An Affair to Remember

 An Affair to Remember: The Remarkable Love Story of Katharine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy (1996) by Christopher Andersen

(From the dust jacket): She was a living legend, a symbol of fierce independence who defied convention to live life on her own terms. He was the greatest screen actor of all time, the personification of the rock-solid American male. During their twenty-six years together, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy mesmerized the world with their famous on-screen chemistry like no other couple. Yet their private love affair--which ended only with Tracy's death in 1967--remained shrouded in secrecy. Now, as Hepburn turns ninety, international best-selling author Christopher Andersen draws on his own extensive conversations with Kate--as well as those who knew the legendary duo intimately--to paint the first full, inspiring portrait of these beloved American icons and the life they shared. As Andersen did in Jack and Jackie, in An Affair to Remember he reveals the strength, wit, and dignity that characterized that historic partnership--and offers new revelations, including: 

New information about Hepburn's pre-Tracy affairs with Howard Hughes and others./The five family suicides that haunted Kate her entire life--and ultimately shaped her approach to the man she loved./Tracy's Other Women--from Joan Crawford to Loretta Young to Gene Tierney and Grace Kelly; why Kate never forgave Ingrid Bergman for having a secret romance with Spencer./The true, shocking extent of Tracy's alcoholism and undiagnosed depression; his erratic, often violent behavior, and how Kate bravely tried to tame the demons that drove him./How J. Edgar Hoover came close to destroying their careers./Never-before-told details of their physical relationship--including how Kate helped him to overcome impotency./The real reason why Tracy would not divorce his wife Louise, and marry Kate--and what Kate would have said had he asked her.

An Affair to Remember is, first and foremost, a poignant love story--the often funny, sometimes heartbreaking, always captivating portrait of a Great American Romance.

My take: While I learned a great deal about Spencer Tracy and a little bit about Katharine Hepburn (I've read two previous biographies about Kate)--and those things were very interesting, I didn't feel like the book lived up to its billing. Nearly the entire first half is spent giving us the biographies of these two fascinating people. Then the real focus on the on the relationship begins. But even then, a fair number of the remaining pages are devoted to them separately (Kate off on the East Coast working in Shakespeare or in the Congo filming The African Queen; Spencer fretting away on the West Coast or working on his separate projects...or more often off on a drunken bender). 

I'm not sorry I read this--as I mentioned I learned a lot about Spencer Tracy that I didn't know and I did learn more about their relationship than I already knew. But...it's not quite the book as advertised. I expected more of a spotlight on the love affair than we got. Spencer and Kate have quite an interesting dynamic--and looking back on the relationship from 2026, there are many aspects that are troubling. Particularly when you consider what an independent woman Kate was in all other aspects. Quite an interesting book for those who are fans of either (or both) star or who are interested in the golden age of movie making. Just know that the love affair does not really get top billing, despite the credits. ★★★

First line: Lying on the floor, her head resting on the down pillow she had brought in from her bedroom, Katharine Hepburn pulled the blind back, slid the patio door open a crack, and breathed in the California night air.

Last line: Theirs was an affair to remember.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (1998) by Alexander McCall Smith

When Precious Ramotswe's father dies, she sells his cattle (with his life-time-given blessing) and buys two things--a house and a building in which she can set up a detective agency. She is gifted with an incredible memory (fostered by the cousin who helped bring her up when her mother died) and a deep understanding of people--two qualities that will serve her well when she begins her work. Her cases cover everything from errant husbands to wayward daughters to fraudulent insurance claims to deceitful doctors. She deals with each case with quick efficiency and a kind heart (for those who deserve it). But one case follows her through the book--the case of a missing eleven-year-old boy, feared dead, but perhaps taken by a witch doctor. If Mma Ramotswe can find the boy alive, she will consider herself a real detective.

Though there are mysteries here and Mma Ramotswe does solve them, this is less a detective book than a commentary on life in Botswana. McCall Smith gives the reader a sweeping look at life in the small towns and countryside in this part of Africa. As we follow our detective on her cases, we meet everyone from the local shopkeepers to school-age children to mechanics and gangsters. We are shown at once that people are the same everywhere, even as we see the differences that come with life in Botswana. The appeal of the people and the descriptions of place compensate for the simplicity of the mysteries Mma Ramotswe solves. The best of them is the one that takes the longest to unravel--the missing boy. [SPOILER]  And I'm pleased to say that she's successful. Not necessarily the kind of mystery I prefer, but quietly satisfying in other ways. ★★★

First line: Mma Ramotswe had a detective agency in Africa, at the foot Kgale Hill.

"We are the ones who first ploughed the earth when Modise (God) made it," ran an old Setswana poem. "We were the ones who made the food. We are the ones who look after the men when they are little boys, when they are young men, and when they are old and about to die. We are always there. But we are just women and nobody sees us." (p. 34)

Last line: "Of course I will," said Mma Ramotswe.
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Deaths = 5 (three natural; one hit by train; one eaten by crocodile)

The Fourth Postman

 The Fourth Postman (1948) by Craig Rice

"Please, Mr. Postman, look and see

Is there a letter, a letter for me..."

John J. Malone finds himself representing Rodney Fairfaxx when a procession of postmen get themselves killed in the alley that runs beside the Fairfaxx house. Rodney is a small, mild-mannered man who just likes to collect stamps while waiting patiently for a letter from his sweetie, a woman whose name appeared on the Titanic passenger list and whom everybody (except Rodney) has accepted as lost at sea. The police (in the person of Captain Daniel von Flanagan) believe Rodney has been driven crazy by the non-appearance of letters and has decided to take it out on the innocent postmen who are not delivering the goods. But when Malone takes a look at the scene of the crimes and considers the circumstances, he knows his client didn't do it...and what's more, he knows that von Flanagan knows it too. So....

Who would want to kill a postman? [A question posed by several of our characters.] And...who would want to kill three postment? These are questions that John J. Malone and Captain Daniel von Flanagan are trying to answer. But to my mind, the more burning question is why on earth, after two of your fellow postmen have been bashed on the head while going down an alley short-cut, would you--as the third postman to take this route--go down that alley? If I'm the third postman, I'm going to take the long way round and avoid that alley like the plague.

Another observation, as soon as one of the characters announced to all and sundry that he was changing his will--and definitely not in y'all's favor; in fact, none of you are gonna get anything now--I fully expected another murder/attempted murder. And, by golly, I was right. But not in the way I thought. 

Anyway, Malone, von Flanagan and Helene Justus spend the rest of the book running around town looking for hammers, making mysterious phone calls, tracking down motives for either killing postmen or seeing that Rodney Fairfaxx takes the rap, feeding their newfound doggy friend beer, and trying to keep Jake Justus, currently suffering from a bad case of chicken pox, safely at home in bed. Malone discovers that Rodney's family (a brother and a niece and nephew) and neighbors (who are the wife and daughter of one Rodney's dearly departed friends) all might have a motive to keep postmen and Fairfaxx from seeing one another. But who wanted it enough to kill? 

Malone's antics with his new booze-hound side-kick and the interactions with Helen and Jake (and the doctor who keeps popping in and out to attend to the chicken pox) are well worth the price of admission. The quirky motive behind the murders adds a bit of spice to the proceedings and it all makes for a fun, fast-paced mystery. ★★★★

First line: The sound of a dead body falling is like no other sound on earth, as any effects technician who has tried to create it in a radio studio will tell you.

"I can't arrest all of 'em," von Flanagan muttered. He added, "Besides, butlers don't commit murders."
You'd be surprised what butlers will do," Malone said. (p. 151)

Last line: Then he leaned his head back and went to sleep.
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Deaths = 8 (three hit on head; two natural; one shot; two car accident)

Frederica

 Frederica (1965) by Georgette Heyer

Vernon, the Marquis of Alverstoke, is at the top of the ton; the highest  levels of fashion. He is wealthy and handsome and the hope of every mother determined to make an excellent match for one of her daughters in the Marriage Mart. But...Alverstoke is easily bored by the ladies of the ton and never spends longer more time than a brief flirtation or discreet liaison on any of them. Then along comes Frederica Merriville with her three younger siblings. He's never met a woman like her.

The Merrivilles are distant cousins and Frederica is determined that Cousin Alverstoke will launch her sister Charis into ton on her come out. There is nothing that Alverstoke would less--as he's already explained to his sisters who have wheedled and schemed and everything in between trying to get him to host a ball in their daughters' honor. Hosting balls bore him and he hates being bored. But there's something about Frederica that appeals to him--she's not pretty and she's "on the shelf" (an elderly twenty-four [!], no longer seeking a entree into society for herself), but she can talk to him without resorting to coquettish ways and (gasp) even argue with him. Her sister Charis is a beauty, a diamond of the first-water, and he suddenly realizes that helping Frederica to bring her out into society will put his sisters' noses so far out of joint that they (the nose) may be facing backward. And what great fun that will be! 

What he doesn't bargain on is becoming fond of Frederica's two younger brothers--Jessamy and Felix and serving as a father-figure/guardian stand-in. But at least with Felix, he is never bored. Felix is a scientifically-minded young fellow who gets into the most extraordinary scrapes all in the interests of science--from disappearing overnight on a steam packet (to get an up close and personal experience of the steam engine) to going up in a hot air balloon and then falling out of it when it had a bad landing. Jessamy isn't far behind, having a run-in with some Londoners when he tries out the latest conveyance (an early form of the bicycle). No, boredom has never been so far away. And...he also doesn't bargain on becoming fond of Frederica. She interests him more than any woman of the ton ever did. But does she interest him enough to make this confirmed bachelor settle down for life?

So often bookish quizzes and challenges either want to know your "guilty pleasure" reads or have a prompt asking you to read a "guilty pleasure" book. I generally say that I don't really have any guilty pleasure reads: If I like reading a thing, then I like it and will own up to it. There's no feeling guilty about it. That said, if I have to choose a guilty pleasure read then I will claim historical romances for that category simply because I'm not a big romance fiction reader. And if I'm going to read romance then there's nothing better than one of Heyer's Regency romances. I love the research Heyer has put into getting the period right; I love making my way through the colloquialisms of the time--everything from "top-lofty" to "making a cake" of oneself to "ninnyhammer." [As an aside, it's a shame that there is not even a hint of a mystery in this particular Heyer--some of the romances do have a bit of mystery as well--because it's chock full of words and phrases that could have been used as the GAD Word of the Day.]

This is another of Heyer's best. Frederica makes for an admirable love-interest for Alverstoke. She's able to give plenty in their verbal give-and-take and she has enough force of character to stand up to him. The subplots involving Felix and Jessamy are well-done, incorporated nicely, and most interesting. I find Charis and Harry (the eldest Merriville--mostly off at Oxford) a bit disappointing, but I suppose the whole family can't be interesting. The one thing that keeps this from being a full five stars is the fact that, despite being a Regency romance, the romance is very definitely flying under the radar. In fact, for most of the book, Frederica doesn't even realize that romance is in the works for her. But the finely-drawn characters and the various storylines carry the day and make this a compelling historical fiction read. ★★★★

First line: Not more than five days after she had despatched an urgent missive to her brother, the Most Honourable the Marquis of Alverstoke, requesting him to visit her at his earliest convenience, the widowed Lady Buxted was relieved to learn from her youngest daughter that Uncle Vernon had just driven up to the house, wearing a coat with dozens of capes, and looking as fine as fivepence.

Last lines: "If I promise faithfully not to blow the house up? If you please, Cousin Alverstoke...?"

Dangerous Crossing

 Dangerous Crossing (2017) by Rachel Rhys

It's 1939 and as Europe heads towards another world war, Lily Shepherd is headed for a new life in Australia. Leaving her parents and brother behind (sadly) as well as memories she'd rather forget, Lily is taking part in a program that gives her passage to the land down under and an opportunity to find employment. But during the weeks spent aboard ship she finds a different sort of opportunity--the chance to sample a world full of adventure, new friends, dancing, visits to some of the wonders of the world, and a taste of life among the upper classes. But that world is also full of danger--men with only one thing on their minds; men with grudges against certain groups of people--including some of Lily's new friends; and women who are so bored with life that they will try anything at least once. Lily thinks she may find romance with a young law student who is traveling with his sister...but when a friend disappears one night (apparently lost overboard--or was she pushed?) and another death occurs, she finds herself in the middle of a terrible situation and nowhere to go.

