The Measure of Malice: Scientific Detection Stories

The Measure of Malice is a well curated anthology of forensic detective fiction. Released 4th Feb 2020 by Poisoned Pen Press, it's 336 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

For me, one of the biggest draws of these anthologies is the erudite and always interesting introductions by editor Martin Edwards, both to the anthology itself and to each of the individual stories. Mr. Edwards has a prodigious knowledge of the genre and writes engagingly and well.

Well written, this entry and the series as a whole are well worth seeking out. This would make a superlative selection for readers of the genre as well as an introduction to classic crime fiction from early  . I love that these collections have some titans of the genre (Sayers, Doyle, Crispin) alongside lesser known but worthy authors. The stories are arranged in roughly chronological order from the Victorian through the modern era.

This would make a superlative choice for commute reading or short interludes.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.