Martin Edwards edited and published this anthology of short stories to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Crime Writer's Association. As a writer and a prominent member of the CWA, he was well - qualified to do so. Edwards included stories by 16 winners of the Cartier Diamond Dagger, a lifetime achievement award and the CWA's highest honor, as well as stories from two early writers, and 8 stories written specifically for this collection. The result is a broad selection from 50 years of crime fiction, with an emphasis on the last two decades. The editor's account can be read here: http://www.martinedwardsbooks.com/mysteriouspleasures.htm

The collection is quite varied, and stories included can variously be described as whimsical, gripping, bizarre, suspenseful, grim, and sobering. The common element is crime and its detection, especially murder. Authors include such well- known writers as Margery Allingham, Sara Paretsky, Dick Francis, Ed McBain, Antonia Fraser, Ruth Rendell, and Eric Ambler. As with any such collection, any reader will likely find both appealing and unappealing selections. For my part, I especially liked the offerings from Dick Francis, Lionel Davidson, Val McDermid, and Julian Symons; however, none were (in my view) truly memorable. Listed below are the stories and their authors, along with my own rankings on a 5-star scale.

2* Margery Allingham “One Morning They’ll Hang Him”
2* Eric Ambler “The Blood Bargain”
3* Robert Barnard “Everybody’s Girl”
2* Leslie Charteris “The Mystery Of The Child’s Toy”
3.5* John Creasey “The Chief Witness”
3.5* Lionel Davidson “Indian Rope Trick”
0* Lindsey Davis “Something Spooky On Geophys”
0* Colin Dexter “The Double Crossing”
4* Dick Francis “The Gift”
0* Antonia Fraser “The Twist”
3* Michael Gilbert “Judith”
0* Cyril Hare “Name Of Smith”
3* Reginald Hill “The Game Of Dog”
1* HRF Keating “The Hound Of The Hanging Gardens”
3* Peter Lovesey “The Man Who Jumped For England”
1.5* Ed McBain “The Interview”
3.5* Val McDermid “The Consolation Blonde”
1* Sara Paretsky “At The ‘Century Of Progress’”
2* Ellis Peters “Guilt of Doom”
3* Ian Rankin “Tell Me Who To Kill”
3.5* Ruth Rendell “When The Wedding Was Over”
3.5* Julian Symons “The Tigers Of Subtopia”
3.5* Margaret Yorke “Mugs” ( )

Published in 2003, this book is a celebration of 50 years of the Crime Writers Association (the people who give the Daggers out).
All the writers, 23 of them, are either foundation members of CWA, past presidents, or award winners.

The writers featured: Margery Allingham, Eric Ambler, Robert Barnard, Leslie Charteris, John Creasey, Lionel Davidson, Lindsey Davis, Colin Dexter, Dick Francis, Antonia Fraser, Michael Gilbert, Cyril Hare,
Reginald Hill, H.R.F. Keating, Peter Lovesey, Ed McBain, Val McDermid, Sara Paretsky, Ellis Peters, Ian Rankin, Ruth Rendell, Julian Symons, and Margaret Yorke.

It's hard to pick a favourite because they are such a varied bunch.
In One Morning They'll Hang Him by Margery Allingham, Albert Campion prevents a miscarriage of justice when the police inspector assumes the wrong person has committed the murder.
Robert Barnard's Everybody's Girl is a chilling tale of a young woman who is an immoral and fiendish manipulator.
Leslie Charteris in the Mystery of the Child's Toy describes how unscrupulous businessmen provoke suicide.
The Chief Witness in John Creasey's tale is only six years old, but his evidence is spontaneous and irrefutable.

I think the most amusing one has to be Something Spooky on Geophys by Lindsey Davis. It will appeal to anyone who watches Time Team. An archaeological team making a TV programme are excavating a site in 5 days, watched from the castle ramparts by 3 ghosts. The team finds a Roman skeleton and then a much more recent one. Davis' sleuth, Marcus Didius Falco makes an appearance.

In The Double Crossing Colin Dexter has written a spoof on his own popular Morse and Lewis series.
Peter Lovesey's The Man Who Jumped for England is a play on the word jumped, while Margaret Yorke does something similar with Mugs.
I had read Ruth Rendell's When the Wedding Was Over before (or maybe I saw it dramatised in the Wexford TV series). Mike Burden gets married and Wexford agrees to read the manuscript for a "real crime" book which purports to prove a miscarriage of justice nine decades before when a young wife was hanged for poisoning her husband.

I was disappointed that there wasn't a story written by Martin Edwards though...
Each of the stories is fairly short and I think that heightens the enjoyment.
Between the collection gives a good indication of each writer's style and also changes in the crime fiction short story genre over the period of five decades. ( )