Murder in Bright Red

 Murder in Bright Red (1953) by Frances Crane

While Pat and Jean Abbott are visiting relatives, murder strikes. Honestly, if I heard the Abbotts were visiting anywhere within 50 miles of me, I'd be going on a little trip myself...anywhere as long as it was far, far away. Sally Carroll, an airline hostess that Pat and Jean (especially Pat, who travels often in his job as a private investigator) know slightly, has just become suspect number one in shooting death of her ex-fiance, Charley Pryor. Never mind that Charley jilted her a few years ago, has since married someone else, and Sally hasn't been pining away for him all this time. She was the last one seen with him at the country club, is sporting a black eye from the encounter, and gave his face a good scratching. 

Pat dives into the investigation and learns that Charley wasn't exactly beloved by all. There's a number of people who won't be sad that he's not among the living anymore--including his current wife. Just as he's beginning to track down clues, Pat suddenly becomes persona non grata--nobody wants him poking his nose into the case anymore--not Sally, not Philip Williams who made the call to Pat on Sally's behalf, not the cousin and heir of Charley Pryor, and especially not the Sheriff. Fortunately, the State Police Lieutenant doesn't mind a little help from an outsider and they work together to search for answers

But somebody really wants the Abbotts to go away. Pat is shot at by a man who's supposed to be helping, he winds up in a fist-fight, and Jean is nearly abandoned in an old well. Somebody tries to run them off the road and the Sheriff tries to run them out of town. Pat has a plan to catch the killer but will he be able to do so before the murderer claims more victims?

Not my favorite of the Abbott mysteries I've read. I couldn't really see the motives--both the motive for Pat being so invested in the mystery or the motive for the culprit. I latched onto the right person early on; primarily because they seemed to be so darn helpful for no apparent reason. But I don't think Crane did a good job conveying any clues that would tell us why they committed the crime. The reason makes sense when you know what it is, but you only know because Pat says it's so in the wrap-up. We didn't really see much in the way of detecting going on and what clues that did come to light seemed to do so accidentally. And...the whole subtext of Jean's jealousy was unnecessary. We're sixteen books into this series; I think we're all pretty clear that Pat must be crazy about her (otherwise he wouldn't keep her around to meddle in his cases). She should be too. ★★ and 1/2

First line: The telephone rang.

Last line: My husband gave me  one-eyed love look and said, "Are you crazy?"
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Deaths = three shot

Dead Man's Mirror

 Dead Man's Mirror (Murder in the Mews; 1937) by Agatha Christie

Short collection of three novellas--one of many variations of US editions of the original collection, Murder in the Mews. We see various themes which Christie liked to use in her stories--from the clues that Poirot finds important that Riddle, Japp, and other officials tend to brush off or overlook--to the beautiful woman as victim (in the vein of Evil Under the Sun or Death on the Nile). Christie is still the master of misdirection and it's easy to look where she wants you to look rather than at the genuine clues. ★★★★

"Dead Man's Mirror": Poirot is summoned by Gervase Chevenix-Gore to come and help him with a delicate family matter. But there is no time for the men to meet because just after Poirot arrives at Hamborough Close, his host's body is discovered in the body. On the face of it, it is suicide--doors and window locked, the gun just below the man's hand, and a note with the word "Sorry." Poirot, however, believes the room tells a different story and works to prove that murder has occurred. As he tells Major Riddle, the Chief Constable, everything depends on the mirror....

"Murder in the Mews": A second locked room mystery in this collection. Mrs. Allen, a young widow, is found shot to death in her locked sitting/bedroom in the flat she shares with a friend. The gun is in her hand--but again, suicide is impossible. The gun is in her right hand--she was shot in the left temple. Though the gun is in her hand, it wasn't gripped firmly enough to produce fingerprints. And then there's the cigarettes and the enamel from a man's cufflink. Japp sees murder and thinks he's got his man. But Poirot sees other clues that point in a different direction...

"Triangle at Rhodes": While vacationing at Rhodes during the slow season, Poirot becomes involved in 
a murder resulting from a love triangle that seems to focus on Valentine Chantray--a beautiful young woman who attracts young men like bees to flowers. When Valentine is poisoned in an apparent murder gone wrong, Poirot reveals that everyone has been looking a the wrong triangle...

1st line (first story): The flat was a modern one.

Last line (last story): "She chose--to remain..."
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Deaths = 7 (four natural; two shot; one poisoned)

Murder Enters the Picture

 Murder Enters the Picture (1942) by Willetta Ann Barber & R. F. Schabelitz

Christopher "Kit" Storm is a moderately successful commercial artist who also does portraits and acts as an artistic consultant to the New York Police Department. He regularly assists his friend, Captain Tony Shand with sketches of the crime scenes as well as the suspects interviewed. And has gotten more intimately involved in more recent cases (see my review of Murder Draws a Line) But he and his new bride, Sheridan (Sherry), are off on their honeymoon--little suspecting that a plea from Sherry's aunt will embroil them even more deeply in murder than ever before.

Sherry's Aunt Mattie asks the couple to stop by the Plateau, home to the Mints and a place that Sherry knew well growing up. It seems that Uncle Ezra (long since deceased) has recently been seen roaming the grounds--or rather his ghost has. And Aunt Mattie wants them to check in on Sara (the seer of ghosts) and find out what's going on. What's soon to be going on is murder. Andrew Mint, the heir of the Mint's Meats business and fortune is soon found murdered--killed by the stab of an ice pick. He's quickly followed by other members of the family. The youngest of the clan goes missing for a while (but found safe, thankfully); a field is set on fire; there's a question whether some valuable etchings have been sold (and replaced with replicas); there's blackmail; and a whole slew of motives swirling about. Kit is quick with his sketches and spotting the clues he captures in them--but Chief JIm Lang doesn't know Kit like Captain Tony Shand does and is more apt to view him with an eye of suspicion. After all, isn't odd that Kit's always on the spot when another body is discovered? Kit will have to work hard to convince Lang of his innocence and even harder to put the sketched clues together to identify the culprit. Especially if he doesn't want to become the killer's final victim.

There are a lot of things to like about this series. I love the drawings that accompany the stories and the fact that if I were better at spotting all the clues then I could have had solid evidence to justify my suspicions. Yes, I did spot the killer (after an initial miscalculation)--and most of the motive--but I missed the biggest clues in the sketches that would have supported my theory.] Barber and Schabelitz also provide terrific characters with interesting personalities and good interactions. The mystery itself is solid and all the clues are provided, as well as enough red herrings to muddy things nicely. 

My biggest complaint is Sherry. Not as a character--but as a narrator. I noted my dislike of Sherry's "Had-I-But-Knowning" in the previous review and it's still in evidence here (though toned down a bit). I really think we could do without it altogether and get rid of Sherry's first-person narration and we'd have a better book. I'm not a huge fan of first-person perspective in general and Sherry's perspective just doesn't sit well. You'd think since she's a newlywed and all that we'd get a lot more of Kit in this story than we do--after all, the book's conceit is based on his sketches. But other than the last few chapters and the places where it's necessary to bring him in so we can have another sketch, we don't see a lot of him. The first couple chapters he's there in name only. It's really a bit bizarre.

Don't think that means I didn't enjoy the book. I did. Quite a lot. It's a fun book and a good mystery despite my quibbles with the narrative voice. ★★★★

First line: Ezra's ghost, come back to haunt the Plateau!

Peter Plow is handsomer than any man has a right to be; that is, in a vigorous, reckless, half-ugly sort of way. (p. 21)

Last line: But, in time, that would come too.
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Death = 5 (four stabbed; one poisoned)

The Avenging Chance

 The Avenging Chance & Other Mysteries from Roger Sheringham's Casebook (2004*) by Anthony Berkeley

The collected short works of Anthony Berkeley [Cox] and this second edition contains added material--one "lost story," an article by Berkeley on why he writes detective stories, and one parody. I originally read the first edition back when it first came out and was pleased to find this copy at our annual community book fair in 2018. I remembered reading some of these--especially the title story since it has appeared in various anthologies and was the basis of Berkeley's novel, The Poisoned Chocolates Case. But I didn't remember the solutions to most of them. My favorites among the stories are "White Butterfly" and "Perfect Alibi," but all of them have their merits and only "Unsound Mind" and the parody (which didn't strike me as at all amusing) were well and truly disappointing.  ★★★★

"The Avenging Chance": A box of poisoned chocolates--sent to one man and brought home by another--kills Joan Beresford. Who was the intended victim? [one poisoned]

"Perfect Alibi": Eric Southwood, a notorious rake, very conveniently dies while visiting the home of his latest conquest. He was shot while out in the woods--but everyone with a motive also appears to have an iron-clad alibi. [one shot]

"The Mystery of Horne's Copse": Could also be called "The Case of the Reappearing Corpse." Frank Chappell keeps finding the corpse of his cousin (and the man who would be his heir). But when he brings the authorities to examine the body, it disappears. Is he going crazy? Or is someone trying to drive him there? [one stabbed]

"Unsound Mind": A man rings up the police station to announce that he's just taken prussic acid and left a note to explain everything. But when Chief Inspector Moresby gets there, he's sure it's murder. But can he prove it? [one poisoned]

"White Butterfly": Mr. Warrington says that his pretty but volatile wife has left him for another man. But the village gossips say that he has done away with her and got rid of the body. Sheringham is certain the woman has been killed, but just who did it and where her body is, is the question. [one strangled]

"The Wrong Jar": Cynthia Bracey is poisoned by arsenic in one of her medicines. But how did it get there? Did the doctor accidentally grab the wrong jar when making up the medicine? Did the nurse have it in for her patient? Was the husband tired of his wife? Did the doctor's assistant meddle with the prescription? Sheringham will find out. [one poisoned]

"Double Bluff": Several witnesses all claim to have recognized James Meadows as the man who shot  Mrs. Greyling in the middle of the busy town. Can they all be wrong? Sheringham believes so. [one shot]

"'Mr. Bearstowe Says...'": Mrs. Hutton is quite taken with Mr. Bearstowe and impresses this upon Roger Sheringham when they have a chance meeting at a party. Two years later, Mr. Hutton has gone missing while bathing and a body is found drowned. Sheringham has to wonder what exactly Mr. Bearstowe said to Mrs. Hutton and what did he (and she) do? [one drowned]

"The Bargee's Holiday": An additional short, short story, found after the first edition of this collection of stories, in which Roger Sheringham correctly deduces when and where the next major campaign of WWII will take place simply by speaking with a couple of men on leave and meeting up with their commanding officer in a bookstore. The reader is asked to figure out how Sheringham did it.

First line (1st story): When he was able to review it in perspective Roger Sheringham was inclined to think that the Poisoned Chocolate Case, as the papers called it, was perhapes the most perfectly planned murder he had ever encountered.

Last lines (last story--the parody): I wish I could remember my idea. It was such a brilliant one.

*All stories originally written/published pre-1960

Don Among the Dead Men

 Don Among the Dead Men (1952) by C. E. Vulliamy

If you don't like inverted mysteries and knowing pretty much everything except whether the police will figure out that murder has happened and be able to pin it on the guilty party, then you best not read the first paragraph.

So...Dr. Bowes-Ottery, lecturer in chemistry, is studiously working his way towards a professorship by doing all sorts of experiments with benzenes and colloids and whatnot when he injects his latest concoction into a lab rat and accidentally discovers an apparently impossible-to-trace poison that gives the victim a grand sense of well-being and euphoria before a quite painless death. What a gift to mankind! Bowes-Ottery sees himself dispensing it to all sorts of undesirables who do nothing but harm to the public. He would never doing harm to anyone--but a painless death that wouldn't be anything to trouble one's conscience over. But it doesn't take long for his scheme of benefiting humanity in general turns to one of personal vengeance on those who have been troublesome to the good doctor in one way or another--a fellow academician who has meddled in all sorts of affairs from those that touch Bowes-Ottery personally to those in the university on a grander scale. Then there's that annoying Mrs. Talantoun, the university gossip, whose tittle-tattle ruins reputations and who has recently notices that Bowes-Ottery pays more than a mentor's attention to the young, shapely student who works in his lab. A tongue like hers most definitely needs silencing. And when he tires of the all too clingy shapely student...well, he can't have her ruining his chances for the top prize in his field, now can he? 

His lab assistant remembers the queer incident with the rat and he begins to get worried. And when Bowes Ottery is made a professor and a new chemistry lecturer is hired...and the two don't seem to get on...and the new chemistry lecturer gets sick in a rather odd way...the lab assistant and the lecturer put their heads together about Bowes-Ottery's last experiment before all the deaths started happening. Meanwhile, the police haven't been as happy with the coroner's court verdicts as it would appear and they've been investigating as well...But will they be able to gather enough evidence to convict our poisoner? Will justice prevail? Well...don't read the last quote below if you want there to be any mystery at all in this story (should you happen to want to track it down and read it for yourself).

I have so many mixed feelings about this one. It's an academic mystery--which I love. It's an inverted mystery which I hate. It has an absolutely fantastic opening with an apparent lunatic or gleeful drunk driving crazily across country producing confusion and mayhem wherever he goes, laughing outrageously at everything he does, and killing himself when he runs into a steam roller--and, yet, we're told it's murder. It's one of the best two-page intros I've read in a long time. And then we're introduced to the murderer and we get to read his journal entries and see what a delusional, self-important, megalomaniac he is. No investigation, no looking at clues, no police interviews with suspects (as far as I can tell they don't have any suspects until somebody gets the bright idea that our murderer might have tried to kill the one person who escaped his clutches). But...there's all these lovely, entertaining peeks at university life that I adored. Oh, and the scenes between the prosecuting attorney and the murderer's defense attorney are priceless--as well as the trial itself. And it's always a good sign if I'm grabbing up quotations right and left.

But....as a mystery it falls flat. Because, in my book, it's not one. Yeah, the suspense of "will he get away with it?" is supposed to carry the day in an inverted mystery, but it doesn't really here. Vulliamy, I think, must have thought himself rather clever with his little twist at the end, but that didn't really do it for me either. So, overall: ★★ and 3/4--I just can't bring myself to give a full three stars.

First line: The car pulled up with a screech and a shuddering heave on the grassy verge of the lane, and the driver's cheerful face appeared at the window.

