Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Mad About the Boy?


 Mad About the Boy? (2008) by Dolores Gordon-Smith

The second in the Jack Haldean mystery series finds Jack in the middle of another murder "in the family." This time, his aunt and uncle are celebrating 25th anniversary with a gala ball and fireworks--provided by Lord Lyvenden--who switched from arms for the Great War to pyrotechnics to keep the funds rolling in. The occasion comes with some built-in tension. Isabelle (Jack's cousin) has been keeping his best friend Arthur on a string (Arthur is head over heels in love with her), but has recently become engaged to dashing Malcolm Smith-Fennimore (merchant banker, aviator, racing driver...that is to say, a ready-made hero). Arthur is miserable, on top of suffering from the effects of shell-shock. There is also trouble between Lord Lyvenden and his secretary, Tim Preston, whom he [Lyvenden] treats as a general gopher instead of a confidential secretary. And then there's the weird Russian bloke who shows up looking for Alfred Charnook, brother of Isabelle's mother and the black sheep of the family.

The party is completely ruined, however, when Preston is found dead--apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Everything points to suicide. There's even a note beside the body that appears to support the theory. But Jack isn't convinced. And when Lord Lyvenden is stabbed to death and all evidence points to Arthur, Jack knows that something devilish is going on. Did someone have it in for both Lyvenden and his secretary? Could it have anything to do with the coded message Preston apparently saw by mistake? Is it a Russian plot? Or is it more complicated than that? And can Jack discover the true villain before Arthur is brought to trial and convicted?

Gordon-Smith evokes the spirit of Christie's thrillers in this one. It makes me think of The Secret of Chimneys and some of the Tommy & Tuppence adventures. There are Russian agents and secret meeting places and what seems like a code. There's Russian gold and Englishmen in tight places over money. There's even a little gun-running. Of course, the real question is what (if anything, this has to do with the murders). This is a grand adventure and lots of fun. I would love to rate it a bit higher--but this time the main culprit was fairly obvious even though their motive wasn't. Not quite as good as the debut of the series, but I am definitely eager to move on to Jack's next adventure. ★★ and 1/2

First line: Arthur Stanton stubbed out his cigarette, peering anxiously through the haze of smoke at his reflection in the mirror.

Last lines: "Try asking anyone else," he said with a grin. "I'll forbid the banns."
*********************

Deaths = 8 (five shot; one stabbed; one fell from height; one froze to death)

Monday, March 11, 2024

Dorothy & Jack: The Transforming Friendship of Dorothy L. Sayers & C. S. Lewis


 Dorothy & Jack: The Transforming Friendship of Dorothy L. Sayers & C. S. Lewis by Gina Dalfonzo (2020)

What happens when we push past the surface and allow real, grounded, mutually challenging, and edifying friendships to develop? This is the question posed by Gina Dalfonzo in her biographical examination of the friendship between Christian thinkers and apologists Dorothy L. Sayers and C. S. Lewis. The friendship had its beginning in a fan letter that Sayers, then celebrated for her mystery fiction and less known for her Christian work, wrote Lewis the first of what became a fifteen-year correspondence. They met on various occasions, but the friendship grew primarily through the written word--letters exploring their mutually held views, debating their differences, critiquing each others work, bolstering one another on points of perceived weakness, and praising & encouraging strengths. 

"Over the years they had helped, educated, guided, teased, critiqued, chastised, defended, consoled, and laughed with each other."

What more could two friends ask for?

One thing that I found frustrating about this book is that most of the letters which promised (in Dalfonzo's descriptions of them) to be very interesting were "apparently lost." She repeatedly employs references in letters--most often in Lewis's replies to Sayers (DLS appears to have kept nearly everything Lewis sent to her)--which indicate that a previous letter held some interesting or profound observations, but we don't get to see them. And, in fact, Dalfonzo quotes very little of the correspondence even though she quotes Lewis's admiration for Sayers' letter-writing abilities. Which reminds me that I really need to read the two collections of Sayers' letters that I have.

On the plus side, it was very refreshing to read about this amazing intellectual friendship--to watch how each influenced the other over the years and gave to the other something that was missing in their other friendships. Having enjoyed Sayers' translation of Dante, I especially appreciated Lewis's commentary and critiques of that work. A very strong literary biography of the friendship between two of my favorite authors. ★★★★

First line (Intro): They could not have been more alike.

