Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine Nov 1958

 Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine Nov 1958 by Ellery Queen

Listed as a "Winter All Star Issue"--I'm not entirely sure that is a fair description. Of the thirteen stories, only seven are by well-known authors who might be considered stars. And I wouldn't say that all of stories are star-performers. This is a standard collection for Queen's mystery magazine with a few outstanding stories ("Command Performance," "All Men Make Mistakes,"Itchy the Debonair," and "The Footprint in the Sky"), a few duds ("The Absence of Mr. Glass"--not really much of a mystery at all--and "The Heirloom"--same), and the rest are decent, but not extraordinary. ★★★ for the collection.

"A Routine Night's Work" by George Harmon Coxe: A police procedural where what looks like a routine suicide is connected to a recent unsolved murder....and may not be quite so routine after all. (one hit on head; one poisoned; two shot)

"Hercule Poirot: Armchair Detective" (aka "The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim") by Agatha Christie: Mr. Davenheim has vanished from his country house, The Cedars. Poirot bets Japp five pounds that he can solve the mystery of the disappearance without moving from his chair. Japp takes him up on it and agrees to share all the information he gathers--well, of course you know who wins the bet.

"Command Performance" (aka "The Statement of Jerry Malloy") by Anthony Boucher: Eugene Dakin and Jerry Malloy are a famous double-act that goes sour after Gene marries a girl named Stella. The police are listening to the statement of Jerry Malloy about what happened the night Stella gets killed and they (and the reader) get a bit of surprise. (one stabbed)

"All Men Make Mistakes" by Frances & Richard Lockridge: Corporeal Crowley has a hunch that a straightforward auto accident isn't--an accident, that is. But it isn't until Captain M. L. Heimrich makes a little driving mistake that they figure out how murder was done. (one auto accident)

"Hand on My Shoulder" by Peggy McIntyre: A playwright finds an unusual way to prevent an actress whose is too hold from playing the lead in his first  really good play. (one fell from height; one poisoned)

"The Absence of Mr. Glass" by G. K. Chesterton: Father Brown calls on a famous psychologist to help him help one of his parishioners. The young woman is in love with a young man her mother has deemed unsuitable and there are a few mysteries that need resolving before the two young people can get together. But Father Brown winds up teaching the famous man a thing or two...

"The Heirloom" by Patricia Knowlton: Carlotta is on her deathbed and wants to pass a family heirloom on to her daughter-in-law personally before its too late. But there's something the daughter-in-law ought to know about the pretty necklace....

"Itchy the Debonair" by Dashiell Hammett: Itchy is a fairly successful small-time crook--until a chance remark or two earn him a description as a "debonair gentleman crook." Which he resents at first. But when he learns about Raffles and other literary gentlemen in his fraternity, he thinks "There might be something to this 'gentleman crook' stuff. People had written books about them..." He decides to embrace the description. And that is his undoing.

"Murder--Early American" by Ruth Chessman: A bondwoman in Colonial America devises what she believes to be the perfect murder plot to both release her from her drudgery and capture the heart of the heir of her mistress. (one hit on head)

"The Gambler's Wife" by Charles G, Norris: The hardened owner of a gambling parlor is touched by the heart-wrenching tale of the wife of one of his patrons--a patron who has lost all the couple had. He returns the money to the woman on condition that her husband never come to the establishment again. Imagine his reaction when the man walks in the very next night....

"The Footprint in the Sky" by John Dickson Carr: Is it possible for someone to sleepwalk and bash someone else over the head and not even know it?

"Dear Mr. Lonelyheart" by Talmage Powell: Young Southern girl meets older Northern man in the Lonelyhearts column. Marriage follows. And most likely murder too... (but not on the page)

"Salesmanship" by Talmage Powell: The local mortician is not doing well. It's not that business is lacking, but the poor people who are his main customers rarely are able to pay for his services. But then he thinks up a way to sell a nice pricey crypt with all the fixings...and to someone who can definitely meet the cost. (one fell from height)

First line (1st story): Carl Broderick, first-grade detective attached to Homicide, eased the police sedan to a stop at the side of the Riverway and said. "It ought to be about here."

Last line (last story): "I'll be lucky if they don't measure me for a uniform and slap me back in harness again."