MY READER'S BLOCK: June 2025

Thursday, June 12, 2025

The Talk Show Murders

The Talk Show Murders (1982) by Steve Allen

This is the first mystery novel by Steve Allen who was a modern Renaissance man--comedia, author, song writer, father of the talk show, frequent game show panelist (especially on What's My Line?), variety show host and participant. Unlike later mysteries which feature Steve and his wife, Jayne Meadows, as the central amateur detectives, this one has Steve as a peripheral character, no Jayne, and the sleuth is a private investigator by the name of Roger Dale. Roger is a kind of modern Renaissance man himself--he knows a little about just about everything (and sometimes more than a little) and is willing to give lectures on any subject at the drop of a hat. Roger has also had a few spectacular cases that has made him appear as good as Sam Spade, and Nick Charles and all the rest.

When a rock star with a history with the ladies dies on Toni Tennille's talk show in front of a live studio audience. Roger Dale is a bit interested, but nobody comes knocking and offering him a fee to investigate so he's ready to move on with his life. But then Johnny Carson invites Roger and an FBI agent by the name of J. Duffy Griswold to come on his show and discuss the murder that has Hollywood talking and Roger must bone up on all the details to hold his own with the feds. Also in the line-up is Sonny Pearson, a singer being groomed to be the next Donny Osmond. Except Sonny isn't the clean-cut, boy next door. He also likes the ladies and he likes them on the young side. Or he did...because he is the next to die on live television. This time under the noses of two detectives.

That makes it personal for Roger. Just when Johnny had built him up as this super sleuth, a man falls dead right beside him on the stage. Now his reputation is on the line. And as more murders occur on other talk shows, it becomes imperative to catch the killer before he wipes out half of Hollywood.

The first Steve Allen mystery I read featured him a heck of a lot more than this one did. And I found it more enjoyable when Allen was actually putting his words into his own mouth. Roger is good, but so many of his lines sound more like Steve Allen. It also isn't difficult to figure out who the murderer is. After all, I don't think anybody is going to believe that Allen was going to pin the murder on any of those talk show hosts or actual celebrities of the late seventies/early eighties. That didn't really leave a lot of suspects hanging around. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book--because I did. It was funny and nostalgic. I loved seeing all those talk show hosts from my younger years on the page. I'd forgotten that Toni Tennille had hosted a talk show (I only remembered the Captain & Tennille Variety Show). And the ending was great--all the suspects (and all the talk show hosts) gathered on the Merv Griffin Show for a wrap-up scene that would do Hercule Poirot proud. Roger doesn't quite accuse everyone in turn, but he does point the finger in a few directions before culprit is finally identified and caught. Light entertainment, but well worth it. ★★★

First line (sortof Preface): I sit in the hot, carcinogenic southern California sunshine, beside my swimming pool on a low hillside in the Royal Oaks section of Los Angeles, from which I can easily overlook the mortgage.

First line (1st Chapter): The arrival of young Elmo Fensetter was in some respects, like that of an Arab prince.

Whenever Roger wished to concentrate on a case he had a blowup [of a psychological form] made and kept it where he could see it constantly so that his subconscious--which he firmly believed to be smarter than he was--could be constantly fed with data and whir away upon it while his conscious mind met everyday demands. (p. 46)

Last line: After all, after a climax like that, what do you do for an encore?
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Deaths = 5 (three poisoned; two stabbed)

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Landscape of Lies

Landscape of Lies (1989) by Peter Watson

Isobel Sadler wakes up one night with the distinct impression that someone is in her house. She's right. And he's downstairs trying to steal a painting. She manages to scare him off and is left with questions. Why on earth was the man in the motorcycle helmet trying to steal the painting hanging in the downstairs hall? After she inherited the house and its contents from her father, she had gradually had to sell all the really valuable items to support the family farm. The Chinese porcelain, Japanese lacquer, and jade carvings that her father had brought home from his previous life as a diplomat were long gone. The painting wasn't worth anything. It was ugly and not particularly well-painted. All it held was sentimental value because it had been in her family for years and years. But what if she were wrong? Somebody obviously thought it was worth stealing.