"Well, you can go easy now. Nobody expects a professor to do more than is required of him--and that's damned little." (the new Professor of Greek; p. 56)

Psychology? That is the last refuge of desperation, if I may venture to say so, with the greatest respect to Dr. Roberts. It leads you round and round for ever and ever, and you get nowhere at all. (the Coroner; p. 94)

"You never know where you are with a learned man; he has a way of being elaborately simple." (Inspector Butts; p. 105)

"Innocent people are much more likely to show confusion than guilty ones. Always remember that. Not only are they usually more timid, but they are taken aback by what seems to them so utterly preposterous; whereas the others are continually on the alert." (the Superintendent; p. 106)

If the residents of this University, or its illustrious visitors, were to get in the habit of dying mysteriously with a certain resemblance in the preliminary symptoms (and it's not easy to avoid that), a kind of general suspicion would arise which might become somewhat embarrassing. (from the journal of our murderer; p. 149)

"If you did happen to kill her, even by accident, you simply mustn't say so. I've known you for some years, and the notion seems to me too incredibly fantastic, my dear boy; but we all do funny things now and then." (our murderer's lawyer to him; p. 162)

Last line: Still, I am inclined to believe that he was convicted on a charge of which he was perfectly innocent. And yet, in the strangest way, justice was done; for Justice (like her sister Truth) may wear the mask of irony.
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Deaths = 7 (one car accident; six poisoned)

2026 Key Word Challenge

 

It's time for another round of the monthly Key Word Challenge hosted by Kim & Tanya at Chapter Adventure. I encourage you to join in--this is one of my favorite challenges and has been for quite some time. Just click on the link to get all the details and join in the fun.

Tentative picks for the months--will update once I actually read one.

January: Don Among the Dead Men by C. E. Vulliamy (1/7/26)

February: The Avenging Chance & Other Mysteries from Roger Sheringham's Casebook by Anthony Berkley (2/28/26)

March: Murder Enters the Picture by Willetta Ann Barber & R. F. Schabelitz (3/20/26)

April: Dead Man's Mirror by Agatha Christie (4/10/26)

May: Murder in Bright Red by Frances Crane (5/4/26)

June: Murder on the Glitter Box by Steve Allen; The Ballot-Box Murders by John Stephen Strange; The Applegreen Cat by Frances Crane

July: A Dying Fall by Hildegarde Dolson; The Country House Burglar by Michael Gilbert

August: It Couldn't Matter Less by Peter Cheyney; The Bungalow on the Roof by Achmed Abdullah; Vanishing Point by Patricia Wentworth

September: Death Likes It Hot by Edgar Box; The Curse of Doone by Sydney Horler

October: Easy Prey by Josephine Bell; The Mystery of Jockey Hollow by Cleo F. Garis; Random Killer by Hugh Pentecost

November: Keep It Quiet by Richard Hull; The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper; The Strings of Murder by Oscar de Muriel; The Seven Deadly Sisters by Pat McGerr

December: Murder in Baker Street by Martin H. Greenberg; Curiosity Didn't Kill the Cat by M. K. Wren; The Secret of the Crooked Cat by William Arden; Cat & Mouse by Christianna Brand

Dead of Winter

 Dead of Winter (1941) by Christopher Hale (Frances Moyer Ross Stevens)

Aunt Enid Beauregard is well-known for her parties--bringing together various people of different backgrounds and always making the event go with a swing. But this winter she may get famous for a different kind of party...one where murder is an unexpected guest. 

Brett Collins' Aunt Enid has put together a ski party at her summer cottage in Michigan. She brings together Brett and her fiance Hadley (badly in need of money if he wants to marry Brett). Hadley's wealthy uncle Captain Toby Woodward (a womanizer and generally unlikable character), Homer Bence (known as "Bunny," former business partner of Enid's late husband and her would-be suitor), Norman Prescott and his girlfriend Judy, Rhoda Norwood (Award-winning golfer and skillful skier with less brain than brawn), and Aunt Enid's latest protege (of a long-line of younger men) Webb Dorwin. What starts a fun weekend playing in the snow with everything from skiing to snow sculpting, turns deadly when a blizzard traps the group at the remote location. Captain Toby Woodward, one of the strongest skiers, decides they've waited long enough for help to reach them and sets off on skis to head to the nearest town. 

Opal, Aunt Enid's cook/housekeeper, has read tea leaves (or something) and just "knows" that Woodward is dead. Hadley finds evidence that his uncle may have been done in and insists that Opal's husband Albert, a good snow-shoer who knows the area well, head to town to see if Woodward made it and with a note for the State Police if it becomes apparent that he didn't. Albert returns with the police hot on his heels (albeit by helicopter) and Lieutenant French and company soon find the frozen body of Captain Woodward. Only he didn't die of exposure....

I didn't find this one nearly as delightful as the first Hale I read (Midsummer Nightmare). Perhaps because, despite being advertised on the cover as "A Full-Length Novel," it has been "cut to speed the story" (and they apparently cut out portions that may have made it more delightful). The characters and their romances weren't nearly as affecting. It took an incredibly long time (even though the book had been cut for speed) for the murder to be revealed and even longer for the sleuth to start sleuthing. I honestly didn't care if they found out who had killed Captain Woodward because he was such a nasty character. And then when we found who was ultimately responsible, the motive just didn't make sense to me. I'm waffling between 2.5 and 3 stars--so let's call it ★★  and 3/4

John has reviewed this over at Pretty Sinister Books and he found it more engaging than I did--and he read the full novel. So your mileage may vary.

First line: When the guests begin to offer to kill each other, it's a sure sign the fun is over.

Last line: One look at his face made Brett forget everything else.
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Deaths = 4 (one natural; three poisoned)

The Final Ring

 The Final Ring (1978) by Marcia Blair (Marc Baker)

Tory Baxter is awakened by a phone call from her best friend and fellow nurse Peg Moore. After a bit of unintelligible mumbling, she manages one full sentence: "Oh, I don't think so." And then, "Two...Mailman...Bell...Our Favorite." Tory realizes that her friend, a diabetic, must be suffering from a diabetic reaction and tells her to hang up so Tory can summon help. She calls the house where Peg had been serving as a day nurse and instructs the housekeeper to get some sugar into the young woman at once. She then calls Dr. Clarkson, the doctor associated with the house as well as Peg's love interest. But they're too late. Peg dies as a result of a diabetic coma.

The longer Tory thinks about that last phone call the more certain she is that Tory was trying to tell her something important. The two young women were both mystery book fans and she's sure that there's a dying clue in there somewhere. Her friend, Lieutenant Thorpe, is just as sure that Tory is letting her imagination run away with her and that everything is just what it seems. But Tory insists that Peg was too aware of the dangers of her condition to have missed an insulin shot or not eaten enough. So, when Dr. Clarkson asks if she wants to take over the job at the Harrington house, she jumps at the chance. And when more "accidents" occur, Tory is sure that Peg's death is just one part of a nefarious plot. But whose plot? And to what purpose?

Mrs. Harrington, a beautiful woman married to a rich man who adores her, is the patient. She is suffering from a broken leg which occurred when her husband accidentally backed into her with the car. Or was it an accident? When Eve Harrington suffers from gastric distress that looks a lot like arsenical poisoning, Tory begins to wonder. And then Ethel, a nosy little maid, takes a deadly tumble down the staircase. Did Ethel see or hear too much? Tory needs to find out soon...or she may be next on the killer's list.

