Design for Murder: Review

Tracy Yorke didn't realize what a womanizer her boss Oliver Medway was. And how many enemies he had made. Until the day she stumbled across his body on the floor of the studio where they worked, she just though of him as a brilliant and talented interior designer. But somebody didn't appreciate his talents...and showed it by bashing him over the head with his rather naughty fetish statue.  Unthinking, she picks up the statue from where it's fallen and then drops it when Tim Baxter arrives at the scene of the crime right on her heels. But when he wipes her fingerprints from the murder weapon is he really just protecting her? Or was there other evidence on the statue that he's conveniently erased?

Detective Inspector Neil Grant seems awfully suspicious of her story and it doesn't help that an anonymous note arrives at the police station which says:

Whatever she says, Tracy Yorke drove through the village just after half past eleven that day. I ought to know because I saw her with my own eyes. And if she makes out there was nothing between her and Oliver Medway, that's a laugh.

Of course, he's got other suspects in his sights as well. There's Baxter who was suspiciously on the spot. And there's Medways's step-brother who stands to inherit now that Oliver is out of the way. His father and stepmother are also acting most peculiarly. As are a few of his clients. And then there are the mysterious deposits in Medway's bank account which look quite a bit like blackmail payments. All-in-all a lovely set of circumstances for Grant to investigate--and he's not going to let any clues slip past him. When a second death occurs, he's worried that what Tracy doesn't know about her former boss just might make her the third victim.

Design for Murder (1981) by Erica Quest* is a pleasant English village mystery. Tracy is our main character and most of the detective work done by Grant is done off-stage with clues revealed through his interactions with Tracy more than through our following him around as in a police procedural. Not a very intricate puzzle, but good, solid characterization and view of interpersonal relationships. Tracy is a very likeable character who the reader is rooting for throughout. A good book for a rain day (which just happens to be when I read this). ★★★

***************
This counts for the "Yellow Object' category on the Silver Vintage Scavenger Hunt card.

*Erica Quest is one of the pseudonyms used by the husband and wife writing team of Nancy Buckingham and John Sawyer. Under the Quest name they published four stand-alone novels, including this one, as well as three books in a series featuring sleuth Kate Maddox.

A Death for a Darling: Review

A Death for a Darling (1985) by E. X. Giroux finds young barrister Robert Forsythe and his loyal secretary Miss Sanderson finally taking a long-overdue vacation. Miss Sanderson is off to pay a duty call to a childhood friend before spending a bit of time on her own and Forsythe plans to spend four wonderful weeks fishing for trout in Scotland. But before he can finish packing, he is summoned by Miss Sanderson to join her at the home of Honoria Farquson for splendid surprise. She won't give him any hints as to the nature of the surprise, but she promises that he will "never regret this weekend." Sandy has an uncanny way of being right, but this particular weekend will be the exception to prove the rule.

It starts out pleasant enough. The surprise waiting for Forsythe in Norfolk is his favorite movie star Erika Von Farr who is playing in a remake of Wuthering Heights using the Farquson house in the film. The story has been updated to include a leather-clad Heathcliff on a motorcycle played by Von Farr's lover, Mickey Darling, who is anything but. His fans adore him, but everyone connected with the film (except Von Farr) detests the arrogant actor. But does anyone hate him enough to try and kill him? When someone is poisoned and it looks like the poison was meant for Mickey. Forsythe is compelled to try and get to the bottom of things. But when he comes up with the answer is it really the right one? Who was really the intended victim...and will the right person be arrested for the crime?

Perhaps it is because Forsythe is a little bit star-struck in this one and it seems to cloud his judgment, but I didn't enjoy this one quite as much Death for a Dancer. The interactions between Forsythe and his secretary--one of the highlights of Dancer--were not nearly as entertaining, and Forsythe doesn't shine quite as brightly as an amateur sleuth. Mickey Darling is a pretty loathsome character and few of the others are well-drawn enough to appreciate their contributions to the story. Honoria Farquson is the exception and the story was most interesting when she was on stage, as it were. The mystery plot itself is well done with a clever motive. It's a shame that the detective work wasn't as well done. A near ★★★ effort--near enough that I'll go ahead and award three.