First thought: I am not a fan of present tense--especially when it seems to be done in such a weird way. It's like it's trying to be partially first-person present tense and mostly omniscient present tense and not quite successful at either. This, I'm sure, colored my reading somewhat. There was all the makings of a really good mystery, but somewhere it went a bit off course and we wound up with a middle-of-the-road story. The background was good. And the beginning started well. But once we settled in onboard ship, we spent way too much time on the weird interpersonal interactions between Lilly and the Campbells. And, honestly, wound up with very little mystery. It's obvious what happened to Maria (the friend who disappears overboard) and the second death happens right before our eyes, so we know immediately who did it. If Rhys had simply wanted to write a historical story set aboard a ship, that would have been one thing. But--she states plainly in her afterword that she thought the journal written by a friend of her mother's about doing just what Lily did would make a marvelous basis for a "historical crime novel." And the blurb led me to expect just that, so I think it natural that I felt a bit let down. 

As a historical novel, it is a good solid read (especially if you don't mind or can get past the present tense). But if you're looking for a great historical crime or mystery novel, then I don't think it quite meets the case. ★★★

First line: Sandwiched between two policemen, the woman descends the gangplank.

Last line: GREETINGS FROM THE NEW LADY CULLEN STOP MARRIED TWO WEEKS STOP SETTING OFF FOR NYERI KENYA TOMORROW STOP IF EATEN BY LIONS MY PEACH SILK IS YOURS STOP ELIZA
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Deaths = 4 (one drowned; one stabbed; one bled to death; one suicide)

Aristotle Detective

 Aristotle Detective (1978) by Margaret Doody

Synopsis (from the back of the book): When a violent murder leaves a prominent citizen dead and a falsely accused suspect in exile, a master philosopher turned part-time sleuth is drawn into the baffling mystery. The scene is Athens, 332 B.C.; the murder weapon is a bow and arrow; the investigator, an in inexperienced young boy. There is only one mind capable of putting together the puzzling pieces--that of the great and wise Aristotle. Stephanos does the legwork, exploring the ins and outs of the city, and the master ponders the clues and weighs the evidence in a splendidly dramatic trial before the supreme tribunal of Athens. Aristotle unmasks the villain in a dazzling display of deductive logic.

My take: This was just a snooze-fest for me. We have Aristotle set up as a Holmes wanna-be with Stephanos acting as his active Watson. Though Stephanos has more of a stake in the mystery since the wrongly accused man is his relative. I'm afraid that I didn't find any "splendidly dramatic" moments nor "dazzling display[s] of deductive logic." The villain of the piece is pretty obvious very early in the book and viewing all of this through the eyes of Stephanos was excruciating. He may be filling the shoes of Watson in this story, but the original Watson is far more appealing. 

Others on Goodreads have rated this much more highly--so perhaps one needs a more philosophic mind to really appreciate it. I guess I'm just not a philosophic girl. ★

First line: It was in the month of Boedromion in the waning of the third moon after the summer solstice that the terrible deed was done that was to have so long and arduous a consequence.

Last line: "Polygnotos commanded the best rhetoric of all."
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Deaths = one stabbed

High Marks for Murder

 High Marks for Murder (2008) by Rebecca Kent (Kate Kingsbury)

Meredith Llewellyn is the headmistress at the Bellehaven Finishing School. A place that is known for transforming the "most incorrigible tomboy into a refined young lady." It's also a bit progressive for the beginning of the 20th Century--encouraging their refined young ladies to think for themselves and allowing exploration into other ways to find fulfillment beyond the role of wife and mother. The teachers may teach deportment and household management, but you just might find them chanting "votes for women" along with their students. You never know what you might see if you arrive unannounced. But I don't think anyone expected to see a ghost...

That's just what Meredith does see after her friend Kathleen Duncan, the home management teacher, was found bludgeoned to death with a tree limb. The local bobby doesn't want to waste precious time investigating too deeply into the demise of a woman out wandering in the garden at night alone (where no respectable lady should be...) and decides it's a death by tramp. A very convenient tramp who is long gone with no way to trace him. Meredith is upset that her friend's death is so easily dismissed and thinks about investigating on her own. But she has no idea how to go about it. Until she starts seeing Kathleen's ghost who seems to be trying to tell her something through various signs. If she can just figure out what Kathleen's motions in the garden mean, she just might have the clues to get an investigation started. 

Pure cozy mystery. No blood to speak of. No traumatic or complicated goings-on in our amateur sleuth's life. And, honestly, not a whole heaping lot of detection. So--if you're looking for a standard mystery with clues to follow and deductions to make, then this might not be your thing. If you like a gentle mystery with a hint (just a hint, mind you) of the supernatural and likeable characters, then this might well be your thing. 

I like the setting at a girls' school. I like our main characters--Meredith and her two, somewhat reluctant, Watsons, Felicity and Essie--though I'm not quite sold on Meredith as a Sherlock just yet. This was a pleasant read but the mystery wasn't too difficult. I knew exactly what Kathleen's ghost meant when she kept pointing at the garden and I'm not quite sure why Meredith was so baffled. Perhaps her grief got in the way? I have the second book in this series and hope that we will see more detecting than trying to communicate with spirits (though I already know there is a ghost involved in that one as well). ★★★

First line: Under normal circumstances Meredith Llewellyn enjoyed the Sunday services at St. Edmund's.

Last line: "Now what's your story?"
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Deaths = one hit on head 

Old Bones

 Old Bones (1943) Herman Petersen

 Marian Wayne, wife of our narrator Ben Wayne, is on the hunt for local-sourced, vintage pine board for a redecoration project. She's hunted high and low in abandoned barns and farmhouses with no success. But then she remembers the grist mill on the property of the area's power family--the Wights. She finds what she's looking for there...and a bit more. While looking around she happens to look in the stand pipe, a well-like opening with water in the bottom, and sees a jumble of bones lying at the bottom. When her husband hears her story, he brings in Doc Miller, the county coroner, who in turn calls upon the D.A. Even before they try to retrieve the bones, Miller is convinced that they've an old murder to solve because someone dumped in old timbers as well in an effort to hide the remains. 

Since it is after dark and there's no lights in the mill, they decide to return in the morning to drain the stand pipe and bring up the bones. But when they get there, they find that someone has beaten them to it and the bones are gone. 

Bones, bones, who's got the bones? 

by grandeduc on Getty images

Fortunately, the person who snatched them in the night wasn't so great at the "hiding" part of hide-and-seek and the bones are rediscovered fairly quickly. The Wights, however, immediately use their influence to try and railroad the D.A. into calling the death an "unfortunate accident to John Doe." But as soon as Doc Miller gets a good look at the bones, he isn't having any. He recognizes healed bones representing injuries that he treated himself and declares that the bones belong to Nate Wight, the black sheep of the family who supposedly slunk off to New York City a few years ago. All clues seem to point directly to the Wights--no wonder they wanted things hushed up. And one of them will go to any length to keep the secrets of the past unseen. Now Doc Miller with Ben acting as his leg man must race to identify Nate's murderer before more people are hurt...or killed.

Lots of action--from a chase through the swamps to a midnight rescue from the stand pipe to blazing (literally) grand finale. Ben Wayne endures some very pulpy private eye encounters--all in the dark, so we don't know who the villain is till the end. Doc Miller spends a fair amount of time tending to Ben's injuries and you have to sympathize with Marian who is afraid that her husband won't survive the next go-round with the culprit. There is also a good amount of good old fashioned deduction on Doc Miller's part, making for a good detective story on top of the pulp action. The characters are great from the interactions between the good doctor and Ben, the good doctor and all the Wights. I especially enjoyed the two younger Wights--Peg and Lightning. They made good sleuthing sidekicks for Ben.

There are a few drawbacks--like the overall motivation of the killer. The initial murder and cover-up I get. But the follow-ups are bit tenuous--especially if the Wights and their entourage stick together as they've always done. It might have helped if there had been a bit more attention to the background of the characters (delightful as most of them are, we don't learn a lot about them). And I don't see the point of the fire at the end--not even with the murderer explaining it. But the pluses outweigh the minuses and I thoroughly enjoyed Petersen's story. I'll definitely pick up the first two in the Doc Miller series if I come across them.  ★★★★

First line: I had spent most of today in the city; a business demand had been satisfied, and I had managed to call on my tailor too.

Last line: What became of the cat?"
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Deaths = 5 (one natural; one hit on head; one shot; two burned to death)

The Division Bell Mystery

 The Division Bell Mystery (1932) by Ellen Wilkinson

Ellen Wilkinson was one of England's first female MPs and gives readers an intimate look at the hallowed halls of Parliament in this, her first...and only detective novel. Her debut novel introduces Robert West, private secretary to the Secretary of State for Home Affairs, who finds himself playing amateur detective when a violent death happens during his Chief's private dinner with reclusive American financier Georges Oissel. 

Initially, the death of Oissel looks like suicide. The Home Secretary (who seems to be nameless...unless I missed it somehow) had to leave his guest a bit before the division bell (a signal to Members that a vote is about to be taken). The room is virtually sealed--all windows locked and the only door under observation of a waiter preparing to bring coffee for the Home Secretary's return as well as West and his own guest who are just coming down the hallway--when a shot is heard. The three men rush to the room and find Oissel shot through the heart and a revolver on the floor nearby.

The House officers quickly arrive and a search is made, but there is no one out of the ordinary to be found. Inspector Blackitt of Scotland Yard is called in and also seems to favor suicide--at first. But Oissel's granddaughter insists that her grandfather would never kill himself. And then the Oissel's apartment is burgled and the Home Secretary's own man who had been serving as a kind of body guard is killed. And then...the evidence (lack of scorching of any sort) supports the theory of murder. But if it is murder, how did the murderer get away? West and Blackitt will have to solve the impossible crime if they're going to nab the killer.

Wilkinson does an excellent job of setting the scene. Even this Yank began to feel at home in the House of Commons--it was so well-described. It was fun to see the inner workings of the 1930s Parliament--the machinations and tricks and deals to get things done. And to realize that "the more things change, the more they stay the same." Her characters are vivid and well-defined and I think it's a shame she didn't write more mysteries, especially if they would have featured Lord Dalbreattie and West investigating again. Inspector Blackitt is given the short end of the stick, though. After showing how it couldn't be suicide and beginning to investigate, he sort of fades into the background. 

She doesn't do too badly with the impossible crime either--especially given that this was her first attempt at a detective novel. One one real complaint is that I can't remember a particular thing being mentioned about the room where Oissel was killed. It's kind of important to solving the mystery. I just went back and reread all the scenes I could remember that took place in Room J (as it's known) and I couldn't find mention of it at all. So, I don't see how the reader could possibly have figured out how it was done.

Overall a thoroughly enjoyable read. ★★★★

First line: No matter how exciting the day, the House of Commons loses all interest between the hours of 7 am and 9 pm.

The public was not quite sure of him [the Prime Minister] because he, elusive, incalculable, was never quite sure of himself....to some degree he reflected the lack of purpose of his period. It was counted to him for a virtue that he could answer any question and leave the questioner soothed, but completely in the dark as to what he meant. (p. 159)

"Flossie" [the Home Secretary] was priceless. He had committed the most unpardonable piece of folly, he had outraged every official British tradition. If the facts were suspected not only the Government, but the Party were irretrievably ruined, and there he sat, a pillar of the Established Church and the Established Everything Else, shocked at the wickedness of the the unknown burglars. (p. 167)

Robert felt like he ought to apologize for the poor old Parliament that had insisted on having a mystery although it ought to have known that Lord Dalbeattie didn't like them. (p. 175)

"The police are no match for a really highly trained servant, especially one accustomed to holding his or her tongue in a place like the House of Commons. I learned that fact in a very costly way when I was trying to get a divorce. My wife knew it, and I paid for the lesson. (Lord Dalbeattie; p. 179)

"But it is no use trying to unravel a mystery like this unless you are prepared to face every possibility, and keep your own emotions out of it. Find the truth, and then let your feelings dictate what you should do with it. That seems to me to be the only common-sense way." (Lord Dalbeattie; p 182)

[The "Under Gallery"] is rigidly barred to any woman, though she may be the expert in charge of a bill. Women M.P.s might try to abolish this absurdity, but the House, which in the past has swallowed whole strings of new camels, would die in the last ditch in defence of some antiquated gnat of a custom. (p 194)

Last line: "The police forgot the river."
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Deaths = two shot

Death on the Slopes

 Death on the Slopes (1978) by Norma Schier

Jason Ryder has been trying to recover from the death of his wife in a tragic car accident when two things happen. Valerie Mayne, a woman who says she was friend of his wife in college, shows up at his door and attaches herself, limpet-like, to him. He just can't seem to get her to get a job and an apartment and out of his hair. And he receives a letter from his cousin asking if he'd like a change from the high-powered world of New York publishing to the mountain slopes of Colorado. His cousin, who teaches at a small college in Aspen, is going to Italy to teach and there's an open position. Jason decides the change is just what he needs...and it's a chance to get rid of Valerie gracefully.

Except...

"But Jason, that's too good to be true! I'm dying to go to Aspen!"

And the limpet tags right along to Colorado. Where she immediately stirs up trouble, making everyone think that Jason has a live-in girlfriend. So...when Valerie winds up stabbed with a ski pole and Jason was last person known to be her...well what is the detective in charge of the case to think?

But...Aspen's newest female D.A., Kay Barth, doesn't think the police have enough evidence to make a charge stick and demands that the officers dig a little deeper into Valerie's past. Except...it's evident that's going to be a challenge. Despite making the national news and calls for information, no one comes forward as family or friends to help the police or claim the body. Could there be something in Valerie's past that finally caught up with her on the ski slopes? New evidence is found that there were other men in Valerie's life and that she had history of using what she knew about people to get what she wanted. Whose position did she threaten the most?

This is one of the better mysteries in the Zebra Puzzler series, though one could have hoped for more clues to the motive. On the plus side, there are plenty of suspects to choose from and there are several clues that could point more than one way. So the book is true to the series name--providing a puzzle for the reader. With the set-up, one did know that Jason would be cleared even though it looked quite black for him even at moments towards the end. And this series just isn't the type to turn things absolutely on its head by making the apparently guilty from the beginning suspect the actual villain after all. A fun, quick read that I enjoyed. ★★★★

First line: Margaret Watterson was new to skiing.

Last lines: "You can keep the scotch," she called out. The front door slammed behind her.
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Deaths = 4 (one auto accident; one stabbed; two airplane crash)

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.
******************

Deaths = 7 (one car accident; six poisoned)

Book Challenge by Erin 24.0

 

Book Challenge by Erin 24.0

First and foremost, have fun. Don't stress. No one is being judged, graded, or penalized. Even if you finish only one book the entire challenge, if you enjoy it and it's an accomplishment for you, then that's awesome.

The challenge runs from January 1, 2026 - April 30, 2026. You submit your book list prior to beginning the challenge. Exchanges are accepted for the first round, but not in the bonus round (announced later). No books started before 12 a.m. on January 1 or finished after 11:59 p.m. on April 30 will count. (We live in different time zones--follow according to your own time zone.) Each book must be at least 200 pages long. Audio books are fine too. Read one book for each category. For full details see Erin's page on Facebook (link above). You will need to join the private group to view.

Freebie: Death on the Slopes by Norma Schier (204 pages) [1/9/26]

A Book That Begins With A, B, or C: 

Aristotle, Detective by Margaret Doody (278 pages) [2/3/26]

An Epistolary Book: 

Don Among the Dead Men by C. E. Vulliamy (224 pages) [1/7/26]

A Book With a Clock on Cover OR "Clock" in Title: 

The Division Bell Mystery by Ellen Wilkinson (256 pages) [1/12/26]

Book With a Strong Father Figure: 

Frederica by Georgette Heyer (384 pages) [2/22/26]

Book from List Curated by Australian Readers: 

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (235 pages) [3/2/26)

Book With Occupation in Title: 

The Fourth Postman by Craig Rice (228 pages) [2/25/26]

Book Set in a School or an Academic Setting: 

High Marks for Murder by Rebecca Kent (200 pages) [1/22/26]

Book Added to Your List Because of the BCBE group: 

A Dangerous Crossing by Rachel Rhys (selected by Olga Michelle Gladtskov Ball) for "Takes Place on a Mode of Transportation 8.0") [2/4/26]

Biography/Memoir/Historical Fiction About Someone You Know Little About: 

An Affair to Remember: The Remarkable Story of Katharine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy by Christopher Anderson (315 pages) [2/5/26]

 

 

She Came Back

 She Came Back (The Traveller Returns; 1945) by Patricia Wentworth (Dora Amy Turnbull)

Anne Jocelyn came back alright--back from the dead, apparently. To the shock of her family and especially her husband Sir Philip Jocelyn.  Anne had gone to France to see about claiming a legacy (that Philip had told her not to accept) and was caught in the first German assault on France. Philip had arrived to get his wife, her look-alike cousin, and anyone else in the household he could to safety. Under fire from the Germans, Anne (Philip is certain) was killed and Annie Joyce (the cousin) was lost in the fray--presumed captured. But now someone claiming to be Anne Jocelyn has shown up and she insists that it was Annie who was shot while she survived.

The resemblance between the women was so great that most of the family and even the family lawyer isn't certain where the truth lies. Only Philip insists that Annie is trying to take the family fortune which she had always believed should have been hers and not Anne's. If she has to live as Anne for the rest of her life, then he is sure she'd do so. Philip is prepared to bear public censure and a court case if need be rather than accept an imposter as his wife, but the family lawyer points how unpleasant life could be if the case couldn't be proved. So, Philip agrees to a six-month trial to be sure. But then murder enters the picture and his doubts come back. The murdered woman is an old nanny of Annie's and when Scotland Yard is called in, Sergeant Frank Abbott immediately begins consulting Miss Maud Silver. She's shrewd, but it takes two murders and an attempted third before she can sort things out properly.

The second half of this book is way better than the first. Why? Because Miss Silver finally shows up. The first half where Anne turns up and is trying to get Philip to believe that she really is who she says she is just didn't do it for me. But when the murders start and Miss Silver gets down to cases, well, now we're talking. I don't think anyone will be surprised about the answer to whether Anne is really Anne or Annie, but the real surprise is finding out who the murderer is. The war references and connections are good and Wentworth does an excellent job with all of her characters--even the minor ones. ★★★ and 1/2 (all for the second half)

First line: The air in the Food Office was cold and stuffy.

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

Deaths = 5 (two natural; two shot; one hit by car)

Death on Gokumon Island

 Death on Gokumon Island (1948) by Seishi Yokomizo

Gokumon Island has a long, forbidding reputation--with a name meaning Hell's Gate Island and a history as a pirate stronghold. Since its pirate days, it came to be ruled by two strong, clannish fishing families. The head family, long lead by Kaemon Kito, is depending on Kaemon's grandson Chimata to return from the war and take his place as head of the family. But Kosuke Kindaichi, the famous detective, served with Chimata and when his friend succumbs to an illness acquired during the war, he begs Kosuke to go to Gokumon Island and protect his younger sisters. Chimata is certain that the girls will be killed if Kosuke can't prevent it.

Unfortunately, Kosuke's arrival sets in motion a well-prepared plan. A plan that even Japan's greatest detective could hardly have expected. And soon his mission of prevention becomes one of investigation as one by one the sisters are murdered in bizarre circumstances. Suspicion falls upon, the girls' father, a man driven mad by his autocratic father and Kaemon's treatment of the son and his wife. But the madman is locked up--how could he have done it? Other suspects include the "branch" family--related to the Kitos, but not in power. The scheming matriarch of the branch family wants the power for her own--would she or one of her household kill for it? And Kosuke himself spends a night in jail when Sergeant Shimizu, the island's police officer becomes suspicious of the strange outsider (before Kosuke has revealed his true identity and mission).

There is a lot going on here...and, unfortunately, some of it takes place off the page. So, when we get to the wrap-up scene at the end, there really isn't any way for the reader to have reached the same conclusions as Kosuke. I had a sneaking suspicion of part of the answer, but no solid evidence to back me up. I just thought a certain person was acting a bit oddly (though, if you read the story and see how many of these people are behaving oddly, you might wonder how I told the difference...). But--the story is engaging, provides a lot of history for the area and time period, and gives a good, twisty plot that can be enjoyed even if one might wish for more clues. ★★★ and 1/2

First line (Prologue): Seventeen miles south of Kasaoka, falling right on the border between Okayama, Hiroshima, and Kagawa Prefectures, in the middle of the Seto Inland Sea, there's a tiny island.

First line (1st Chapter): Kosuke Kindaichi. Reader, if you happen to have picked up the mystery The Honjin Murders, you will be familiar with him.

Last line: He placed his hands together in a posture of prayer as he bade farewell to Gokumon Island.
*******************

Deaths = 11 (five natural; one drowned; three strangled; one hit on head; one in war)

Cats Don't Need Coffins

 Cats Don't Need Coffins (1946) by D. B. Olsen (Dolores Hitchens)

This is Olsen's seventh book featuring septuagenarian sleuth Miss Rachel Murdock--about mid-way through the series of 13 books, all of which feature cats in the title. It is also, in my opinion, a very mid-range book. Rachel and her disapproving sister Jennifer--who disapproves of everything from Rachel's getting mixed up in murders to drinking--are invited to Miriam Hamilton's luxurious mansion. Ostensibly, Miriam is feeling guilty about her father's having swindled the Murdock ladies' father and she wants to give them compensation (in a grand ceremony to show how good she is). Rachel doesn't believe it for a minute, but she is very curious about Miriam's real reasons behind the invitation.

According the the messenger, what Miriam really wants is Rachel's help in discovering the person and motive behind a series of disturbing events. But does she really? When Rachel & Jennifer arrive at Miriam's home, it seems the woman is avoiding them. She's constantly not available and doesn't even join the family and her guests for meals. Rachel gets background on the situation from Miriam's stepchildren (Rex Flanders and Sharon Hamilton, gardner (Checkers), lawyer (Mr. Braudryck), the messenger & his brother (Joe & Bart Dewel), and the servants. There has been a campaign to unnerve Miriam--her prize flowers have been trampled and a "dismal" (Rachel's word) doll has appeared with all the appearance of having been murdered and buried.

Before Rachel can meet with Miriam to get her side of things, Miriam is found dead in her bed with horrible injuries--her bones are fractured as if she's been crushed. When it's discovered that Miriam was actually killed by an old tractor--which her stepson Rick had the most use for--the investigating sheriff immediately focuses attention on the young man. But Miss Rachel is certain that someone else is responsible. Now she just has to find the evidence to prove it to the disbelieving lawman.

As I mention above, this was a very middle-of-the-road read for me. I enjoy the Rachel Murdock books very much, but I think I missed her working with Lieutenant Mayhew. Olsen tried to set up the same relationship of half-antagonism/half-cooperation with Sheriff Butterworth that Rachel enjoys with the lieutenant, but it just doesn't come off. And Rachel doesn't seem to be on the top of her game here when it comes to sleuthing, especially when compared to the selections from the series I've already read. 

The best part of the book is the involvement of Jennifer--the relationship between the two sisters has always been a comical one. But in this outing Jennifer overhears a conversation that contains--in her mind--a clue. A clue that Rachel has missed! So, Jennifer goes off on her own little scavenger hunt. When Rachel catches her in the act of crawling around boilers, she refuses to tell her sister what she was up to. It isn't until the wrap-up that Jennifer is willing to reveal what she heard and why she was playing detective on her own. There's also the little matter of the athletic abilities of these two seventy-year-olds. Having looked up Rachel's bio for Kate at Cross Examining Crime, I now know that she was the earliest known stunt-woman in motion pictures. So, if she's kept fit, then it's reasonable that she could be crawling in and out of windows. But Jennifer? Yes, the scene is funny. But is it realistic?

