The Mammoth Book of Dickensian Whodunnits

contentsIntroduction: Dickensian Crimes, Mike Ashley The Marshalsea Handicap, Gillian Linscott The Three-legged Cat of Great Clatterden, Mary Reed and Eric Mayer Murder in Murray’s Court, David Stuart Davies The Leaping Lover, Kage Baker The End of Little Nell, Robert Barnard Encounter in the Dark, F. Gwynplaine Maclntyre The Lord No Zoo, Deirdre Counihan The Bartered Child, Charles Todd The Little Christian, Rebecca Tope The Fiery Devil, Peter Tremayne The Divine Nature, Kate Ellis I Encounter an Old Friend and a New Mystery, Derek Wilson Awaiting the Dawn, Marilyn Todd The Letter, Joan Lock Not Cricket, Judith Cutler Tom Wasp and the Swell Mob, Amy Myers Miss Havisham’s Revenge, Alanna Knight The Prints of the Beast, Michael Pearce The Mystery of Canute Villa, Martin Edwards Watchful Unto Death, Hilary BonnerThe Tidal, Michael Ryan The Thorn of Anxiety, Edward MarstonReviews"'Miss Havisham's Revenge' by Alanna Knight, in which we discover the part Estella Havisham played in the fate of Bentley Drummle'Murder in Murray's Court' by David Stuart Davies, in which Oliver Twist has to help the Artful Dodger who has been accused of murder 'The Thorn of Anxiety' by Keith Miles, in which the mystery of Edwin Drood is at last solved 'The Divine Nature' by Kate Ellis, in which David Copperfield finds himself investigating the disappearance of Edward Murdstone 'The Letter' by Joan Lock, in which the skills of Inspector Bucket are once again put to the test in solving a crime that apparently never happened.Charles Dickens created some of the most memorable characters in English literature and was also a larger-than-life individual himself, a champion of the underdog. The anthology presents a mix of specially commissioned new stories and lesser known reprints, by writers such as Hilary Bonner, Anne Perry, Charles Todd, Kate Ellis, Alanna Knight, Martin Edwards and Gillian Linscott. Many of the stories feature one or more of Dickens's characters, as a sleuth or as the victim of crime. Others are set in Dickens's real life with him investigating a crime or people closely associated with him, such as Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell or Hablot Browne — including during his tours of America. Oliver Twist and the Artful Dodger meet up again in later years to solve an age-old crime. Just what became of the convict that frightened young Pip in Great Expectations? Was he really guilty, or framed? Inspector Bucket from Bleak House finds himself up against the greatest criminal mind of his day.