The World's Best One Hundred Detective Stories Vol. Eight

 The World's Best One Hundred Detective Stories Vol. Eight (1910) by Eugene Thwing, ed

[I did, finally, manage to finish this collection--which I started before my husband was hospitalized. I only had three more stories to read, but had difficulty concentrating on much for almost two weeks.]

Billed as the "world's best," this collection is very hit and miss. Mostly miss in these later volumes. The best of this collection are "The Story of O Toyo" and "The Tragedy at St. Tropez." The Bramah stories are also good, but I have read them previously. ★★ and 1/2 for the collection.

"The Last Exploit of Harry the Actor" by Ernest Bramah: Features his blind detective Max Carrados in a mystery about the robbery from several safe deposit boxes in a Lucas Street depository known colloquially as "The Safe." The contents of the boxes are held safe behind multiple barriers--both real locks and bars as well as secret passwords known only to the owners. And yet...a large number of the boxes are plundered. Carrodos, whose other faculties have become stronger to compensate for the loss of his sight, is able to "see" the solution to the mystery very quickly.

"The Comedy at Fountain Cottage" by Ernest Bramah: Carrados is intrigued when his friend Louis Carlyle tells him about his niece's odd neighbor--a neighbor who tosses stewed kidneys over the fence at night. When he digs into the history of Fountain Cottage he learns some interesting facts about the previous owner and what the odd neighbor might have planned. [one natural]

"The Curious Circumstance of the Two Left Shoes" by Ernest Bramah:  When the Enderleigh's silver is stolen--apparently by the Monkey Burglar, Carrodos arrives to track down the real culprit.

"The Jeweled Casket" by Arthur Somers Roche: An "artist" in thievery, John Ainsley, steals from the thieves and gives...to himself. He loves outwitting the White Eagle, one of those supercrooks who thinks he's unstoppable. In this episode, Ainsley plots to get hold of a fabulous jeweled box that the White Eagle has just gotten his hands on. [two natural]

"The Club of One-Eyed Men" by Arthur Somers Roche: John Ainsley is at it again. He sees the White Eagle in close conversation with an American millionaire at a Parisian nightclub. Then sees the criminal mastermind the next day on a street full of men with only one eye. When he finds himself onboard a New York-bound steam ship with the millionaire and one of the one-eyed men, he finds himself set up to take advantage of another White Eagle criminal plot.

"The Pigtail of Hi Wing Ho" by Sax Rohmer: Hi Wing Ho becomes embroiled in a series of mysterious events that threaten his life and the lives of those around him. He is pursued by a group of criminals who are after a valuable artifact that our hero possesses.  

"The Story of O Toyo" by H. de Vere Stacpoole: When some con artists attempt an impersonation of a jeweler, the young Japanese woman who is his servant sees through their plot.

"The Tragedy at St. Tropez" by Gilbert Frankau: When a wealthy financier is poisoned everything points towards his secretary. But the man brought in to translate French for the investigators, can't believe his old school friend is guilty. [one poisoned]

These last two are like "minute mysteries"--the readers are given the story and then supposed to figure out the solution. The authors vary from the very obvious (the first) to impossible to tell how it was done even though the culprit is again obvious (the last).
"The Crawley Robbery" by Evelyn Johnson & Gretta Palmer: A wealthy couple bring home the family jewels so the wife can wear them to a special dinner. While she is dressing the emeralds disappear. Who did it?

"Finger Prints Can't Lie" by Evelyn Johnson & Gretta Palmer: The wife of a German spy is poisoned. The fingerprints on the bottles (poison and the wife's medicine bottle) belong to the maid. Is she guilty? If not, who did it and why aren't the fingerprints telling the truth? [one poisoned]

Seven Great Detective Stories

 Seven Great Detective Stories by William H. Larson (ed)

One should be careful when choosing titles for books. For instance, if you're going to say that you've got seven Great detective stories, then you ought to be sure that the majority of readers are going to agree with you that all seven really are great...and really are detective stories. As in, there is actually some detecting going on. Of the seven stories in this collection, I'd agree that three are great (the Wade, Futrelle, and Doyle) and one is almost, but not quite (the Chesterton). And I'd agree that most, but not all, are detective stories. The Cooper story has a detective--but we really don't see him detecting. Here we see him trapping the guilty man, but we don't the gathering of clues. Futrelle's story, while be a great look at how Van Dusen thinks, also isn't really a story about detection. And neither is the Kemelman. In fact, Kemelman's story doesn't really hang together all that well. I'm not buying that the professor could just string together all those "logical" inferences and, hey, presto, actually solve a crime he didn't even know had been committed. 

My favorite story of the bunch (on this reading) is "The Missing Undergraduate." It was the first short story I've read by Wade (although I have enjoyed several of his novel-length mysteries) and I'm always happy to find a good academic mystery. I've read both the Futrelle and Doyle stories so many times over the years that I know them pretty well backwards and forwards. So, they don't make quite the impression they did when I first discovered them. ★★★ for a decent collection.

"Suspect Unknown" by Courtney Ryley Cooper: The FBI Inspector was certain he knew the identity of the man responsible for the Tilliver murder. But there is no hard evidence. How can he get the man to reveal himself as the suspect unknown? (one shot)

"The Blast of the Book" by G. K. Chesterton: Father Brown teaches a scientist interested in the paranormal and psychic phenomena how to distinguish between what is really there and what isn't when a clergyman comes along with a story about a cursed book which makes people disappear.

"The Missing Undergraduate" by Henry Wade: Inspector Poole is called back to Oxford, his alma mater, to look into the disappearance of an undergraduate known for his practical jokes. The solution is a bit macabre--reminding me of an Edgar Allan Poe story or two....

"The Problem of Cell 13" by Jacques Futrelle: Futrelle's most famous story. Professor Van Dusen insists that nothing is impossible to a thinking man. His friends wager that he can't think his way out of a prison cell...but he proceeds to do just that.

"Silver Blaze" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson are off to Dartmoor to investigate the disappearance of a famous race horse and the murder of the horse's trainer. Inspector Gregory & company have been on the case, but have made no headway. Holmes is in the area for a mere afternoon and soon has all the threads in his hand. [one hit on head]

"The Nine-Mile Walk" by Harry Kemelman: Our narrator, a candidate for district attorney, is challenged to provide a sentence of ten words or so to his professorial friend and the professor guarantees that he can come up with a logical chain of inferences that are correct--even if they aren't the true inference the narrator intended. What begins as an pedantic exercise soon turns into the solution of a daring murder on a train. 

"The Man in the Velvet Hat" by Jerome & Harold Prince: Reynolds, a journalist, spurs Inspector Magruder to hunt an apparent serial killer who targets victims from all social classes in deaths that pass as accidental. The culprit is said to be a man in a velvet hat and a brown overcoat. Magruder just wants to be sure he finds the one really responsible.... [one fell from height; one registered as pneumonia; one car accident

First line (1st story): Inspector Jessop of the Washington Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation had been expecting the call.

Last line (last story): "But that was this morning, Reynolds; that was this morning."