I will say that overall Olsen captures her characters very well. All of them--not just the Murdock ladies. We get excellent thumbnail sketches of each one and the action that follows fills in the characters nicely. The setting is also good, though after being told that Miriam had a 35-room house I was expecting more of the action to take place indoors. Given the under-lying comedy in the plot, I think there was a missed opportunity for a B-movie, hide-and-seek feel late at night. 

An enjoyable mystery with a twist at the end. I did see it coming, but it may come as a surprise to some. ★★★

[Kate has also reviewed this one--giving it higher marks than me. Perhaps, if like Kate this had been my first outing with Rachel Murdok, I might have joined her with a higher rating. Please see Kate's review HERE.]

First line: Miss Jennifer Murdock, a plain spinsterish little old lady of seventy-two, put on the most disapproving expression she knew and looked across the hump of her embroidery hoop at her sister.

Last line: Miss Rachel just discreetly kept still.
*******************

Deaths = 4 (one poisoned; one natural; one stabbed; one shot)

*The cover above belongs to the edition I have. Unfortunately, mine did not come with a dustjacket.

The Disappearing Floor

 The Disappearing Floor (1940; original text) by Franklin W. Dixon

Frank and Joe Hardy and their best bud Chet are headed to the woods for a little camping trip. Just by chance there is a scorched envelope in their first night's fire pit with the name "Harry Tanwick" on it and a hundred dollar bill inside. [Will the mystery in this story have anything to do with Harry or the envelope? Not a whole lot. Sorry, if that spoils things too much.] Then...that night Frank wakes to find someone rummaging about their campsite [Maybe looking for the envelope? That's never made clear.] When the boys give chase, they manage to crash down into a cave. Where they find a sack of money....and, of all people, Fenton Hardy. Who just happens to be hanging out in the very cave near their campsite and who is hunting bank robbers. Fenton enlists the boys' help in checking out the cave and finding out all they can about the men who seem to use it as a meeting place. Winds up that it's the hide-out for Beeson (a big bank robber) and his gang. Before we know it, Frank and Joe are hot on the trail which leads to a creepy old house where a crazy scientist lives and the robbers (for reasons known to themselves) take a fancy to the house. Fenton Hardy posts guards; the boys get caught and escape just in time to rescue their dad, get the guards to round up the baddies, bring the crazy scientist (who apparently has amnesia or something) back to his senses, and save the day.

This is one of the Hardy Boy Books that I have the fondest memories of. But I have to say that all of my nostalgia is for the revised text version--which is one of the first Hardy Boys books I read--and the 1977 episode on the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. Neither of which bears much resemblance to this absolutely crazy original story. Is there a weird house with crazy rooms that aren't quite what they seem and a scientist? Sure. But...the Stratemeyer ghost writer who penned the original story also gave us bank robbers, two murders of bank employees, a cave with crazy rooms that aren't quite what they seem as well, hidden money and jewels, a tough guy gang leader who masquerades as an Indian prince in a weird cult for no apparent reason other than he can, a taxi driver who tries to drown Frank and Joe in his taxi, and an apparently insane scientist who has come up with ways to put fire out by electrical "vibrations" and, instead of the standard death ray, a ray gun device that can put people into deep-freeze. Oh...and we have world-renowned detective Fenton Hardy attacked, knocked out, tied up, given the deep-freeze treatment, and rescued more times by his boys than you can shake a stick at. Given his performance in this outing one has to wonder how he makes a living as a detective.

But...if you're a kid, you'll probably enjoy the non-stop action and the ways the boys get the better of the adults. iI you're an adult looking for unintentional humor, a lot of action, and don't mind the weird, over-stuffed plot, then this could be for you as well. If you're looking for a mystery to solve yourself, then I'm afraid that's a non-starter. As soon as Fenton Hardy shows up the first time, you know who the bad guys are. The only real mystery is whether the mad scientist is a willing participant in their plots. Still, an enjoyable day's read, though not quite as strong as I would have liked. ★★ and 3/4

First line: A splintering crash resounded over the bustling platform of Bayport's railroad station.

Last line: Aunt Gertrude frowned, while her nephews smiled significantly at each other.
*********************

Deaths = 2 shot

Death on the Dragon's Tongue

 Death on the Dragon's Tongue (1982) by Margot Arnold (Petronelle Cook)

When an ailing friend calls on Sir Tobias Glendower, professor of Near Eastern and European Archaeology, to take his place at the site of a prehistoric burial monument (henge) in Brittany, Sir Toby has no idea that that he's going to land in the middle of another murder case--this one involving French politics Breton superstitions, witchcraft, and a transplanted American cult. Not to mention blackmail, drug-running, and kidnapping. And the kidnappee will be Sir Toby himself!

Sir Toby's friend Charles Latour was commissioned to examine and map the henge site when the French government decided to locate a nuclear reactor right there on the Britany coast. The local Bretons are none too keen to have the henge destroyed and the hopes (of the government) are that if the site can be properly examined and mapped that it can be moved intact. Sir Toby was more than happy to take up the job when Latour became ill; it gave him an excuse not to have to finish a long overdue excavation report. But he's not nearly as happy when local Breton superstition prevents him from having any help or when an insufferable government official by the name of Armand Dubois shows up to say that rather than the month or two of pottering about that Toby expects to have, a report will be due within a week. 

But then the officious little man is found murdered in a rather gruesome manner that the locals reserved for such enemies as the Germans who invaded during the last war. And Toby finds himself embroiled in another investigation. The equally officious Surete officer sent from Paris is ready to round up all the Bretons who opposed the reactor and he's even looking crosswise at Sir Toby. So Toby sends for his partner in previous crimes, Penny Spring, to help with the investigation. He wants her to come undercover and scope out the areas and people that he can't as the government-appointed archaeologist. But before he can meet up with her, he is kidnapped by a Breton nationalist group who think they'll be able to use the archaeologist as a lever against the installation of the nuclear reactor. 

Toby soon disabuses them of this idea and recruits them in the effort to solve the mystery. He's quite certain that the local cult (a transplant from 1960s America--complete with marijuana plants and a couple of violent 60s reactionaries) is somehow involved and one of the Bretons manages to infiltrate the fenced in grounds. But when that young man also winds up murdered, Toby and Penny are even more invested in finding the villain of the piece.

