I didn't like reading this at all. I have read three other works by Chesterton, all of which I didn't like very much. I am not a great fan of detective stories, and I hadn't liked his Father Brown stories. The concept of each of these seven stories is kind of complex: the action takes place in a strange, bewildering (a weird guild), the detective is an ideosyncratic, puzzling person and the problem of each story is a mystery which is to be solved.

However, it must be said that perhaps I wasn't fully concentrated because I was travelling, and that's why perhaps I should read this slim work another time, just to be fair. ( )

So much fun. Basil Grant always figures things out way ahead of any of the other characters, and generally before the reader (except in the case of the elms, it has to be admitted). The idea is simple - there are many, many clubs in London, but the most interesting of all is the club of queer trades, of forms of gainful employment that are in some way unique. Each chapter explores another of these companies, though the secret to that company must be figured out like a Sherlock Holmes riddle. Very inventive. ( )

I like it Vocation people get involved in that only they could ever carry out. A nice ending to the whole story. ( )

Would recommend to someone who has already read and liked Chesterton's "Father Brown" stories and/or "The Man who was Thursday" and still not sure if they would like this. I pretty much did but it strikes me as more "dated" and strangely worded than other Victorian literature. The oddness makes it a little off-putting but also makes it interesting & unique. ( )

Murderous florists
convoluted dinner plans
Sherlock Holmes, he's not. ( )