Death By Dickens (ISBN 0425199479)

This Book Met Its Great Expectations:
Death by Dickens is a worthy companion to Anne Perry's previous anthology Much Ado About Murder. In this case the stories are based on the novels of Charles Dickens. Two of the stories are based on A Christmas Carol, including my favorite, A Stake of Holly, in which a dying Scrooge, 19 years after the events of the novel, charges Tim Cratchitt to discover the earthly identities of the three Ghosts. As he investigates, he uncovers a diabolical murder. Two are based on A Tale of Two Cities. In Death in Dover the crime is solved by a well-known character from another novel. Sidney Carton is the detective in Anne Perry's story A Tale of One City, in which Marat & Robespierre play roles. There are two Great Expectations Tales, two from the Pickwick Papers, one modern-day story revolving around an Oliver Twist manuscript, and two in which Dickens himself is the detective, once with his friend and fellow author Wilkie Collins and the other with his son-in-law (and Wilkie's brother) Charles Collins. You don't have to know Dickens to enjoy these stories, which are to be read, re-read, and savored.

Perry's short story collection triumphs again!:
As if Anne Perry isn't creative enough as a novelist, she apparently enjoys editing anthologies, and readers are better off for it. Her latest collection, in which she modestly contributes one of the stories, "Death by Dickens" is a delightful read, especially for Dickens fans (or any ninth grader who's suffered through "Great Expectations"!). It's not so esoteric, however, that even if there's a reader who's not familiar with Charles Dickens, the stories, eleven in all, are noteworthy and readworthy. Dickens' writings often were characterized by heavy socially significant themes ("Oliver Twist," "A Christmas Carol," and many others) and the authors of these stories don't forget that aspect of Dickens. Murder becomes the significant theme (what else-it's edited by Anne Perry!) and each of these writers have skillfully incorporated Dickens' own characters and settings into their own plot developments. A favorite, and written by Perry herself, is "A Tale of One City" (in which she uses Sydney Carton to "save the day," as it were). Bill Crider's "Mr. Pickwick vs. the Body Snatchers" is probably the best, although Peter Tremayne's "The Passing Shadow" (in which he teams up Willie Collins and Charles Dickens to investigate-and solve-a particularly grisly murder, is also superb. But the others are just as worth reading. Short stories are generally not what I read, but sometimes a collection comes along that's worth reading-and Ms Perry's done it again. (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)

Perfection for the mystery fan!:
Anne Perry is at the top of her game as a mystery novelist-and her true genius shows as editor of this creative endeavor! Quite clever to expand on the Dickens Classics-each writer who contributes shines-and it allows readers to sample the cream of the crop. Great read, makes a wonderful gift for the classics collector, and mystery lover!

TakeOffs On the Dickens Repertorie...:
In tribute to Charles Dickens, these mystery writers lend their imaginative writings to his theme of the human quest for justice of the underprivileged. We are all familiar with A CHRISTMAS CAROL and the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge; in this collection, Lillian Stewart Carl, whose specialties are ghost stories and fantasy which she weaves in this short feature called "A Stake of Holly" presents her view of the three spirits and how they save the soul of a modern-day Scrooge. A clever production adapted by David McCann is currently being enacted at the Clarence Brown Theatre, presenting the nighttime journey with the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future (with a darling Tiny Tim) until Christmas eve -- a season favorite. "Scrogged: A Cyber Christmas Carol" by Carole Nelson Douglas, about a modern Scrooge, Ben Scorggs, put me in mind of Bill Murray's 'Scrooged' film of a few years back. She wrote THE HOLLY AND THE IVY and CAT IN AN ORANGE TWIST. "Next Christmas at Dingley Dell" by Gillian Linscott and "Mr. Pickwick" by Bill Crider incorporate some Dickens characters. "Mr. Pickwick had been dreaming of something peaceful and lovely, like Dingley Dell in the springtime...." He and his wife were nominated for an Anthoony for their collaborative story, "At the Hop," and they won the award in 2002 for their story, "Choclate Moose." There is murder, mystery, detection in all eleven stories on which the authors used the premise, "Who the Dickens done it?" and "The plot Dickens..." Other writers include Martin Edwards, P. N. Elrod, Marcia Talley, Carolyn Wheat, Brendon DuBois, and Peter Tremayne. In the introduction, Anne Perry asks "Was there ever a writer who created a finer variety of characters young and old, villainous and heroic, tragid and comical?" Dickens' books abound with color, variety, and emotion. With her short "A Tale of One City," she and the rest took liberties with a few of his characters "all in the cause of ...entertaining the reader and keeping his creations, his city, and his times alive." Two of her books about this time of year are A CHRISTMAS VISITOR and A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY.