A welcome addition to early English detective fiction anthologies. Unlike scholars who date the birth of the genre to Poe's "The murders in the Rue Morgue," Davis starts with an earlier short story, "The secret cell" by Poe's nemesis, William Evans Burton. That tale remains enjoyable today, with its dramatic account of the search for a missing 17-year-old servant, who stood to inherit a fortune from her employer. Other solid entries will also be new...