This is the first of Blair's Zebra Puzzler books to feature nurse Tory Baxter and her sparring partner Lieutenant Jay Thorpe. These Puzzlers offer up mysteries with visual clues--on the cover and in illustrations within the novel. The plot is a good one; better, I think, than the first of Blair's that I read two years ago (review HERE). There still aren't a lot of suspects running around (a definite weakness in Blair's plotting), but I do think there's more doubt about which way the suspicion should fall to become certainty. It isn't until the last clue given that I became sure. There's supposed to be one clue on the cover and four more inside, but I can only point to two of the five. And one of the illustrations is down-right misleading--what it depicts is contradicted throughout by what we're told and the contradiction doesn't figure in the explanation. 

A nice, quick read. Interesting plot and a good chance for the reader to figure out whodunnit (especially if you're better than I was at picking up the visual clues). Well worth the afternoon I spent on it. ★★★ and 1/2

A final note: I'm still not a fan of Tory's tendency to shout at Jay. It gets on my nerves. She's such a level-headed young woman in all other respects. The poor man doesn't even have to be irritating for her to shout at him. Not that he can't be irritating--he can. And is at times. If the shouting were limited to those times, that might be okay. But, geez, Tory, give it a rest, can't you?

First line: The ringing telephone threaded its way into Tory's nightmare.

My my mind's like a superlative wastebasket, filled with both trivia and unexpected valuables. (Sandy Brockman; p. 41)

Last line: They were still at it when the waiter brought the check.
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Deaths = 2 (one fell down stairs; one diabetic reaction)

The Ghost & Mrs. McClure

 The Ghost & Mrs. Mcclure (2004) by Alice Kimberly (Cleo Coyle)

More than fifty years ago, a tough private eye by the name of Jack Shepard was murdered while trying to track down the killers of his pal Freddie. He walked into a bookshop in Quindicott, Rhode Island and was never seen again. And in the present day, Penelope Thornton-McClure and her Aunt Sadie, current owners of the bookshop, are set to host Timothy Brennan for an author's talk and book-signing. Brennan writes a series of private eye thrillers based on Jack Shepard and his real life cases. During the talk, he drops the bombshell that Shepard was last seen in the bookstore where he now stands and that he plans to abandon his fictional tales to write the real crime story about Shepard. He plans to investigate the murder fifty years later and unmask the killers. But before he can finish his talk, he himself drops dead. Penelope has hopes that the older man has died of natural causes (a heart attack, maybe?) but it's soon discovered that someone who knew Brennan well enough to know about his allergies doctored his water bottle with peanut oil. A big enough dose to send him into anaphylactic shock.

But who could have wanted him dead? Well...as it happens, just about anybody who knew him. He was an insufferable man who treated his daughter and son-in-law like slaves. Insulted his friends and publicist and wasn't above being rude to his hostesses. And...if Jack Shepard were still in his physical body, he would have gladly strangled the man who was getting rich off of his old case files--especially since Brennan claimed that Shepard wasn't nearly as bright as the fictional detective he had created. 

What's that, how do I know that Shepard wouldn't mind killing Brennan himself. Well...he said so. You see, Shepard is hanging out in ghostly form among the books in the shop. And he has these lovely conversations with Penelope McClure. She's the only one that can hear him. She swears she doesn't believe in ghosts, but when he keeps talking in her head what's a girl to do? He comes in pretty handy when it initially looks like the "Staties" (State Troopers) are fitting the struggling bookshop owner for the picture of a murderer. So, Jack starts teaching Penelope how a real P.I. goes about detecting. After a few false starts, Jack and Penelope finally spot the villain and manage to serve them up to local Officer Eddie Franzetti so the Troopers won't get the glory.

A few years ago, I read The Ghost & the Dead Deb, the second book in the series, and I wasn't all that impressed (see link for the review). I'm pleased to say that the debut novel of the series is a much stronger offering. I enjoyed the initial set-up and watching Penelope adjust to the fact that ghosts do exist and she's the only one who can hear and see this one. The interactions between her and Jack are fun, though I am still weirded out by the attraction between the two (see previous review for more on that). I also enjoyed the peek at the mystery behind Jack's death. As I mentioned in the other review, I really think I'd like to see a book that focuses on when Jack was really alive (reading about his cases). It would also be interesting to see a proper investigation of his murder. There's a hint at the end of this one that he and Penelope are going to look into that, but it hadn't happened in book two. Maybe it comes later in the series.

The plot here is, I think, more intricate than that of book two. There are some good red herrings and clues to follow up. A solid beginning to the series. ★★★

First lines (Prologue): Cranberry. What kind of cornball name was that for a street?

First line (1st Chapter): "We killed him!"

Last line: Then he faded temporarily away, back into the old fieldstone wall that had become his tomb.
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Deaths = 6 (one poisoned; one suicide; two hit by car; two shot)

Murder Listens In

 Murder Listens In (Arrow Pointing Nowhere; 1944) by Elizabeth Daly

Someone is tossing crumpled papers out of the window at Fenway House--the home of a rather secluded family. At first, the postman just thinks someone has dropped a bit of trash on the way to the dustbin. But when the papers keep coming just in time for him to find them, he begins to think there's a purpose behind it. A little bit of sleuthing on the part of the his office soon determines that the messages written on book dealer envelopes are meant for that book sleuth cum amateur detective Henry Gamadge. But the messages are, by necessity, so vague that Gamadge isn't quite sure what his pen pal wants him to do.

The first thing is to arrange to get in the house. He learns from his wife's Aunt Clara that Blake Fenway, head of the house, is a book collector and asks her to effect an introduction. Once in the house, Mr. Fenway makes it easy for him to make his presence known to "the client" by introducing Gamadge to everyone. Everyone includes Blake's daughter Caroline; Belle Fenway, wife of Blake's younger, deceased brother, and their son Alden who is mentally handicapped; Mott Fenway, Blake's cousin; Alice Grove, Belle's companion; and Craddock, Alden's attendant. Alice Grove's niece Hilda should be one of the party, but she is currently at Fenway, the family's country estate, sorting books and papers to be brought into town. Through various hints (a book carried around with him, for instance), Gamadge attempts to let "the client" know that he's on the case. And he finds another crumpled ball that he unobtrusively manages to take with him.

Both Blake and Mott approach him separately about solving a little mystery. An illustration in a book about the Fenway family history has been torn out. It's the only surviving picture of the family's first estate--long since sold. And they want Gamadge to find it. He's happy to add that to his to do list, but he also knows that neither of these men are his client--they move freely from the house and have no qualms about talking to him about their trouble. Whoever brought him to the house obviously can't move about freely--otherwise they could have sent him a more straightforward message. But it soon becomes apparent that there is more to the missing illustration than meets the eye and Gamadge begins to wonder if any of these people are exactly what he thinks they are.

This is a cleverly plotted (particularly for the time period) mystery with a somewhat shaky hook at the beginning. Depending on cryptic notes written on crumpled envelopes to be delivered to Gamadge and just tossed out as trash is a pretty poor method of communication. And I realize "the client" was in a desperate situation with little choice. But how on earth the post office knew to hand it to someone who would know that it needed to go to Gamadge....and then how on earth Gamadge made heads or tails out of the cryptic messages is beyond me. Once we get Gamadge on the spot, it's all good. He dives in and figures out where the missing illustration is and why it's so important to his client and who the villain of the piece is and it all makes perfect sense from there. [Not that I spotted the final twist before it came, mind you.]

I read this once upon a time [long before blogging] and had a nice time getting reacquainted with Gamadge. Good solid mystery. Creepy old house (make that two--if you count the country estate). Mysterious goings on at night. All good fun. ★★★ and 1/2 

First line: Schenck pushed the ball of crumpled paper across the table.  

Last line:  Perhaps mine told her that I always answer my letters.
*******************

Deaths = 5 (two natural; one fell from height; two shot)

[Finished on 9/30/25] 

The Word Is Murder

 The Word Is Murder (2017) by Anthony Horowitz

The wealthy Diane Cowper enters the Cornwallis funeral parlor one fine spring morning and makes her own final arrangements. Just six hours later, she's found strangled to death with curtain cord from her own front windows. There are no clues and, seemingly, no suspects. Everyone loved her. And when the Yard is stumped, they call in Daniel Hawthorne, a brilliant former member of their team who exited the force under a cloud. Hawthorne decides that, like his brilliant predecessor Sherlock Holmes, he needs a Watson to follow him around, admire his deductions, and write them up in a nice, best-selling book. He chooses our narrator (and real-life author) Anthony Horowitz. 

Horowitz isn't particularly taken with Hawthorne and initially turns him down. But he finds himself drawn into the investigation anyway and, once he visits Diane Cowper's home and begins to feel like he knows her, he's hooked. He and Hawthorne have a few run-ins during the course of the story, but he can't walk away and not know what happens. They soon find that the victim wasn't quite the universally beloved woman they were led to believe (is anyone ever, really?). She was responsible for the death of one child and the devastating injuries of his brother. Has the family finally sought revenge? There was also rumored to be an argument with the theater board--leading to her resignation. Her famous, movie star son seems more interested in the effect on him and his career than the fact that she's been murdered and her daughter-in-law seems to have actively disliked her. And who was the man who left the foot mark on her carpet--the only real clue at the scene? When a second murder follows Diane's and the home of the judge involved in the car accident case (Diane walked free with barely a slap on the wrist), it begins to look like a case of revenge after all--but are there other reasons for revenge that have yet to come to the surface? And will that revenge reach out for one of our heroes?

An interesting take on the Holmes/Watson detective team. Hawthorne, initially, is far more unlikeable than Holmes and Horowitz is a far more reluctant sidekick. Over the course of the investigation there are signs that the two might become a close team, but there's still a ways to go. It took me a while to warm up to either character, but the mystery is definitely a good, twisty one and I absolutely missed the clue in the first chapter (that Horowitz goes out of his way to tell us is there). He does a good job with the red herrings and even though (as he tells us) there isn't quite the jeopardy in the confrontation scene as there could be (obviously since he's narrating the thing, we know Horowitz isn't going to die...) it is still an effective meeting. 

As much as I enjoyed his Magpie and Moonflower Murders, I believe I'm going to like this series better. We'll see what I think once I get to the next in the series. ★★★★

First line: Just after eleven o'clock on a bright spring morning, the sort of day when the sunshine is almost white and promises a warmth that it doesn't quite deliver, Diane Cowper crossed the Fulham Road and went into a funeral parlour.

Last line: By the time I reached the other side of the river, I knew exactly what I was going to do.
*****************

Deaths = 7 (one strangled, two natural, one car accident; three stabbed)

Sweet Poison

 Sweet Poison (2001) by David Roberts

August 1935, in the shadow of the coming world war. Gerald, the Duke of Mersham is one of many British aristocrats who are are trying to fend off another blood bath by bringing together influential men who might help improve the relations between Britain and Germany. He has planned a dinner with Lord Weaver, a newspaper tycoon (with his wife and stepdaughter); General Sir Alistair Craig, a distinguished retired soldier; Peter Lamore, a rising politician (and wife); Cecil Haycraft, the Bishop of  Worthing and a loud supporter of pacifism (and wife); and Baron Helmut von Friedberg of the German Embassy, a man said to have the ear of the new Chancellor Adolf Hitler. The Duke presses his younger brother, Lord Edward Corinth to join the party--to take the place of Hermione Weaver's young man at table. The ill-mannered young cub (Gerald's point of view) has cried off at the last minute.

This type of gathering is the last place Edward wants to be--both because he would rather not be plopped in the middle of the polite bickering sure to result when you mix the general, the pacifist bishop, and the German all together and because he has an important cricket match that same afternoon that he refuses to miss. The cricket match will force him to drive even more rapidly than normal if he's going to be on time. Spoiler--he isn't. After a couple of mishaps, he winds up riding with a Miss Verity Browne, reporter, who is also on her way to Mersham Castle to interview the Duchess the next day for a story. The two arrive at the castle just in time for a late supper (the guests are long done), port...and to watch General Craig die from a dose of cyanide in his glass.

When it's learned that Craig had inoperable cancer, there is a suspicion of suicide--though why choose the Duke's dinner party to do it? But the general consensus (even by the police) is that it will be chalked up as an accident at the inquest...unless further evidence is found to suggest otherwise. Neither Edward nor his new-found partner in detection, Verity Browe (a Communist of all things!) believe it to be suicide or accident. Which leaves murder? But who would want to murder Craig? He hadn't met most of the guests before. Or had he? The further the two dig, the more motives they find. But no proof whatsoever. There will be a few more deaths before the unlikely duo discover the truth behind Craig's death.

I read several of this series back when they first came out and I was struck then by how many parallels there are to the Lord Peter Wimsey books. At the time I was delighted to find a similar aristocratic sleuth because I'd read all the LPW stories there were and was wishing for more. I deliberately started reading this one this year with that in mind and wanted to see just how closely Corinth mirrored Wimsey. A quote from Poisoned Pen on the back cover of my edition says: "Roberts is convincing on period detail and crafts prickly characters...while in fact the period parallels Dorothy L. Sayers, Roberts goes his own way...." Okay, can we talk about that? Here's what I've got when I tally things up:

Like LPW, Lord Edward Corinth is the younger brother of a Duke named...Gerald. Gerald doesn't understand his younger brother and thinks he's a bit of a harum-scarum. [Fortunately, for LEC, the Duke of Mersham's wife isn't nearly the pain in the you-know-what that LPW's sister-in-law is.] LEC also loves to drive fast--though not as well as a LPW. From all reports, he's more like LPW's accident-prone nephew Lord St. George. But he does have the same proficiency at cricket--managing to bat "not out one hundred and five" (whatever that means in cricketese). LEC also has a friend who provides him an entry into bohemian/Communist party society where monkey glands are discussed. 

LEC loves to throw a quotation or two around and uses a deceptively flippant nature to disguise his intelligence. And his man Fenton, like Bunter in the filmed version of Five Red Herrings, makes claim to be an amateur painter. LEC and Verity Brown have an uneasy relationship--based on differences in politics rather than the burden of gratitude that haunts Harriet Vane. And like Harriet in Have His Carcase, Verity attempts to vamp one of the major suspects. 

The end of the story mirrors two of LPW's novels. Verity leaves LEC, not to go on a walking tour as Harriet does from Strong Poison into Carcase, but to report what's going on in Spain. LEC feels the need to leave England on a holiday just as LPW does between Whose Body? and Clouds of Witness. I'm sure I've missed several more. But you get the idea. From what I can tell, Roberts has tried to shove as many parallels to LPW into this first LEC chronicle as he could. 

But...what about the mystery? There's lots to like--lots of suspects; lots of red herrings; lots of motives. Our sleuths even have to wade through the question of whether the right person got poisoned. There's also a few quibbles--LEC and Verity don't really do heaps of detecting. They luck into a few clues, but track down fewer. The culprit is a fairly nasty piece of work and there is a pointless bit of animal cruelty thrown in. On the balance, though, this is a solid opening for LEC and I did enjoy revisiting a world and characters very similar to those of Sayers.   ★★★ and 1/2  

First line (Prologue): The Duke thrust aside his copy of The Times in disgust and stared up through the branches of the great copper beech under which he sat.

First line (1st Chapter): Lord Edward Corinth deplored unpunctuality.

Last line: Then, faintly, above the rustling of the trees in the wind, he heard the tumbling skylarks choiring and he knew that their cries were all the prayers Max needed.

************

Deaths = 6 (two shot; two natural; two poisoned; two stabbed)

Murder by the Book

 Murder by the Book (1995) by Cynthia Manson (ed)

Manson has collected a selection of literary-inspired mysteries to delight mystery fans who just plain love books. We have writers who commit crimes and writers who are victims. We have murderers and criminals who use fiction as inspiration for real-life activities. We have treasure hunts based on Treasure Island and Munster's Cosmographia. And we have sleuths who solve cases based on their knowledge of everything from Jane Austen to Charles Dickens to Dashiell Hammett. If there's a connection writing or books, then these authors have made it.

As with most short story collections, this is a mixed bag. I've read the Sayers before and I happily reread it every time it shows up in a collection. Bill Pronzini, Michelle Knowlden, Edward D. Hoch, Margaret Maron, John Nelson, Michael Innes, Joseph Hanson, William Brittain, and Robert Barr all produce winners as well. I absolutely could have done without Bill James and Julian Symons--their offerings are brutal and bizarre, respectively. The rest are okay--but I doubt I'll remember much about them once this review is finished. ★★★ and 1/4

"Body Language" by Bill James: When one of the students in a crime writing class is shot by her husband, instead of calling the cops the instructor takes the time to analyze the culprit and his motive. (2 shot)

"Once a Writer..." by Robert Cenedella: A writer comes up with the perfect plan to murder his nagging wife. But will he be able to follow through with it...or will his writing get in the way?

"The Private Eye Who Collected Pulps" by Bill Pronzini: When Thomas Murray, the "King of the Pop Culture Collectors," is found killed in his "Pulp Magazine Room" the officer in charge knows who to call in to help. Murray left a dying clue using three of his pulp magazines--but only our nameless private eye can figure it out. (one stabbed; one natural)

"The Jane Austen Murder" by Michelle Knowlden: Aunt Helena drags her niece, a private detective, off to solve the murder of  a leading member of the Jane Austen Literary Club--even though Aunt Helena seems to want to solve it herself. But our hypochondriac P.I. nabs the killer, much to Helena's chagrin.(one hit on head)

"The Macbeth Murder Mystery" by James Thurber: A crime fiction fiend mistakenly picks up Shakespeare's Macbeth and decides that William has pulled the wool over his audience's eyes. She knows who really killed the king. (2 stabbed)

"The Spy at the Crime Writers' Congress" by Edward D. Hoch: A newly retired member of British Intelligence has one last job to perform--give a talk about code-breaking at a Crime Writer's Conference. He soon finds himself mixed up on one more round of spying intrigue. (3 bombs)

"Lieutenant Harold & the Treasure Island Treasure" by Margaret Maron: James Hawkins loved Treasure Island and he loved making treasure maps for his niece when she was growing up. He planned to make one last treasure map leading to her inheritance, but died before he had a chance to finish it. Lieutenant Harold is called in by a mutual friend to help Jemima find one last treasure. (one natural)

"Magwich Returns" by John Nelson: Officer Allan Hyath and his partner investigate the apparent suicide of a Charles Dickens fanatic. It will lead them to a meeting with "the third spirit." And a possible legacy. (one shot)

"The Hit" by Michael Z. Lewin: A mystery reader on a train finds a unique way to get rid of the unwanted attentions of a strange man.

"The Secret in the Woodpile" by Michael Innes: Who would want to kill a psychiatrist who apparently had no enemies. Maybe a poet with a deep, dark secret? (one shot)

"A Woman's Voice" by Joseph Hanson: Hack Bohannon investigates the murder of a writer who once hired him to find his estranged daughter. A man has been arrested on suspicion, but Bohannon tracks down a clue (the sound of a woman's voice) that may prove him innocent. (one hit on head)

"Something Ventured" by Carl Martin: A one-time thief turned writer convinces his writing group to put his brilliant idea for one more heist into practice. They think they've gotten away with with it.... (one natural)

"In the Bluebell Wood" by Julian Symon: A bizarre story about a man who confuses real life with the tales of King Arthur. Not really a mystery at all, but it's part of the collection so I guess it counts as one.. (one car accident; one stabbed)

"Willie's Last Trip" by Donald Olson: A man decides he's had enough of Willie lording his wealth over him and determines that Willie's trip to Mexico will be his last. (one hit on head)

"The Learned Adventure of the Dragon's Head" by Dorothy L. Sayers: Lord Peter Wimsey and his nephew find an old pirate treasure. One of my favorite Lord Peter short stories--I love the interaction between LPW and "Pickled Gherkins."(one natural) 

"The Man Who Read Dashiell Hammett" by William Brittain: A retiree who stocks books at the local library (and, incidentally, is devoted to reading mysteries) helps the library's director earn the donation of a prize mystery collection. It pays to know your Hammett. (one natural)

"Lord Chizelrigg's Missing Fortune" by Robert Barr: The newest Lord Chizelrigg is land rich, but lacks the funds to support his inheritance...unless Monsieur Valmont can help him decipher the late Lord Chizelrigg's literary clue to where he hid his gold. (one natural)

"The Copper Peacock" by Ruth Rendell: A writer takes refuges in his friend's empty apartment to try and get his latest book finished. He becomes enamored of the friend's cleaning lady...until she gives him a hideous copper peacock bookmark. (one beaten)

"The World According to Uncle Albert" by Penelope Wallace: Uncle Albert is a devotee of "The Master" (Sherlock Holmes) and likes to think he can spot clues just like his idol. When a member of his houseparty steals the family jewels, he's sure he can track down the criminal. (one natural)

"With a Smile for the Ending" by Lawrence  Block: Young Irishman, Tim Riordan, becomes the companion to a dying writer--a man whose work he has long admired. When the writer gets him involved in tracking down information about the death of a young woman, he's not so sure he likes what his favorite author plans to do with the information. (one drowned; one hit on head; one natural)

First line (1st story): One Tuesday afternoon, when Professor Cameron Phelps was nearing the end of his lecture to a Contemporary Fiction class on The Detective Story in Modern Novel and Film, a man he certainly recognized from drinks parties given by the English Society a while back suddenly appeared in the doorway near him, stood for a moment scanning the undergraduates, then stepped forward, pointing some sort of handgun at Geraldine Marques,sitting two student in on the third row, and shot her through the head, shot her twice.

Last lines (last story): I discovered that I did not like it all, and then I did cry. For Rachel Avery, for Joseph Cameron Bane. For me.

Landscape of Lies

 Landscape of Lies (1989) by Peter Watson

Isobel Sadler wakes up one night with the distinct impression that someone is in her house. She's right. And he's downstairs trying to steal a painting. She manages to scare him off and is left with questions. Why on earth was the man in the motorcycle helmet trying to steal the painting hanging in the downstairs hall? After she inherited the house and its contents from her father, she had gradually had to sell all the really valuable items to support the family farm. The Chinese porcelain, Japanese lacquer, and jade carvings that her father had brought home from his previous life as a diplomat were long gone. The painting wasn't worth anything. It was ugly and not particularly well-painted. All it held was sentimental value because it had been in her family for years and years. But what if she were wrong? Somebody obviously thought it was worth stealing.

So, she takes the painting to Michael Whiting, an art dealer recommended by a friend of her father's. He verifies that as a painting, it isn't worth much. A few hundred pounds, maybe. Definitely not more. It's what she expected and he seems surprised that she didn't think it a priceless treasure. Then she tells him the rest of the story--not long before the attempted theft, she had attended an estate sale which included letters and papers relating to the only famous (or, rather, infamous) person in her family tree. Sir William "Bad Bill" Sadler who helped oversee the dissolution of the monasteries in the 15th century. She wanted to acquire them for the family history and didn't expect anyone else to be interested. But someone was. A man named Molyneaux outbid her (on behalf of a client) and then chatted her up afterward--wanting to know if she was a dealer. When she told him of her family interest, he offered to see if the client would consent to photocopies and said he'd be in touch. He appeared at her house three days before the break-in--no photocopies yet, but "just in the area for an estate sale." Molyneaux was very tall. So was the burglar. Coincidence.

Michael isn't clear on what she wants of him. But she tells him that Edward Ryan (the man who recommended him) said he liked a gamble. She wants him to research the painting to see if there is any secret to it that would warrant a theft. And if the research leads to anything lucrative, she'll share the proceeds with him fifty-fifty. He agrees...and has no idea that the research will take the two of them through the myths and religious legends of early Britain in search of hidden monastic treasures and pit them against a man who will stop at nothing to have the treasure for himself. 

So...this starts well. The set-up is good. I really liked the idea of the hidden secrets in the old painting. The whole opening rocks--I like the way Isobel and Michael interact and work together in the early stages of the investigation. But then....the middle part drags and was really quite tedious with all the miscues & running round in circles and then sudden life-threatening events. The earlier danger made the final scenes with our villain lose a bit of their punch. And speaking of final scenes: the ending was too abrupt (especially after the middle dragged on so) and it was especially annoying that the discovery of the treasures was tacked on as a flashback in the epilogue. Seriously? The whole book is aiming towards the solution of the clues in the painting and the discovery of the treasure and when it happens it's regulated to a scene that seems more of an afterthought? Oh...and one final thing. Michael shoving bloody into every exclamation and adjective got to be absobloodylutely annoying. ★★ and 1/2 

1st line: The moment Isobel awoke she knew there was someone else in the house.

Last lines: Isobel smiled. "I wouldn't bet on it."
***********************

Deaths = two natural; one drowned

Pilgrim's Rest

 Pilgrim's Rest (Dark Threat; 1946) by Patricia Wentworth (Dora Amy Turnbull)

When Judy Elliot's sister and brother-in-law are killed in air raid, she takes on responsibility for their daughter Penny. This means that she can't work in the war effort as planned and must find employment that will allow her to have a young child with her. So, she plans to take up a post as house maid at the country home called Pilgrim's Rest. Her old friend Detective Sergeant Frank Abbott (who suddenly realizes that he hopes to be more than friends) warns her against going. 

It seems that Abbott comes from that neck of the woods and, coincidentally, the current owner of Pilgrim's Rest is a friend from school days. Roger Pilgrim has asked Abbot's advice about a string of "accidents" that have occurred. Pilgrim's father died when a traditionally mild-mannered horse suddenly bolted. A thorn was later found under the saddle, but horse and rider had fallen in a thorny patch, so the authorities explained it away. But now Pilgrim has narrowly escaped two more accidents and he's sure that someone is out to murder him. When asked why, he says he believes that it is to prevent Pilgrim's Rest from being sold. His father's death occurred just after he had announced that he planned to sell the property. And now Roger has made the same announcement. 

Judy doesn't see why this should prevent her taking the post (after all, she doesn't want to sell the place) and positions aren't that easy to come by when one has a little girl in tow. Abbott's not happy, but he tells her that he's advised Roger to consult Miss Silver, the ex-governess turned private detective. If Miss Silver does arrive at Pilgrim's Rest and anything comes up, then Judy must turn to Miss Silver for help.  

Unfortunately, although Roger consults Miss Silver and arranges for her to visit Pilgrim's Rest under the guise of having been an old school friend of one his aunts, he doesn't take her most urgent advice--to announce that he's changed his mind about selling. Miss Silver wants to give him that bit of protection while she tries to uncover the culprit. But he refuses (and says he's a poor liar and wouldn't be able to bring it off anyway) and it isn't long before another "accident" happens, this time with deadly results. The death of her client makes Miss Silver even more determined to get to the bottom of things. She and Frank Abbott soon discover evidence that it all started much earlier than the elder Pilgrim's death...but with the disappearance of another Pilgrim on the eve of his wedding.

It's been quite some time since I read a Miss Silver novel. And I'm quite sure I read this one long ago and far away when I was making my way through every Christie-adjacent mystery that the Wabash Carnegie library had back in the early- to mid-1980s. But I didn't remember it all. I enjoyed meeting the aunt of few word, Miss Columba Pilgrim (Miss Silvers's supposed school friend), again. She doesn't care to mix with people much and would much rather be mucking about in her garden, but she's determined to see justice done for her family. Quite a vivid character. Her sister, Miss Janetta, is also vivid, but she's not nearly as congenial. She's gives me quite a pain, actually. I'm not keen on self-absorbed, hypochondriac drama queens. But Wentworth paints the type accurately. 

Miss Silver is, of course, her usual observant self and I was reminded of how much I like her--coughs aside.* She's a shrewd woman and accurately sums up the household very quickly. It's great fun to see her mildly put Frank Abbott and his superior, Randall March in their place when they're going astray and picking on the wrong clues and the wrong suspects. My only disappointment--and I don't know if I've just read too many mysteries at this point and have gotten wise to all the tricks--is that, once again, the culprit has seemed obvious to me. Or perhaps my memory from the previous reading just shoved that person at me. Either way, spotting the killer early, though a bit disappointing, didn't detract much from the fun. I definitely recommend this one to those who haven't read it or any Miss Silver mysteries before. ★★★★

First line: Judy Elliot stepped off the moving staircase at Piccadilly Circus, and felt a hand under her elbow.

Last line: "I hope so," she said.
********************

Deaths = 10 (four bombed; one broken neck; one POW casualty; one natural; two fell from height; one stabbed)

*Number of times Miss Silver coughs: 51 (an average of about one cough per every fourth page). I've always said that someone needs to get that woman a cough drop. So, I decided to count the coughs and see how prevalent they really are. She coughs multiple times per conversation, so the rate is more like 5 coughs per every chapter--usually in a space of a page or two. I enjoy the character in every other way, but her cough really does draw attention in a way that distracts from the story (especially once one gets focused on it LOL).

