The Long Arm of the Law: Classic Police Stories

In classic British crime fiction, dazzling detective work is often the province of a brilliant amateur - whereas the humble police detective cuts a hapless figure. The twelve stories collected here strike a blow for the professionals, with teasing mysteries to challenge hard-working police officers' persistence and scrupulous attention to detail. As in his previous anthologies for the British Library Crime Classics series, Martin Edwards introduces readers to fascinating neglected gems of British crime writing as well as uncovering lesser-known stories by the great novelists of the golden age. Each of these stories combines realism with entertainment, skillfully blending the conduct of a criminal investigation with a compelling murder-mystery plot.

Contents:

The mystery of Chenholt / Alice and Claude Askew --
The silence of PC Hirley / Edgar Wallace --
The mystery of a midsummer night / George R Sims --
The cleverest clue / Laurence W. Meynell --
The undoing of Mr. Dawes / Gerald Verner --
The man who married too often / Roy Vickers --
The case of Jacob Heylyn / Leonard R. Gribble --
Fingerprints / Freeman Wills Crofts --
Remember to ring twice / E.C.R. Lorac --
Cotton wool and cutlets / Henry Wade --
After the event / Christianna Brand --
Sometimes the blind / Nicholas Blake --
The chief witness / John Creasey --
Old Mr. Martin / Michael Gilbert --
The moorlanders / Gil North.