So, she takes the painting to Michael Whiting, an art dealer recommended by a friend of her father's. He verifies that as a painting, it isn't worth much. A few hundred pounds, maybe. Definitely not more. It's what she expected and he seems surprised that she didn't think it a priceless treasure. Then she tells him the rest of the story--not long before the attempted theft, she had attended an estate sale which included letters and papers relating to the only famous (or, rather, infamous) person in her family tree. Sir William "Bad Bill" Sadler who helped oversee the dissolution of the monasteries in the 15th century. She wanted to acquire them for the family history and didn't expect anyone else to be interested. But someone was. A man named Molyneaux outbid her (on behalf of a client) and then chatted her up afterward--wanting to know if she was a dealer. When she told him of her family interest, he offered to see if the client would consent to photocopies and said he'd be in touch. He appeared at her house three days before the break-in--no photocopies yet, but "just in the area for an estate sale." Molyneaux was very tall. So was the burglar. Coincidence.

Michael isn't clear on what she wants of him. But she tells him that Edward Ryan (the man who recommended him) said he liked a gamble. She wants him to research the painting to see if there is any secret to it that would warrant a theft. And if the research leads to anything lucrative, she'll share the proceeds with him fifty-fifty. He agrees...and has no idea that the research will take the two of them through the myths and religious legends of early Britain in search of hidden monastic treasures and pit them against a man who will stop at nothing to have the treasure for himself.

So...this starts well. The set-up is good. I really liked the idea of the hidden secrets in the old painting. The whole opening rocks--I like the way Isobel and Michael interact and work together in the early stages of the investigation. But then....the middle part drags and was really quite tedious with all the miscues & running round in circles and then sudden life-threatening events. The earlier danger made the final scenes with our villain lose a bit of their punch. And speaking of final scenes: the ending was too abrupt (especially after the middle dragged on so) and it was especially annoying that the discovery of the treasures was tacked on as a flashback in the epilogue. Seriously? The whole book is aiming towards the solution of the clues in the painting and the discovery of the treasure and when it happens it's regulated to a scene that seems more of an afterthought? Oh...and one final thing. Michael shoving bloody into every exclamation and adjective got to be absobloodylutely annoying. ★★ and 1/2

1st line: The moment Isobel awoke she knew there was someone else in the house.

Last lines: Isobel smiled. "I wouldn't bet on it."
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Deaths = two natural; one drowned

Monday, June 9, 2025

Warped Factors: A Neurotic's Guide to the Universe

Warped Factors: A Neurotic's Guide to the Universe (1998) by Walter Koenig

Synopsis (from the book flap): This is Koenig's story--from growing up as the neurotic child of Russian immigrants in 1940s Manhattan through his rise to Star Trek fame as Pavel Chekov, Russian navigator of the U.S.S. Enterprise, and beyond. Not a typical Hollywood memoir, Warped Factors is anything but aloof. Koenig's very human narrative is full of the kind of insecurities and quirks anyone can relate to. With wry wit, striking candor, and a true gift for storytelling, Koenig takes us on a sometimes bumpy, but often hilarious trip through his galaxy....Of course, this amusing memoir will take us behind the scenes of Star Trek, with fresh perspectives not only on the cast members themselves but also on the development and evolution of the megalithic sci-fi legend....Finally, Koenig offers candid reflections not only on the Star Trek years but on his life and career since. Most notable are his well-received stints on stage and his role as the insidious Alfred Bester on television's Bablyon 5.

I've now read all available biographies/autobiographies/memoirs about or by every member of the Classic Trek except for James Doohan. I still need to get myself a copy of Beam Me Up, Scotty. Unfortunately, Koenig's memoir is the least engaging yet. He spends a great deal of time talking about his "other shoe" moments...moments waiting for the ill-fated other shoe to drop. When he just tells his story, he can be quite entertaining, but there are too many moments where he steps out of narrative mode to mention something and then say "more on that later." Or to tell us for the upmpteenth time how he was waiting for things to turn bad. Or to tell us how he totally misinterpreted someone's motives because of his own insecurities and hang-ups. Yes--I realize that he gave us a big clue to his nature in the subtitle but we didn't need to be hit repeatedly over the head with the idea of how neurotic he is. We get it.

In many ways, his memoir is the most down-to-earth of those I've read, so it definitely earns points there. And when he allows himself to just tell the stories he does show the wry wit mentioned in the burb above. I would have enjoyed more of that and less waiting about for the other shoe to drop. But, after all, it's his story and I'm sure he needed to get that off his chest.

An interesting addition to the Star Trek lore I have already read--and a book for fans. ★★★

Murder Every Monday: If You Can't See Me, How Did You Find Me?

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 a character that is blind. This was a tough one. I know that I've read (and own) more books with blind characters, but I can't seem to think of them. I've hunted down every one of them that I've reviewed, but there were others read before blogging that are going to be missed.

Most of these have a blind detective--if only briefly. The John Creasey book finds Inspector West temporarily blinded by a former "client" bent on revenge. Kendrick and Bramah both feature very talented blind detectives. Christie features a blind woman who has a corpse foisted upon her and Dalton features blind victim.

Best Max Carrados Detective Stories ~Ernest Bramah

The Murderer Who Wanted More ~Baynard Kendrick

One by One They Disappeared ~Moray Dalton

The Blind Spot ~John Creasey

The Clocks ~Agatha Christie

Odor of Violets ~Baynard Kendrick

Saturday, June 7, 2025

Murder Among Friends

Murder Among Friends (1942) by Lange Lewis (Jane de Lange Lewis)

Kathryn "Kate" Farr returns to the coeducational college where just a few years ago she was a student. She has come to replace the medical school dean's secretary, Garnet Dillon, who left most abruptly, leaving a very short note behind. Kate is told by the Dean that she will find the work of an academic secretary to be different from that of the business office. There will be far less dictation and far more phone calls. Far more interaction with all sorts--from professors to students to other staff. And "all sorts of odd jobs. Odd, odd jobs..." But even that warning couldn't prepare her for the oddest job of all...discovering the body of her predecessor in the school's morgue.

When her old friend, medical student John Greenwood, takes her on a tour of medical building they visit the labs and wander the corridors containing the professors' offices. They end the tour at the morgue where he introduces her Mr. Griswold ("Grizz"), the man in charge, and she sees a body on a table. She feels a bit out of sorts and looks away to see another body. A body of a young woman who seems to match the description of Garnet Dillon.

Lt. Richard Tuck is an old friend of Dean Ulysses Calder and so the dean call on Tuck to come and look into things. When Tuck realizes that the woman's purse is missing, he begins to wonder if she was the latest victim of Black Overcoat, a psychotic killer who has already claimed five victims using a different murder method each time. He seems to have a preference for weapons--knives and bludgeons of all sorts, but this time the victim has been poisoned. Poisoned with digitalis, a drug that would be well-known to a school full of medical students and professors. So maybe this murder is more personal. Or maybe Black Overcoat originates from the college and had to get rid of Garnet for safety's sake. Only time and a thorough investigation will tell.

I seem to be the outlier among my friends in the Golden Age blogging world. Brad, Kate, John, Moira, & the Puzzle Doctor all seem more excited about this one than I am. Than I should be--after all, this is one of those academic mysteries that I love. And I did enjoy that aspect of it. In fact, I actually enjoyed the book right up to the very end. I can't tell you straight up why the ending bothers me so much without spoiling things. If you really want to know, I'm going to code it all up in ROT13 and you can copy and paste in the link and decode it.

Urer'f gur guvat. Gur zheqre vfa'g ernyyl n zheqre. V zrna, Wbuaal qbrfa'g xvyy Tnearg orpnhfr ur ungrf ure be jvyy cebsvg ol vg be gb trg eriratr be nal bs gur fgnaqneq zheqre ernfbaf. Vg'f rhgunanfvn. Fur'f tbg pnapre naq, nppbeqvat gb uvz, ercrngrqyl zragvbaf gung fur'q xvyy urefrys vs fur qvqa'g oryvrir vg jnf n fva naq jbhyq xrrc ure sebz rgreany yvsr. Wbuaal qbrfa'g ernyyl oryvrir va n crefbany urnira be uryy, fb boivbhfyl vg'f bxnl sbe uvz. Ur qbrf yvxr ure. Naq ure svnapr vf uvf orfg sevraq naq Wbuaal qrpvqrf vg'f orggre nyy nebhaq vs arvgure Tneargg abe Xheg unir gb tb guebhtu gur uryyvfu zbaguf bs pnapre. Fb, ur tvirf ure gur avpr qbfrf bs qvtvgnyvf gung jvyy rnfr ure bhg bs gur jbeyq zhpu zber tragyl guna yrhxrzvn jbhyq.

Yg. Ghpx fhfcrpgf uvz, ohg qrpvqrf gb yrg gur qrngu fyvqr nf fhvpvqr. Fb, vs ure cnegvphyne eryvtvba unf n fgvtzn nggnpurq gb fhvpvqr, gura fur'f abg tbvat gb or ohevrq jvgu shyy Puevfgvna ubabef naljnl. Gur jubyr guvat whfg yrnirf n onq synibe va zl zbhgu.

V ubarfgyl guvax V jbhyq unir orra zber fngvfsvrq jvgu gur raqvat vs gur "juvgr fyht," Flqarl Ivarf, jbhyq unir jbhaq hc orvat abg bayl Tnearg'f xvyyre, ohg Oynpx Birepbng nf jryy. Vg frrzf n ovg qvfratrahbhf gb unir Oynpx Birepbng pnfg nf fhpu na rabezbhf erq ureevat.

But--that quibble about the ending aside, I do like Lewis's way with characterization. She makes these quirky academics come to life and I can see the university setting and types very vividly. Kate is ideal for our point of view character (especially for me since I, too, am a support staff member). She gives us the outsider's evaluation of the cast of suspects. And, since she wasn't on the spot when Garnet was killed, we feel like we can trust her to give us the truth--as far as she knows it.

The Birthday Murder remains my favorite by Lewis, but this one would have given it a better run for its money if the ending had been more satisfying to this reader. Based on my fellow GAD bloggers' reactions, your mileage may vary. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: Walking again down University Avenue was like being a ghost.

Detective Richard Tuck sat and listened. While he followed perfectly the minutest ramifications of Gufferty's main thesis, and while a certain corner of his mind absently noted nine errors in grammar ranging from a mild one of a split infinitive to some staggering confusions of tense, his large deliberate hand drew doodles on a scratch pad. (p. 33)

That's sunny Southern California for you, she thought. The February night goes right through you and comes out the other side, but your breathe doesn't freeze. It must be by special arrangement with the Chamber of Commerce. (p. 92)

Last line: Then she walked quickly toward his room.
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Deaths = 5 (two hit; two natural; one poisoned--others unnamed)

Friday, June 6, 2025

Book Challenge by Erin 23.0

First and foremost, have fun. Don't stress. No one is being judged, graded, or penalized. Even if you finish only one book the entire challenge, if you enjoy it and it's an accomplishment for you, then that's awesome.

This round of the challenge runs from July 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025. You submit your book list prior to beginning the challenge. Exchanges are accepted for the first round, but not in the bonus round (announced later). No books started before 12 a.m. on July 1 or finished after 11:59 p.m. on October 31 will count. (We live in different time zones--follow according to your own time zone.) Each book must be at least 200 pages long. Audio books are fine too. Read one book for each category. For full details see Erin's page on Facebook (link above). You will need to join the private group to view.

Here is my list:

Freebie: A Dying Fall by June Thomson (226 pages)

Made into TV Show: The Disappearing Floor by Franklin W. Dixon (218 pages) [1970s Hard Boys Season 1, Episode 5]

Dominant Cover Color (Blue): Murder Being Once Done by Ruth Rendell

Author Who's Published More Than 10 Books: The Feathered Serpent by Edgar Wallace (208 pages)

Plural Word in Title: Twelve Drummers Drumming by C. C. Benison (400 pages)

1940s: She Came Back by Patricia Wentworth (309 pages)

Body Part: The Four of Hearts by Ellery Queen (304 pages)

Set in Asia: Death on Gokumon Island by Seishi Yokomizo

Cat on the Cover: Cats Don't Need Coffins by D. B. Olsen [Dolores Hitchens] (220 pages)

Women in STEM: Death on the Dragon's Tongue by Margot Arnold (224 pages) [If archaeology counts as STEM]

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

The Three Coffins

The Three Coffins (The Hollow Man; 1935) by John Dickson Carr

Eccentric Professor Charles Grimaud, a student of legends and the supernatural, holds court regularly at a local tavern. He and his circle of friends discuss vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and the like--debating their reality and the sources of their legends. One evening a stranger bursts into their gathering speaking in a bizarre, somewhat threatening manner. He talks of men coming up out of their graves. He says that he has come out of the grave.

Yes, I have done it. But more! I have a brother who can do much more than I can, and is very dangerous to you. I don't want your life; he does. But if he calls on you...

and later in the conversation

I have a last question for the famous professor. Some one will call on you one evening soon. I also am in danger when I associate with my brother, but I am prepared to run that risk. Some one, I repeat will call on you. Would you rather I did--or shall I send my brother?

The professor tells him to send the brother.

And several nights later someone does call upon the professor. And apparently he did want the professor's life. For when the night is over, Professor Grimaud is dead--shot to death in a locked room by a visitor who vanishes into thin air.

When Dr. Gideon Fell is regaled with the story of the tavern scene and learns that the visitor is expected that very night, he immediately gathers Ted Rampole (teller of the tale) and Superintendent Hadley, his detective friend, and insists that they make tracks for Grimaud's house. They're just in time to be told that there has been the sound of a gunshot and that the visitor is locked in the professor's study--with the professor. They manage to gain entrance and find Grimaud mortally wounded but the visitor is nowhere to be seen. The window is open, but there is a yard full of unmarked snow and no way to go out the window to the roof or another room.

Fell and Hadley and company have just started investigating the first impossible crime when another occurs. This time it is Pierre Fley, the man who confronted Grimaud at the tavern. And he was shot in the middle of a snow-covered street at close range. But three reliable witnesses swear there was nobody else near the stricken man and a voice came out of nowhere that said, "The second bullet is for you." Now our detectives have to figure out how the two men were connected and who wanted them both dead....oh, and, of course, the trifling little matter of how it was all done.

Carr works his locked room/impossible crime magic and comes up with a solution that I had to think about twice. There was one moment where I thought--but if X was going to do what Fell said he was going to do, then why did he need that? So, I had to go back and reread and then the light bulb went off. Oh, yeah. That's why. This is also the book that has the famous "locked room lecture" where Fell tells us straight up that he knows he's in the middle of a detective story and then goes on to explain the various ways to commit a murder in an apparently locked room. Naturally, he doesn't list the ways these two particular impossible crimes were contrived.

I have to admit that I was on the side of Hadley during this particular reading (I read this once before back in the mists of time--but it was long enough ago that all the details had dropped out of my head). I was a bit restless during the Fell lectures and just really wanted to get on with the story. But the impossible crimes are quite good and I enjoyed finding out how it was all done. [Though I have to say I could think of a better way for a certain item to have been hidden that would have been far less disastrous for the person doing the hiding...]. And other than when he was in full lecture mode, I enjoyed Dr. Fell and watching him go to work. This also has one of the better dying words clues among those I've come across. Quite good fun. ★★★★

First line: To the murder of Professor Grimaud, and later the equally incredible crime in Cagliostro Street, many fantastic terms could be applied--with reason.

"I am a mathematician, sir. I never permit myself to think." (Stuart Mills; p. 30)

In my experience with locked-room murders, getting in and getting out are two very different things. It would throw my universe off balance if I found an impossible situation worked both ways. (Superintendent Hadley; p. 46)

Last lines: "I have committed another crime, Hadley," he said. "I have guessed the truth again."
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Deaths = 7 (two shot; two hit; one natural; one suffocated; one stabbed)