************
This counts for the "Broken Object" category on the Silver Vintage Scavenger Hunt card.

Servant's Problem: Review

"My daddy says you're the smartest man there is with a mystery, so I just had to turn you."
"A mystery?" The fire horse smelled smoke.

Servant's Problem (1958) by Veronica Parker Johns is the second (and last novel) to feature Webster Flagg, African American, sixtyish, ex-actor and houseman, as well as a current property owner in one of the nicer sections of town, thanks to a legacy from his employer in the previous book, Murder by Day. He's prepared to settle down to a landlord's life, with "the house chores being done by an able janitor, the financial details managed bey a renting agent, only the joys of landlordship to be his." Then he gets a phone call from the daughter of an old friend. Stella is working as a maid in an elegant East side brownstone. The woman who owns the building has gone on an European trip, subletted the apartments, and odd things are happening. The latest? The subletting residents have changed the locks and she can't get in to do her work. Flagg can't resist a mystery.

He arranges to meet her so they can go to the brownstone together and find out what is going on, but somebody clobbers her just before he arrives. When a shiny new key shows up, Flagg takes Stella's place as "maid" and tries to get the low-down on the mysterious Mr. Atterbury, who has never been seen by his employees and stashes a cowboy suit and out-o-date clothes in a closet, and his three beautiful nieces. There's Julie who seems to be the family's go-fer and who is in love with an ex-convict. And Michelle who owns a cute little tearoom--but is it a front for something a little less respectable. And, of course, there's Pearl who drinks....and talks...too much for her own good.

Between top-secret deliveries and attacks on Michelle's gangster friends--one gets a bullet in the arm and another is roped and tied by a truck-driving cowboy, Flagg knows that anything, even murder, could happen in this "respectable" household. By the way, is there anything buried in the backyard besides the shrubs that Michelle keeps sending the owner's brother to the country to collect and plant? Flagg suspects there just might be....and if he's not careful he might wind up under a bush himself.

There is a lot to like about this one. We have one of the few, if not only, butlers (houseman/etc.) turned amateur detective--turning the whole "the butler did it" motif on its head. We also have one of the earliest African American detectives. And Webster Flagg is a marvelous character--well-defined, intelligent, and interesting and making his way through the white, upper-class world with dignity and charm. There are enough other quirky characters to really make things interesting. The writing is engaging and the plot keeps the reader entertained and turning pages. My only quibble is the mystery--there isn't much of one. It's pretty obvious from the beginning what the nieces (or at least two of the three) are up to. The only real question is if someone did get murdered and, if so, who--but that is treated almost as an after thought and it isn't easily solved by the reader because of a lack of clues. ★★★ and 3/4 for a lively, interesting, and engaging story.

If you'd like to read more about Veronica Parker Johns and her mysteries, please stop by John's post from 2014 over at Pretty Sinister Books. 

*************
This counts for the "Revolver" category on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt card.

The Mirabilis Diamond: Review

John Steele is just your average private eye. He's got a run-down office and a secretary who often threatens to walk out, but who is loyal to a fault and can't help thinking that this time he'll actually earn a fee (and she'll finally get paid). In The Mirabilis Diamond (1945 by Jerome Odlum) he's got a mysterious client with two tough-guy body guards who doesn't want Steele to know where he lives, but does want him to track down an archaeologist who has just dug up a diamond worth a million bucks. There will be several attacks on his life. He will be framed for a couple of murders. And a gorgeous little dame will cling to him, call him "Johnny" (which he hates), and insist that all she wants is to find her father (the archaeologist) and doesn't have any interest in any silly old diamond (insert eyelash-batting here). 

When Steele arrives in Baja California, the last known locale of the archaeologist and his diamond, he finds that he's not the only one looking for the man and the gem. In fact, people hot on the trail keep popping in and out like regular little jacks-in-the-boxes. Or like something I've seen before...maybe...The Maltese Falcon. Yeah. Like that. Only not as good.

That's the verdict I'm left with on this one. It strikes me as a knock-off of Hammett's terrific novel. You've got your fabulous, legendary treasure, your tough good guy, your not-so-on-the-level clients, your itchy-trigger-finger sidekick to the chief treasure hunter (or in this case, itchy-knife-throwing-hand), and the dubious gorgeous dame making eyes at our hero. Does the story play out exactly like Falcon? Well, no. But it's definitely crafted in that pattern and unfortunately it pales in comparison. It's got a decent plot line and Steele is actually a little more three-dimensional than a lot of hard-boiled private eyes. This brings it in at a solid ★★★, which--had the plot line not been so well-worn--might have ranked higher. I'd definitely be interested in giving Odlum another try--particularly if any of his other novels feature John Steele.

***************
This counts for the "Skull" category on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt card.

The Warsaw Anagrams: Review

The Warsaw Anagrams (2009) by Richard Zimler is a heartbreaking historical thriller set in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. The story is told by Erik Cohen, an elderly psychiatrist, who leaves a Nazi intern camp only to discover that he is no longer alive. He is an ibbur--a spirit--and no one can see him until he makes his way back to the Ghetto. There he finds Heniek Corben, a visionary man and the only person who can see this spectre from the camp, to whom he must tell his tale. The story begins in the Ghetto, so it is fitting that it can only be told where it began.
Cohen's story centers on his young nephew, Adam. Cohen, like all other Jews in Warsaw, has been forced to relocate to the Ghetto--an area surrounded by barbed wire to keep them separated from Christians. He moves in with his niece and her son and must learn to adjust to living in cramped quarters in close proximity with a young boy. Adam teaches his great-uncle much as Erik learns to love and protect his nephew and overcome his selfishness. But Adam is also savvy to the ways of the underground and risks much to bring back forbidden supplies from "The Other Side" (as life beyond the Ghetto walls is know). One night, Adam does not return home and his mutilated body is found the next morning on the barbed wire. It becomes Erik's mission to find out who did this to Adam--why was he killed and why his right leg cut off?

Erik's investigation leads him to the murders of other Jewish children--all left on the barbed wire with various parts removed and never the same parts. There are rumors that someone is taking the parts to build a golem, but Erik doesn't believe in superstition and isn't even sure he believes in God anymore. What kind of God would allow children to be brutalized like this? Erik is sure there is a darker, more horribly realistic motive behind the killing and he won't rest until he discovers it. 

Generally speaking, I don't do well with books that involve violence of any sort directed towards children. Even when I know it's not real, I just can't do it--I never could and even more so once I became a mother. But this book is so very well done and the focus is so much on Erik's investigation of the murders rather than on the details of the murders themselves, that I could enjoy it. Zimler creates a very moving and intriguing story in the midst of the overall horror of the Nazis' atrocities. He also creates a sense of hope in the midst of hopelessness by focusing on the simple, everyday activities of the Jewish people within the Ghetto--from the children going secretly to school and forming a choir to the small kindnesses that neighbors extend to one another to the few Polish Christians who risk punishment by providing what they can for the Jews they know behind the barbed wire. It is an absorbing and heart-breaking story and well worth your time whether you are looking for a World War II setting or a mystery thriller. ★★★★

The Decagon House Murders: Review

The Decagon House Murders (1987) by Yukito Ayatsuji is a daring homage to the Golden Age detective novel and, most particularly, to Agatha Christie's classic impossible crime novel, And Then There Were None. It also represents a resurgence of the classic crime novel in Japan. As is stated in the notes at the end of the 2015 English translation by Ho-Ling Wong:

The publication of The Decagon House Murders in 1987 was seen as a mile stone in detective fiction and the start of the shin honkaku movement. The term...now symbolises the rebirth of the classic puzzle-plot novel with a new twist, audacity: pushing the bounds of the puzzle-plot novel while adhering to its fair-play rule.

Ayatsuji takes the familiar trope of a group of people stuck on an island with no escape from a murderer and gives it a twist. This time, unlike the Christie novel, the people aren't strangers brought together by an unknown host--they are a group of students who are all members of a mystery club at a local university. They are so immersed in their hobby that they have each taken names from classic detective fiction: Agatha, Orczy, Van Dine, Leroux, Ellery, Carr, and Poe. The island and Decagon House was the site of a ghastly murder (possibly murder-suicide) just six months before and it appeals to their sense of mystery. When the uncle of one of the club members buys the property, the club takes advantage of their connections to plan a week's excursion. They explicitly tell the fisherman who runs them out to the island on is boat not to come back for a week.*

"So I really don't have to check up on ya even once?" the fisherman asked the six as they set foot on the dangerously creaking pier. "Don' think phones work here."

Van Dine meets the six--he had come ahead to bring the supplies and prepare the lodgings and they settle down for their stay. Initially, they enjoy exploring the grounds and wondering about the details of the crime six months before. But it isn't long before they are involved in a very personal murder mystery of their own. Someone begins killing the club members--one by one. Has one of their own gone mad or is there someone unknown hidden on the island? Clues begin to point to someone connected to the previous murders. Did that killer manage to hide on the island all this time? Ayatsuji manages to produce an unexpected answer that is at once surprising and highly satisfying.

This is a highly enjoyable puzzle-plot mystery. Since it is focused on the puzzle aspect, the characterization suffers a bit, but not enough to keep mystery fans from enjoying themselves. The solution to the mystery is quite audacious and, while I kept wondering if perhaps X might be the killer, I couldn't figure out how it would be possible. The clues are there if you just know how to interpret them. The motive isn't quite as clearly given, but there are subtle hints. ★★★★



*Note to self: If I'm ever invited to a secluded island for an extended stay--even by people I think I know well--make sure somebody will be checking up on us regularly (like--every. single. day.). AND make sure I bring along an emergency pack that contains an easily portable, inflatable boat for getting off the island ASAP if a madman starts knocking off the guests.

Chili Con Corpses: Review

Chili Con Corpses is the third installment in J. B. Stanley's cozy mystery series which features the "Flab Five"--a group of friends who create a supper club and support group, particularly when most of the members decide they need to find a way to balance their interest in food with a need to eat wisely and get fit. Her characters include James , a librarian knows as "The Professor;" the now newly svelte deputy-in-training Lucy; Bennett, a trivia buff who hopes some day to appear on Jeopardy!; Gillian, a herbalist with a New Age aura; and local high school teacher Lindy. 

The group is getting pretty tired of low-carb fare and sign up for a Mexican-themed Fix 'n' Freeze cooking class taught by the charismatic Milla. Murphy Alistair, editor/reporter for the Shenandoah Star-Ledger, also joins along with two of her college friends Parker and Kinsley willis--a pair of twins who look like supermodels. Lindy is sure that Kinsley is out to snag the man she's had her eye on for some time and threatens mayhem if she does. When Parker (who everyone has mistaken for her twin) is found murdered while helping to chaperone a school field trip for Lindy's students to Luray Caverns, the police are naturally interested in the rivalry between Lindy and Kinsley. But then they realize that one of the other chaperones wasn't who he was thought to be either and more motives start popping up. James and the Flab Five decide to take matters into their own hands and flush out the killer, but will they do so without losing one of their own?

This is a fun, light-hearted cozy mystery. The plot is solid and the characters are interesting and very real. I especially like the side-story with James's father, a widower, who has lost interest in most everything until he meets Milla. It was very nice to see how he blossomed as he got to know her. And the side-stories do not detract or distract from the main mystery plot as can sometimes happen. Stanley weaves them in nicely. If you have a taste for cozy mysteries...particularly those which involve food...then this is a solid entree for your mystery menu. ★★★

The Chalk Circle Man: Review

The Chalk Circle Man (1996) by Fred Vargas introduces readers to a new character, the quirky and thoroughly unorthodox Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg who has just recently been appointed to his post in Paris. Adamsberg doesn't do so well with the routine of policework so he lets his associate, Adrien Danglard, take care of that. The Commissaire prefers to ask (what seems to Danglard) off-the-wall questions and take long walks. Not to think things over, because he doesn't really call what he does "thinking things over"--every time he tries do that, nothing happens. But somehow taking a walk helps everything to sort itself out and the picture of the crime with fall into place. Every time.

One of his first cases in Paris starts as a mere odd bit of sensational graffiti. Someone that the newspapers dub "The Chalk Circle Man" begins drawing large chalk circles surrounding a variety of objects--everything from empty beer cans to four trombones to a pigeon's foot to a doll's head. Appearing around the outside of the circles is the phrase "Victor, woe's in store, what are you out here for?" When a dead cat appears in the latest circle, Adamsberg, who has already sensed a cruel streak underlying the senseless oddities, predicts that the worst is yet to come. And he's right. The next circle contains the body of a murdered woman. That's just the beginning. But there are indications that the puzzle may be more complicated than it first appears. Is the Chalk Circle Man a serial killer? Or is someone else using his harmless mania to disguise their crimes?

I normally don't like mysteries where the detective just "knows" whodunnit and why, but Vargas paints such a vivid picture that she makes you believe in the way Adamsberg operates. It's perfectly natural for this Commissaire to work the way he does and have the successful endings to his investigations. The characters she introduces are memorable as well--from Adamsberg to an odd marine biologist to the blind man she befriends and brings to live in the flats she rents out to the Chalk Man himself. You leave this world feeling as though you have really met and followed these folks around for the duration of the case. Oh...and Vargas manages to plant plenty of clues so armchair detectives who don't just "know" the solution can work it out--if they're clever enough. I almost got there....but missed the final curveball. By the time I connected, Vargas was already showing me the solution through Adamsberg. ★★★★ for a terrific beginning to an acclaimed series.

**********
This counts for "white" (as in "chalk white") for the Color-Coded Challenge. And Fred Vargas is a woman, so this counts for the Women Challenge as well.

All Challenges Fulfilled:  100 Plus Challenge, A-Z Mystery Author Challenge, Around the World, Color Coded Challenge, European Reading Challenge, Mad Reviewer, Mount TBR Challenge, My Kind of Mystery, Outdo Yourself, Women Challenge, Spring Into Horror,52 in 52

One Foot in the Grave

One Foot in the Grave (1979) by Peter Dickinson is my first entry for the Spring Into Horror Read-a-Thon. Fortunately Michelle is allowing those of us who are horror weenies to count mysteries. I have a few ghost story collections hanging out on the TBR pile--so I may venture into those. But my first book is a straight mystery.

This is the sixth book in the series featuring Scotland Yard's Jimmy Pibble. The now retired ex-Superintendent  is in a fancy nursing home called Flycatchers where he is recovering from a stroke brought on by the death of his wife. He has determined that he doesn't have much left to live for and wants to end it all while he still has all his faculties and having recovered enough to have just enough strength. He waits for a wild and windy night and makes his way out to a tower on the property--with the intention of flinging himself from the top. But his plans are interrupted when he discovers a corpse shot through the back of the head, almost execution-style.

His old instincts kick in and he can't help but be interested, especially when his old friend Chief Superintendent Mike Crewe becomes involved. When he learns that the victim had been acting as added security for the mysterious Mr. X (whom Pibble recognizes as a rather important informer in the underworld), it begins to look like someone is making a move on Mr. X to eliminate him before he can provide major information to the police. But the case is complicated by an elderly woman who claims that someone has been killing off wealthy patients--ostensibly so their heirs won't have to wait so long for their inheritance. Crewe tends to trust Pibble's instincts, even if he's not quite up to his previous standard yet, but the local Superintendent is sure that the killer will be found among the victim's discarded conquests on the nursing staff. Could it be that the truth lies somewhere in the middle?