Though this particular installment of the Glendower/Spring mysteries is chock full of action and hole-in-corner activity, it didn't grab my attention quite as much as previous installments. Perhaps it's because Toby is hiding out ("kidnapped") for a great deal of it. Maybe it's because Penny doesn't show up until half-way through. Maybe it's because Toby's enlistment of the young Breton nationalist in his detecting plan winds up with the poor guy being murdered. Or it could just be my general reading blahs at the moment. Whichever (or whichever combination of these)--I struggled to keep interested in the sneaky little investigations going on. The wrap-up tried emulate Golden Age mysteries with a gathering of the suspects, but it lacked some of the "je ne sais quoi" that comes with a similar scene from the likes of Christie. A perfectly decent little mystery with a lot going on that should have grabbed my attention more firmly than it did--and if Goodreads is anything to go by it did grab others. ★★★ and 1/4.

First line: Toby Glendower was in a state of complete happiness akin to ecstasy; he snuggled down to the dry, withered grass and looked lovingly at the large granite boulders above and on three sides of him.

Last line: "Some things never change."
*********************

Deaths: 4 (two stabbed; one attacked by animal; one natural)

The Feathered Serpent

 The Feathered Serpent (1927) by Edgar Wallace

When reporter Peter Dewin first heard about the Feathered Serpent, he laughed. "When he heard of it again, he sneered." It sounded for all the world like something from a shilling shocker or from one of the thrilling plays on London's stages. And, to be fair, the story did start with the theater. Miss Ella Creed, well-known actress, receives a cardboard message with a crude drawing of a Feathered Serpent and the words "Lest you forget." It's an exact duplicate of a card received by her friend Leicester Crewe, a stockbroker, and Joe Farmer, a boxing promoter. She scoffs at it as a joke, but she isn't scoffing when she's waylaid by a masked man at her apartment's door. She faints and when she comes to, her jewelry (all paste, fortunately) is gone, and another Feathered Serpent card is hanging round her neck.

Dewin's editor sends him to get the story. And he's none too happy. He's sure that it's nothing more than a publicity stunt on the part the of actress. But as he dutifully searches for a story that will make his boss happy, he discovers that there is more to this Feathered Serpent business than meets the eye...and when Farmer is shot on Crewe's doorstep (just as he's coming to tell Crewe that he knows who the Feathered Serpent is), Dewin realizes that he's got a hot story on his hands. Behind the Feathered Serpent is a story of forgery, theft, false imprisonment, treachery, and revenge. But will Dewin and his friend, Inspector Clarke, be able to track down the Serpent before someone else is killed? Reports are that the killer is an ex-con by the name of William Lane. But William is dead--can a ghost kill?

Wallace was a prolific author of thrillers and he's definitely at the top of his game in this one. Lots of thrilling action with killer "ghosts," menacing men in masks, fainting women, kidnap attempts, a secret code, and a mysterious key all playing their parts. Dewin is an engaging character and if he doesn't make appearances in future Wallace books...well, then Wallace missed a shot at having a really good recurring character. This is an entertaining story with a good attempt at basic clue-dropping (not bad for an adventure/thriller). I did have a glimmer about the identity of the culprit, but I didn't get the whole picture--not quite enough clue-dropping for that. But a good, quick read. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: What annoyed Peter Derwin most, as it would have annoyed any properly constituted reporter, was what he called the mystery-nove element in the Lane case.

Last line: "And whilst I slept lo! the Feathered Serpent vanished from the land!"
******************

Deaths = 4 (three shot; one hit by car)

A Dying Fall

 

A Dying Fall (1985) by June Thomson

Martin Holt's relationship with his father has been a rocky one--especially after his mother's death and Martin's decision to leave the family business to become a small hold farmer with the hopes of raising spectacular roses one day. Rex Holt has been used to a lifetime of successes as a businessman and getting his own way. But the two men meet periodically for lunch...and an almost regularly scheduled argument. Martin's latest visit home sees him faced with two unpleasant revelations--his father has installed his long-time mistress in the local village and he has given a random researcher from America access to poems written to Martin's mother by the man she loved before she met and married Rex Holt. Neither announcement is particularly palatable at the lunch table and the men have their usual row before Martin heads back to his farm.

But come the next morning all is not as usual...Rex Holt's housekeeper finds him dead at the bottom of the stairs leading to the garden. He had been a bit unsteady after a slight stroke a few months ago, so it's expected that the death will be ruled an accident. But it isn't and the local police soon call in Detective Chief Inspector Jack Finch (renamed Inspector Rudd in US editions) to get to the bottom of things. As the heir to Holt's rather large estate, Martin is the prime suspect and certain clues found at the scene seem to point his way. Finch isn't too sure though--it appears that someone has gone to great pains to make the murder appear to be very much a murder with a very clumsy attempt to disguise it as an accident. After interviewing witnesses and suspects, Finch has difficulty believing that Martin would be that clumsy if he were to try and make a murder look like an accident. But who else has a strong motive...and who would want to see Martin take the blame?

Thomson has provided another solid police procedural in this eleventh Finch mystery. Sometimes her characters (beyond Finch & his side-kick Sgt. Boyce) aren't as fully developed as one might like, but here they all shine--from Rex and Martin Holt to the housekeeper and her husband to the American researcher to Rex's lady, Bea Chilton and other peripheral characters. Even those that are on the page very briefly are well-defined. The plot is pretty solid as well. I did figure out half of it. My one complaint is that I don't see how the reader could be expected to make the connection necessary to get the full picture before the reveal. Perhaps I missed an early pointer, but I don't think so.... ★★★★

First line: Driving back to Barnsfield was for Martin Holt more than just a physical return to that part of the countryside where he spent his childhood; it was a journey into the past which, since the death of his mother and the quarrel with his father, he preferred not to make. [One note on this first line--it makes it sound like Martin Holt is returning to his childhood home after a very long absence which just isn't the case. He doesn't visit every week, but he has been to his father's house on a fairly regular basis since the quarrel.]

Last line: "As a friend," he repeated with more assurance than he really felt.
*********************

Deaths = 4  (two natural; one hit on head; one shot down in war)