Dark Detectives: An Anthology of Supernatural Mysteries

Although all the stories collected here involve the same subject, psychic detectives, they are diverse in mood and storytelling. Even if you've read any of these stories before, as I have, it's best to read this collection from cover to cover as a whole. There is also some great stuff here that I'd never heard of before like the Brian Mooney and Jay Russell tales. The whole book is weird fiction, and some of it is quite dark, but Jones places the comic relief at just the right moments. I only wish he would have included one of Seabury Quinn's Jules de Grandin stories; most of which have never been reprinted since their original publication in Weird Tales. Newman's wraparound story alone is worth the price, simply because, like so many great British authors, most of his work hasn't seen U.S. print.

This is a group of mostly newer detective stories. But these aren't your average private eyes; these people del in the supernatural and occult.Among the authors represented are Clive Barker, William Hope Hodgson, Manly Wade Wellman, Neil Gaiman, Brian Lumley and Basil Copper. In seventh century Ireland, a rural innkeeper and his wife are being terrorized by unnatural noises. A story set in rural England early in the 1900s has a wonderful title, "The Adventure of the Crawling Horror." What looks like a grandfather clock with four hands, and strange symbols where the numbers should be, actually has a much more hellish purpose. Another story has to do with John Wayne supposedly being buried in a pink dress. Kim Newman contributes a multi-part short novel about a fist-sized ruby with the power to destroy mankind. I am not much of a mystery or supernatural reader, but I really enjoyed these stories. They work as detective stories, and the occult part is sufficiently strange. This is well worth reading.

Dark Detectives stands out in both the mystery and fantasy horror fields as an exceptional collection recommended for any who've enjoyed the writings of psychic sleuths such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or William Hope Hodgson. The genre is mystery/detective but the objects of investigation are all influenced by the supernatural and the many stories by Basil Copper, Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman and others present detectives who must uncover the truth behind these haunting.

Another splendid anthology from Stephen Jones, this time presenting a chronological collection of detective stories with a supernatural bent ranging from Peter Tremayne's Sister Fidelma through to Clive Barker's Harry D'Amour, with stories by Basil Copper, Ron Chetwynd-Hayes and Jay Russell amongst others along the way. Tying the whole thing together is a serial by Kim Newman - 'The Seven Stars', episodes of which are interposed between the other stories in this collection. Anyone who likes the idea of noirish detective stories embroiled in the murky world of old books, mystical incantations and large unpleasant slimy things living at the bottom of pits will love this. I certainly did.