The Nine Waxed Faces

 The Nine Waxed Faces (1936) by Francis Beeding (John Leslie Palmer & Hilary St. George Saunders)

In the absence of his chief, Colonel Granby, Bob Hardcastle was serving as head man at intelligence headquarters when an urgent message came in from an Italian painter who had provided information in the past. Ludwig Berthold needs to meet with a highly placed intelligence office, so Hardcastle goes himself--only to receive a coded message that directs him to another, more famous, painter and a secret society known as Edelweiss. Berthold is having difficulty getting out of Italy and the members of Edelweiss, who hide their identities behind wax masks, are experts at helping those who need to cross the mountainous Italian border without fuss. But when Bob and his guides ski into a trap, Bethold vanishes and Colonel Granby shows up to help Bob sort everything out. With Nazi spies and Italian agents hiding behind friendly faces, the two men are in a race against time to find Berthold and the vital information he carried.

The fate of Central Europe is in the balance in this spy thriller set on the eve of the second world war. Germany and Italy are jockeying for position in Austria in an effort to "secure their borders against France." Lots of intrigue and action in the Austrian snow! Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Hmph. I'm thinking that maybe I just wasn't quite in the mood for a spy thriller, because I feel like this is a better book than I think it is at the moment. Maybe I'm a bit depressed because of what's currently going on in the world (and the good ol' U. S. of A) at the moment. Either that or I was disappointed that this wasn't more of a traditional mystery (as my previous experience with the author's Murdered: One by One would lead me to expect). So, yeah, very little mystery here--other than are all the people we think are dead really dead? (SPOILER--no, in fact they aren't. Or--if they are, not when we think they are.) Mostly a lot of running about looking for people who get snatched and tied up or snatched and (maybe) killed. The writing is pretty snappy and fast-paced, so there's that. But I really would have liked a bit more mystery and less hole-in-corner business. Especially when the wrap-up at the end doesn't feel very wrap-up-ish. Probably because Beeding had no idea where world events would take everyone in just a few years.

This is one that I'm probably going to need to read again sometime, just to see if it really is better than I think right now. ★★★

First line: I was working, aloft in Battersea, in the high flat which is not a flat, and the butler, who is not a butler, had received orders that I was on no account to be disturbed.

Last line: As for Wilhelm Fuchs and his brotherhood of Edelweiss, for all I know, the nine waxed faces still move around the pleasant streets of Innsbruck or upon the wind-swept crags of the mountains around the city, helping those that fly from a tyranny still triumphant in a world heading ever faster for Armageddon.
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Deaths = 4 (three shot; one executed)

The Four of Hearts

 The Four of Hearts (1938) by Ellery Queen

Ellery Queen is going stir-crazy in Hollywood. After a hugely successful investigation into a Los Angeles murder in the previous book and the West Coast fame that came with it, he was in demand. He's now under contract to Magna Studios to produce scripts. All fine and dandy--except he hasn't actually met with his supposed boss, Jacques Butcher, and he hasn't actually been given any work to do. His agent tells him not worry, it's just the way studios operate. And why complain about getting a paycheck for just sitting around or seeing the sights? But Ellery can't stand to be idle and when "Butch" finally calls him (as if he's just heard that Ellery is around), he tells the boss that he's had enough and is leaving. Which results in immediate work.

The studio is planning an epic biopic featuring their two big stars--Blythe Stuart and Jack Royle. The film will tell all and the masses will flock to the theaters to learn the "true story" of the legendary feud between the two families. A feud that revolves around the once engaged couple and their respective children, Bonnie Stuart and Ty Royle. And as a bonus--Blythe and Jack will play themselves. Just as the Ellery gets down to work gathering background for the script, the two stars through a wrench into the works. Not only have they patched up the feud--they are going to get married. At first Butch and the studio are furious--there goes the melodrama of the feud. But--they decide to cash in on the romantic ending and make the most of the situation. They arrange for Blythe & Jack to be married in front of fans at the LA airfield. Then the happy couple will fly off into the sunset for a honeymoon on a secluded island. And, though Bonnie and Ty aren't happy about it (and are still feuding themselves), Ty volunteers to fly the plane.

But after the plane has taken off, Bonnie and Ty are found--tied up and gagged. So, who is flying the plane? Are the two stars being kidnapped? A few hours later, the plane is found on a mountain plateau. The pilot is missing and Blythe and Jack have been fatally poisoned. Ellery must give up researching to hunt for clues the murders. Apart from the family feud, there seems to be no motive for the death of either of the stars...let alone both. It's soon discovered that Blythe has been receiving mysterious mailings with playing cards and if Ellery can correctly decipher the cards' hidden meanings, he'll be able to hand the murderer over to Inspector Glücke.

This is a fun, slightly madcap, slightly convoluted mystery. It's obvious that Queen (Frederic Dannay & Manfred Lee) are thoroughly ensconced in Hollywood screenwriting at this point. The book reads as though "we" had a movie deal in mind. Lots of dialog, lots of action scenes--not a whole heck of a lot of focus on the mystery. A nice little romance for Ellery, but apparently not as serious as we're led to believe because Paula Paris disappears rapidly after this book. It's obvious who the leads are--Bonnie, Ty, and Ellery, with a good dose of Paula, syndicated columnist, thrown in. We could have used a bit more "screen" time for other characters. Maybe if I'd seen more of them I would have remembered how some of them were connected and I might have spotted the killer. As it was...I didn't. The solution is good and consistent, though a bit of a violent ending for the killer. ★★★★

Other Reviews:
Cross Examining Crime
The Grandest Game in the World
The Green Capsule
In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel 
The Mystillery blog
  

First line: It is a well-known fact that any one exposed to Hollywood longer than six weeks goes suddenly and incurably mad.

Last line: And, her eyes still closed, stumbled blindly across the threshold into the world.
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Deaths = 7 (three natural; three poisoned; one fell from height)

Twelve Drummers Drumming

 Twelve Drummers Drumming (2021). C. C. Benison (Doug Whiteway)

Father Tom Christmas (who prefers vicar or just plain Tom) comes to Thornford Regis looking for peace and quiet for himself and his daughter. He's escaping London where his wife was brutally murdered in their church by an unknown assailant. He has come to replace the Reverend Peter Kinsey, the village's previous vicar who had vanished into thin air not long before. Tom expects life in the small English village to be far less complicated and much safer. But as preparations are made for the annual May Fayre festivities, a young woman is found bludgeoned to death and stuffed inside the largest of the Japanese drums that were scheduled to be part of the entertainment.

Sybella Parry had led a wild life in London with her mother (a celebrity of sorts) and her father, after gaining custody, had brought her to the village where he lived with his second wife in an effort to help her straighten out her life. But the villagers noticed that Sybella seemed sly and like she knew everybody's secrets...and just maybe might do something about them. Did someone decide to do away with her before she could? Or is it significant that she and Mitsuko Drewe look extraordinarily similar from behind? It seems that it might be when one of Mrs. Drewe's famous quilts--based on pictures of village life--is stolen. It's a quilt that showed a picture of the cemetery the very night that the previous vicar disappeared. Was there a clue in the quilt? And did someone want to get rid of both the quilt and its creator (missing the mark in the second case)? Father Christmas has parishioners confessing to him right and left and he will face a moral dilemma or two as he decides what he can share with the authorities. Will he be able to help see that justice is done?

