Thursday, November 30, 2023
Book Challenge by Erin 20.0
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
Murder in Mayfair
Murder in Mayfair (2017) by D. M. Quincy
First line: Had his mount not lost its shoe on the return journey to London, Atlas Catesby would not have been in a position to purchase another man's wife.
Atlas Catesby and his friend, Gabriel Young, the Earl of Charlton, are on their way back home when they are forced to stop at an inn to have his horse reshoed. While having a glass of ale, the men hear a commotion outside in the yard. Godfrey Warwick says that he has no use for his wife any longer and will sell her to the highest bidder. When it becomes apparent that a dirty old man wants her for unsavory reasons, Atlas puts down a bid of 30 pounds and finds himself the "owner" of Lilliana Warwick, a spirited young woman who seems to have married beneath her when she became the wife of the abusive owner of a haberdashery.
But when Atlas offers her his protection, she insists she wants to return home with her husband. What she means is that she doesn't want to leave her children. But Warwick has washed his hands of her and tells her that she won't be allowed in his house ever again--and according to the law the children are his and his alone. She finally agrees to allow Atlas to convey her to his sister Thea Palmer's home for refuge until a long-term plan can be set-up. Thea is a most unconventional woman in the Regency period--she has a flair for mathematics and isn't phased at all by the scandalous events that have brought Mrs. Warwick her door.
But the scandal isn't over, for in a few weeks Godfrey Warwick is dead and Endicott, the Bow Street Runner, assigned to investigate the death seems certain that either Atlas or Warwick's widow (or both in collusion) is responsible. Atlas, who has a love of puzzles and who has solved minor mysteries in the past, is determined to solve the mystery of Warwick's death himself in order to clear both their names. Endicott is sure that Atlas killed the man because of his interest in Mrs. Warwick (why else is she staying Atlas's sister's house?) and the devil of it is that Atlas finds himself attracted to the lovely young widow. His investigation turns up others who had reason to want Warwick dead--from the man's "best friend" (whose job as magistrate Warwick was about to usurp) to a rival tailor with a secret that might be worth killing for to a mysterious gentleman who had a run-in with Warwick in his shop. And there may be others. Now all Atlas has to do is find the evidence that will lead to the culprit.
This is a very engaging first novel in what promises to be another good Regency-era mystery series. I immediately downloaded the second novel through my library's Hoopla account, so that tells you how eager I am to continue Atlas Catesby's adventures. Atlas is the youngest son of a newly-minted baron--who just passed the baronetcy on to Atlas's eldest brother, so he's a gentleman but not quite in the higher realms where his friend Charlton is at home and part of the interest is watching him walk the fine line between gentleman and nobility. It doesn't help that Atlas (much to his brother's dismay) disdains the way of the ton and the hierarchy. But it does make Atlas an interesting character.
Atlas is also surrounded by interesting characters. Charlton manages to help the investigation despite his pose as a somewhat ignorant dandy and Thea is a delight (even though she does seem to be awfully enlightened for the times--that seems to be a trend in historical novels these days). My one real complaint about the story though is about the postmortems--the descriptions and the doctor's terminology seem very modern and I find it difficult to believe that the country doctor who appears later in the story would be just as modern as the doctor in London. I haven't done a lot of research on medical practices in the Regency era, but C. S. Harris, the author of the Sebastian St. Cyr mystery series (another favorite), has. She has a Ph.D. in European history and her surgeon knows as much as he does about the dead and the effects of various murder methods and diseases because he uses bodies brought to him by grave robbers for research. I doubt the country doctor here has had the benefit of such anatomical researches. But that quibble aside, this is a good historical mystery for those who enjoy the Regency period. ★★★ and 3/4
Last line: Pulling his greatcoat closed to ward off the chill, Atlas bounded down the stairs and went into the night.
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Deaths = 4 (one bled to death; two natural; one carriage accident)
Tuesday, November 28, 2023
13 Moons Reading Challenge
Alphabet Soup Authors Edition 2024
L: Death Has a Small Voice by Frances & Richard Lockridge (1/31/24)
M: Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb (1/21/24)
N: The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa (2/14/24)
O:
P: The Puzzle of the Blue Banderilla by Stuart Palmer (4/14/24)
Q: The Golden Eagle Mystery by Ellery Queen Jr. (6/14/24)
R: A Guilty Thing Surprised by Ruth Rendell (1/28/24)
S: Death, My Darling Daughters by Jonathan Stagge (1/1/24)
T:
U: Man of Two Tribes by Arthur W. Upfield (2/22/24)
V:
W: The Passenger from Scotland Yard by H. F. Wood (1/11/24)
X:
Y: Crows Are Black Everywhere by Herbert O. Yardley & Carl Grabo (5/17/24)
Z:
Alphabet Soup 2024
Monday, November 27, 2023
The Professor Knits a Shroud
The Professor Knits a Shroud (1951) by Wirt Van Arsdale (Martha Wirt Davis)
Professor Pedro Jose Maria Guadaloupe O'Reilly y Apodaca, professor of anthropology and commonly known as Uncle Pete, finds himself in the middle of a dreadful tangle of murder when he accompanies his courtesy niece Kay and her husband Niles Carter to their farm near New York City. the mystery really began before they left for the country. First, he sees Kay out in the city and she's looking drawn and worried. Then Niles, a publisher, brings him a short story written in Spanish and only wants the professor to give him an oral translation. But he won't explain where it came from or who the writer is.
Speaking of writers--the Carters have been renting their farmhouse to the famous writer, Henri von Fliegel, the man who put Niles' publishing business on the map. Von Fliegel was supposed to be returning to California, but he insists that he must stay until he finishes his current book--which may take another month or two. Kay is none too pleased and the professor soon finds out why. She suspects Niles of having an affair with the author's secretary, a cool beautiful blond by the name of Marita.
Kay isn't the only one who'd rather that von Fliegel left as originally agreed. It seems the writer is disliked by nearly everyone in the area--except for the irritating Mrs. Costigan who hopes the author will help her with her own writing aspirations. So, when von Fliegel is found shot to death in the Red Room (which he has been using as a study) the police have plenty of suspects. Perhaps Niles killed the author because he was interfering with his plans for Marita. Or maybe it was Minnie or Harry, the Carter's caretakers, who had had run-ins with the new tenant. There's also Larry, von Fliegel's nephew, who may have hoped to inherit some or all of his uncle's wealth. There's a hint that Marita may also have wanted to be rid of her employer. Freddie Costigan is a crack shot and seemed mighty put out at how much time his wife was spending with von Fliegel, so just maybe it was him. While the police keep changing their pick for prime suspect, Professor Apodaca sits and knits socks--the one activity that helps him think through puzzles (last count he had knitted 2,736 of them). When the Costigan's little girl starts collecting spent bullets, the Professor begins to see his way to the end of the case.
So, this was an unexpected pleasure. I went into it blind save for knowledge that a professor featured as the amateur sleuth. I had come across the title at some point when looking around for academic mysteries. And I can't resist a new-to-me author in the academic mystery field--especially a vintage mystery. This was Van Wirt's first and only mystery--perhaps more had been planned, but she died unexpectedly of a heart attack the year following publication--and she shows great promise in her debut. Her plotting well done and she certainly throw plenty of red herrings across the trail. It's not her fault that I wasn't fooled by them--I latched onto the culprit right away and never let go. The professor is a lovely character and I thoroughly enjoyed his method of detecting and aiding cogitation. His interactions with various characters and particularly little Jeannie Costigan were great fun. My one complaint about him is how long it takes him to remember where in print he has seen Rache before. A man with such an interest in detection would surely remember Sherlock Holmes a little sooner...But overall a delightful academic mystery. ★★★★
First line: Pedro Jose Maria Guadaloupe O'Reilly y Apodaca, B.S., M.A., Ph.D., leaned over and carefully sprinkled a scoopful of caned coal on the fire in the tiny grate.
Last line: "I guess he never will learn to look at a thing a second time."
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Deaths = 4 (one shot; two natural; one car accident)
Thursday, November 23, 2023
Vultures in the Sky
When the clues and rumors were sifted down there remained the inescapable fact that no one knew whether one or more than one person were involved, whether the kidnaper were a man or a woman, whether one familiar with the life of the Montes family or an absolute stranger.
Sunday, November 19, 2023
A Most Efficient Murder
A Most Efficient Murder (2022) by Anthony Slayton
Lord Unsworth doesn't like giving parties and hasn't done so for a decade. But his favorite niece is turning eighteen and he has invited friends and far-flung family for a huge gala in her honor. He also plans on making a big announcement at the end of the party. But things go awry when an unknown woman is found dead in his garden. With high-profile guests, Lord Unsworth really doesn't want the police to ruffle any feathers. He asks his trusted secretary, Mr. Quayle, to keep a watching brief on the investigation and manages to convince the Chief Constable to allow Quayle to "shadow" Inspector Wintle as he takes up the case. Fortunately, Quayle and Wintle served together during the Great War so there is a measure of trust between them. At least until Wintle begins to suspect that Quayle is more interested in protecting the family than discovering the truth. But he should remember Quayle's record in the service....the secretary isn't going to let a murderer go free even if s/he winds up being a member of Lord Unsworth's family.
And it just may be...because it isn't long before Quayle and Wintle discover that several of Lord Unsworth's family did indeed know the woman. And certain pieces of evidence indicate that someone well-acquainted with the house and people must have let the woman into the grounds. Things get even more tricky for the Unsworth's when the gardener's son, known for picking up odd bits of information here and there, is found dead next. Did Tom Nettles see or hear something that led to his death? And can Quayle and Wintle find the killer before anyone else dies?
This is a fun tribute to the country house murders from the Golden Age. Slayton captures the time period and the atmosphere of the vintage mystery really well in this debut novel of what promises to be a good series featuring the very efficient, very observant, very intelligent Mr. Quayle. Clues are distributed quite liberally--almost too liberally since I figured out half of the solution fairly early on. But Slayton's deft hand with characters, narrative, and dialogue makes this a real winner. He especially captures the upper-class grande dame in Lord Unsworth's sister very well. There are hints about Quayle past that are quite intriguing and I hope that future installments will give us more insight on what happened and how Quayle wound up in Lord Unsworth's employ. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. ★★★★
First line: From his perch atop the highest turret, Edward Statham, the Thirteenth Earl of Unsworth could see out across his domain--from the winding gardens and rolling parks to the lakes and woodlands beyond.
Last line: And all was silent save for the music echoing from downstairs and the scratching of His Lordship's pen.
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Deaths = 7 (two stabbed; two drowned; two killed in war; one natural)
Saturday, November 18, 2023
2024 Monthly Motif Challenge
Friday, November 17, 2023
The 52 Book Club Reading Challenge
May Mini-Challenge:
M: Author Last Name Starts with "M": Dance of Death by Helen McCloy (8/21/24)
A: A is for Alpha: Amphigorey by Edward Gorey [contains two alphabet books] (5/24/24)
Y: Interrogative Word in Title: Who Cries for the Lost by C. S. Harris (5/21/24)