The Green Mill Murder

 The Green Mill Murder (1993) by Kerry Greenwood

All Phryne Fisher wants is to enjoy an evening of jazz and dancing in the company of a presentable partner--which Charles Freeman is, even though he's not the most spectacular of partners (and has an overbearing mother in the background, to boot). The evening is going well--the music at the Green Mill, Melbourne's premier dance hall, has been excellent, she's been suitably admired in her beautiful lobelia-colored dress, and there's been plenty of people-watching to do during the dance competition that has entered its 48th hour. Everything's good...until one of the men in the last two competition couples falls at her feet, dead from a stab to the heart. 

Phryne's favorite policeman, Detective Inspector Jack Robinson, is called in to investigate, but the case is going to be a tricky one. The place is immediately searched and there is no weapon to be found. It seems that no one near enough to the dead man could have stabbed him...and even if they could have, what did they do with the long, thin knife? Meanwhile, Phryne's escort has taken a powder and even though she doesn't believe Charles had the nerve or the gumption to murder anyone, she knows he must be found. Especially when his mother hires Phryne to find her son...well, actually not just one son but two. 

It seems that Charles' elder brother Victor (whom Mrs. Freeman has long said died in the war) really came home. He was "damaged" from shell-shock and disappeared into the wilderness of the mountain country. Mr. Freeman has recently died and Victor must be found to clear up matters of inheritance. Phryne is shocked to realize that Mrs. Freeman would rather that "Vic" be found to have died--because then everything would come to her and Charles. But Phryne can't resist a mystery and sets off to find both men. 

The trail leads through the smoky jazz clubs, into the arms of a muscular banjo player, and up into the air as she makes a quick plane jump to the mountain country. It all ends with danger on the edge of the mountain (and Phryne's triumph with the aid of a potato-hungry wombat) and the unmasking of the culprit back at the jazz club where it all began.

This entry into the Phryne Fisher adventures starts with a bang (well a cornet solo, anyway) and a murder right off the bat. It's a quite normal romp through Miss Fisher's Australia, moves at high speed, and has adventures & romance galore. I love the Phryne series, but while this one is a perfectly fine addition to her cases it doesn't rank with the best. There is basically one clue to the murder--which, if you miss it the first time, is repeated several times--I guess to make up for the fact that there aren't any others. The culprit is obvious and I didn't feel like Phryne did near as much detecting as in other mysteries. 

But it is still fun to follow her around through Melbourne and the Australian countryside. I enjoy the descriptions of her fabulous wardrobe and the beautiful scenery on the mountainside. It made for a very pleasant, quick read. ★★★ and 1/4.

First line: It was eleven by the Green Mill's clock when the cornet player went into a muted reprise in "Bye Bye Blackbird," and one of the marathon dancers plunged heavily and finally to the floor at Phryne Fisher's feet.

Last line: Phryne let go the breath she had been holding and started to laugh/
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Deaths = 3 (one stabbed; one natural; one hit on head)

Historical Reading Challenge

 

I could have sworn I signed up for Marg's Historical Fiction Reading Challenge over at The Intrepid Reader, but I can't find evidence of it. So...here I am signing up for sure. I've still got a couple of historical series to work on, so I definitely can do another round If historical fiction is your thing (or you'd like to see if it is), take a peek at the details at the link above.

I'm going to sign up for the Victorian Reader level (5 books). I may wind up venturing further, but if I reach my initial goal then I will claim the challenge complete.

1. Murder by Lamplight by Patrice McDonough (3/19/25)

2. The Green Mill Murder by Kerry Greenwood (3/23/25)

3

4.

5.

Victorian

The Incredible Umbrella

 The Incredible Umbrella (1979) by Marvin Kaye

Among these unfinished tales is that of Mr. James Phillimore, who, stepping back into his own house to get his umbrella, was never more seen in this world. ["The Problem of Thor Bridge" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]

Kaye takes this description of one of Sherlock Holmes' unrecorded cases and weaves a fantasy-driven, mystery-adventure starring J. Adrian Fillmore, disillusioned professor* in need of a good thesis after an unproductive research sabbatical. After abruptly leaving an unproductive meeting with his advisor Professor Quintana, Fillmore follows one of his favorite escape routes--a good jaunt through various antique, book and curio, and junk shops. He ends at one of his favorites, a little out-of-the-way place where bargains are sure to be had. As he takes his treasures (primarily books) up to the register, the owner convinces him to look over the bargain tables in the middle where he spies a large umbrella--too large for everyday use but too small for a beach umbrella. Somehow, he winds up taking it home for 25 cents, even though the proprietor tells him the darn thing won't open.

After reconsidering his reluctance to work with his advisor, he decides he really must apologize to Quintana and get down to work. He sets out next morning to do just that, but it's raining cats and dogs. So, forgetting that the thing doesn't work, he grabs the new umbrella, steps outside, and...opens it up. And the next thing he knows he's been transported to the melodious world of Gilbert and Sullivan. From there, he finds himself wandering through the worlds of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, Mr. Pickwick, Sherringford Holmes & Ormund Sacker (the original names for Doyle's famous pair), and then Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson. At first, there doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to where he winds up, but then he realizes that someone else is after his umbrella. And he ends up joining forces with Holmes himself to defeat the plans of the Napoleon of crime.

I remember reading this when I first found it in the 1980s. I didn't record it, so I don't have a definite rating, but I'm quite sure I would have given it five stars. I was delighted to find a story that took off from the mention of James Phillimore in Doyle's story. I loved the all of the various worlds Fillmore visited (and it sent me on the hunt for Edwin Abbott's Flatland). Reading it forty-some years later, I still find it an enjoyable adventure, but I really could have done without the Gilbert & Sullivan bits. That whole section doesn't really connect with the remainder of the book (except in one small way). Things are much more interesting once Fillmore gets involved with proto-Holmes and, finally, with Holmes himself. ★★★ and 1/2 for this late-life reading of a youthful favorite. 

*As an administrative support person for a doctoral program, I must say that Fillmore's plight strikes me as that of a graduate student rather than a full-fledged professor. He has to report to an overbearing advisor. He's supposed to be finishing a dissertation. A professor might need to be finishing a book to get tenure, but he certainly won't be kowtowing to a dissertation advisor. Okay...soapbox moment over.

First line: "We've a first-rate assortment of magic," said the dapper little merchant.

Then, he also found a hardback edition of Carr's The Nine Wrong Answers: though less illustrious than the Benson unearthing, it was a scarce title nonetheless, especially as the paperback editions were all abridged; at any rate, it was a bargain at 19 cents. (Where did she come up with her figures?) [p. 18]

Last line: "Bit of a fey quality, I fancy," she remarked.
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Deaths = two stabbed

Poisoned Apples

 Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty (2014) by Christine Heppermann

Christine Hepperman gives us fifty poem about modern teenage life based in vivid retellings of classic fairy tales. We have everything from Snow White to Beauty & the Beast, from Cinderella to the miller's daughter in Rumpelstiltskin; even the princess from the Princess and the Pea gets her moment*. Hepperman uses dark and pointed imagery to talk about the difficulties facing modern young women--difficulties that are grounded in problems as old as the fairy tales she employs. 

Some of the dark imagery come from the fairy tales, but most comes from the pressures of growing up female--worrying about not eating enough or too much; worrying about what you wear and whether it's appropriate; making sure your skin is perfect and you look good--but not too good to tempt the boys; being a good girl; staying on the right path; watching out for wolves... The poems hit home and speak to a new generation of teenage girls who have to navigate the dark forests filled with wolves and woodsmen, looking for the safety of grandma's house....or maybe looking for adventure without danger. ★★★★

*View from the Balcony

When my sleeve slips past
the black-and-blue patchwork of skin
during my practiced royal wave,
the crowd cheers even louder,
for here's the proof~
I am the kingdom's mottled sweetheart
who can feel a single pea like a fist
thrust through the mountain of eiderdown.

The prince hammers a kiss onto my cheek.
I look down into the shadows of the courtyard
and try to spot all the others, so many
real princesses
standing stiffly on the merciless cobblestones.

Murder by Lamplight

 Murder by Lamplight (2024) by Patrice McDonough

Julia Lewis is one of the few women licensed as practicing doctors in England 1866. Though universities within England do not accept female students, a loophole in the licensing laws (which accept credentials from foreign institutions) has allowed Julia, with her degree from an American women's medical college to be added to the medical register. She joins her (quite progressive) grandfather in his medical practice. When her grandfather suffers from a mild heart attack and must convalesce, she answers the summons from Scotland Yard for a medical examiner.

That November begins a series of gruesome murders that will test Dr. Julia Lewis and Detective Inspector Richard Tennant. The first body discovered is that of the "Saint of Spitalfields." The Reverend Mr. Tobias Atwater was well-known for his good works in the East End. So, why has his sexually mutilated body been found at the construction site for London's new sewer system--with his head in a brick sewer tunnel? And what is the meaning of the popped balloon found in the victim's pocket? In four years of practice, Julia has seen a lot of death--primarily from the recent cholera outbreak--but never like this.

A few days later another body is found, this time a prominent businessman, Sir Maxwell Ball, the chairman of the East London Waterworks Company. Though the body is not mutilated as was Atwater's, there are links--such as another popped balloon--so, reluctantly, Tennant calls in Dr. Julia Lewis once again. It's always best to have the same doctor exam victims thought to have been murdered by the same hand. Even with clues on the bodies and at the sites that link the victims, Tennant's team has difficulty finding links in their lives. One thing Tennant does notice is how staged the crime scenes appear; as if the culprit is saying, "Look what I did!" 

Before long, Tennant and others connected with the case begin receiving taunting letters and more victims fall prey to the killer's knife. There is a logic behind the killer's actions and he isn't quite finished. He won't be finished until he commits one more murder...Julia's. Will Tennant be able to unmask the killer before he completes his plan?

This is a very promising beginning to a new historical mystery series. The Victorian era is one of my favorite-to-read-about time periods, followed closely by early 20th C (through WWII) and the Regency period. What makes this book so enjoyable are the characters and the sense of place. She works well in the Victorian period. I definitely felt myself slipping into another era with the the descriptions of the workhouse, the clinics, the police procedures, and the brewing company. McDonough gives Julia Lewis and Richard Tennant rich, full backgrounds and allows them (and the reader) to discover new bits of backstory gradually, giving us time to get to know one another. I enjoyed the way she gave them similar incidents in the past so these two prickly individuals could find a common ground. Tennant is a Crimean War veteran with post-traumatic stress. Julia suffers from feelings of having let a fellow medical student down. And both feel like they have something to prove--to the world, to each other, and to themselves. And, of course, Tennant finds working with a female doctor irritating and unfathomable (at first). And, of course, Julia Lewis feels that every question is directed at her because she's a woman and not because it's Tennant's job to ask questions. It takes them time to learn how to respect and work with each other. 

The mystery plot is good--there is a very solid psychological motive given for the murders and I do like the way it unfolds. The murders are a bit gruesome for my tastes, but not so much so that it prevented my enjoyment. I will say that the final reveal wasn't quite as startling as it might be for those who are not as well-read in the mystery genre in general. Full honors to McDonough for a strong kick-off to the series, excellent characterization, and a writing style that kept me turning the pages. I look forward to more adventures with Dr. Lewis and Inspector Tennant. ★★★★

My thanks to Goodreads and Kensington Publishing for this book which I won through a Goodreads giveaway. I have received no other compensation and this review represents my individual reaction to the book.

First line (Prologue): A clanging jolted little Jacko from his broken sleep.

First line (Ch. 1): Julia Lewis edged her way through the gawping crowd.

Last line: They made one last turn around the circus, guided home by a ring of glowing lamplights.
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Deaths = 15 (five stabbed; one hanged; five natural; three drowned; one hit on head)

No Vacation from Murder

  No Vacation from Murder (1973) by Elizabeth Lemarchand

Life is busier than usual at St. Julitta's School in Kittitoe during the summer holidays. Normally, they lease the grounds for just one session, but this year the board of governors have been convinced to let the school to Horner's Holidays for one of the company's Horner Discovery Fortnights. Previous visits to the area had found the Discovery retreat at a hotel in nearby Biddle Bay, but a fire had caused enough damage to the hotel to prevent its use. The board was unsure at first, but the fee that Horner's was willing to pay was definitely a deciding factor. The naysayers were afraid that there might be unwanted publicity associated with the venture. After all, Horner's is "so commercial." But the educational aspects of the Discovery Fortnights also helped win the day. The retreat provides an opportunity for adults to engage in outdoor and recreational interests, such as amateur archaeology, botanical exploration, and British architecture.

So, late summer finds 80-90 visitors descending upon St. Julitta's. Marcia Makepeace, Domestic Bursar for the school, is fully prepared--accommodations ready, meals planned, staff on duty (extra pay packets!). Horner's guiding lights and instructors arrive first: Michael Jay, Paul and Janice King, Susan Crump, and Geoffrey Boothby. Nearby, is Eddy Horner, founder and owner of the firm. He has recently become a grandfather and his daughter Penny Townsend and new grandson are staying with him in "Uncharted Seas," his bungalow on the coast. His son-in-law works in London and comes down on weekends and a relation of his first wife's Wendy Shaw, is on hand to provide nursing support for Penny and the baby. Wendy is training to be a nursery nurse and is a quiet and serious girl.

On the first evening of the Fortnight Horner invites the Discovery staff and Marcia to his bungalow for a small reception. Everyone gets a tour of the made-to-order bungalow and the women are all invited to admire the new grandson. The Discovery Fortnight is off to a swinging start. Everything goes well until the last evening. There is a massive rainstorm. There is a huge glitch in the timing of the final bus tour which puts the entire farewell program behind. After a lavish final dinner, there is a showing of the Discovery Fortnight film. Paul King always takes video of all of the lectures and outings during the Fortnight and shows an edited final version that is a big hit. Due to the late return from the bus tour, he's not sure he'll get the final edits made in time...but after filling in with a previously-made film on birds in the area, the big show is ready. 

As things are wrapping up, Marcia is called to the phone. Eddy Horner is a bit upset. He and his daughter had gone to the train station to meet his son-in-law leaving Wendy in charge of the baby at home. The train was late (what a day for lateness!) and when they got back to the bungalow, there was no sign of Wendy. Her coat and purse are gone as well and Eddy wants to know, "Was young Wendy Shaw at your place this evening?" Even though both Eddy and Marcia (who talked with the quiet young girl that evening at the bungalow) don't believe she would have abandoned the baby, the police believe she must have taken off with a man. But then...her strangled body is found at the seaside end of a blowhole near the school and Superintendent Tom Pollard and Sergeant Toye arrive from Scotland Yard to take up the investigation. The more they learn about Wendy, the more they realize that Eddy and Marcia were right--the young woman wouldn't normally have abandoned a baby in her charge. So, what could have happened to cause her to do so? And why would anyone have needed to kill her? Motives are pretty thin on the ground, but Pollard doesn't believe this was a random killing or a theft gone wrong. Proving that and finding the evidence to convict is going to be pretty tricky, though.

The Pollard and Toye books are good, solid police procedurals with fully realized characters. Even those characters, like Wendy's mother, who appear briefly come to life during their short appearance. Pollard and Toye have a nice dynamic and work well together and Pollard is an intuitive investigator who adapts his questioning style to fit the person he's interviewing. He's able to handle the neurotic Mrs. Shaw and the intense, in-charge Eddy Horner with equal ease. 

I did spot the culprit, though I didn't pick up on the various instances of emphasis that should have told me the motive. That's all I lacked to complete the case. I was very suspicious of the apparent alibi and was not surprised when Pollard saw how to get round it. Those who are swifter on the uptake than me might figure out what the culprit was really after and why Wendy had to die. ★★★★

*I do have one random question though. What on earth does the cover have to do with anything? I mean, considering that a high percentage of British mysteries take place in England and having tea is kind of a big thing in England, this could, quite honestly, be a scene from any British mystery ever. It certainly doesn't represent this book in any meaningful way.

First lines: "Those in favour?" From the Chair Philip Cary ran a practised eye round the library table.

Last line: "Really," Marcia said, "aren't our policemen wonderful?"
****************

Deaths = 2 (one car accident; one strangled)

Reading Baseball: The Abra Cadavers

 

Rick Mills, that crafty creator of reading challenges and sometimes literary team captain, has made the annual call for team members for one of the finest ball clubs around...the Abra Cadavers. Spring training has begun and I'm grabbing my cleats and heading out to the field. If you'd like to join the team, just prove your skills by fulfilling the following plate appearances (reading requirements). You too could be an All Star! For full details, check out Rick's page: HERE

Batter Up!

My Plate Appearances

Single: The Devil's Flute Murders by Seishi Yokomizo

 

Double: 2 books by Randall Garrett

Murder & Magic

Too Many Magicians

 

Triple: 3 books by 

Homerun: 4 books by 

Cycle: completed previous four (done)

Foul: The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict

Bunt: "The Alien Dies at Dawn" by Randall Garrett & Robert Silverberg

 

Stolen Base: The Cloisters by Katy Hays (read by JenneB in 2022)

Strike Out: The Last Resort by Michael Kaufman

Ambush for Anatol

 Ambush for Anatol (1952) by John Sherwood

In an opening that might remind GAD readers of their introduction to Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, we are introduced to Philip and Diana Abinger. Like the Beresfords, they are a young couple who are in need of funds and Philip, at least, isn't adverse to a bit of risk if it will help the cash flow. A chance meeting with a former RAF man just may be the ticket. Count Jan Piatovsky and his friend Miss Lena Watson invite Philip and Diana for a drink. Piatovsky tells Philip that he may be able to set him up with a man named Anatol who can use men like Philip and the Count. They make an appointment to meet on Hampstead Heath where Piatovsky will make the introduction. But unknown to the Abingers...

The man known only as Anatol uses blackmail to pressure his associates into handling shady currency deals for him in the years following World War II. Even if he has to manufacture the blackmail evidence. Everyone from Polish refugees to members of the British aristocracy are fair game. He knows everything about them all and they know nothing about him. But when one of his band of fraudsters stumbles across some unsavory information about Anatol, the consequences are dire and Scotland Yard finds themselves with a pair of corpses in the middle of Hampstead Heath during the Bank Holiday. Inspector Lunt is sure it's going to be a long and fruitless search...

Meanwhile, Mr. Charles Blessington, a civil servant with the Ministry of the Treasury, is waiting for a man to show up for an appointment. An appointment that was made with Blessington's secretary after he had left for the long holiday and with a man about whom he knows nothing. When Count Jan Piatovsky is half an hour late, Blessington realizes that the name does sound familiar and goes back to the morning's paper. Count Piatovsky was one of the pair killed on Hampstead Heath. Soon our mild mannered civil servant is mixed up in a dangerous hunt for a very dangerous man as well as helping Diana search for her husband who has unaccountably disappeared. The trail leads from London to Paris (with murder and mayhem on the famed Blue Train) to the French Riviera. Blessington may look mild as milquetoast but he's on hand to help Scotland Yard and the Surete get their man. But he doesn't consider himself skilled (other than in financial matters. As he says in response to a compliment from Lunt on a previous investigation (after the inspector realizes who he is):

"Neat? My dear Inspector, it was far from neat. I have always reproached myself bitterly for strangling that poor fellow in the railway yard. If I had not bungled matters it would not have been necessary."

There is very little mystery here--we know who the bad guy is from the beginning and we know who has killed whom. The fun is in the adventure and watching Blessington work in his quiet way to unravel the whole of Anatol's plot. I also enjoyed the Philip and Diana subpot once it really got going. The first half is a bit iffy, but there are definite shades of the Beresfords in the second half--particularly as played by Francesca Annis and James Warwick. ★★★★

First line: Philip and Diana Abinger stood on a street corner in the West End of London.

In my next existence, if I have one, I shall take jolly good care to be a scarlet adventuress. (Julia Barclay; p. 69)

[the Surete's response to Mr. Blessington's despair over his inexpert shadowing attempt]
My dear fellow, you set yourself an impossible task. For really thorough work we like to use twelve men to one suspect. We sometimes manage with eight when we're feeling economical, but one--no. (Commissaire Special, Monsieur Lebon; p. 93)

The chauffeur joined in on a basis of easy conversational equality. He spoke the rich, garlic-flavoured southern French in which mute e's are not mut at all, and wonderful things are done with the letter r. Mr. Blessington soon gave up trying to understand. Instead he fell to admiring the easy and dramatic eloquence with which even the least educated Frenchman can tell a story. (pp. 171-2)

Last line: It was a relief to get back to humdrum work, in the orderly world he really understood.
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Deaths = 4 (three shot; one stabbed)

Murder Every Monday: Write This Down

 

Kate at Cross Examining Crime hosts a fun mystery cover game on Instagram called Murder Every Monday. Our assignment, should we choose to accept it, is to display book covers and titles from books you own that meet prompts which she posts well in advance (see link). 

 

Today's theme is covers with a writing implement on (not a typewriter).

The Mystery Woman ~J. U. Giesy & Junius B. Smith (I only have the remains of the dustjacket)

Eight Detectives ~Alex Pavesi

Strong Poison ~Dorothy L. Sayers

The Word Is Murder ~Anthony Horowitz

Death's Old Sweet Song ~Jonathan Stagge

Little Hercules ~Francis Wallace

The Black Paw ~Constance & Gwenyth Little

The Vanishing Thief ~Kate Parker

The Death of an Ardent Bibliophile ~Bartholomew Gill

Judgment of Murder ~C. S. Challinor

The September Society ~Charles Finch

Murder Secretary ~William Beyer

The Dreadful Hollow ~Nicholas Blake

Mrs. Malory & the Fatal Legacy ~Hazel Holt

Death of a Literary Widow ~Robert Barnard

Last Seen Wearing ~Hillary Waugh

Captain Nash & the Honour of England ~Ragan Butler

A Six-Letter Word for Death ~Patricia Moyes

Poison in the Pen ~Patricia Wentworth

Hangman's Holiday ~Dorothy L. Sayers

Death of a Hoosier Schoolmaster ~Marlis Day

All by Willetta Ann Barber & R.F. Schabelitz--my favorite covers for this prompt.

Drawn Conclusion

Murder Enters the Picture

Pencil Points to Murder

The Sleep Is Deep

 The Sleep Is Deep (1952) by Hugh Lawrence Nelson

Lieutenant March Richards is the head of the Colorado City Detective Bureau and assigned to investigate a murder at the home of one of the city's oldest and most respected families. Ferdinand Spencer is found stabbed to death in his den, in the middle of what is meant to look like a robbery attempt. But Richards suspects that the murderer will be found within the Holt household and not among the burglars who might be roaming the city. And he sure hopes that's true. Because Richards holds a grudge against the Holts, even as it becomes obvious that he's in love with Joan Carpenter, the granddaughter of Mary Holt, the family matriarch. Mrs. Holt also suspects a deeper story and hires Jim Dunn, a private eye, to investigate. His instructions? To investigate not only the murder, but Mark Richards--and find out why he seems bent on revenge.

The two men agree to pool information whenever possible while following their own lines. And Richards does finally realize that there's another perfectly good candidate for suspect-in-chief--but then that man is murdered--with a gasoline-filled water pistol (that was stolen from Dunn!) and a cigarette lighter and Richards starts focusing on the Holt women again. It takes a lot of digging by Dunn and a "come-to-Jesus" moment for Richards (over his incredible bias) before the two men can finally pin the murders on the right culprit.

An interesting twist on revenge--where the detective in charge wants so badly for a certain person to be found guilty that he can't see any evidence that doesn't fit his theory. He is still honorable enough that he won't manufacture evidence to frame the person, but he really has a hard time considering anyone outside the Holt household as a viable suspect. Nelson gives us a really good character study of how focusing on those who have hurt us can twist how we see the world. Fortunately for Richards, Jim Dunn is a good detective and a good man and he likes the lieutenant enough to risk shaking him up and showing him how destructive his hate for the Holts is. Nelson actually provide terrific character studies overall--from Richards and Jim Dunn to Mary Holt (who has a sense of honor that Richards doesn't even begin to suspect) to Police Chief Drover who believes in Richards and doesn't want to see his career come to grief over a need for revenge.

The thing that keeps this mystery from a full four stars is the plot. The motive seems pretty flimsy to me and there are not really any clues that might point the reader in the right direction. I actually suspected the right person, but that was purely my reaction to them when they came on stage. I have no evidence to point to prior to Dunn and Richards explaining everything at the end. ★★★ and 1/2.

First line: A loose tire chain clanked rhythmically as Detective Lieutenant Mark Richards drove through the six inch snow which had not dampened the New Year's Eve celebrations in Colorado City.

Superintendent Thompson's word was not law. It was something far better than that. His word was good. (p.78)

Last line: Known to be somewhat eccentric in his later years, Ben Norwood's entire estate was left to an old friend, Mrs. Emily Holt Carpenter Spencer Watson, who has been honeymooning in Taos.
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Deaths = 5 (one stabbed; three natural; one strangled)

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

Deaths =2 (one hit on head; one strangled)

Nothing Is the Number When You Die

 Nothing Is the Number When You Die (1965) by Joan Fleming

Nuri bey, accidental detective (who helped find a murderer and a drug ring in his last book), is asked by his friend Torgut to leave Turkey and and go to London to look for his missing son, Jason. Jason is in his third year at Oxford and should be studying for his final examinations. He also should have come home during the last holiday--and didn't. Torgut is sure that something dreadful has happened to the young man. Nuri has never been to England and isn't sure that he's the right man for the job and insists he must think it over. After taking a very long and circuitous route home, he arrives to the news that Torgut has been brutally murdered...just moments after he and another friend, Landrake had left he house. 

Now, it is not Torgut begging his assistance, but Torgut's lovely half-Russian, half-English widow Tamara--a woman that Nuri has long adored from afar. Like the knights of old, it's possible that if Nuri is successful  that he will win the lady's love and it isn't long before she has convinced him to go. He hopes that the young man has just wanted to sow a few wild oats before finishing school and heading out into the "real world." But as soon as Nuri sets foot in England, he finds himself followed by a man he noticed on the plane. Amazingly, a brief scuffle with his shadow gives Nuri the upper hand and his investigations show ties between the shadow, Jason, and another trail of drugs....a trail that leads right back to Turkey and puts his lady in danger.

This is one of those titles that got put on my "To Be Found" list so long ago, that I can't remember how I came across it or what made me so interested in the first place. I suspect it was the mention of Oxford and the missing student (giving me an academic mystery vibe), but as I started reading it I really wasn't feeling the love for it as a mystery. Nuri bey is an interesting character (he loves books and I feel his pain when we're told that his house full of books burned down--at the end of the last mystery?), but he's most definitely not a gifted amateur detective. As mentioned above, he's an accidental detective. He wanders into situations or gets finagled into them by beautiful ladies. He seems to be awfully lucky in keeping out of the clutches of the bad guys. He somehow figures out the whole drug plot and even having read the book I can't tell you how he did it. I can tell you what the plot was--but I have no clue how Nuri was able to lay it all out based on what "we" found while looking for Jason. He also gets the answer to the murder of his friend Torgut--but not because he solves it, the culprit confesses to him. With no provocation whatsoever. And, honestly, Nuri didn't even need to know...he wasn't trying to solve the murder. He only wanted to find Jason (which he did) and return to Tamara to live happily every after (which it looks like he will...). ★★ and 1/2--all for Nuri's character and interactions with all the people in the book. But none for the book as a mystery.

First line: "...and I shall always remember you saying, my dear Nuri, after that historic occasion, only two years ago, when your house was burnt down and all of your books destroyed, that now you would study, not books, but the people amongst whom you lived."

Last line: "Can it be, can it be," Nuri bey asked with great shining eyes, "that it is, when 'all is said and done,' a woman's world?"
*********************

Deaths = 4 (one natural; one shot; one explosion; one strangled)

Murder Every Monday: Stop, Children, What's That Sound?

 

Kate at Cross Examining Crime hosts a fun mystery cover game on Instagram called Murder Every Monday. Our assignment, should we choose to accept it, is to display book covers and titles from books you own that meet prompts which she posts well in advance (see link). 

 

Today's theme is books with sounds that humans make in the title.

The Chuckling Fingers ~Mabel Seeley

The Whispering Cat Mystery ~Josephine Kains

The Whispering Cup ~Mabel Seeley

The Mystery of the Whispering Mummy ~Robert Arthur

The Whisper in the Gloom ~Nicholas Blake

The Whispering Statue ~Carolyn Keene

Washington Whispers Murder ~Leslie Ford

He Who Whispers ~John Dickson Carr

The Singing Bone ~R. Austin Freeman

Why Mermaids Sing ~C. S. Harris

I'll Sing at Your Funeral ~Hugh Pentecost

The Case of the Singing Skirt ~Erle Stanley Gardner

The Singing Sands ~Josephine Tey

Singing in the Shrouds ~Ngaio Marsh

The Talk Show Murders ~Steve Allen

The Talking Sparrow Murders ~Darwin L. Teilhet

The Talking Bug ~The Gordons (Mildred & Gordon)

The Screaming Mimi ~Frederic Brown

The Cat Screams ~Todd Downing

Screaming Bones ~Pat Burden

A Scream in Soho ~John G. Brandon

Alive & Screaming ~as edited by Alfred Hitchcock

Blondes Don't Cry ~Merlda Mace

Cry Murder ~Nancy Rutledge

Cry Wolf ~Marjorie Carleton

The Crying Sisters ~Mabel Seeley

The Wailing Siren Mystery ~Franklin W. Dixon

The Mystery of the Coughing Dragon ~Nick West

Die Laughing ~Richard Lockridge

The Laughing Policeman ~Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö

You'll Die Laughing ~Marjorie J. Grove

No Laughing Matter ~Dorothy SImpson

You Can Die Laughing ~A. A. Fair

"The Alien Dies at Dawn" (short story review)

  "The Alien Dies at Dawn" (1956) by Alexander Blade (Randall Garrett & Robert Silverberg)

Kendall Stone must discover the truth about a murder in order to avert the annihilation of a human colony on Rastol III. Galth of Rastol is an alien who has been convicted of a murder that he didn't commit and his execution is scheduled for dawn. Stone discovers a conspiracy that wants Galth to take the blame so a few Earthmen can gain a monopoly on certain medications. Stone is determined to save Galith and thousands of other lives, but will he be able to deliver proof of the alien's innocence to the governor in time? Not if the men behind the conspiracy have anything to say about it.

This is an ultra-short short story. but Stone manages to cover all the bases in an investigation in, as Stone himself would say, "super-plus top-level hurry" fashion. He has to. His wife and children are in the colony doomed to die. Plenty of action in a short amount of time in this well-written short piece.* ★★★★

First line: There was a scream of tortured air over the Mojave Spaceport as a two-man starship dropped on its hot jets toward the wide cementalloy landing field.

Last lines: Outside the window, the first rays of dawn were breaking through the murky night. He thought of his family awakening light years away. The sun would be coming up too on Rastol....

*If only Garrett & Silverberg had bothered to give the victim a name so I could count this for the Medical Examiner's Challenge as well.

Lord Darcy: Murder & Magic; Too Many Magicians; Lord Darcy Investigates

 Lord Darcy (original 1983; revised 2002) by Randall Garrett

This omnibus volume contains two short story collections and one novel (all published previously as separate works) in addition to two stories not included in any of the collections--listed last, though the Lord Darcy collection organizes all of the detective works chronologically according to Darcy's timeline. The final story actually occurs the earliest in Darcy's career, but as our editor points out, it is a story of Darcy's war years and not truly a fantasy/detective story. I plan on reading these as if they were the separate volumes they once were (with the final stories as a bonus and counting for the Lord Darcy overall collection). 

Our editor also tells us about the detectives making appearances (albeit under different names) throughout. He especially challenges us to find three puns referring to The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in Too Many Magicians. I spotted two...but the third one has eluded me.

Murder & Magic (1979)  

"The Eyes Have It": Lord Darcy is called upon to investigate the murder of Count D'Evreaux, found shot in his bedroom. A gun is found in a hidden staircase (used by the count's lady friends for privacy) and it's distinctive nature seems to point towards a certain suspect. But there is more to the mystery than meets the eye... (one shot)

"A Case of Identity": Lord Darcy begins his investigation with a quest for the missing Marquis of  Cherbourg. When another man who looks enough like the Marquis to be a twin is found dead, Darcy suspects an even deeper plot. One that involves a plot by the Polish kingdom to disrupt the Anglo-French economy. Shades of Sherlock Holmes as well as espionage thriller in this one. (one natural; one hit on head; three stabbed; one shot)

"The Muddle of the Woad": When the Duke of Kent dies after an illness, his master woodworker prepares to bring his coffin for the burial. What a surprise to find that the coffin already has an occupant--the Duke's chief investigator who had disappeared while on a mission to Scotland. Lord Darcy is called upon to get to the bottom of the mystery. This has a definite air of tribute to Lord Peter Wimsey--The Nine Tailors in particular. Instead of bell-ringing, we have a focus on woodworking. But a great many of the character names used by Sayers in the bell-ringing scenes may be found here--Masters Gotobed, Lavender, Wilderspin and Venable all tip their hats to the Sayers work. And Master Gotobed is every bit as particular about his woodworking as Harry Lavender ever was about bell-ringing. There is even evidence given by the young woman of the piece--just as Hilary Thorpe provides a vital clue to Lord Peter. (one natural; one stabbed; one drowned; one shot)

"A Stretch of the Imagination": When a publisher is found dead, it appears to be suicide. But since a member of the aristocracy is involved Lord Darcy is asked to investigate. Interesting locked room mystery where Lord Darcy must figure out how a man could be hanged (other than suicide) in a room where no one entered and the window was shellacked so it could not have been opened far enough to admit anyone. (one hanged)

Overall, Randall Garrett has given us a fine look at what the world might have been like in such an alternate history. And he mixes the best of fantasy and detective fiction to produce a very interesting collection of fantasy-driven mystery short stories. The mysteries are fairly straight-forward and most are fairly clued. The final (and shortest), "A Stretch of the Imagination," is the most Holmes-like with Lord Darcy appearing very much as the detective genius with admiring audience and few clues given to the reader, but it is the exception. A very entertaining book--coming in at ★★★★ (up from a previous reading of the stand-alone edition)

First line (1st stor): Sir Pierre Morlaix, Chevalier of the Angevin Empire, Knight of the Golden Leopard, and secretary-in-private to my lord, the Count D'Evreux, pushed back the lace at his cuff for a glance at his wrist watch--three minutes of seven.

Now, come, my lord. You have that touch of the Talent that all the really great detectives of history have had--the ability to leap from an unwarranted assumption to a foregone conclusion without covering the distance between the two. You then know where to look for the clues that will justify your conclusion. You knew it was murder two hours ago and you knew who did it. (Master Sean in "A Stretch of the Imagination"; p. 437 in Lord Darcy edition)

Last lines (last story): "Come, Master Sean. We have an appointment for dinner, and the hour grows late."

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

 Too Many Magicians (1966): Lord Darcy is asked to investigate a murder in Cherbourg, but before he can get very far his assistant Master Magician Sean O'Lochlainn is arrested in London for murder of a very important master magician at a magician's conference. Sir James Zwinge, a Master Magician as well as spymaster for London's branch of intelligence for the Empire, has been killed behind a locked door. A door locked not just in the conventional sense, but with a level of magic that few could tamper with. But with a hotel full of magicians is a locked room ever really just a locked room? And since Master Sean was the last one near the room...and was known to have had a "loud discussion" with Sir James...he's the prime suspect.

The Marquis de London (and, incidentally, Lord Darcy's cousin) knows full well that Master Sean didn't do it, but he also knows the arrest will bring Darcy to London and he wants Darcy to investigate without having been asked directly. Because that would involve a fee and the Marquis is not only lazy (though brilliant), he hates spending money on anything other than himself...and his hobby, rare plants. As soon as we meet the Marquis, we recognize the detective Garrett has modeled this story after...Nero Wolfe. The Marquis is a hefty fellow, brilliant, lazy, and uses ten-dollar words. He says, "pfui" and "flummery." He has a side-kick who does his legwork and who appreciates the female form as much as Archie Goodwin. (The Marquis doesn't.) He has a red leather chair for important guests. Lord Bontriomphe (a lovely French nom de plume for the Archie character) doesn't quite have the smart-aleck commentary style down, but it's definitely there. And when Lord Darcy first enters Wol--er, the Marquis's rooms, he seems to have taken on a Cramer-liker attitude towards his cousin, though only briefly.

Garrett gives us not only a very fine Nero Wolfe pastiche, while sneaking in some references to The Man from U.N.C.L.E., he also gives us a very clevery locked room mystery. It's evident throughout Garrett's magical detective works that he is well-steeped in both detective literature and popular media and he employs references to both in ways that will delight mystery connoisseurs of all types. ★★★★★

Deaths= 6 (two stabbed; one fell from horse; two natural; one strangled)

First line: Commander Lord Ashley, Special Agent for His Majesty's Imperial Naval Intelligence Corps, stood in the doorway of a cheap, rented room in a lower middle-class section of town near the Imperial Naval Docks in Cherbourg.

"That's what I said: Smollett is holding out on us. You want to hold him while I poke him in the eye, or the other way around?" (Lord Bontriomphe; p. 293 [Lord Darcy edition])

Last line: In the golden tracery work surrounding the shield were the lions of England and the lilies of France.

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

Lord Darcy Investigates (1981) 

The last collection of Lord Darcy short stories printed during Garrett's lifetime. Another enjoyable quartet of mysteries. ★★★ and 1/2

"A Matter of Gravity": Another locked room mystery. This time we have an aristocrat who has apparently flung himself out of closed tower window. The only clue is a bright flash of light that seemed to bounce around the room (and observed by guardsmen below) before he fell. Garrett's story, like many of his others, pays homage to various Golden Age detectives/authors. John Dickson Carr was the master of locked room mysteries and both he and Michael Innes have stories which feature a death involving a tower. But the murder itself most resembles a Sayers story featuring Lord Peter Wimsey.  But to speak plainly about it would reveal all to anyone who has read the story. So ROT13 coding for the rest: Gur zrgubq bs zheqre va Ohfzna'f Ubarlzbba vf zbfg qrsvavgyrl ng cynl urer. V pna nyzbfg urne Jvzfrl fcrnxvat gb Ohagre nobhg gur zrpunavfz sbe gur pnpghf nf Ybeq Qnepl rkcynvaf ubj gur Pbhag jnf cebcryyrq bhg gur jvaqbj. (two fell from height; one shot)

"The Ipswich Phial": More cloak and dagger with Polish agents. The body of one of His Majesty's secret agents is found shot to death on the unbroken sand of a Normandy beach. A visiting gentlewoman out for a walk discovers him and the only footprints are her own. The agent had been on the trail of a Polish spy who had stolen a new secret weapon--the Ipswich Phial. Darcy not only solves the apparently impossible murder, but retrieves the missing weapon. No direct references to other authors/detectives that I caught, but the plot has the feel and humor of a Steed & Peel Avengers episode. (one shot)

"The Sixteen Keys": Lord Sefton is found dead in a locked room in his locked summer cottage. He had gone to retrieve an important packet containing a top-secret naval treaty for the Duke of Normandy. Now he's dead and the packet is nowhere to be found. Lord Darcy & Master Sean are on the case! This one returns to the very Holmesian feel of some of the others--Lord Darcy keeps things very much in the dark till the very end. There is also a connection to Oscar Wilde--though the maintenance of youth isn't as much due to the dark arts. (one rapid old age)

"The Napoli Express": Lord Darcy and Master Sean are travelling incognito to deliver the naval treaty rescued in the previous story. While aboard the Napoli Express, the murder of a naval officer occurs and the two simply must get the crime solved quickly so they don't miss their appointment with foreign dignitaries. But how can they do so without breaking their cover--especially Lord Darcy's? Garrett has given us a Murder on the Orient Express pastiche with both very familiar scenes and dialogue: "They are lying," Praefect Cesare said flatly, three hours later. Each and severally, every single one of the bastards are lying." after interviewing the passengers one-by-one in the dining car. And they all know each other, though they are trying (unsuccessfully) to pretend otherwise. But Garrett also gives circumstances and scenes a twist allowing for a different solution. (one hit on head; one poisoned)

First line (1st story): The death of My lord Jillbert, Count de la Vexin was nothing if not spectacular.

This, Lord Darcy thought, is what comes of assuming that others, even one's closest associates, have the same interests as oneself. ("A Matter of Gravity"; p. 454 [Lord Darcy edition]

Last line (last story): The train moved on toward Napoli.

***************Bonus Stories***********

"The Bitter End": An unknown man is poisoned in a bar in Paris at the same time that an entire family of some importance is killed by gas. Master Sean is on the spot--a patron in the bar as he waits for a connecting train to take him back to Rouen--and gives assistance to the local investigating team--although the sergeant in charge of the case views him with grave suspicion and insists he can't leave the city. Lord Darcy arrives from Rouen to clear up the case; mostly because he's in need of evidence that Master Sean was bringing back with him. Here Master Sean gives us a bit of Dr. McCoy from Star Trek: "I'm a thaumaturgist, not a miracle worker." [despite being a magician which seems to me to be very similar....]. I don't this time see an obvious connection to any particular classic mystery, however. (one poisoned; four gassed) Not quite as good as previous stories, but still very enjoyable. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: Master Sean O'Lochlainn was not overly fond of the city of Paris.

Last line: Lord Darcy said nothing, he had the Zellerman-Blair case to worry about, and he had no wish to meddle in the affairs of wizards.

"The Spell of War": The last story about Lord Darcy written by Garrett, but it takes the reader back to the first meeting between Lord Darcy and the magician Sean O'Lochlainn. Not strictly a mystery in line with the other stories, but Lieutenant Darcy (as he was then) does have to figure out how the Polish Army is stealing such a march on his company of soldiers. He solves the puzzle neatly and manages to pull of a nifty bit of counter-strategy as well The meeting of the two men makes me think of what it might have been when Lord Peter and Bunter met in World War I. (three shot--named; many more not named)  Interesting backstory episode and it shows the early stages of Darcy's abilities as an investigator. ★★★

First line: The lieutenant lay on his belly in the middle of a broad clearing in the Bavarian Forest, on the eastern side of the Danau, in a hell of a warfare, on the eastern side of Dagendorf.

Last line: The Hell with it, he thought. And knocked the dottle from his pipe.