A Treasury of Great Mysteries, Volume 2 by Howard Haycraft

A Treasury of Great Mysteries, Volume 2 Reviews

• 
  Mehedi Sarwar

  This the second volume of the mystery collection. It contains couple of novels and some short stories. I already read the novels before but the short stories were the real gem. If you like classic mysteries then you will like the stories.
• 
  Jerry

  I’ve been wanting to read some good traditional mysteries, and when I saw that this collection starts out with Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep—which I actually had in my hand to purchase when I saw this Treasury—I immediately picked it up.
  
  Chandler’s an amazing writer, though he tends to cycle from brilliant and innovative metaphor to clichés. (Though, for all I know, he created the clichés, I doubt he created all of them.) Starting the collection with Chandler must have drew many readers to buy the book, but it also made the rest of the stories, except the final one, fall a bit flat.
  
  The last story is Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, which is beautifully written, though also much like watching a neurotic train derail itself. The narrator, much later in her life, is describing how her then-new husband came under suspicion for the murder of his first wife; except that that isn’t at all what the book is about. It’s more a gothic romance than a mystery.
  
  The middle stories are short stories, a Lord Peter Whimsy by Dorothy L. Sayers; a Saint by Leslie Charteris; a very strange short story by Ngaio Marsh; a Nero Wolfe by Rex Stout; a slightly humorous story by Stuart Palmer and Craig Rice about a slightly shady lawyer, John J. Malone; and an old-style guy-gets-the girl-during-mystery by Carter Dickson. They make a decent representation of the state of mystery stories of the time.
  
  If I see Volume I I’ll definitely pick it up.
• 
  Jason McCuiston

  This anthology started strong with Raymond Chandler's gritty Noir classic The Big Sleep, then moved into more "cozy" territory with stories from well-known franchise detectives like Nero Wolfe, John J. Malone, Simon Templar, and Lord Peter Whimsey, before screeching to a halt with the self-indulgent Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. I gave up on this snoozer after I got halfway through the second chapter and the only name I'd come across was that of a remembered dog -- plenty of weather, scenery, and atmosphere, but no characters whatsoever, nor the hint of a plot, for that matter.
  
  Though the last installment in the collection was not for me, I absolutely loved the opener, and found myself enjoying the other stories to varying degrees. In all honesty, this book was my first literary introduction to Nero Wolfe, The Saint, and Lord Peter Whimsey, and their stories were quite entertaining.
  
  Mystery fans will probably enjoy this one a bit more than I did as that is not my preferred genre. I think the book is a great study of the history of 20th-Century detective stories.
• 
  Alan

  I think if you're interested in the history of mystery fiction, and this includes some of its most famous characters, then this two volume set is probably a good introduction for a reader. For me, it leaned a bit heavily on the British/cozy type of tales that are not really my favorite form of this type of fiction.
  
  Passing notice is give to American work with the inclusion of the Philip Marlowe novel The Big Sleep and a Nero Wolfe tale. The Wolfe story in the second volume is probably my favorite in that book, as I enjoyed the interaction among the Archie, Nero and the other players in the mystery.
  
  The Peter Wimsey and Hildegarde Withers stories are ok.
  
  But, really I think this two volume set is more for those interested in the past and I would recommend reading more current mysteries after this to see how the genre has evolved.
  
  
• 
  Jenny

  Volume 2 was a mixed bag. I reviewed The Big Sleep separately since it has been on my TBR list a number of years and is the main reason I picked up these volumes. I couldn’t grab volume 2 and just let volume 1 sit there lonely at the library book sale.
  
  Starting with the best: Instead of Evidence is my first introduction to Rex Stout. Loved his character Archie. Funny, snappy dialogue and seemed to age better than some detective fiction.
  
  And the not so good: The Man Who Explained Miracles by Carter Dickson is possibly the worst short story I’ve ever read. Many detective stories rely on some convenient coincidences to move the plot along. This one relied on complete strangers trusting each other with minute details of their personal lives on first acquaintance….made worse by a misguided romance angle.
  
  Rebecca was also included but I did not reread at this time. Great book
• 
  Marlene Chabot

  I'm so glad I found this anthology. Great mystery authors have contributed short stories for this book. Some authors were familiar to me like Raymond Chandler, Rex Stout, and Daphne du Maurier. New to me were Dorothy L. Sayers and Carter Dickenson. Daphne du Maurier's story titled "Rebecca" I personally felt dragged on too long, although when you finally get around to the ending you'll be totally surprised how everything turns out. And isn't that what a good mystery is all about.
• 
  Sheila Myers

  I always wonder how editors create anthologies with "great" in the title and then choose which stories they think fit that category. A few within this book I would rate as great, most are very good, and few are good.
• 
  Vicki

  A lot of great mysteries!
• 
  Serena

  Philip Marlowe 01
  the Big Sleep by
  Raymond Chandler ****
  Lord Peter Wimsey] the Bone of Contention by
  Dorothy L Sayers *****
  Saint] the Arrow of God by
  Leslie Charteris *****
  Roderick Alleyn] I Can Find My Way Out by
  Ngaio Marsh *****
  Nero Wolfe]
  Instead of Evidence by
  Rex Stout *****
  Rift in the Loot by
  Stuart Palmer ****
  Sir Henry Merrivale] the Man Who Explained Miracles by
  Carter Dickson ****
  
  Rebecca by
  Daphne du Maurier ****
  
  My Rating System:
  * couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
• 
  Kathy Sebesta

  This is a 1957 collection (volume 2 no less) of mysteries the authors think are great. OK, if you've never read Chandler's The Big Sleep or duMarier's Rebecca, go ahead and pick up the volume; they take up almost 3/4 of the book anyway. Everything else inside is entirely forgettable.