I have had an on-again, off-again relationship with Peter Dickinson's work. My very first taste (back in the 80s and I don't even remember the book) did not go down at all well. For a long time, his name was on my TBF list (To Be Found) with no titles and simply the comment "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" --to keep me from bringing more of them home. But then in 2011 I decided to give him another try when I needed another book with a "Y" as the first letter of a title (not counting "The, A, or An" and brought The Yellow Room Conspiracy home with fear and trepidation. As I note in the review (linked), the book did not wow me as mystery but it did have excellent characters and was a good historical period piece. It gave me hope that I might like Dickinson after all.

After reading One Foot in the Grave, I have decided that Dickinson's strength is his characters. It's not his plots or his ability to mystify--the culprit is, quite frankly, glaringly obvious in this one and I don't think that was planned. But it is definitely worth the price of admission to watch Pibble work his way back from a stroke and his interactions with the nurses, previous colleagues on the force, and, most particularly his fellow residents. Lady Treadgold is a hoot--don't get anywhere near her and her walker if you are a nefarious evil-doer, trust me. Two things keep this from being a five- or even a full four-star outing. The first is the aforementioned weakness in the mystery itself. The second is that while the general outline of Pibble's return to strength is good, especially in his interactions with others, the long internal monologues are a bit taxing. The first chapter where he is making his way to the tower is especially so. It is only 32 pages long, but it reads like it is much longer. Overall, a strong showing and good reason to try the other Dickinson books sitting on my TBR pile. ★★★ and a half


**********
This also counts for the "Blood Stains" category on the Silver Vintage Scavenger Hunt card.

The Limehouse Text

In The Limehouse Text (2006), the third installment of Will Thomas's historical mystery series set during the Victorian era, it has been over a year since Cyrus Barker's first assistant Quong was murdered and still no clue has been found by either Scotland Yard or Barker to lead them to his killer. But then Inspector Bainbridge, the man originally assigned to the case, decides to go through the man's effects one more time to see if he can glean anything new and he finds a pawn ticket stub tucked into the sleeve of the Chinese man's tunic.

That pawn ticket, when redeemed by Barker produces a rare and secret text stolen from a Nanking monastery. The book contains instructions pertaining to a lethal form of martial arts forbidden to the West. And, when Bainbridge is killed in a manner similar to Quong, it becomes apparent that someone is willing to kill to get their hands on that text. Added to the urgency surrounding the matter is the uneasy political situation between the British Empire and Imperial China and the case draws the attention of the Foreign Office. Barker and his current assistant Llewelyn must track down the killer and also keep the book safe from a host of suspects--all of whom have an interest in the text. Their quest will take them through opium dens, to illegal boxing matches, and nearly end when Barker must prove himself through mortal combat at the behest of the district's warlord, Mr. K'ing. It will take more than fancy footwork and martial art skill to finally bring the crime home to the correct villain and see the text delivered safely to the rightful owners, but Barker comes through.

Thomas continues to expand on this new look at the Holmes and Watson/Wolfe and Goodwin detective team.  Lots more action than most of the Holmes stories and Barker is far more mobile and physically involved than Nero Wolfe generally is.  And I continue to enjoy the characters.  They are very  interesting and I particularly like the interaction between Barker and Llewelyn.  They have the chemistry necessary to create a duo to follow in such auspicious footsteps.  In the first book, we learned a lot about Llewelyn's background, but even with the bits and pieces we've been given along the way and a quite substantial chunk revealed in this latest outing, there is still plenty to be revealed about his employer.  The other members of Barker's staff from Mac the butler and general factotum to Dummolard, his French chef, are also well-drawn.   

Each of Thomas's books tends to focus on a particular group or historical moment from the era. This time we are immersed in the area of Limehouse and the Chinese population that lives there. I enjoyed the historical information that Thomas works into the narrative.  I appreciate learning something when I pick up a historical novel without being beaten over the head with scholarship.  Thomas weaves knowledge about the Chinese in England into the story without overburdening it and also teaches us a bit about the illegal boxing matches and martial arts without treating the material as info dumps. A very detailed and entertaining historical series that is well worth your time. ★★★ and a half.