So, I have a few problems with this. First, the style of writing is very difficult for my to like. Benison takes Tom Christmas (and us) into scenes, cuts them off to take a look at another scene, and then has Tom doing these flashback moments to tell us what happened in the rest of the scene we left. So--what we get is a book that is a good 25-50% flashback telling. One of the first rules of writing is show--don't tell. Why on earth could we not just write the complete scene and let the readers see for themselves what happened rather than giving us half of it through Tom's memory of the moment?

Second, like many others, I originally picked this up thinking there would be a holiday theme. After all, we have Father Christmas (and it's pitched as a "Father Christmas mystery) AND we have a title and cover straight out of an incredibly well-known Christmas song. If we just wanted the title to match the vicar's name, then fine. But those drummers look like they're out of the Nutcracker and the actual drummers in the story are playing Japanese instruments. Seriously?

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Slight spoiler ahead:

Third, I'm not a fan of the dangling mysteries we've got going on. Especially since it looks like Benison abandoned this series after the third installment, so it's unlikely that they're ever resolved. We've got the murder of Tom's wife that was never solved. And then we have the mystery surrounding his verger's involvement in a previous murder case (totally unrelated to the story here) and the fact that he's disappeared. I'd be willing to bet money that neither of those mysteries are cleared up in the next books--especially when I look at the synopsis for each one. Very unsatisfying.

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On the plus side, I do like Tom Christmas and his housekeeper, Madrun Prowse. Madrun's letters to her ailing mum are probably the best part of the book. If Tom and Madrun had teamed up to be actual amateur detectives and Benison had ditched all of the "flashback" internal musings this would have been a much better mystery. ★★

First line:  Dear Mum, When I sat down to write this morning's letter, I couldn't help but think about that May Fayre 30 years ago, when I moved back to Thornford R from London, you all dressed up as always in that red shawl Dad found that time at Newton Abbot market and your pink brocade turban with Grannie's ruby broach stuck in.

Last line: There's a mystery there, for sure!

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Deaths = 6 (one struck by lightning; one stabbed; two hit on head; two train accident)

One Fell Sloop

 One Fell Sloop (1990) by Susan Kenney

This is the third and last of a short academic mystery series which features Roz Howard, American literature professor, and her lover, Alan Stewart, Scottish artist cum botany expert. The series varies between Maine and the UK. This outing finds Roz & Alan "messing about in boats" (a la Wind in the Willows)--taking a little sailboat cruise along the Maine coast for some together time and perhaps a sorting out of their long-distance relationship. Their holiday is interrupted when they stop on a semi-deserted island, known for its rare flora and fauna (a real draw for Alan), and find a dead body. 

It winds up that the victim is the environmentally-minded owner of the island who had had a falling out with his family (who own a nearby island). It seems that one island can't be sold without the consent of all parties and Peter Onterdonck was not in favor of selling off such environmentally important property. But was the feud over the islands great enough to incite murder? Family rivalry may play a part but Roz and Alan discover motives that may be even darker than that. There's possible pirate treasure in the offing or maybe some drug-running. But can they convince the authorities that it's anything more than just an accident?

I do love me an academic-related mystery, but angst-ridden academics are not my thing. At least not right this moment. Roz spends the first three chapters talking about/around/obliquely referring to at times the flaming row she and Alan have had. She's spends oodles of time rehashing it in her brain. With me, shouting at her (in mine), just get on with the murder mystery already! I really don't care about her love-life. And I'm really not a fan of flashback fights, which is what we're getting here. You want to bring in the fight--fine. Then just start the story when they get on the boat and show us what happens in real (book) time. Stop with the flouncing back and forth between now and what happened in the last two-three days. 

And, honestly, as I kept reading, things just didn't get better. Roz spends more time worrying about what Alan has said and does that mean what she thinks it does or does he have his mind on the job (figuring out the mystery before them) than she does on the mystery. She's supposed to be our amateur detective protagonist, but she acts more like a school girl who's all worried about her crush.

The mystery is decent, but it's buried almost as deep as any pirate booty that might be lurking about. I had a really difficult job slogging through Roz and her inner dialogue to keep up with the main plot. ★★

First line: It had seemed like a good idea at the time, Roz Howard thought as she rolled over and carefully rearranged herself in the somewhat confined vee-berth of her Aunt Jessie True's old wooden sailboat.

Last line: It was a waterbed,.
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Deaths = One hit on head

The Three Coffins

 The Three Coffins (The Hollow Man; 1935) by John Dickson Carr

Eccentric Professor Charles Grimaud, a student of legends and the supernatural, holds court regularly at a local tavern. He and his circle of friends discuss vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and the like--debating their reality and the sources of their legends. One evening a stranger bursts into their gathering speaking in a bizarre, somewhat threatening manner. He talks of men coming up out of their graves. He says that he has come out of the grave.

Yes, I have done it. But more! I have a brother who can do much more than I can, and is very dangerous to you. I don't want your life; he does. But if he calls on you...

and later in the conversation

I have a last question for the famous professor. Some one will call on you one evening soon. I also am in danger when I associate with my brother, but I am prepared to run that risk. Some one, I repeat will call on you. Would you rather I did--or shall I send my brother?

The professor tells him to send the brother.  

And several nights later someone does call upon the professor. And apparently he did want the professor's life. For when the night is over, Professor Grimaud is dead--shot to death in a locked room by a visitor who vanishes into thin air.

When Dr. Gideon Fell is regaled with the story of the tavern scene and learns that the visitor is expected that very night, he immediately gathers Ted Rampole (teller of the tale) and Superintendent Hadley, his detective friend, and insists that they make tracks for Grimaud's house. They're just in time to be told that there has been the sound of a gunshot and that the visitor is locked in the professor's study--with the professor. They manage to gain entrance and find Grimaud mortally wounded but the visitor is nowhere to be seen. The window is open, but there is a yard full of unmarked snow and no way to go out the window to the roof or another room. 

Fell and Hadley and company have just started investigating the first impossible crime when another occurs. This time it is Pierre Fley, the man who confronted Grimaud at the tavern. And he was shot in the middle of a snow-covered street at close range. But three reliable witnesses swear there was nobody else near the stricken man and a voice came out of nowhere that said, "The second bullet is for you." Now our detectives have to figure out how the two men were connected and who wanted them both dead....oh, and, of course, the trifling little matter of how it was all done.

Carr works his locked room/impossible crime magic and comes up with a solution that I had to think about twice. There was one moment where I thought--but if X was going to do what Fell said he was going to do, then why did he need that? So, I had to go back and reread and then the light bulb went off. Oh, yeah. That's why. This is also the book that has the famous "locked room lecture" where Fell tells us straight up that he knows he's in the middle of a detective story and then goes on to explain the various ways to commit a murder in an apparently locked room. Naturally, he doesn't list the ways these two particular impossible crimes were contrived.

