Continuing Mike Ashley's exploration of female pioneers of genre fiction, this volume concentrates on mystery and crime stories.

The book's working title was The Mysterious Sex and given its predecessors were The Dreaming Sex: Early Tales of Scientific Imagination by Women and The Darker Sex: Tales of the Supernatural and Macabre by Victorian Women Writers, I'm not sure why the publishers chose to break the pattern and use the less evocative, Sisters in Crime. A mystery in itself, but one which need not detain us...

Levison's Victim by Mary E. Braddon (published 1870): Braddon is an Ashley favourite, and this opening story doesn't disappoint. A fairly simple plot without much in the way of shocks or surprise, but satisfyingly atmospheric.

Oh! What's it about? Sundered lovers and revenge! (3.5 stars)

Going Through the Tunnel by Ellen Wood (published 1869): A story of railway thievery in a closed carriage. A light-hearted story with amusing characterisations (Squire Todhetley has a savour of Mr Pickwick about him), though I felt the ending somewhat of a let-down. Ashley says that Wood wrote about 80 stories involving the same principle characters, so possibly there was a sequel to this episode which provided a more satisfactory conclusion. If not, perhaps a different tale from their adventures might have been better suited as a standalone anthology selection. (3 stars)

Mr Furbush by Harriet E. Prescott (published 1865): I enjoyed this story very much. It's a 'cold case' investigation, Detective Furbush following occasional leads long after the public and the rest of the police have forgotten the sensational events of the index murder. Prescott's Detective also uses sophisticated scientific methods in the form of photographic enlargements in a scene that felt like a steampunk reimagining of Rick Deckard's examination of Leon Kowalski's photos in the film Blade Runner (it isn't in the slightest steampunk, though, that's just me making spurious connections). Good old-fashioned chance and coincidence help the plot along, and the dénouement is not altogether predictable, with Prescott wrapping things up nicely. (4 stars)

Traces of Crime by Mary Fortune (published 1865): Ashley's biographical sketch of Fortune sets her as something of a mystery, her identity as the writer of this, and several hundred other, stories having been established only in the 1980s. Having stated that her early stories are generally of poor quality, Ashley goes on to say that this offering is one from the start of her writing career, so I was not expecting much from it. I was pleasantly suprised, though, as it is a decent 'police procedural', with the detective reporting on his case in the first person.

The setting amongst the miners and prospectors in an Australian outback gold field is reminiscent of, though antecedent to, some of Conan Doyle's Holmes mysteries. The initial crime which sets him on the trail of the perpetrator is delicately not specified, but is clearly a brutal sexual assault. With little to go on, the unnamed detective goes undercover to track down his man, turning up further violent crime as he goes. (3.5 stars)

The House of Clocks by Anna Katherine Green (published 1915). A mystery of the 'Old Dark House' variety, with a more sinister version of the Miss Haversham type of old-lady recluse, an innocent girl in danger and a doddery old butler (who actually isn't a butler in this story) who speaks and acts in riddles. Although seemingly composed of stock tropes and clichés, there's a good gothic feel to it all that makes it rather fun to read. (3 stars)

The Polish Refugee by Elizabeth Corbett (published 1891): A somewhat slight mystery. Perhaps the revelation was more shocking at the time it was written. (2.5 stars)

The Long Arm by Mary E. Wilkins (published 1895): Easily the best story in the book so far! Multiple suspects; multiple motives; a locked-room-mystery: clues abound, but how do they fit together? An interesting, quirky detective, but one who isn't just a collection of personality tics, despite the necessary brevity of a stand-alone short story. The final discovery of the murderer and their motivation is well-handled. (4 stars)

The Redhill Sisterhood by C.L. Pirkis (published 1893): There are some nice period touches in this story, giving something of an insight into Victorian life outside of metropolitan London. Some of the plot twists enhance the effect of the mystery, however the author's witholding of certain information from the reader renders the final revelation somewhat unsatisfying, though not disasterously so. (3 stars)

The Villa of Simpkins by Arabella Kenealy (published 1896): Kenealy's aristocratic sleuth, Lord Syfret, is interesting in his dilettante appproach to the detection of the mystery: it seems to be more annoyance at not being able to explain to himself the nature of the puzzle that, at least initially, motivates him, though when later he apprehends the seriousness of the situation he acts in earnest. The malefactor's modus operandi is rather contrived and almost designed to ultimately give him away, but I found the tragic outcome of his plotting something of a surprise, steering the tale away from the reefs of predictability upon which it seemed doomed to be wrecked. (3 stars)

The Warder of the Door by L.T. Meade (published 1897): This story could easily sit with the cases of Carnacki the Ghost-Finder by William Hope Hodgson, which is high praise from me as Hodgson is one of my favourite authors. Delightfully gothic - an ancient family curse; the spectre of death and doom haunting the corridors of a time-worn mansion; a hidden crypt and its baleful contents. My only criticism is the mechanism by which the curse is found to operate, though this is a minor detraction from an otherwise excellent story.

This, it turned out, was my favorite story in the collection. (4 stars)

The Tragedy of the Doll by Lucy G. Moberly (published 1903): Hmm, I didn't really take to this story, which telegraphs at least part of its 'mystery' at the outset, and develops little of interest (to me, anyway) as it goes along. (2.5 stars)

A Point of Testimony by Carolyn Wells (published 1911): The collection ends with a fine murder mystery, and a detective with an unusual and amusing affectation. Bert Bayliss knows that every good detective has a sidekick to whom they can expound their theories and deductions, but while he has a wide circle of acquaintances, Bayliss has no close friend in whom he can confide. Solution? Mr Harris, his imaginary friend, who, unsurprisingly, considers Bayliss to be a very fine detective!

The story is interesting, and the clue which unlocks the mystery is punningly alluded to in the title. (4 stars)

On the whole a worthwhile read, averaging 3.3 stars, which I'm be happy to round up to 3.5. ( )