Member Review

A sharpened pickax, a full water butt (barrel), a marline-spike, an obscure poison are all used (or maybe not used) for murder with A Measure of Malice in this new collection of British golden and silver-aged mysteries.

Fourteen more intriguing, but unfortunately forgotten, tales from famous (Arthur Conan Doyle) and not authors. The theme of these tales is unusual weapons and unique ways to prove the detectives’ suppositions All lean heavily on the new science of the day.

It’s amazing how casual we have become about science in 2020. DNA tests are cheap and available on almost any daytime talk or judge show. Fingerprints are accepted worldwide as evidence of guilt. But it wasn’t always that way. Return to the time when detectives had to use their brain to solve puzzles created by clever murders. The tales within A Measure of Malice recall the slower simpler times of the mid-1900s. Many of these stories are interesting more for their view of an unimaginable past than as a mystery to be solved by an armchair detective. As long as you are fine with that, you will enjoy reading these lost tales. They are perfect for a short break from work. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars!

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.