I have to admit that I was on the side of Hadley during this particular reading (I read this once before back in the mists of time--but it was long enough ago that all the details had dropped out of my head). I was a bit restless during the Fell lectures and just really wanted to get on with the story. But the impossible crimes are quite good and I enjoyed finding out how it was all done. [Though I have to say I could think of a better way for a certain item to have been hidden that would have been far less disastrous for the person doing the hiding...]. And other than when he was in full lecture mode, I enjoyed Dr. Fell and watching him go to work. This also has one of the better dying words clues among those I've come across. Quite good fun. ★★★★

First line: To the murder of Professor Grimaud, and later the equally incredible crime in Cagliostro Street, many fantastic terms could be applied--with reason.

"I am a mathematician, sir. I never permit myself to think." (Stuart Mills; p. 30)

In my experience with locked-room murders, getting in and getting out are two very different things. It would throw my universe off balance if I found an impossible situation worked both ways. (Superintendent Hadley; p. 46)

Last lines: "I have committed another crime, Hadley," he said. "I have guessed the truth again."
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Deaths = 7 (two shot; two hit; one natural; one suffocated; one stabbed)

Six Nuns & a Shotgun

 Six Nuns & a Shotgun (1975) by Colin Watson

In the eighth book of the Flaxborough series, it looks like the English town is about to be overrun by US gangsters and scantily clad ecclesiastics. Flaxborough has its "big wheels" (as known in the United States)--businessmen with their fingers in several pies. And two of them have a bitter rivalry going on. Councillor Henry Crispin and Arnold Hatch, owner of the Floradora Club have been trying to outdo and sabotage each other every chance they get. If Crispin adds on to his house, then Hatch must build a swimming pool. If Hatch gets a sailing yacht, then Crispin must get a slightly bigger one. Snide remarks and subtle digs aren't in it. But then things ramp up. Hatch installs what we designate today as "smart" curtains. When the light dims outside, the curtains automatically close--and, of course, when things get bright, they automatically open.

So...one night when Hatch and a friend are entertaining a couple of young women in the master bedroom, some thoughtless person parks right outside and turns on their high-beam headlights. And the antics are on display for all the world to see. Not long after, during the Commodore's Muster, the annual opening of the boating season when all the boat owners sedately run their vessels down the river, Hatch goads Crispin into a bit of a race and Crispin's boat comes a cropper on a submerged log (that mysteriously has spikes sticking out of it--of which, we the reader are aware, but is never proven to our friends in the book).

When Inspector Purbright gets a warning that American gangsters and naked nuns are descending upon Flaxborough, he wonders if this is more of the feud between the two businessmen. But he can't find any evidence of nuns (either in habits or out) and the only likely candidate in the gangster department is a Sicilian-American importer of olive oil who has recently arrived. The feud comes to an abrupt end when Hatch is ruthlessly murdered with his own shotgun during his annual Medieval banquet at the Floradora Club. The good inspector must untangle the clues to see if the American or Crispin...or persons unknown have done away with businessman.

Once upon a time (back in about 1991), I read this one from the library. That was before blogging and writing up more detailed reviews. I simply recorded it as "This book is classic Colin Watson and very funny." Let's see how that holds up in 2025. Well, Watson is funny...but I think I'd knock the "very" off that statement now. The funniest bits are when Inspector Purbright is interacting with his Chief Constable, Harcourt Chubb. Chubb doesn't really seem to grasp police work and Purbright leads him ever so gently through the details of routine while Chubb tries to sit back and look wise. The give and take of these exchanges are quite amusing, but I wouldn't say the book is "very funny" overall. 

The prose is pleasant enough and the mystery is fairly good--and even fairly clued, though I didn't spot some of the clues early enough (SLIGHT SPOILER: I got a bit muddled over which pieces of furniture belonged to which character). I think at this point in my reading life I would have enjoyed this a bit more (and kept my original rating of four stars) if we had been in Purbright's company for more of the story. Crispin and Hatch annoyed me and I think I would have liked the murder to be more upfront and to have followed Purbright as he investigated the incidents rather than to live through them with Crispin and Hatch on the way to the murder. But--still an enjoyable mystery and a very quick read. ★★★ and  1/4.

First line: The cablegram was addressed to Hatch, Floradora, Flaxborough, England.

"Let's hope one of those nice people don't get knocked off," said Bast, leaving. "The species is nearly extinct." (p. 76)

Last lines: The inspector's [car] took some time to start. It usually did.
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Deaths = one shot

The World's Best 100 Detective Stories: Volume Ten

 The World's Best 100 Detective Stories: Volume Ten (1910) by Eugene Thwing (ed)

A very mixed bag of stories. I've read the Malcolm Sage stories before and enjoyed them. The Barney Cook mysteries are pleasant "boys own adventures," and the Old Man in the Corner is quite entertaining, but the post-World War I soldier stories by Detzer really aren't all that. Very little mystery or detection going on--and, as mentioned with the final story, I do see the moral of his stories. I just don't think he develops them very well. Over all, a mid-range entry in the "world's best" series. ★★★

"The Stolen Admiralty Memorandum" by Herbert Jenkins: Malcolm Sage is summoned to a country mansion where the Prime Minister, the First Lord of the Admiralty, and the Secretary of War are all in a panic.  A very sensitive memorandum has gone missing and a great deal of damage could be done if it finds its way into the wrong hands.  There is a houseful of weekend guests and servants.  Who is the guilty party?

"The Holding Up of Lady Glanedale" by Jenkins: A jewelry-loving cat burglar seems to be on the loose.  Five weeks ago, Mrs. Comminge was the victim of a burglar who crept into her bedroom and threatened to shoot her if she didn't hand over her jewel case and keep quiet until he could make his escape.  Now, it appears that he has struck again at the home of Lady Glanedale.  The Twentieth Century Insurance Corporation Limited calls in Sage to verify the particulars--and he reveals the surprising identity of the Glanedale cat burglar.

"The Missing Heavyweight" by Jenkins: Charley Burns, the British champion is set to fight Bob Jefferson (whose name changes to "Joe" towards the end of the story) for the heavyweight championship of the world.  But then he disappears two days before the match.  It's up to Sage to find the clues that will produce the fighter in time for the bout.

"The Blackmailers" by Harvey O'Higgins: Barney Cook is a sixteen year old telegram delivery boy who wants to be a detective. When he delivers an ad from a detective agency looking for an "intelligent, trustworthy [boy] for confidential office work" he uses his initiative to wangle an interview with the chief  of the operation. He's immediately put to the test in a little matter of coded telegrams and blackmail.

"Barney Has a Hunch" by O'Higgins: Barney Cook has established himself with the detective agency and has been assigned the job of trying to find a certain man. While disguised as a newspaper boy, he notices another man's abrupt reaction to the headline about a missing society girl. Barney's hunch leads him on a chase that will make or break his standing with the Chief.

"The Mystery of the Pearl Necklace" by Baroness Orczy: The ladies of London donate money to buy a fabulous pearl necklace for a woman who is a heroine in their eyes. They choose a trusted man and his wife to act as courier. When the man disappears as well as the necklace, the rumors fly. Eventually, the man and the necklace are found and the necklace reaches its rightful destination. But really happened? The Old Man in the Corner has an unusual theory.

"The Music of Robert the Devil" by Karl W. Detzer: A French village is periodically terrorized by the ghost of a blacksheep nobleman who looted their town and stole their women in the days of William the Norman. In the days after the first World War, it seems he come back again. But an American soldier (our narrator) plays detective an discovers what's really going on. (one stabbed)

"Through Bolted Doors" by Detzer: Our American soldier plays detective again--this time investigating who shot both a fellow soldier and an old woman found killed behind bolted doors. (two shot)

"Neglect of Duty" by Detzer: Once again our narrator is called upon to solve a mystery. A large sum of money held in trust by the officer with a certain company has disappeared. The soldier/detective must discover who took the money & why.

"Number 52 Rue Nationale" by Detzer: American soldiers are stealing food and goods from a village and surrounding countryside. Our narrator looks into the reasons why these normally law-abiding men are taking things at gunpoint.

"The Guilty Party: by Detzer: A hodge-podge of various military cases. A bit of a mess really. I appreciate the point behind the mini-stories within the story--to ask who's really to blame in certain situations. But I think it could have been better illustrated. (one shot)

First line (1st story): "Wel!" cried Tims, one Saturday night, as he pushed open the kitchen door of the little flat he occupied over the garage.

Last line (last story): Which proves again that even in the best of wars the guard-house did not always claim its own, and the Guilty Party went on blithely about his or her affairs.

A Thief or Two

 A Thief or Two (1977) by Sara Woods (Lana Hutton Bowen-Judd)

If Antony Maitland, barrister and sometimes detective, doesn't believe that you're innocent then what's an accused man supposed to do? Maitland is notorious for believing his clients when nobody else does and finding ways to prove them innocent. Malcolm Harte is a jeweler's assistant who has been accused of murdering one of the two brother's who owned the business where Harte worked. And of having stolen a fortune in jewels that were being shown to special client's at George DeLisle's home that fateful night. Motive? Well, Malcolm was scheduled to get married and was, as even his fiancée admits, "desperate" for money. His are the only fingerprints on the safe that stands wide open and empty of jewels. Nevermind the fact that Malcolm was the one who was asked to put the jewels in the already open safe after the showing and that no one can prove that he knew the combination to open it again. 

Interestingly enough, it isn't Harte's fiancée who comes to Maitland and begs him to look for more evidence to clear the accused, but another female guest from the private party. When she points out a discrepancy on one of the guest's evidence, Maitland gets interested. And one thing leads to another. Before he knows it, he's doing the thing his uncle Sir Nicholas Harding most dreads--meddling. When one of the witnesses winds up dead (while Harte is in prison), it becomes obvious that Maitland's meddling has made somebody nervous. But who? It may be enough to get his client off, but Maitland would rather be able to hand the police the right suspect...

It's been a little while since I've read an Antony Maitland mystery, but from what I recall this is pretty standard fare. The two things that stand out here are the fact that Maitland seems so very reluctant to believe that Harte might be innocent and the little intermissions we get in the court proceedings where Woods provides the thoughts of the jurors. From the foreman who listens to the opening statement from the Prosecution and decides he's heard all he needs to hear, "The prisoner, who looked a sickly sort of chap, was obviously guilty, or what was he doing here?" to the juror who also believes him guilty, though tries to convince herself that she's impartial, "But of course, you had to hear all the evidence, she hadn't made her mind up yet..." We also get to see how little most of them pay attention to most of the evidence with thoughts wandering to their farms and their young men and matters of business on which their time could be better spent. You have to wonder how fair a "fair trial" really is. 

The plot is perfectly fine--nothing extraordinary in the way of motive, but it's always entertaining to watch Maitland once he becomes convinced that there is something to work on. It just takes him longer than usual this time around. I think I prefer it when he's working on the mystery from the beginning, but that's just personal preference and I can understand that Woods might have wanted to break the mold a bit. ★★★

First line: There was a stir among the spectators in the courtroom as Counsel for the Prosecution, having finished his opening address, gathered his gown about him and seated himself with a marked air of satisfaction.

Last line: Sir Nicholas's portrayal of a martyr, misunderstood by his nearest and dearest, lasted no longer than it took her to get dinner on the table.
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Deaths =2 (one hit on head; one strangled)

Bodies from the Library 5

 Bodies from the Library 5: Forgotten Stories of Mystery & Suspense from the Golden Age of Detection (2022; all stories pre-1989) by Tony Medawar (ed)

Tony Medawar has done it again. He's gone searching the highways and byways of Golden Age Detection fiction and authors to bring us another collection of little-known or never-before-seen mystery stories. In previous collections there have, actually, been more that I had read before (thanks, in part to some of the obscure little anthologies I've been able to get my hands on). But this time, there are only two that I vaguely feel like I've read before and I can't nail down where I would have gotten hold of them. This is a strong selection and almost all by authors I had already read. ★★★★

"The Predestined" by Q. Patrick (Richard Webb): Jasper, an orphan with a doting grandma, is sure he's meant for great things. But periodically an odd red weal appears around his neck, inhibits his breathing, and manages to to put him out of sorts in very important situations. We learn that he is predestined...but perhaps not quite in the way he anticipates. (one drowned; one hanged)

"Villa for Sale" by Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter): A wealthy widow offers a fabulous villa to a young couple for a mere pittance. There must be a catch somewhere and there is...but who is going to be caught? (one natural)

"The Ginger King" by A. E. W. Mason: An insurance representative calls on M. Hanaud, who is visiting in England, because he's not quite satisfied over an insurance claim. A fire that cleaned out the stock of a furrier has been investigated every which way and no one can see anything but an accident. But John Middleton will feel much better about paying the claim if Hanaud would take a look at the case as well. It could save his company 25,000 pounds.

"Sugar-Plum Killer" by Michael Gilbert": Probationary Detective Walkinshaw is determined to make the grade as a detective on the force. He gets his chance when D.I. Chapman is killed in a hit & run and the perpetrator winds up being someone Chapman had sent to prison. (one hit & run)

"Vacancy with Corpse" by Anthony Boucher (William Anthony Parker White): Lt. Ben Latimer is asked by his fiancee, Liz (Felicity) Cain if he could arrange for protection for her grandfather, Judge Cain. Someone has been sending the elderly judge threatening notes. Soon there's murder done in the Cain house...but has the wrong man died? (one poisoned; one shot; one natural) [The whole time I was reading this one, I felt like I'd read it before. Like déjà vu--not enough that I knew the solution. But I have no idea where I would have read it.]

