The Adventure of the Murdered Moths and Other Radio Mysteries
It's always nice to see rare semiprecious gems revived: in this case, it is a compendium of Berkeley's detective stories featuring Roger Sheringham and Inspector Moresby from the 1930s. Echoes of Dorothy L. Sayers and P. G. Wodehouse waft through these stories, in their crisp language and period style. Berkeley, who founded a group of writers called the London Detection Club dedicated to providing readers with all the clues needed, writes masterful puzzles, but the stories are complex enough to allow multiple interpretations. When the stories are read together, certain themes--sly women, the use of poison, love gone awry--turn up too often, but the working out of the clues is good fun for fans of puzzle mysteries from the Golden Age. The title story is considered by genre historians to be among the greatest "fair-play" detective stories. Bibliophiles will be thrilled at the checklist, complete notes, and publishing history. A rare treat for Golden Age devotees.GraceAnne DeCandidoCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved