GAD Mystery Word of the Day: Extirpate

 

My new bookish meme for 2026: the Golden Age of Detection (GAD*) Mystery Word of the Day. Whenever I find a word that I'm unfamiliar with--or shall we say not absolutely confident I know the exact meaning of, I'm going to actually take time to look it up and share it with mystery-lovers everywhere. 😊

Today's GAD Mystery Word of the Day: Extirpate (verb) a) to destroy completely b) to pull up by the root He thought the best way to restore our dominion over the colonies would be to lay waste to the land and "extirpate the present rebellious race," basically through the liberal use of plunder, pillage, rape, and slaughter. (When the Wolves Are Silent by C. S. Harris)

When the Wolves Are Silent

 When the Wolves Are Silent (2026) ~C. S. Harris (Candice Procter)

London, 1816: We open with Sebastian St. Cyr, Lord Devlin's nephew Bayard Wilcox awakening from a drunken stupor to find his friend Marcus Toole's body burning up in the bonfire they had built as part of a raucous night. Despite the rift between his uncle and his mother, his first thought is to run to Devlin for help. Bayard claims that he and Marcus got rip-roaring drunk (as they are wont to do--usually with a larger group of friends) and thought it would be hilarious to build a bonfire up on Primrose Hill where people who believe in the druidic practices like to hold little get-togethers. He wandered off into the woods to relieve himself and the next thing he knew he was waking up to a strange smell coming from the clearing where he'd left Marcus and the fire. 

While Devlin is waiting for Sir Henry Lovejoy and his Bow Street Runners to arrive, he searches the area and finds a wooden carving shaped like a wolf--on each flank is a Celtic knot. Was this part of some Celtic rite gone wrong? Or is there more to it? When Devlin learns that another of Bayard's friends was recently killed--stabbed and thrown into the river--he has to wonder if the men themselves hold the reason for the killings. In fact, he has to wonder if Bayard is telling him the whole truth or might be responsible himself. His investigation shows him that Bayard and his friends were not nice men. They picked fights, harassed, and destroyed the property of the powerless. All of the men were privileged sons of the wealthy and were never properly brought to account for their actions. Has someone decided to take justice into their own hands? 

More deaths follow--including two of the groups victims--and one of the original six men has disappeared altogether. Now Devlin has to wonder if there is more than one killer at work. The crown (for which read Jarvis, the real power behind the throne) wants someone, anyone arrested and hung for the murders NOW. Preferably one of the riff-raff who are protesting the government. Devlin will have to work quickly if he doesn't want to see an innocent man (or men) hang.

I don't know why I do this to myself. I get the latest Sebastian St. Cyr mystery as soon as I possibly can, read it in a day, and then look around and bemoan the fact that I have to wait a whole year for the next one. You'd think I'd learn--to take my time, to savor the experience, to let it last as long as possible. But, no. These stories are so good. I just can't help gobbling them up. Harris writes an incredible story using her skills as a scholar to research the period, sprinkle interesting facts throughout the narrative (without boring us silly with minute details), and peopling the plot with both real personalities of the time as well as fictional characters with depth.

Devlin's wife Hero has played a role in his detective work occasionally throughout the series and it was nice to see her more involved in this latest case as well. Her contacts in the scholarly realm helped Devlin discover the meaning behind various Celtic and druidic symbols which cropped up along the way. Tom, his tiger, and Calhoun also had their moments to shine--tracking down important witnesses and bits of information that Devlin needed to unravel the case.

I will say that this is quite the complicated plot--far more than I realized while reading it. I can't say much without giving things away, but there are a number of threads to keep track of and I didn't manage keep hold of all of them. The ending was a surprise...but a satisfying surprise.  I was a bit disappointed that we still haven't made any progress on finding out more about Devlin's heritage nor has there been a follow-through on a dangling issue from Hero's side of the family tree. Added to that, we now have to wonder about Sebastian's sister Amanda and if what he predicted for her future will come true. Her son Bayard may have been a nasty piece of work, but she's not far behind....I'm hoping that the next installment will bring some closure on at least one of these issues. ★★★★ and 1/2

First line: Where the bloody hell am I?

"It never ceases to amaze me how otherwise intelligent, reasonable men can have such faulty, antiquated notions about the true nature of fully one half the human race." (Hero, Lady Devlin; p. 49)

Last line: "They got away!"
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Deaths = 19 (two drowned; two stabbed; one burned to death; three strangled; three natural; two in war; one beaten to death; five shot)

GAD Mystery Word of the Day: Lumper

 

My new bookish meme for 2026: the Golden Age of Detection (GAD*) Mystery Word of the Day. Whenever I find a word that I'm unfamiliar with--or shall we say not absolutely confident I know the exact meaning of, I'm going to actually take time to look it up and share it with mystery-lovers everywhere. 😊

Today's GAD Mystery Word of the Day: Lumper (noun; British slang) A casual laborer or dockworker employed to load and unload cargo ships and timber vessels.Originated around the late 18th C.

(from When the Wolves Are Silent by C. S. Harris)

Who Done It?

 Who Done It? (2013) by Jon Scieszka (compiler/editor)

Synopsis from the book flap: Can you imagine the most cantankerous book editor alive? Part Voldemort, part Cruella de Vil (if she were a dude), and worse in appearance and odor than a gluttonous farm pig? A man who makes no secret of his love of cheese or his disdain of unworthy authors? That man is Herman Mildew.

 
The anthology opens with an invitation to a party, care of this insufferable monster, where more than 80 of the most talented, bestselling and recognizable names in YA and children’s fiction learn that they are suspects in his murder. All must provide alibis in brief first-person entries. The problem is that all of them are liars, all of them are fabulists, and all have something to hide...

Let's start by saying that this was an admirable project--get 80ish authors to help put together a book that will be sold to benefit a nonprofit group that encourages young creative writers. That's a great project. I applaud it most sincerely. In theory, a whodunnit which featured 80 suspects all providing alibis and ostensibly letting the reader figure out the solution to who killed the odious Herman Q. Mildew, the editor of nightmares, sounds like a real winner. I was all ready to put my "little grey cells" to work and try to outwit the authors and discover the murderer.

However...

Please note that I cannot continue that thought without completely spoiling the book. If my one-star rating doesn't scare you off, then you probably won't want to continue reading until you've read this for yourself. 

However, this is, in my opinion, a huge hornswoggle. There is no cohesive plot. The reader will not pick up clues among the authors' alibis. There is no way to figure out "whodunnit" because [Here's the SPOILER] Herman Q. Mildew is NOT dead. Nobody killed him. The whole book is a sham. Now, if we believe some these authors, there have been some deaths along the way (and bless them for that because I can still count the book for the Medical Examiner Challenge) but none of those were Mildew. This could have been such a great project if, following in the footsteps of The Detection Club, there had been a real plot, a generally agreed-upon setting of the scene, and then the authors had proceeded (round-robin fashion) to write up their alibis--their side of the story, adding what details they might and those that followed need to take those new details into account. Then the reader could have sifted through clues laid down in the framing story as well as the alibis and had a chance to determine the killer. As it was, this was the biggest disappointment I've read so far this year. The only thing (well, things) that save it is that it was for a good cause and David Levithan's poem/albi which is a terrific send-up of a William Carlos Williams poem.  ★ for those two things.

First line: Ladies and gentlemen...and I use those terms loosely because I know you are all writers and illustrators...we have a bit of a situation.

Last line: You hold the answer to that question in your hands
****************

Deaths = 4 (one natural; one fell from height; one food poisoning; one frozen to death)

GAD Mystery Word of the Day: Cornichons

 

My new bookish meme for 2026: the Golden Age of Detection (GAD*) Mystery Word of the Day. Whenever I find a word that I'm unfamiliar with--or shall we say not absolutely confident I know the exact meaning of, I'm going to actually take time to look it up and share it with mystery-lovers everywhere. 😊

Today's GAD Mystery Word of the Day: Cornichons (noun, pl) A specific type of tiny, tart French gherkin (usually 1-2 inches long) pickled in vinegar with herbs like tarragon and garlic. Much cruncier and distinctly sour than dill pickles, and usually paired with charcuterie.

He like full-sized pickles; I am strictly a cornichons girl. (Who Done It? compiled & edited by Jon Scieszka)

(*Except...today's word is definitely not GAD. Haven't had a suitable word from a vintage mystery for a while...)