"Where Do We Go from Here?" by Dorothy L. Sayers: George is in a hurry to get his wife Laura out of the house. Why? Because he's expecting a blackmailer. Lucky for him, Laura sneaks in the back way and hears all about it. Or is it really that lucky? (two dead)

"Benefit of the Doubt" Anthony Berkeley: A young doctor is called out in the middle of the night to attend a man who has supposedly been in severe gastric distress. He can find little wrong with the man, so it is quite a shock when the man is dead by the next morning. (one poisoned)

"Scandal of the Louvre" by S. S. Van Dine (Willard Huntington Wright): A gang of thieves (who specialize in getting the "ungettable" for collectors arrive at the Louvre in the guise of holidaymakers. They manage to steal the Mona Lisa, collect a hefty reward for the deed, and.... (well, that's the twist and I'd hate to spoil it)

"The Pressure of Circumstance" by J. J. Connington (Alfred Walter Stewart): The Lessingham family holds a promise as a sacred trust. So when Jack Lessingham leaves for an expedition to Brazil, he asks his father to see that "Claire [his wife] comes to no harm" while he's away, his father tells him, "Of course. That's a promise." And not even the man who's dangling after the lonely little wife will keep him from keeping his promise. (one poisoned; one from the "bends")

"The Riddle of the Cabin Cruiser" by John Dickson Carr: George Randolph, wealthy stockbroker, is found stabbed to death in his drifting cabin cruiser--found by his wife and Mr. Huntley Hurst. There have been rumors about Mrs. Randolph's "friendship" with Hurst. Was Randolph's death suicide as has been posited by Hurst and Mrs. Randolph? There's one telling sentence in this radio play that will give you the answer--if you catch it. [I didn't.] (one stabbed)

"Skeleton in the Cupboard" by Ianthe Jerrold: Corney Dew was sure he'd found the perfect spot to dispose of his brother-in-law's body when he buried him in the ancient mound on his property. But then the local Antiquities Club gets interested in digging the place up...and the club's sponsor doesn't seem to want to take no for an answer. (one natural; one hit on head) [Another déjà vu story...I'm sure I've read this one before, but not sure where.]

"The Year & the Day" by Edmund Crispin (Robert Bruce Montgomery): Two old school fellows meet at their club and one (a doctor) reminds our narrator (a barrister) of another school fellow who has recently died. The barrister begins to wonder why "X" (as he calls him) has brought the subject up. [And, quite frankly, so did I. Was there a point to implying that something nasty had happened when apparently no one suspected it? (one natural; one hit on head)

"Murder in Montparnasse" by John Bude (Ernest Carpenter Elmore): The disappearance of an artist coincides with the death of a paralyzed, drunken old man. Inspector Moreau must find the connection, (one drowned; one poisoned) [*I agree with Kate at Cross Examining Crime that this is much longer than it needed to be. A short story would have been sufficient. As a novella, it seems to have a lot of padding.]

"The Thistle Down" by H. C. Bailey: Reggie Fortune is asked (nay, commanded) to investigate the death of Sir Max Tollis's secretary. It's being put down as suicide, but Sir Max insists it isn't. (one shot)

"The Magnifying Glass" by Cyril Hare (Alfred Alexander Gordon Clark): A meeting between two men to settle up over a couple of cases of forged bank notes ends in death and tragedy. (one shot; one in fire)

"The 'What's My Line?' Murder" by Julian Symons: One of the panelists on the famed British version of the game show is poisoned in the studio. But it's soon proved that he poured his own drink and nobody went near it between the pouring and his drinking. So who poisoned him and how? (two poisoned) [Once again, I'm in agreement with Kate--I don't always get on with Symons' work. But I think I'm discovering that I prefer him in short form to his novels. This is quite good--not least because of its connection to "What's My Line?" (though I'm more familiar with the US version started in 1950).]

First line (1st story): It was Jasper's tenth birthday.

Last line (last story): "What a pity that [they were a murderer] too." (some or part has been changed to prevent a spoiler)

2025 Clock Reading Challenge

 

Jo at Jo Linsdell is once again sponsoring a very straightforward reading challenge: 12 books in 12 months. Each book should have numbers from one to twelve in the title so we can fill in our clock face. For more info and to join in, please see her link. I've listed my tentative choices.

One: One Fell Sloop by Susan Kenney (7/3/25)

Two: A Thief or Two by Sara Woods (3/13/25)

Three: The Three Coffins by John Dickson Carr (6/4/25)

Four: The Four of Hearts by Ellery Queen (7/15/25)

Five: Bodies from the Library 5 by Tony Medawar, ed (3/2/25)

Six: Six Nuns & a Shotgun by Colin Watson (5/9/25)

Seven: Seven Great Detective Stories by William H. Larson, ed (10/5/25)

Eight: The World's Best One Hundred Detective Stories Vol. 8 by Eugene Thwing, ed (11/19/25)

Nine: The Nine Waxed Faces by Francis Beeding (9/22/25)

Ten: The World's Best 100 Detective Stories Volume Ten by Eugene Thwing, ed (4/14/25)

Eleven: In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem & Fun in the Sandbox by Carol Burnett (1/22/25)

Twelve: Twelve Drummers Drumming by C. C. Benison (7/6/25)

The Twelve Deaths of Christmas

 The Twelve Deaths of Christmas (1979) by Marian Babson (Ruth Marian Stenstreem)

It's the holiday season and folks are busy shopping, putting up Christmas trees, and planning parties. Some are humming songs like "Jingle Bells" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." And one dark soul is humming their own song to "The Twelve Days of Christmas." A string of nasty murders breaks in London during the Christmas rush and though the press hasn't yet made any connections Detective Superintendent Knowles is certain that they have a most dangerous killer on their hands. Someone who looks and behaves normally--who may not even realize what they have done--until something triggers them.

The killings are opportunistic. The murderer uses everyday items as their instruments of death--from a heavy ink stand to an aerosol can of fake snow to a sharpened pop top. No planning needed, no weapons to trace to their rightful owner. It isn't until the killer sets a fire ablaze in a house near their own rooming house that the police have a real clue to follow up. A set of oil-soaked rags were used to start the fire and if the lab boys have enough left in the remains to examine, they'll be able to tell what kind of oil it was. But will they get the report in time to prevent the twelfth death of Christmas?

Babson does so many things well with this story. She sets up the tension and builds the suspense and balances that against the holiday background. She introduces the boarders in the rooming house and manages to make each of them seem just odd enough that they might be killer. She alternates chapters where we see into the killer's thoughts (without revealing enough to let us know whose thoughts they are) with chapters that provide an outsider's view of each character--and several of them seem to act upon thoughts that we've just had shared by the killer. For example, our villain suffers from excruciating headaches and we get their thoughts about that and the need to take aspirin. Then in the next chapter, we see several characters taking aspirin or mentioning how rotten their head feels. Occasionally Babson takes us to see what the police are up to as well. But the main action is inside the killer's head and inside the boarding house. It makes for a claustrophobic atmosphere--very representative of the net that is slowly closing around our culprit as the police begin to zero in on the area of London where the killer must be. Overall, a very interesting twist on the inverted mystery. In this case, we share the thoughts of the killer and see through their eyes, but we aren't told whose eyes we've been gazing through until the very end. And a nice suspenseful plot. ★★★★

However, as a participant in the Medical Examiners Reading Challenge I do have a bone to pick with Ms. Babson. There are eleven murders that I can't claim for the challenge because she couldn't be bothered to tell us the names of the victims. We have an unnamed newsagent, an unnamed attorney, two unnamed children, an unnamed shop assistant, an unnamed mother out shopping, an unnamed young man who plays his music too loud, and four unnamed people in a burned house. So who do I get to count? Relatives of folks who live in the rooming house where the killer lives whose deaths are mentioned--and the killer who dies on the operating table at the end of the book. Really, Marian, were you just not feeling creative in the name department in 1979?

