The Long Arm of the Law: Classic Police Stories - Paperback

by Martin Edwards (Editor)

Mystery crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder

"Tired of newspaper headlines that accuse cops of malfeasance or worse? Veteran editor Edwards has the perfect antidote: 15 reprints of stories from 1908 to 1966 showing English police officers at (generally) their most sterling." --Kirkus Reviews

In classic British crime fiction, dazzling detective work is often the province of a brilliant amateur--whereas the humble police detective cuts a hapless figure. The twelve stories collected here strike a blow for the professionals, with teasing mysteries to challenge a hard-working police officer's persistence and scrupulous attention to detail. As in his previous anthologies for the British Library Crime Classics series, Martin Edwards introduces readers to fascinating neglected gems of British crime writing as well as uncovering lesser-known stories by the great novelists of the golden age. Each of these stories combines realism with entertainment, skilfully blending the conduct of a criminal investigation with a compelling murder-mystery plot.

Author Biography

MARTIN EDWARDS is an award-winning crime writer best known for two series of novels set in Liverpool and the Lake District. He is a series consultant for British Library Crime Classics, Chair of the Crime Writers' Association, and President of the Detection Club. The Golden Age of Murder, his study of the Detection Club, was published in 2015 to international acclaim, and won the Edgar, Agatha, H.R.F. Keating and Macavity awards for the year's best book about the genre.