Murder by Plum Pudding

 Murder by Plum Pudding (2019) by Lee Strauss

Ginger & Basil Reed wind up with a houseful of guests at Christmas. First, Mr. Doyle a friend of her late father's writes to say he and his wife will be visiting England and wants to discuss some things with Ginger. So, of course, she asks them to stay for the holidays. Then her step-mother Sally and half-sister Louisa arrive unexpectedly on the doorstep--because they wanted to surprise Ginger. So, of course, she opens her home to them as well. Then, for Christmas dinner, there's Basil's mother and father (always a jolly couple--especially now that Scout's adoption has gone through. The adoption they opposed....), Dr. Gupta and his wife, and an older couple who are friends of the elder Reeds. Oh--and, quite by chance, Ginger meets the brother of Mrs. Doyle at a Christmas Eve charity luncheon and invites him as well.

The dinner is a bit tense--for reasons Ginger can only guess at--but festive enough. At least until Mr. Doyle chokes and lands face first in his second helping of plum pudding...dead. At first it looks like he might have choked on one of the items hidden in the pudding; a dreadful accident, but an accident all the same. But Dr. Gupta's examination (in his capacity as police surgeon) reveals that it's more complicated than that. There was no obstruction to the breathing passages. So, what killed the man. And more importantly...who killed him?

A fun novella mystery that's perfect for Christmas (or Christmas in April, as it happens). A bit rushed since it's a shorter work and there aren't a lot of red herrings to muddy the waters, but it's always delightful to visit with Ginger, Basil, and the other regulars. I do wish we could give annoying relatives a rest, though. That theme is getting a bit tired. ★★★

First line: The journal remained tucked away in the bottom drawer of Mrs. Ginger Reed's bedside table along with a photo of her late husband, Daniel Lord Gold.

Last line: "Let's go to the Ritz!"
****************

Deaths = one poisoned

Murder on Eaton Square

 Murder on Eaton Square (2019) by Lee Strauss

Basil and Ginger Reed are invited to a charity event at the Eaton Square home of Mr. Reginald Peck. There is obvious tension between Peck and his wife, Peck and his children, and even Peck and his solicitor. Peck is an invalid whose demeanor may be affected by his health and that's what the Reeds chalk it all up to. But the next day Basil is called back to the Peck home--this time as a Scotland Yard inspector. Reginald Peck has been found dead and while it is assumed that the death is natural, it soon proves to be murder by poisoning. And questioning soon proves that Peck's family had good cause to wish him dead. He wasn't a pleasant family man and they all could use an inheritance. Even his son-in-law who poses as an Indian guru and claims no interest in sordid material matters. It's just a matter of deciding whose motive was biggest and who had the best opportunity. And then Mrs. Peck dies from poisoning as well...Ginger and Basil will need to sift through motives and opportunity to discover whose behind the poisonings. 

Meanwhile, Basil's parents come for a visit and, though they themselves are fairly unconventional, they take great exception Basil & Ginger's plan to adopt Scout, Ginger's ward. Heaven forbid that their heir be a former street urchin! And they threaten to disinherit Basil if the adoption goes through. Considering how much the elder Reeds go against convention--flitting off on trips to South Africa and India and adopting a South African child (who had since been murdered), you'd think they'd be a little more flexible.

This was another solid entry in the Ginger Gold mystery series and it serves up a very interesting solution that I didn't see coming--at least I didn't see one half of the solution coming. I did figure out the other half. I like the way Ginger and Basil's teamwork plays out--Basil is the official arm of the law and Ginger plies the suspects with charm and disarming conversation. Very nicely done. A quick read with a pleasant mystery that makes for a comfortable read. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: Mrs. Ginger Reed, alias Lady Gold, had reserved a box at the London Playhouse Theatre for her family, who now mingling with anticipation and glasses of champagne in hand, waited for the signal that the production of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet was about to begin.

Last line: "I meant the four of us, Bossy."
*****************

Deaths = 3 (two poisoned; one accident)

A Case of Mice & Murder

 A Case of Mice & Murder (2024) by Sally Smith

From the book flap:

When barrister Gabriel Ward steps out of his rooms at exactly two minutes to seven on a sunny May morning in 1901, his mind is so full of his latest case—the disputed authorship of bestselling children’s book Millie the Temple Church Mouse—that he scarcely registers the body of the Lord Chief Justice of England on his doorstep.

But even he cannot fail to notice the judge’s dusty bare feet, in shocking contrast to his flawless evening dress, nor the silver carving knife sticking out of his chest. In the shaded courtyards and ancient buildings of the Inner Temple, the hidden heart of London’s legal world, murder has spent centuries confined firmly to the casebooks. Until now . . .

The police can enter the Temple only by consent, so who better to investigate this tragic breach of law and order than a man who prizes both above all things? But murder doesn’t answer to logic or reasoned argument, and Gabriel soon discovers that the Temple’s heavy oak doors are hiding more surprising secrets than he’d ever imagined . . .

My take: This is a fun first mystery from a King's Counsel turned novelist. Smith brings the Temple of the early 1900s to life and peoples it with extraordinary characters from our amateur sleuth Gabriel Ward to Constable Wright, the officer assigned to assist him, to young Percival Dunning, the son of the murdered man, Gabriel Ward is a man after Hercule Poirot's heart--making sure his inkwell and gold pencil are positioned "just so" on his desk and looking for method and order and connections where others might miss them. He also brings a warmth and humanity to the legal field that is in sharp contrast to some of his colleagues. 

Many of the barristers and judges who live in the Temple are looking how best to position themselves to climb the judicial ladder, if they get justice for their clients or those who appear before them then that's all well and good too. But that may not be their primary goal. This gives them a mighty good motive for doing away with the Lord Chief Justice, because some of them would love to step into his robes. But it's also possible that he was killed for his shoes...after all, his shoes are missing. And then there's the rumor that there have been some odd goings-on in the Temple Church. Maybe Lord Dunning came upon something that someone would rather not have know and paid the price. Though Ward's brief is only to interview the Temple inhabitants and report to the police (with a mandate from the Treasurer to find evidence that some miscreant from outside the Temple walls awas responsible), he keeps investigating long after the last interview. And he's amazed to find that there may be a connection between his important case and murder.

I thoroughly enjoyed Gabriel Ward's first venture into detection--even though I did spot the suspect about midway through. It was still great fun to watch Ward and Wright work their way toward the solution. I hope that Wright will get the recognition due him and his inspector won't steal all the glory.... ★★★★

First line: It is anybody's guess what went through the mind of Lord Norman Dunning, Lord Chief Justice of England, on the evening of 20 May 1901, in those frantic seconds when he knew that his death was inevitable.

Last line: He always went home at nearly six o'clock.
*****************

Deaths =  3 (one stabbed; one natural; one poisoned)

The Body in the Dumb River

 The Body in the Dumb River (1961) by George Bellairs (Harold Blundell)

Superintendent Thomas Littlejohn is spending the night in Fenshire after helping tie up loose ends in a forgery case with connections to London. It's been raining cats and dogs and when the torrential rains bring to light a man's corpse (stabbed--not drowned), the Chief Constable takes advantage of having the Yard man on the spot. The body is quickly identified as belonging to Jim Lane, a man who ran a hoop-la stand and traveled from fair to fair. Why would anyone want to stab a fair showman to death?

It doesn't take Littlejohn long to discover that Lane was leading a double-life--running hoop-la during the week and running home to his home in Yorkshire where he's known as James Teasdale. And it takes even less time (after meeting the family back home) for the superintendent to understand why Teasdale might have wanted a different life. Littlejohn's instincts tell him that the answer to Teasdale's death lies in Yorkshire and the contents of the man's stomach prove him right. He was killed not long after taking afternoon tea at home and there was no way he could have made it back to Ely based on the progress of digestion. 

Teasdale's family spends little time actually mourning him; they're more concerned about the scandal surrounding his double-life. We're left to wonder whether one of them thought murder better than disgrace. Then blackmail rears its ugly head and when the blackmailer disappears (after having tried it on with Teasdale before his death), it looks like Littlejohn may have a second murder on his hands. But which of the family did it? And why?

I may be a bit of an outlier (among GAD fans) on this one, but I didn't find this to be one of Bellair's strongest efforts. On the plus side, he (as always) provides terrific character sketches, but what characters. There isn't a member of Teasdale's family (or, rather, his wife's family) who is a pleasant character. I wouldn't want to invite any of them home for tea. And, it amazes me how sympathetic Littlejohn is to this crew. Bellairs also gives good descriptions of the countryside and small towns. The plot is a decent one...except for the ending. I'm a trifle disappointed with how justice is meted out. It may seem like one of the characters gets their just desserts, even if no one winds up behind bars (it's spoiler territory to describe the "just desserts"), but I'd be a lot more satisfied if someone had been officially punished for the crime. Poor Jim Teasdale--just when it seemed like he'd found a bit of happiness, it all came to a violent end. Someone really needs to pay for that. ★★ and 3/4 (just can't bring myself to give a full three)

First line: "Are you awake, Littlejohn?"

Last line: Littlejohn often wonders how long the trio of sisters will have to wait for their inheritance. Elvira, Phoebe, and Chloe.
***************** 
Deaths = 4 (one stabbed; one drowned; one natural; one fell from height)

GAD Mystery Word of the Day: Glaucous

 

My new bookish meme for 2026: the Golden Age of Detection (GAD) Mystery Word of the Day. Whenever I find a word that I'm unfamiliar with--or shall we say not absolutely confident I know the exact meaning of, I'm going to actually take time to look it up and share it with mystery-lovers everywhere. 😊

Today's GAD Mystery Word of the Day: Glaucous (adj): Of a dull grayish-green or blue color

Heck's glaucous eyes were fixed on Littlejohn's face. He was enjoying himself. (The Body in the Dumb River ~George Bellairs)

I was thinking it had to do with glaucoma.

The Methods of Sergeant Cluff

 The Methods of Sergeant Cluff (1961) by Gil North (Geoffrey Horne)

Sergeant Cluff has a murder on his hands. It's the murder of a young woman and the obvious suspect is the young man who has been dangling after her. The girl had more money and better clothes than her job at the local pharmacy would allow and everyone assumed that she was making money at night. In the ways that ladies of the night might make such money. And everyone in town assumes that the lovelorn young man couldn't stand what she was doing and didn't respond well to her rebuffs. Well, neither I nor Sergeant Cluff were ready to believe the obvious. I went looking for clues. I'm not sure what Cluff was looking for. He wasn't all that communicative. You see...

One of Sgt. Cluff's methods seems to be to keep the identity of the victim a secret (from the reader, anyway) as long as possible. I love it when the story starts with a bang--murder up front and we're off and running on the investigation. So...we get that. But do we get to know who she is? Nope. Cluff knows, but he's not telling (and won't let his inspector tell us either). [And--just so you know--the library thoughtlessly plastered their barcode sticker over the part of the blurb where I think the name is revealed. So, having bought this at the library used book shop, I'm in darkness until somebody decides to mention the girl's name.] Ah...finally...she has a name! But not until Cluff had wandered all over town.

"She's--" Mole started to say, opening the handbag.

"I know who she is," Cluff stopped him.

Mole pushed the envelope he was pulling out back in the bag. "Of course," he said bitterly. "I was forgetting. You were born and bred in these parts. You know everybody."

Other methods seemed to include elliptical conversations with all the people he meets. Conversations where the eavesdropper (that would be the reader) feels like they have poor reception on a cell phone and are missing half or more of the conversation. Most of his "interviews" don't seem to make sense. I didn't see the ending coming and I honestly don't know how anyone could. Cluff didn't even figure it out...he only knows the final solution because he played eavesdropper outside a door and overheard the murderer confess. 

To say that I'm underwhelmed with Sergeant Cluff would be an understatement. To say that I have another of the Cluff books on the TBR pile and I'm not at all sure I want to read it would very accurate. This one, however, is going out the door--re-donated to the Friends of the Library Bookstore. Maybe somebody else will appreciate Sergeant Cluff more than me. ★★ and I think I may be a bit generous.

First line: The constable watched him swing across the deserted High Street, from the corner by the church.

More than facts was in question here, the intangible, invisible passions of human beings. Facts could have one meaning to Mole, another to Barker, still another to Cluff. It wasn't facts that mattered, but what lay behind the facts.

Last line: He added, before he was too far away for Barker to hear, "Where's the Sergeant got to, anyway?"
*********************

Deaths = two hit on head

Treasure of Hemlock Mountain

 Treasure of Hemlock Mountain (1961) by Virginia Frances Voight

Charlene Fairhill is hoping to break into singing showbiz. She's just made friends with local boy turned singing idol, Dan Harris, and she hopes his connections will help her launch her own singing career. But her family has other plans...her father needs to go away for a rest, so she and her father  are headed to the lonely Maine cabin that used to belong to her uncle (and now belongs to her father). She'll be gone the whole summer. And so much can happen in a summer. 

There's a rumor that a lost cave of amethysts is on the land that used Bill Fairhill. Maybe she'll find buried treasure. There's also various boys vying for her attention--reliable Peter--her constant escort; Dan the handsome singer; and Eric the new young man she meets on Hemlock mountain. Maybe she'll find true love. And, of course, there's Dan's band and the promise of an audition with his manager. Maybe she'll find her career. Or maybe she'll find out that there's even more on offer. Charlene has a summer of mystery and adventure ahead--all leading to a lonely night spent lost on the mountain and a surprise she could never have dreamed up.

This is the type of story I might have enjoyed more when I was a teenager myself. At this point in life, I would have liked the mystery side of things to have a bit more meat to it. It's a pretty straight-forward treasure hunt with a side of coming-of-age for Charlene. An easy, fast read that was enjoyable enough, but not one that I see myself ever revisiting. ★★★

First line: Charlene Fairhill's escort to the June younger members' dance at the country club was Peter Kenn, not an exciting datec for Peter and she had grown up together like close cousins.

Last line: Suddenly she felt she couldn't wait for the next door to open.
******************

Deaths = one accident

Dead Man's Mirror

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

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

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

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

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

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

Last line (last story): "She chose--to remain..."
****************

Deaths = 7 (four natural; two shot; one poisoned)

The 1961 Club

 

From April 13-19th, April of Kaggy's Bookish Rambles and Simon at Stuck in a Book are sponsoring a read/blog-athon featuring books published in 1961. All you have to do is read at least one book from 1961 and post about it--that's it.

Here are the unread 1961 books on my TBR mountain range--we'll see what takes my fancy next week.

The Delights of Detection by Jacques Barzun

The Body in the Dumb River by George Bellairs (4/16/26)

A House Possessed by Charity Blackstock

The Demoniacs by John Dickson Carr

Death in Cold Print by John Creasey

The Scene of the Crime by John Creasey

My Brother's Killer by Dominic Devine

Bachelors Get Lonely by A. A. Fair

Shills Can't Cash Chips by A. A. Fair

After the Verdict by Anthony Gilbert

Experiment in Terror by The Gordons

12 Stories for Late at Night as edited by Alfred Hitchcock

Footsteps in the Night by Dolores Hitchens

Marry in Haste by Jane Aiken Hodge

The Mysterious Code by Kathryn Kenny

Six Black Camels by Edwin Lanham

Banking on Death by Emma Lathen

Inspector Imanishi Investigates by Seicho Matsumoto

The Methods of Sergeant Cluff by Gil North (4/13/26)

The First Body by Laurence Payne

Murder Clear, Track Fast by Judson Phillips

The Lady in Cement by Anthony Rome

Requiem for a Schoolgirl by Ivan T. Ross

The Man Who Looked Death in the Eye by Hampton Stone

The Chinese Nail Murders by Robert Van Gulik

The Red Pavilion by Robert Van Gulik

Treasure of Hemlock Mountain by Virginia Frances Voight (4/11/26)

Faculty of Murder by June Wright

Hercule Poirot & the Greenshore Folly

 Hercule Poirot & the Greenshore Folly (2013) by Agatha Christie
(Originally written in 1954)

Mrs. Ariadne Oliver has been asked to devise a Murder Hunt for a village fete being held on the grounds of Sir George and Lady Stubbs. But as she works to put together an interesting little puzzle for the villagers, she gets the sense that something is not right and she calls upon her friend Hercule Poirot to come and check out the situation. He, too, finds discrepancies in the behavior of those staying/living at the Stubbs home. But neither of them thought that the Girl Guide who had volunteered to play the murder victim in the fete game would wind up fulfilling the part of a real corpse. Then Lady Stubbs disappears. But Poirot and the local police inspector have no success in tracking down the corpse or finding the missing woman. It isn't until another death occurs and Mrs. Oliver makes a chance remark that Poirot finally begins to see a pattern that leads him to the solution.

Greenshore Folly is a novella originally written in 1954 with the intention of donating it as a church fundraiser. But Christie decided to hold on to it and develop it further--turning it into Dead Man's Folly (published in 1954). All of the bones are there, but the full novel fleshes out characters and relationships far more than Christie was able to do in the shorter work. It was interesting to look at the story in its initial form and to see how Christie filled it in to create a full-fledge novel. Not quite as engaging as the later work, but a fine first draft. ★★★

First line: It was Miss Lemon, Poirot's efficient secretary, who took the telephone call.

Last line: "There are some things that one has to face quite alone..."
****************

Deaths = 5 (two strangled; one drowned; one natural; one in war)