Whodunits

The Mammoth Book of New Historical Whodunits (2005, 2006)

Edited by Mike Ashley

This is an odd collection of short stories spanning 3,000 years of murder.

It is also an uneven collection. Some of the stories are very good, others not so good.

It starts, not at the beginning of the chronological order, but with a Templar during the crusades.

From there, it goes back to the earliest tale, featuring the Queen of Sheba, then through ancient Assyria, Egypt, Rome, and Celtic Ireland.

The stories then jump to the European Middle Ages, then to the mathematician Fibonacci, Chaucer, Prince Henry the Navigator, and witch trials.

Then the stories jump to colonial America and issues of slavery, Benedict Arnold, and Ben Franklin.

Then to Edinburgh, Australia, England, and then back to America.

Then to the Deep South for another story involving slavery, then back to England, then back to Australia.

The book ends with a story that features British and Nazi agents aboard the Titanic.

My favorite stories were:

The Serpent's Back by Ian Rankin (Cullender in Edinburgh)

The Abolitionist by Lynda S. Robinson (Temple Forbes of Texas visits cousins in the Deep South)

The Gentleman on the Titanic by John Lutz (double agent Kolb/Wick sacrifices his own life to foil Nazi agents)