combination of original and reprinted tales that range from noir to police procedural, from locked room to armchair detectives. There's a bit of something here for everyone. Fans of some of these authors will note it includes the second Oscar Tremont novella (set in Walhalla in the goldfields of rural Victoria, its the perfect setting for an investigator of the strange and inexplicable).

Thoroughly enjoyed all the entries in this collection, with some of the standouts being the ultimate armchair detective story that was 50 by Josh Pachter, THE GHOSTS OF WALHALLA by Cameron Trost, the setting and the sensibility of this one was spot on, and the very creepy AVOCA MANSION by Duncan Richardson (nothing to do with the town down the road from me), this had another great sense of place, and style that was perfectly executed, and the Sherlock Holmes setting of THE CASE OF THE REVERSE THIEF by Paulene Turner which felt, read and seemed like an original story.

As always though, it's not fair to just pick out a few stories in one of these sorts of collections. There's plenty here for fans of all sorts of settings, writing styles and scenarios. Highly recommended for crime fiction readers everywhere.

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/black-beacon-book-mystery-short-story-co... ( )