Track down classic, time-tested mystery stories

There are some mystery authors who withstand the test of time: Their works remain ageless despite the modern technical inventions of cell phones, boom boxes, and personal computers. The mysteries I feature below are short story collections, although at least two of the authors are known for their full-length tales. I prefer the short stories, as they are tighter, cleaner, and thriftier with words and action. Some I discovered as a teenager—others much later. But all of these books are enjoyable and quite satisfying.

Does anyone not know of Simon Templar (”the Saint”), as elegantly presented by Leslie Charteris? This “modern Robin Hood,” as he has been called, steps outside the bounds—or at least to the limits—of the law to mete justice on his own terms. The stories are timeless, as evidenced by The Bunco Artists and five other tales in the collection Thanks to the Saint. The first edition of this little volume was published in 1957, although the Saint stepped onto the scene 29 years earlier. The author wrote prolifically and over a number of years, so there will be many tales to hold your attention. The volume I have suggested here is but one of them.

In 1923, Lord Peter Wimsey entered the mystery world as an educated and worldly young man of notable lineage who was capable of solving crime. Dorothy L. Sayers, extremely gifted and learned herself, wrote engagingly of a gentleman born with the proverbial silver spoon, but distinguished more by his thought processes than his ancestry. The entire collection of short stories appears in the tome Lord Peter: The Complete Lord Peter Wimsey Stories, which I acquired many years past and is now falling to pieces. I refuse to part with it.

Of a calm and careful nature, Father Brown appeared as a solver of crime in 1911, almost a century past. He is gentle and appears deceptively simple, but only because he sees so clearly; he is perceptive. I discovered these works by G.K. Chesterton in high school, and have my own copy of The Complete Father Brown, which contains the contents of all five books (all short stories) in one volume. It has been years since I read these, and I am no doubt due to read them again.

These books remain as classic mysteries and still delight readers. They certainly delight me, and I got lost several times in them while writing this review, which no doubt explains why it takes me so very long to write these meanderings. I urge you to try the books I have mentioned as they are still clever and remarkably timeless.