First line: It was a gratuitous insult on his part to introduce the subject of Broadmoor into what had hitherto been a perfectly amicable conversation.

Last line: "Happy New Year!"
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Deaths = 4 (one natural; two auto accident; one died during an operation)

Eight Detectives

 Eight Detectives (2020) by Alex Pavesi

Grant McAllister was a mathematician in the 1930s with an interest in murder mysteries. He determined that all murder mysteries follow a simple set of rules that could be explained as a mathematical formula. He wrote a scholarly paper about it and then put together a set of short stories titled The White Murders with seven examples of the "permutations of murder" (as he called them). The book sold modestly during the boom years of the Golden Age of mysteries but never reached the fame that McAllister hoped for. The book fell out of publication and Grant McAllister disappeared.

Years later, Julia Hart is on a mission to find him. When she tracks him to a Mediterranean cottage, she sends him a letter from Blood Type Books, a publisher that, after discovering an original copy of The White Murders, would like to bring out a new, annotated edition of his only mystery work. He invites her to visit and as they work through the stories together, she realizes that there are more mysteries here than just those on the written page. McAllister is an older man, but is he really so old that he's forgotten how/when/why he came to write the stories? And why are there references to a real unsolved murder throughout the book--not least the title itself? And who exactly is/was Francis Gardner? 

For the most part, this seems to be a love it or hate it kind of book. There are a few reviews out there that hit the middle of the road, but not many. Personally, I love it--with two qualifications. I think it's a very clever twist on the classic murder mystery. It takes tropes from the Golden Age and gives them a little whirl. I enjoyed the way the story was framed and that there are mysteries surrounding the mysteries and even when you think Pavesi has twisted things round as much as possible, there is one more up his sleeve. My only qualifications--First, Pavesi is obviously well-versed in his Agatha Christie. So much so that he steals the plot of two of her most famous stories. One practically point for point. Yes, there is a twist in the tale that is clever* (see below for a spoiler point), but I'm not in favor of this kind of poaching. Second, as the Puzzle Doctor points out in his review, the short stories within the story have a pretty modern feel for work that was supposedly written in the 1930s. But neither of these qualifications kept me from enjoying myself thoroughly. There is a lot to like for those who enjoy classic mysteries--if only to spot the tropes that have appeared in stories actually written during the Golden Age.  ★★★★

SPOILER AREA

*Just a couple of spoilerish points: I am curious, however, to know how the Colonel's wife plans to get away with the only murder that wasn't part of the original ten. Is she going to plead ignorance--that her husband opened that drawer and fell prey to a booby-trap that neither or them knew was there? Oh--and for a man who had served in the army, he seems awfully squeamish about danger and bodies and such....

First line: The two suspects sat on mismatched furniture in the white and almost featureless lounge, waiting for something to happen.

Last line: But in his soaked white suit he looked like a snowman, already starting to melt.
*********************

Deaths = 31 (four stabbed; four poisoned; seven natural; four fell from height; one drowned; seven strangled/asphyxiated; one hanged; one hit on head; two burned to death)

Eleven Came Back

 Eleven Came Back (1943) by Mabel Seeley

When Martha and Dane Chapple, owners of a small radio network in the Minneapolis area, receive a phone call from their top investor, George Talbot, telling them that he's pulling out and selling his share to Mrs. Parent, a power-mad, vindictive woman, they have his call traced. It winds up he was calling from Delphine Parent's Wyoming ranch, the Lady Luck. So, the Chapples hustle on out to the ranch to try and talk Talbot out of the deal.

But Talbot is adamant that he wants out and Delphine is on a mad, power-seeking trip. She wants to hold the strings to a radio network that will allow her to control what the people hear. The Chapples try to convince her that their small network will never give her the influence she seeks, but Delphine knows what she wants and refuses to be swayed. She tries to smooth everything over by inviting Martha and Dane to join her house party as guests. They grab at the chance to have more time to persuade either Talbot or Delphine.

The other guests include what appears to be hangs-on, sycophants, or victims of her dictatorial ways. Among them are her current husband, the rich Jim Parent (from whom she gets the funds to pursue her "interests"); Delphine's ex-husband Jock Huddleston and his gold-digging trophy wife Deidre; Rolf Gaden, a Norwegian refugee who speaks in aid of a fund for other refugees, Evelyn Anson, Delphine's secretary, and Lolly Sheehan who seems to have been invited purely for entertainment value. After a somewhat intense dinner, where Delphine reveals that she once knew a blackmailer who had photographic proof that someone was a murderer. Martha is sure the story was told for a purpose and the atmosphere immediately changed from that moment on. 

The group is maneuvered into a moonlight ride up the mountain. Twelve riders (ten house guests and their hosts plus two ranch hands to guide and manage the horses) head up the mountain, but only eleven come back. In the middle of a (insane to my mind) madcap game of hide and seek in the darkness, Lolly falls to her death from a bridge overlooking a falls. When the sheriff and park rangers who are called to the scene investigate it appears that no one was close enough to have had a hand in the death. A verdict of suicide is brought in. But Martha is sure it was murder and so is Dane and others in the party. When Delphine is killed next, the evidence all seems to point to Dane. After all, he really didn't want the deal between George and Delphine to go through did he? Martha knows he didn't do it, but can she find a way to prove it?

There are several things to like about this one. First, the setting and atmosphere are terrific. Set in the shadow of the Grand Tetons, Seeley does a great job setting her scene. And tense atmosphere is also built and managed well. Seen through Martha's point of view, we really get the feeling that Dane is going to be railroaded into being arrested. It was very interesting that the first death was not the expected death. It took a while to figure out why Lolly had to die and the explanation works. But the reader still expects Delphine to be bumped off first.

A few things kept this from rating any higher. Although Martha's point of view helps set up the atmosphere, she isn't really a lead character that I took to. I definitely didn't want Dane set up for a crime he didn't commit, but I was pretty meh when it came to rooting for Martha. She comes across as very scatter-brained and indecisive. Dane must be the brains behind their radio network success. And I'm baffled by this bunch of adults playing hide and seek on the mountainside. I'm not saying that adults might not be silly and do such a thing, but after meeting this group I really find it difficult to believe that they would. It's a perfectly good  device for getting the group separated and nobody really knowing where anyone else was--but it would have gone down better if the groundwork had been laid that made me believe they would do it. 

Side Note: I'm really curious how Jim Parent managed to get so rich. He's Native American and stereotypically depicted (disappointingly so) as illiterate, drunk, and lazy. Did the man get lucky and just trip over a hunk of gold?

This was the first Seeley mystery I ever read. Somehow, even though my brief pre-blogging review said "Not quite as good as anticipated. But a solid mystery," it spurred me on to look for other mysteries by her. I'd say my feeling is about the same. It's a good solid mystery--one I'd like to be able to rate higher, but just can't. ★★★

First line: To begin with, there wasn't anything about our going to the Lady Luck to indicate that we were getting into murder

Last lines: Free. That was a word. Free.

