This book is essentially a memoir of detective stories, written by an Edinburgh policeman a few years before Arthur Conan Doyle began his medical studies in Edinburgh in the mid-19th century. He was one of the first writers of the true crime genre, and all of his stories are of his own experiences catching thieves at their own game.
I can't claim to be a huge crime writer, and all of these stories are more like vignettes than full proper stories, without a lot of suspense about whodunnit or any of that. The writing is thick and quite a bit denser than modern prose, but it definitely paints a picture of Edinburgh back in the day, and the narrator's pov is clear and distinct. Like a lot of short story collections, some of the stories are stronger than others, but the best of this bunch are really compelling and capture the era for the modern reader. I've been reading a lot of historical fiction written well after the fact, so it was nice to get to read something historical that was written during the time.
Grade: B
I can't claim to be a huge crime writer, and all of these stories are more like vignettes than full proper stories, without a lot of suspense about whodunnit or any of that. The writing is thick and quite a bit denser than modern prose, but it definitely paints a picture of Edinburgh back in the day, and the narrator's pov is clear and distinct. Like a lot of short story collections, some of the stories are stronger than others, but the best of this bunch are really compelling and capture the era for the modern reader. I've been reading a lot of historical fiction written well after the fact, so it was nice to get to read something historical that was written during the time.
Grade: B
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