The Sleep Is Deep

 The Sleep Is Deep (1952) by Hugh Lawrence Nelson

Lieutenant March Richards is the head of the Colorado City Detective Bureau and assigned to investigate a murder at the home of one of the city's oldest and most respected families. Ferdinand Spencer is found stabbed to death in his den, in the middle of what is meant to look like a robbery attempt. But Richards suspects that the murderer will be found within the Holt household and not among the burglars who might be roaming the city. And he sure hopes that's true. Because Richards holds a grudge against the Holts, even as it becomes obvious that he's in love with Joan Carpenter, the granddaughter of Mary Holt, the family matriarch. Mrs. Holt also suspects a deeper story and hires Jim Dunn, a private eye, to investigate. His instructions? To investigate not only the murder, but Mark Richards--and find out why he seems bent on revenge.

The two men agree to pool information whenever possible while following their own lines. And Richards does finally realize that there's another perfectly good candidate for suspect-in-chief--but then that man is murdered--with a gasoline-filled water pistol (that was stolen from Dunn!) and a cigarette lighter and Richards starts focusing on the Holt women again. It takes a lot of digging by Dunn and a "come-to-Jesus" moment for Richards (over his incredible bias) before the two men can finally pin the murders on the right culprit.

An interesting twist on revenge--where the detective in charge wants so badly for a certain person to be found guilty that he can't see any evidence that doesn't fit his theory. He is still honorable enough that he won't manufacture evidence to frame the person, but he really has a hard time considering anyone outside the Holt household as a viable suspect. Nelson gives us a really good character study of how focusing on those who have hurt us can twist how we see the world. Fortunately for Richards, Jim Dunn is a good detective and a good man and he likes the lieutenant enough to risk shaking him up and showing him how destructive his hate for the Holts is. Nelson actually provide terrific character studies overall--from Richards and Jim Dunn to Mary Holt (who has a sense of honor that Richards doesn't even begin to suspect) to Police Chief Drover who believes in Richards and doesn't want to see his career come to grief over a need for revenge.

The thing that keeps this mystery from a full four stars is the plot. The motive seems pretty flimsy to me and there are not really any clues that might point the reader in the right direction. I actually suspected the right person, but that was purely my reaction to them when they came on stage. I have no evidence to point to prior to Dunn and Richards explaining everything at the end. ★★★ and 1/2.

First line: A loose tire chain clanked rhythmically as Detective Lieutenant Mark Richards drove through the six inch snow which had not dampened the New Year's Eve celebrations in Colorado City.

Superintendent Thompson's word was not law. It was something far better than that. His word was good. (p.78)

Last line: Known to be somewhat eccentric in his later years, Ben Norwood's entire estate was left to an old friend, Mrs. Emily Holt Carpenter Spencer Watson, who has been honeymooning in Taos.
******************

Deaths = 5 (one stabbed; three natural; one strangled)

The Girl from the Mimosa Club

 The Girl from the Mimosa Club (1957) ~Leslie Ford (Zenith Jones Brown)

When the newly-minted young lawyer Johnny Brayton is sent to represent the girls from the Mimosa Club, he doesn't expect to fall in love with one of them.. But life is funny that way. His uppercrust family doesn't really approve of his relationship with Kerry O'Keefe, a "sitter" (hostess expected to sit with and entertain gentlemen at the club), but he doesn't care. Then his father is found shot to death in his study. His mother is suspect number one. And Kerry is a star witness for the prosecution.

Unknown to Johnny, Kerry is an undercover policewoman working as a sitter to investigate vice. All he knows is she seems determined to send his mother to the electric chair. Of course, it doesn't help that his mother seems equally determined to wind up there. She does nothing to make a black situation any less bleak. Her reactions in court only make her look more guilty. Johnny knows his mother could never have shot anyone, but how can he prove it was anyone else when Kerry testifies to sitting outside the house and seeing no one else go in? And then an unexpected witness pops up...just in time.

I've finally decided that I'm just not a big fan of Ford's standalone thriller/suspense mysteries. This is a perfectly fine example of one of those and I have no real complaints about the mystery itself. I just found the romance a bit forced as well as the difficulties thrown in their way. And why on earth Johnny's mother had to behave in such a guilty manner is beyond me. If she didn't want to say anything to implicate someone else, fine. If she wanted to play society madam and "this is all beneath me," fine. But to start and stare like a guilty thing? Really? Too much melodrama to no good purpose. I much prefer her Grace Latham and Colonel Primrose mysteries. They are fun and filled with witty comments between the two protagonists. But--if you like suspense and mysteries where an obviously innocent person is in danger of conviction with last-minute revelations that save the day, then this just might be the book for you. ★★★

First line: Johnny Brayton squeezed his car in to the curb between a snowball stand and a beat-up cart of canteloupes (sic), sweet corn and lima beans, turned off his engine and put the keys in his pocket.

Last lines: They started over. But not from scratch.
*****************

Deaths = one shot

The Price of Silence

 The Price of Silence (2005) by Kate Wilhelm

Synopsis (from the book flap): Brindle is a dying town, each generation smaller than the last. But Ruth Ann Colonna, who has run the local paper for almost sixty years, is determined to keep the past alive with a special edition of The Brindle Times to celebrate the town's centennial. Photos, letters, and newspaper articles trace the town's inhabitants back to its founding members. But the relics of the past hold more than a record of marriages and deaths; they also hide a secret too dark to acknowledge.

Todd Fielding needs a job, and the offer to prived her computer expertise to The Brindle Times seems like the perfect opportunity. The only downside to small-town life is the potential for boredom, she suspects. But soon after her arrival in Brindle, Todd realizes she was very wrong. A young girl disappears...and no one in the town appears particularly concerned.

Looking deeper into the story, Todd uncovers a shocking fact: five other girls have "run away" from Brindle under strange circumstances over the past twenty years--and no [has ever seemed] interested in finding them. With Ruth Ann's help, she begins to understand the history of a town steeped in evil, manipulation, and cold-blooded murder. This town has cloaked itself in secrecy far too long. And innocents are paying the deadly price of silence.

It's been long enough since I picked this up at a library book sale that I'm not entirely sure what hooked me enough to make me bring it home. I'm willing to bet that the fact that Todd is married to a grad student and so there is a very loose academic connection was part of it. I'm surprised that the missing girls wasn't a turn-off. It really should have been--even though most of the violence takes place off-stage. And the academic connection wasn't enough to call this an academic mystery--even if we stretch that connection paper-thin.Todd's husband Barney just isn't involved in the mystery enough to count it.

I also found it difficult to believe that the state police who wind up involved would have been that disbelieving of the mother's concern about her daughter. Sure, the town has been busy covering things up all these years, so the local police's response is reasonable. But I would expect the state to have put in a bit more effort.

That's the bad...the good is that the characters of Todd and Ruth Ann really come alive. Their interest in both the past history of Brindle and the more recent disappearances is fascinating and infectious. I wanted to know what they would find out. And both are strong female characters in a town that could use a lot more backbone. I'm giving all of the star rating to these women and they way they handle their investigations. ★★★

First line: The Bend News, July 1888 Four people perished in a fire that destroyed the Warden House last week in the town of Brindle.

Last line: In an even lower voice she added, "Rest in peace, Janey."

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Deaths = 9 (four in fire; revealing how for the other five would be too spoilerish)