Reviews

Veteran anthologist Dalby follows up Ghosts for Christmas with a delightful collection of British Yuletide mysteries notable for its Victorian flavor and its solid, often stellar entries by masters of detective fiction. Arthur Conan Doyle's classic ``The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle'' shows Sherlock Holmes's softer side, as he tries to balance compassion with justice in solving the theft of a valuable jewel. Agatha Christie's country spinster Miss Marple exhibits her remarkable powers of deductive reasoning in ``A Christmas Tragedy,'' about a naive wife who is oblivous to her husband's attempts to kill her for her money. Wilkie Collins's early novella ``Mr. Wray's Cash Box,'' which he wrote expressly for the Christmas of 1852, exhibits the high drama and exuberant spirit that mark his later works. Thomas Hardy's brooding ``The Grave by the Handpost,'' also written specifically for holiday publication, explores a tormented father-son relationship. Many once popular but now forgotten writers make appearances here--and their work still gives pleasure. The unconventional Loveday Brooke, the first female detective in the annals of crime literature, solves a daring robbery in C. L. Pirkis's ``The Black Bag Left on a Doorstep.'' if too long, change the ff. sent to: Also of note are ``The Ghost's Touch'' by Fergus Hume and H.C. Bailey's ``The Unknown Murderer,'' which Reggie Fortune, popular fictional detective in the 1920s.db ``The Ghost's Touch,'' Fergus Hume's narrative about familial greed and deception, is excellent, as is H. C. Bailey's ``The Unknown Murderer,'' which features Reggie Fortune, a popular fictional detective in the 1920s. Never repetitive or dull, this thoughtfully compiled anthology makes terrific holiday reading. (Dec.)