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Deaths =  5 (one fell from height; one alcohol poisoning; one hit on head; one suicide; one shot)

Wycliffe & the Guild of Nine

 Wycliffe & the Guild of Nine (2000) by W. J. Burley

Francine Lemarque is the newest member of the Guild of Nine, an artist's colony housed in the disused mining buildings on moor west of St. Ives. The small community is owned by Archer and his wife Lina who have differing ideas about how things work. Archer put the guild together based on astrology and numerology. The number nine is extremely important to him and so it's important to have nine members at all times (at the moment, they're one short). Lina wants to get the Guild turning a better profit and is hoping to expand their artistic offerings.

This is where Francine comes in. Francine is the recent recipient of a large legacy and is thinking seriously of investing in the Guild. But rather than just hand over the cash, she's been asking a lot of questions. Some of them very awkward. And before she can get answers and make a decision, she is found dead--the victim of a blocked vent on a heater. 

When Chief Superintendent Wycliffe learns the victim's identity, he's surprised. He knew Francine from an early case. She had shot and killed her natural father--a man who wasn't even close to being beloved by much of anyone. He'd always wondered what became of her upon her release. Now he wonders if the earlier case has any bearing on her death--or is it truly connected to her questions about the Guild. He and his team find both connections to the past and some present-day secrets that members of the Guild would just as soon not have had known. More deaths follow and Wycliffe finally finds the thread that leads him to the killer.

An enjoyable entry (and the last!) in the Wycliffe series. It had been a while since I read any of these mysteries and it was good to visit with Wycliffe again. He's a good solid copper who relies on his wits to solve the mysteries--well, his wits and his excellent team. There are several members who are specialists (in following the money, making connections between apparently disconnected items, putting witnesses at their ease, etc.) and they all work together to get to the solution. This mystery has several well-placed red herrings which may or may not distract the reader. I have to say that I spotted the killer, but only because I managed to latch onto one of the clues and wouldn't let anything put me off. ★★★

First line: Archer's Guild of Nine was a craft colony on the site of a disused mine on the seaward slope of the moor, west of St. Ives.

Last line: "Odd, your attitude to that girl, considering that in her short life she caused so many people so much grief."
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Deaths = 8 (one shot; one gassed; three natural; two strangled; one hit by car)

Seven Keys to Baldpate

 Seven Keys to Baldpate (1913) by Earl Derr Biggers

William Magee is a well-known pulp writer who wants to prove to his critics that he can write a serious novel. Of course, to write a serious novel one must barricade oneself away--away from friends and family, away from parties and plays, away from anything that might distract the "great author" from deep thoughts and serious plots. While brainstorming places to go for such intense authorial endeavors, his friend Hal Bentley finally suggest Baldpate Inn, owned by his father, It's a summer resort that stands empty in mid-winter. There will be no staff and no guests to interrupt a man playing with fictional realities. 

So off Magee goes to Baldpate--no running water, no heat (save for the fireplace in his room), and no food (save for canned goods and the occasional meal sent up by the caretaker's wife)--for a period of quiet contemplation. Or at least that's what he expects. He's barely gotten settled in his room, when the first of a parade of visitors arrives--each with what they believe to be the only key to the inn. There's the first man who hides a package in the lobby safe and who makes a phone call to someone called Andy. There's a pretty girl and her mother. And the crooked mayor of a nearby city with his hired strong man in tow. And a professor of Comparative Literature who may not be what he seems. And a professional hermit. And a dark figure who wrestles with the mayor and his sidekick. And a second mysterious pretty girl. And they all want the package in the safe--even if they all won't say so. Magee finds himself with a dilemma when both of the pretty girls ask for his help in getting the package. But his loyalties are with the first one--a young woman who stole his heart as soon as he saw her crying at the railway station. But will he be aiding the cause of justice or helping a lovely thief? Only time will tell.

This was an extraordinarily fun outing from the author of the Charlie Chan mystery series. With everyone popping in and out of the inn, with the addition of a hermit who becomes the chef for the group at Baldpate, with Magee as the befuddled hero, the plot reads as though Biggers planned for the story to be filmed. And...it was...six times from 1917 (silent) to 1947. I sampled two of the movies and they, too, were fun but came with slightly different endings from the book and each other. And I'm not sure which ending I like best. The book is straight forward. There's a crime and a solution and our hero wins out in the end. The films are less so. In the first, Magee is writing his book to fulfill a bet. Everybody that shows up and everything that happens is just part of a plot by the man with whom Magee has made the bet to prevent Magee from winning. In the second, everything that happens at the house is really just the plot of the story Magee is writing. When we reach the end none of it "really" happened, except on the page. The lead-up to those twists is very good in each film and the endings are both a surprise and satisfying all in one.

The book is just one wild ride full of humor and outrageous shenanigans. If you're looking for an intricate, well-clued puzzle, then this isn't it. But if you're looking for a good time and a fun read, then this just might fit the bill. ★★★★

First line: A young woman was crying bitterly in the waiting-room of the railway station at Upper Asquewan Falls, New York.

Last line: "Why. darling," he explained gently, "this is it."
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Deaths = one shot

The Tenth Life

 The Tenth Life (1977) by Richard Lockridge

 When M. L. & Susan Heimrich's Great Dane Colonel falls ill, they take him to Dr. Adrian Barton's veterinary clinic. His assistant Carol Arnold tells them that the doctor is finishing up a surgery and will be right with them. But after time goes by and no doctor, Inspector Heimrich asks Carol to check how much longer it will be. Well...it's going to be quite a long time because the doctor is dead. It looks like the middle-aged Barton has had a stroke or a heart attack or perhaps a diabetic coma, but all of Heimrich's police alarm bells are going off and he's not so sure. And when the analyst finds curare in the syringe discovered under Barton's body, it winds up his alarm bells were ringing out murder.

But who wanted the veterinarian dead? Did his wife think he was messing around with the pretty young Carol Arnold and decide death was better than divorce? Did Carol's young man decide the "old" vet was too interested in his young assistant. Did one of the pet owners decide to take revenge for their pet's death? Are any of these motives strong enough to warrant murder? Apparently someone had a grievance strong enough to kill over, but will Heimrich find the right one before the killer strikes again? 

This is the last of the Heimrich novels and it was good to see the Inspector and Lieutenant Charley Forniss and Corporal Purvis in one last outing. The mystery is pretty straightforward and it shouldn't be difficult for those well-acquainted with the series to spot the killer. But I don't really read these for intricate plots. I enjoy the comfortable characters who behave in ways I've grown accustomed to and whom I live very much. Heimrich has been at this long enough that he knows when murder has occurred, even when it's not immediately obvious. And I've been reading the Lockridge books long enough that I know which characters are the most likely villains no matter how many red herrings he tries to throw my way. It was interesting to see curare used as the murder method in a modern mystery (pardon me, my Gen X card is showing--the seventies don't seem like they should be 50 years ago...). I thought everyone had given up the "obscure" South American poison long before then. But it does fit with the veterinary setting since it was used at one time (in very small doses) to immobilize animals for treatment. While this isn't the strongest of the Lockridge books, it was a nice comfortable read and a solid ending for the series. ★★★

First line: It was a few minutes after six in the afternoon, and the afternoon was in mid-July.

Last line: "And no stud fee," Susan said, and picked up the tray.
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Deaths = 4 (one poisoned; three natural)