Last line: "He is down on the thing like a rat, he is God's terrier, and I wouldn't be without him for the world." (Sayers about Lewis)


Thursday, March 7, 2024

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine Sept 1965


 Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine Sept 1965 by Ellery Queen, ed. 

I have to say that I thought this collection one of the weakest of the EQMM's I've read so far. The best of the bunch are the Christie and the Queen...and I've read both of them before. "A Fine Winter Thirst" is good and pulls at the heart strings a bit with that ending. "The Mystery of the Fulton Documents" is a much better Dupin pastiche than the Goulart story's parody of hardboiled pulp (quite frankly it made no sense to me and I didn't find it funny at all). The Chandler story is a much rougher version of his novel The Big Sleep (which I read last year and enjoyed very much). I didn't get much out of "to Reach the Sea" or "Who Walks Behind" and the rest of the stories are okay. ★★ and 1/2

"Blood Brothers" by Christianna Brand: The Birdswell identical twins are said to be devoted to each other. And so they are...until they both get involved with the same woman. Then murder and competing alibis put them in Inspector Cockrill's sights and it's every man for himself. [2 hit by car]

"Unc Probes Pickle Plot" by John Jakes: A story chock full of slang that makes it a bit of a trudge to read through. And the big mystery--who switched a jar of about-to-be prize-winning pickles for a jar of beets at a town fair--is pretty ho-hum.

"The Mystery of the Fulton Documents" by Michael Harrison: An Auguste Dupin pastiche in which Dupin discovers how the top-secret weapon plans were smuggled out of a French official's safe.

"Bloehm's Wall" by George Emmett: Bloehm is slowly dying from a cancer eating away at him. He's always know that Emil will show up one day to settle old scores. But when Emil does things don't quite go as he anticipated. (one neck broken)

"A Fine Winter Thirst" by George Emmett: A mute itinerant worker finally finds love--only to have it snatched away from him by a cruel barkeeper. (one poisoned; one stabbed)

"All the Way Home" by Jaime Sandaval: Tommy has to listens to rumors about his dad and Miss Abby Hunter, the young teacher who taught school about a mile from their home. Tommy's dad had installed Miss Abby in the lighthouse near their property and Tommy's mom was none too pleased. Things come to a head one windy night when the lighthouse burns down and Tommy's Dad's boat is found adrift. (2 burned to death; one natural)

"The 'Supernatural' Murder" by Agatha Christie: Dr. Pender takes center stage next with a tale of a seemingly impossible murder cloaked with a bit of mysticism. The murder was committed on the night of a costume party near the grove of Astarte. The grove was on the estate of Sir Richard Haydon, a man who was rival of his cousin Eliot for the love of the beautiful Dianna Ashley. The grove contained a mysterious summer house which was rumored to have been a place where secret rites were held long ago. Diana decided to dress the part of Astarte--appearing in a mysterious glow in the summer house. The vision startled Sir Richard and he then stumbled to the ground. when the others reached him, he was dead from a knife wound...but there was no knife to be found. Miss Marple spots the answer. [one stabbed]

"The Needle's Eye" by Ellery Queen: A man suspects his new son-in-law and his father of having evil designs of one sort or another on either himself or his daughter (or both). He asks Ellery to investigate--and in the process Ellery solves a murder and the mystery of a pirate's hidden treasure. (one natural; one shot)

"To Reach the Sea" by Monica Dickens: An odd little story about a woman having an affair and a wig with hair that grows--oh, and one drowning. In a river. Nowhere near the sea...as far as I can tell. [one drowned]

"The Curtain" by Raymond Chandler: A rehearsal story for Chandler's The Big Sleep--all the bones are there--from the old General who wants to know what happened to his son-in-law to red herrings before Carmody (Marlowe's predecessor) figures out what really happened. The killer has changed--but not the motivating factor. [four shot]

"The Peppermint Striped Goodbye" by Ron Goulart: Seems to be a mash-up parody of Chandler's "The Curtain" and a Ross MacDonald Lew Archer story. Rumor has it this is funny. Don't attribute that rumor to me...[two fell from height]

"The Restorer of Balance" by Avram Davidson: In the matter of feeding tigers--who is the hunter and who the hunted? [one fed to tigers]

"Who Walks Behind?" by Holly Roth: George feels compelled to help a man who claims to be a refugee...but he's not sure if it's safe. If perhaps there's someone following after...

First line (1st story): "And devoted I hear?...David and Jonathan?" he said.

Last line (Last story): George was not wrong to be suspicious, and she must learn to live with the understanding that he might some day be right in his ceaseless doubts.

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

The Silent Speaker


 The Silent Speaker (Oct 1946) by Rex Stout

Cheney Boone, the Director of the Bureau of Price Regulation (hereafter BPR) is found beaten to death in his dressing room just before he's set to give a speech at a gathering of the National Industrial Association (NIA). The NIA is made up of a group of big business concerns and there isn't much love lost between the two agencies. Boone was repeatedly struck with a monkey wrench that was among his props for the speech. [Bev's first question: why on earth did the man have not one, but several monkey wrenches for his speech. This isn't really pertinent to the mystery...but inquiring minds want to know.] Given the antagonism which exists between the BPR and the NIA, the NIA has already been found guilty at the bar of public opinion. Public opinion doesn't really seem to care which NIA member did it--they're all guilty by association. 

Nero Wolfe, who has been goaded into figuring out a way to get paid--so Archie, Fritz, Theodore, and all those orchids won't be homeless, puts Archie to work on a scheme that manipulates the NIA into practically begging him to investigate and snatch their chestnuts out of the fire. The key to the case winds up being a leather satchel containing speech recorder cylinders that Boone's confidential assistant Miss Phoebe Gunther seems to have misplaced. Phoebe is next on the killer's hit list. And when the satchel is found, there are only nine cylinders when there should be ten. Whatever was on that last cylinder must be hot stuff and Wolfe pulls out all the stops...including doing a turn as a mental case...to find it.

In the meantime, Cramer is pulled off the case because he's given Wolfe too much latitude (and gotten no results). And he's replaced with Inspector Ash who is a horse's rear-end. Wolfe contrives to pull his rabbits out of hats with Cramer present so he will get the glory and be reinstated. I love the ending where Cramer wants to say thank you (with the gift of an orchid) but doesn't want to be all mushy about it. 

For about half to two-thirds of the book, I felt like this was the same old, same old. Archie goads Wolfe into working. Wolfe defies the police. Wolfe is threatened with jail time. Wolfe, for apparently inexplicable reasons, chooses to keep Archie out of part of the investigation--hiring a detective agency to do a bunch of leg work; using Saul Panzer and not letting Archie listen in on Saul's reports. The story is saved by the ending. Wolfe's theatrics as a man suffering from a nervous breakdown and his interactions with Archie during that period as well as the ending proper where he reveals all (plus Cramer with orchid in hand) makes it all worthwhile. ★★

First line: Seated in his giant's chair behind his desk in his office, leaning back with his eyes half closed, Nero Wolfe muttered at me.

The hurdles I had to make, you might have thought Hattie Harding was the goddess of a temple and this was it, instead of merely the Assistant Director of Public relations for the NIA, but I finally made the last jump and was taken in to her. (p. 8)

Last line: "If that was it, either primary or secondary, to hell with ethics."
*******************

Deaths: two hit on head


Fun for Monday...on Tuesday (aka Book Procrastination)

 

Not only do I not read books as quickly as I buy them...I run late on memes that talk about books that I don't read as quickly as I buy them.

I found this meme over at Bookforager and decided that I just needed to do it as well. It was originally created by Liesl Brunner at Quote, Unquote and the rules are as follows:

  • Link back to the original post at Quote, Unquote so the creator can read your answers
  • Link back to the post of the person who tagged you and thank them – thank you Bookforager!
  • You may use the included graphic anywhere in your post, but you don’t have to (see source post for graphic)
  • Fill all seven categories
  • You can either leave this tag open so anyone can do it or tag up to seven people [I'm leaving it open--if you see this post, then feel free to jump in!]

  A Classic Book You Have Been Meaning to Read Forever But Haven't Yet

 
The secret has been safe on my TBR shelves since 2013. One of these days, I may get around to uncovering what exactly old Wilkie is keeping from us. 

A Book On Your Shelf That You Haven't Read Yet
[Just one? According to Goodreads, there are 2,490 of them...]

For the books that I was a good girl and logged when I acquired them, it appears that Card's The Folk of the Fringe is one of those that have been languishing on the TBR mountain range for quite some time. (1990? Really? I'm sorry Paula [my BFF who gave this to me...]. I meant to read it sooner. Really.)

A Book Seven Eight Books That You Got Recently That You Haven't Read
[I upped the number from Bookforager's seven, so it would be even]
 
 
As mentioned above, I accumulate books at a far greater rate than I am able to read them. Here are just eight of the most recent to join the Hankins Library. Bookforager talks about promising to be "good" and not buy anymore books. I know that to be an empty promise before even making it...so...I don't bother. These three Detective Book Club 3-in-1 volumes; The Mystery of Nancy Drew; Blotto, Twinks & the Dead Dowager Duchess; Mycroft & Sherlock: The Empty Birdcage; Deadly Image; and The Country-House Burglar have all been added within the last three weeks...

 A Book You've Had Forever But Haven't Read


I don't know if 2006 counts as "forever," but Death Is Relative is a mystery that seems to have been hanging out at my house for the longest. 

A Book A Friend Recommended To You That You Haven't Read 



John @ Pretty Sinister Books thought I'd like this one so much that he even sent me a copy back in 2013. I haven't read it yet, John. But it's on the (ever-growing) list...
 
A Book You're Procrastinating On
[Um...that would be all 2,490 of them...wouldn't it?]
 
 
This is one of those books that I've always felt that, as an English major, I ought to read. But I'm not really an American Lit kind of girl. I much prefer British Literature. But maybe...just maybe I'll actually read the thing one of these days.

 So...how about you? What books have you been keeping on your TBR stack a little longer than intended?

Monday, March 4, 2024

Death of a Fool


 Death of a Fool (Off With His Head; 1957) by Ngaio Marsh; read by Nadia May

Marsh gives us a tricky little murder committed in the middle of  "Sword Wednesday"--the village of South Maridan's celebration of the Winter Solstice. On the day of the dance all goes well until the Fool (the father figure in the "Dance of the Five Sons") is supposed to rise up from behind the rock where he has fallen after a mock beheading at the hands of his sons. When he doesn't get up on cue, the sons investigate only to find that William Anderson has actually been beheaded in truth. The local Superintendent and Sergeant of police were among those in the audience and everyone (including them) present--dancers and audience alike--are positive that no one came near the Guiser once he fell down, perfectly alive, behind the stone. So, how could he have been killed? Superintendent Carey and his Chief Constable have the good sense to realize that they need the help of the Yard...and the Yard has the good sense to send Inspector Roderick Alleyn to figure out the mystery of the impossible beheading. 

This review is of the audio novel performance--for a full review, including a more detailed examination of the plot and background, please see my previous review: HERE.

This was very entertaining to listen to. May does an excellent job with the various characters--especially when you consider that the vast majority are male. Her rendition of Marsh's prose makes the dance come alive (both the original, opening festival and the reconstruction of the event at the end). We also get a good feel for the relationships between Alleyn and his men and the interactions between the villagers. A terrific performance of a very strong Marsh mystery.

First line: Over that part of England the winter solstice came down with a bitter antiphony of snow and frost.

Last line: "She's been saying what a long time seems to next Sword Wednesday."
******************
Deaths = one beheaded


Sunday, March 3, 2024

The Blue Geranium


 The Blue Geranium (1941) by Dolan Birkley (Dolores Hitchens)

Janet Cooper, diving instructor at the Hotel Quillan discovers the wealthy Nina Arkwright hacked to death in one of the women's dressing rooms at poolside. She doesn't immediately raise the alarm because she's afraid that the police will hone in on her beloved Joel Markham as prime suspect--especially since he said that Mrs. Arkwright deserved killing not two days before she wound up dead. [I'm not clear on what good she thought a delay would do....] When the janitor goes into the women's rooms to clean up, he finds Nina as well as a cheap green hat that the woman would never have worn a collection of newspaper clippings about an aviator who was lost as sea making a publicity flight in Arkwright's interests, and a broken flowerpot with the blue geranium that it housed--but no weapon. The ax that the killer wielded has disappeared. Only two people were seen leaving the pool area during the crucial period and neither of them could have concealed an ax about their person.

Janet's fears are realized after all those who knew Nina have been interviewed and there are indications--in addition to Joel's incriminating exclamation--that Joel might be the guilty party. It seems that it was likely that Nina was going to kick the scientist off her payroll at a plant where he had made some terrific discoveries. Captain Loring immediately arrests Joel on suspicion of homicide. But Joel doesn't seem worried.

"You'll want a lawyer, I suppose?" Loring said wryly. 

Joel shrugged. "Not right away. You wouldn't let me out anyhow. Take a day or two to find out you've made a mistake."