**********
This fulfills the "historical mystery" for the Mystery Reporter Challenge.

The Case of the Black-Eyed Blonde: Review

Diana Regis was a beautiful blonde who showed up at Perry Mason's office wearing nothing but a coat, a negligee, and a shining black eye. Her employer's cad of a stepson made one too many advances to her and she resisted one too many times and he, believing that if you socked a female good and hard she'd fall into your arms, had done just that. But she didn't. She went back to her rooms at Jason Bartsler's home, ran into more trouble, and ran out of the house in barely enough to be respectable. All she wants Perry to do is get her owed salary and all of her things. But things get far more interesting fast.

Perry reaches a settlement with Bartsler, but the ink's barely dry on the deal before Perry and Della discover a dead body. And then it isn't long until they get involved will all sort of people who are, unfortunately, also of interest to Lieutenant Tragg and Sergeant Holcomb. Like Jason Bartsler, a mining tycoon who wants Perry to help him dig up his past. And Frank Glenmore, Jason's friend and right hand man, who prefers digging up the present. And Carl Fretch, the caddish step-son, who's main object in life is to make every dame bend to his will and who comes as baggage with Jason's second wife. And Jason's second wife whose primary interest is digging gold--enough for her and her darling boy. And then there's all the blondes--the one with the black eye, the one with the missing Barstler grandson, and the one who winds up shot and killed.

Holcomb doesn't care much for Perry Mason. In fact, he goes out of his way to make things as difficult as possible--even going to the lengths of arresting Perry and Della. But leave it to Perry to get to the bottom of things with the help of Della and Paul Drake. Poor Paul. Perry gives him so many assignments that he doesn't have time for a decent meal until the end of the story. 

Not the best Perry Mason story I've read, but the not the worst either. The back story about Jason Bartsler's missing grandson is interesting and I did enjoy the scenes where all Paul Drake wants is a good meal and Perry keeps telling him to munch on chocolate bars. But the obstructive nature of Holcomb is annoying and the clues are a little sparse on the ground. ★★★

*********
This fulfills (big surprise!) the "Blonde" category on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt Card.

Challenge Complete: A-Z Mystery Author

2016 A-Z Mystery Author Challenge

I'm always excited to get an email from Michelle saying that her A-Z Mystery Author challenge sign-up is ready to go.  I just got it tonight.  You all have to know that I love me some mysteries!  And I love trying to fill out the alphabet with mystery authors. 

Rules: A-Z represents the LAST name of the author in the mystery, thriller, suspense, cozy, noir, etc. genre. Read as many or as little as you want. Post your links at her site for your Challenge post and your reviews! (click link above to take you there).  Challenge Runs until December 31, 2016.
 
This year, I'm going to change it up a bit. I usually set my commitment as the letters A-M. This time, my goal is half the alphabet--any 13 letters. I'd love to do all of them, but X is such a difficult one (especially if I stick to my goal of reading only books on my own TBR stacks). I also had a bit of trouble with a few other letters in 2015, so we'll see what happens in the coming year.  
 
I'll fill in the books as they come. Commitment fulfilled 3/3/16. Still Reading!

A:

B: Hardly a Man Is Now Alive by Herbert Brean (1/16/16)

C: Which Doctor by Edward Candy (1/28/16)

D:

E: Hunt with the Hounds by Mignon G. Eberhart (1/3/16)

F: The Clue of the Judas Tree by Leslie Ford (1/6/16)

G:

H: The Silver Anniversary Murder by Lee Harris (2/17/16)

I:

J:

K: Red for Murder by Harold Kemp (1/13/16)

L: The Black Rustle by Constance & Gwenyth Little (2/22/16)

M: Who's Calling? by Helen McCloy (1/31/16)

N:

O:

P: The Day He Died by Lewis Padgett (3/3/16)

Q:

R: Murder at Arroways by Helen Reilly (1/7/16)

S:

T:

U: The Bachelors of Broken Hill by Arthur W. Upfield (2/24/16)

V:

W: The Girl in the Cellar by Patricia Wentworth (1/9/16)

X:

Y: The Fifth Passenger by Edward Young (2/10/16)

Z: