＊2018 年麦卡维蒂奖（Macavity Award）最佳非小说得主
＊2018 年安东尼奖（Anthony Awards）最佳评论/非文学书类入围
 
如果你在找有趣的书，这本可能不适合。但是，如果你想找一本将英式经典犯罪小说资讯汇集成册的书，那你选对了！
 
本书讲述了二十世纪上半叶出版的犯罪小说。这种类型的小说非常受欢迎，其多样性令人叹为观止，真要说的话，评论家低估了犯罪小说。为了还犯罪小说一个公道，这位精通经典犯罪小说的专家，探讨了一百本书，其中包括《巴斯克维尔的猎犬》（The Hound of the Baskervilles）与《火车怪客》（Strangers on a Train），着重分析了这些小说中的娱乐情结、文学成就以及复古犯罪小说蕴含的社会意义。
 
 这本书是大英图书馆经典犯罪小说系列的导读，但是它不仅仅是一本导读，它说的是完全不一样的故事，其用明了易读、讯息丰富且引人入胜的写作风格，说明了犯罪小说的发展，从福尔摩斯到黄金时代的终结。
 
喜欢经典犯罪小说的读者绝对会有新发现，而且还能了解到一些已经被人遗忘畅销作者及他们的珍贵作品。就算是已经广读犯罪小说的老读者，也能在此书中找到他们不熟悉的书和以往没有注意到，且意想不到的细节。
 
本书好评
"Written as a companion to the British Library's Crime Classics series of reprints, this descriptive critical catalogue of 100 crime and mystery novels (mostly British) published in the first half of the 20th century is irresistible for aficionados and a reliable reading list for newcomers. Edwards' picks, most published during detective fiction's golden age between the two world wars, range chronologically from Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) to Julian Symons's The 31st of February(1950) and include, in addition to many of the usual suspects, a few outliers sure to enliven debates among diehard fans. He groups his selections into 24 chapters that cover numerous aspects of the literature - the great detectives, the fair-play mystery (epitomized by Ronald Knox's The Body in the Silo), the miraculous or locked-room mystery (a specialty of John Dickson Carr), country house and manor murder mysteries, and so on - and whose ordering shows classic tropes giving way to newer approaches more resonant with modern times. A crime novelist in his own right, Edwards (The Golden Age of Murder) brings a specialist's discerning eye to discussions of each book's significance, and without giving away key plot points. This is an exemplary reference book sure to lead readers to gems of mystery and detective fiction." (Starred review) (Publishers Weekly)
 
"Edwards follows his Edgar-winning The Golden Age of Murder (2015) with another study of primarily classical detective fiction, this one presented as a companion to the British Library Crime Classics series, also published in the US by Poisoned Pen...Most of the subject books are covered in a couple of pages, including plot summary, critical assessment, biographical notes and other sidelights, and historical significance. Edwards is an excellent guide as always, presenting new insight and information even on authors and books I thought I knew well." (Mystery Scene Magazine)
 
"The book is engagingly written, allowing for the reader to maybe not have much knowledge of the classic crime stories, especially the older ones, but it is quite inspiring and you can see Martin Edwards' passion shining through in the text. This is definitely a great addition to the collection and would make a great starting point for any of you who don't know the best place to start." (Matthew Barnes Carpe Libris)
 
"An 'unashamedly idiosyncratic' checklist from prolific novelist/editor/genre historian Edwards (The Dungeon House, 2015, etc.).As readers will expect from the editor of the British Library Crime Classics series, the lion's share of these 100 brief program notes, which read like a collection of prefaces, concern mystery novels published in England between the world wars. Even the most quarrelsome readers, their blood pressures duly raised, will take comfort in comprehensive indexes that list (though they give no page references for) titles and authors that didn't make the top 100." (Kirkus Reviews)
 
关于作者
MARTIN EDWARDS 是一位获奖的犯罪小说作家，他最出名的两套系列小说以利物浦和湖区为场景。他是大英图书馆经典犯罪小说系列的顾问、犯罪小说作家协会的副主席以及英国推理作家协会（Detection Club）的会长。他于2015年出版的The Golden Age of Murder是第一本针对推理作家协会的研究，这本书在国际间大获好评，且获得当年度爱伦坡奖和阿嘉莎奖（Agatha Award）的提名。