Janet isn't as confident as Joel and spends the rest of the book playing amateur detective. She blindly goes off to meet mysterious telegram-senders, eavesdrops on conversations, and devises a plan to trap the killer--all without getting herself bumped off in the process. Quite a feat, considering that the killer has no problem killing a second hotel guest with the missing ax when she discovers the secret of the blue geranium. But there are other mysteries to solve before the killer can be pinpointed--why did Nina arrange to have a dinner party with all black decorations--as if for funeral baked meats? Why did she come home late the previous night looking like she'd been in a brawl--with a black eye and bruises? Why did she insist on wearing a cheap green hat which wasn't her style and didn't match what she was wearing? 

This was a fun little mystery--not too difficult to spot the killer, though it took a bit more effort to figure out the exact motive. Janet did get a bit on my nerves towards the end--even after Joel was proved innocent (he was still cooling his heels in jail when the second murder occurred), she was going off on her own and keeping back information from the police. Captain Loring made it clear to her that he was on her side and she still didn't share things. She's fortunate that her meddling didn't get her into bigger trouble than it did. Pretty fairly clued. I didn't pick up on a crucial piece that would have helped with the motive. Very enjoyable.  ★★ and 1/2

First line: Janet felt the wind freshen as she mounted the ladder to the diving platform, but she was warmer because the sun reached her here.

I see I'm going to have to warn you against meddling. Don't think I'm sore on my own account. Amateurs usually play right into the hands of the police, as you did tonight. What I'm thinking of is your own safety. Suppose that telegram had been sent by someone who decided it shouldn't be known at any cost? [Captain Loring; pp. 69-70]

If you're thinking of blackmailing this person you suspect of killing Nina, you'd better give up the idea. Murderers don't blackmail well, from what I've read. [Janet Cooper; p. 73]

Only God understands a woman's mind, Miss Cooper. Begging your pardon for saying it. [Loring; p. 124]

I'm beginning to think that the people in this thing wouldn't know the truth if they met it out walking. [Loring; p. 145]

Last line: It was then, and at last, that she knew the fearful part was over.
***********************

Deaths = 4 (two hit with axe; one airplane accident; one fell from height)

Saturday, March 2, 2024

One by One They Disappeared


 One by One They Disappeared (1929) by Moray Dalton (Katherine Dalton Renoir)

Inspector Collier goes to a hotel for dinner with friends a few days before taking off on a holiday to Rapallo in Italy. By chance, he strikes up a conversation with Elbert J. Pakenham, a New York millionaire who is also waiting for dinner companions. Pakenham is one of nine survivors of the Coptic, a vessel sunk during the first World War. Each year he hosts a dinner for his fellow survivors and gives them a small gift--a token of his appreciation for their taking such good care of an old man while they waited rescue. Last year, he made an even bigger gesture--telling them all that since his nephew died he has made them joint beneficiaries of his will. The inspector happens to see the first of the men to arrive, a blind man named Raymond and a Mr. Freyne.

The morning Collier is preparing to leave for Italy, he reads a story in the newspaper with the headline "FATAL ACCIDENT TO BLIND PIANO TUNER." that makes him change his plans. He recognizes the name of the blind man as that of the man on his way to the anniversary dinner with Pakenham. All of his alarm bells are going off and he decides to take a busman's holiday rather than a trip to Italy (though Italy will play its part in the drama to come). His unofficial investigation reveals that several of the Coptic's survivors have met with fatal "accidents" in the past year and he begins to suspect that someone wants to make sure that the lion's share of Pakenham's estate will come to them. And when his bet friend, Inspector Trask, who has been assisting him with his investigation is nearly killed by an accident clearly intended for Collier, he's sure he's right.

Then Mr. Pakenham goes missing--on a trip of his own to Italy where he just might meet with one of those fatal accidents...will the wily old American and the British inspector be able to beat a clever killer at his own game?

******Warning--a bit of a spoiler ahead. Read at your own risk.******

This is the first of Dalton's Inspector Collier mysteries and as a first in series, it's pretty good. Collier is not your super detective. He makes lots of mistakes along the way and, honestly, Pakenham seems a bit quicker on the uptake in a few of the situations. But Collier is a likeable detective and one hopes that he will get better at the detecting game as the series goes along. The plot is (now) a well-worn one--a tontine-style will where the portions get bigger as the number of potential heirs decreases. But Dalton does well with it and creates some memorable moments along the way. The two things which would have made this better: a stronger detective and a less obvious suspect. The only thing I couldn't quite figure out was how the motive worked for the culprit. The connection isn't nearly as obvious and I don't see how the reader could have figured it out before being told at the end. All that said--an entertaining beginning in a book that was a quick read. I plan to read more by Dalton.

Curtis Evans provides a great introduction to this reprint edition which contains much background information on Dalton. He says: "Only now coming back into print, Moray Dalton (really Katherine Mary Dalton Renoir) resembles the Crime Queens in many ways, having a decided knack for narrative and characterization. Yet for me she is a bit less “posh” (there’s that word again) of a writer than Sayers, Allingham and Marsh and explores sexual and class dynamics in Thirties and Forties Britain in more original ways.  See, for example, Death in the Cup and The Strange Case of Harriet Hall, which have some truly striking and refreshing situations. I think that Dalton, who seems to have lived life as something of a privileged outsider, may have been more of a forerunner of the modern crime novel than these other, more famous women, estimable as they are.  Her primary sleuth, Hugh Collier, is an appealing young police detective." 

 ★★ and 1/2.

First line: As Inspector Collier entered the hotel lounge he glanced in a mildly inquiring manner at the three men who were sitting together at one of the little tables on his left.

Men expected one to take their advice without question, and they did not like one to be nervous and full of fancies. (p. 17)

Last line: And then, hurriedly, as if ashamed of his lapse, God bless her!
*******************
Deaths =  9 (three natural; one enemy action; one fell from height; one hit by car; one blood poisoning; one suffocated; one stabbed)

Friday, March 1, 2024

Thursday, February 29, 2024

The Moneypenny Diaries


 The Moneypenny Diaries (2005) by Kate Westbrook

Synopsis [from the book]: Miss Moneypenny's experience with mystery stretches all the way back to her childhood in Africa, when her father inexplicably disappeared in action during World War II. Now, as a young woman in 1960s London, Miss Moneypenny unknowingly stumbles upon her father's trail. In a position like hers, there's no file she can't access, and no document she can't read. Yet Miss Moneypenny is forced to decide whether it's worth risking everything--her job, her safety, and even international security--for the possibility of finding her father alive.

A life of espionage has personal as well as political ramifications. For Jane Moneypenny, the price is high. Romantic relationships with outsiders are necessarily built on lies, and she automatically questions the motives of every man she grows close to. For as her diary quickly reveals, Miss Moneypenny is involved in far more than office politics.

Guarding so many secrets and with no one to confide in, she finds herself breaking the first rule of espionage. Unbeknownst to anyone, she keeps a diary charting her innermost thoughts and state secrets.
*********************

Billed as "the explosive, true, private diaries of Miss Jane Moneypenny, personal secretary to Secret Service Chief M and colleague and confidante of James Bond," this is pretty disappointing. There's not a whole lot of Bond--except for during the far more exciting last few chapters where he and Moneypenny share a spy adventure. Most of the time he's off getting drunk and drowning his sorrows over losing his beloved Tracy. I'm not blaming him for being upset, mind you, I just don't think it's fair to make it sound like you're going to get all the inside dope on Bond when he's so conspicuous in his absence. In fact, for an espionage-adjacent book, there's not a whole lot of action going on--again, until the very end. If the entire book had been that exciting..then it would have come closer to meeting my expectations.

This is meant to read like nonfiction--with Jane's niece supposedly going to all kinds of trouble to cross-reference and prove the validity of all these incidents. Which makes this read like a dry-as-dust historical account for about 90% of the book. It would be a heck of a lot more interesting if the story had just been told through Moneypenny's diaries and without all the footnotes and editorializing by Jane Moneypenny's niece. It has a great hook--with Moneypenny wanting to investigate what really happened to her father--but really poor execution. ★★

First line (Intro): The first entry I read was dated 6 July 1962, and began. "007 leaves for the Caribbean today."

Last line: And if he doesn't, I'm going out to look for him too.
*******************
Deaths =  9 (one shot; one natural; three blown up; two suicide; one suffocated; one executed)

 

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

The Unicorn Murders (Spoilerific)


 The Unicorn Murders (1935) by Carter Dickson [John Dickson Carr]

I can't possibly talk about this one without letting several cats out of the bag, so I'm just going to warn you up front and not bother with coded comments. If you haven't read this particular mystery by Dickson/Carr, then, you should probably give my review a pass.


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

So...I don't think I've ever read such a convoluted mystery by such a good detective novelist. Dickson/Carr likes to have tricky little, intricate little solutions to his seemingly impossible crimes. Those sometimes confuse me. But honestly...there are so many people pretending to be somebody else in this one that I couldn't keep up even if I had a scorecard. We start out with our narrator, Kenwood Blake, pretending to be the secret service agent that Evelyn Cheyne (also an agent) is supposed to hook up with in France so they can stick like glue to Sir George Ramsden who is transporting the "unicorn" some sort of top secret, extra-important something-or-other (we aren't told what until the very end) to England. Why on earth the man is going through France isn't really explained--but, whatever.

Apparently, a thieving bad guy by the name of Flamande (shades of G. K. Chesterton's Flambeau) has vowed to be on the same plane as Ramsden and plans to steal the unicorn. Flamande is super-great at disguise and nobody knows what he looks like, so it's going to be difficult to protect Ramsden and his unicorn. To counter Flamande, we have the super-spiffy French Chief Inspector of the Surete, Gaston Gasquet--who, coincidently is also a master of disguise and nobody knows what he looks like either. And he's vowed to be on the plane to catch Flamande. 

So...we have Blake pretending to be the secret service guy. We have the real secret service guy somewhere. We have another guy pretending to be the secret service guy and we have the secret service guy's brother (who looks enough like secret service guy to also pretend to be him if the fancy strikes--it does). We wind up with one these guys (no, I'm not going to completely spoil it and tell you which guy) dead in a French chateau on a island cut off from the main land by a raging river in storm. He was apparently killed in the middle of a stairwell in view of others (albeit by low lamplight) with the horn of a unicorn (you can't make this stuff up--well, you can if your name is Dickson/Carr). Luckily for our hero--whom one of the several guys who claim to Gasquet (don't ask how many--more than we need) accuses him of being Flamande, good ol' H.M. (Sir Henry Merrivale) is also on the spot and will be able to figure out who is who and which one killed who and how and when and where. And, yes, even if I told you all the names and exactly what happened (supposing I could...I'm not sure I can), I don't think you'd be any less confused. Yikes.

The best part of this whole thing is H.M. (and therefore all star points go to him), but, honestly, even he was a bit much. Definitely not my favorite Dickson/Carr novel. ★★


First line: Let me state the case to you, and ask yo what you would do under the circumstances.

Last line: "La, sir, how you do go on!"
*******************
Deaths = two stabbed in head

Monday, February 26, 2024

The Hollow/Murder After Hours


 The Hollow/Murder After Hours (1946) by Agatha Christie

 Agatha Christie gives us a nice little country house murder. Lady Lucy Angkatell invites a group of friends and relatives that is sure to cause tension somewhere...and it mostly revolves around Dr. John Christow. Christow is a brilliant doctor with a terrific manner with patients and some innovative ideas about a cure for a deadly disease. But he's not really any good with personal relations. His wife Gerda worships him and is exactly what he thought he wanted yet he treats her poorly. Henrietta Savernake, a sculptor, is his mistress--because she's more vital and intelligent than Gerda, but he wants her to focus only on him (and not her art)...like Gerda does. Edward Angkatell has always loved Henrietta and hates Christow because Henrietta won't agree to marry him. Others at the house party include Midge Hardcastle, poor relation who must work for her living, who is in love with Edward; David Angkatell, a young intellectual, who feels like an outsider in the family and seems to hate everyone--including Christow. Thrown into the mix is Veronica Cray--Christow's first love who wanted him to give up his life's work as a doctor and come with her to America while she became a Hollywood star. He told her no. She's back in England and determined to get him back. She isn't pleased when he tells her no again.

And then...after he spends a late night at Cray's nearby cottage and then is summoned back in the morning--where he tells her that there most definitely isn't anything doing...he's found dead by the swimming pool, shot to death. And his wife Gerda is standing over him with a gun in her hand. Just at that moment, Hercule Poirot (also staying in another nearby cottage and who has been invited to lunch) comes to the scene...a scene that he initially feels has been staged (as a little joke) for the "great detective" and, as the investigation unfolds, still feels staged, though he's not quite certain by whom and to what purpose. But once the little grey cells have the chance to ponder all of the clues--both real and red herrings--he is able to resolve the question.

I enjoyed this one more for the characters than for the mystery (I spotted what was going on quite early--long before Poirot makes any indication that he knows the culprit, even if he can't prove it yet). Not that the mystery isn't interesting--it is. Christie does some interesting things with the plot and clue placement. But anyone who thinks Christie only does cardboard cutouts and her characters have no depth should really take a look at this one. The standard characters are given motivations and emotional lives that really resonate on the page...and even Gudgeon, the butler who has few scenes, is more than just the wooden-faced, typical butler. But my favorite has to be Lady Angkatell. Probably because with her apparent non sequiturs that have a way of hitting the nail on the head every time she reminds me a great deal of the Dowager Duchess in Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries. And I adore the Dowager. Lucy Angkatell is a bit more frightening than the Dowager--she definitely seems to know what she's about in putting together certain persons. But in general she does appear to want what's best for everyone (even if what she thinks is best isn't necessarily what they think is best). A very good mystery that I found most interesting and fun. ★★★★

First line: At 6:13 a.m. on a Friday morning Lucy Angkatell's big blue eyes opened upon another day, and as always, she was at once wide awake and began immediately to deal with the problems conjured up by her incredibly active mind.

Your mind, Lucy, goes so fast, that to keep pace with it your conversation takes the most amazing leaps. All the connecting links are left out. (Midge Hardcastle; p. 7)

He's just down from Oxford--or perhaps Cambridge. Boys of that age are so difficult--especially when they are intellectual. David is very intellectual. One wishes that they could put off being intellectual until they were rather older. (Lucy Angkatell; p. 9)

Queer, thought Henrietta, how things can seep into you without your knowing it. (p. 22)

The truth of it was that he was completely illogical. He didn't know what he wanted. [about John Christow; p. 37)

[about being an artist] You don't understand, John. I don't think I could ever make you understand. You don't know what it is to want something--to look at it day after day --that line of the neck--those muscles--the angle where the head goes forward--that heaviness round the jaw. I've been looking at them, wanting them--every time I saw Gerda. In the end I just had to have them. (Henrietta Savernake; pp. 39-40)

If I were dead, the first thing you'd do, with the tears streaming down your face, would be to start modelling some damned mourning woman or some figure of grief (John Christow; p. 48)

And suddenly one of those moments of intense happiness came to her--a sense of the loveliness of the world--of her own intense enjoyment of that world. (p. 55)

When one has to spend every day of one's life in a damnable little box, being polite to rude women, calling them madam, pulling frocks over their heads, smiling and swallowing their damned cheek whatever they like to say to one--well, one does want to cuss! (Midge; p. 56)

Sculpture isn't a thing you set out to do and succeed in. It's a thing that gets at you, that nags at you--and haunts you--so that, sooner or later, you've got to make terms with it. (Henrietta; p. 60)

You see what you're looking at, yes. You're--you're like a searchlight. a powerful beam turned onto the one spot where your interest is, and behind it and each side of it, darkness! (Henrietta; p. 72)

I can't stand just now, being reminded of happiness. Don't you understand? A time when one didn't know what was coming. When one said confidently, everything is going to be lovely! Some people are wise--they never expect to be happy. I did. (Henrietta; p. 122)

...possibly she believes what is told her. I think if one has not a great deal of intelligence, it is wise to do that. (Lucy Angkatell; p. 134)

What made Lady Angkatell dangerous, he thought, was the fact that hose intuitive, wild guesses of hers might often be right. With a careless (seemingly careless?) word she built up a picture--and if parts of the picture was right, wouldn't you, in spite of yourself, believe in the other half of the picture? (pp. 137-8)

[on whether he is an "artist" as a detective] ...on the whole, I would say no. I have known crimes that were artistic--they were, you understand, supreme exercises of imagination--but the solving of them--no, it is not the creative power that is needed. What is required is a passion for the truth. (Poirot; pp. 152-3)

These foreigners, thought Grange, don't know how to make tea--you can't teach 'em. But he did not mind much. He was in a condition of pessimism when one more thing that was unsatisfactory actually afforded him a kind of grim satisfaction. (pp. 218-9)

Yes, she thought, that was what despair was. A cold thing--a thing of infinite coldness and loneliness. (p. 237)

You do not understand. To you it is unbearable that anyone should be hurt.  But to some minds there is something more unbearable still--not to know. (Poirot; p. 250)

Last line: She said under her breath, "John, forgive me--forgive me for what I can't help doing--"

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Deaths = 2 (one shot; one poisoned)