The Nine Waxed Faces

 The Nine Waxed Faces (1936) by Francis Beeding (John Leslie Palmer & Hilary St. George Saunders)

In the absence of his chief, Colonel Granby, Bob Hardcastle was serving as head man at intelligence headquarters when an urgent message came in from an Italian painter who had provided information in the past. Ludwig Berthold needs to meet with a highly placed intelligence office, so Hardcastle goes himself--only to receive a coded message that directs him to another, more famous, painter and a secret society known as Edelweiss. Berthold is having difficulty getting out of Italy and the members of Edelweiss, who hide their identities behind wax masks, are experts at helping those who need to cross the mountainous Italian border without fuss. But when Bob and his guides ski into a trap, Bethold vanishes and Colonel Granby shows up to help Bob sort everything out. With Nazi spies and Italian agents hiding behind friendly faces, the two men are in a race against time to find Berthold and the vital information he carried.

The fate of Central Europe is in the balance in this spy thriller set on the eve of the second world war. Germany and Italy are jockeying for position in Austria in an effort to "secure their borders against France." Lots of intrigue and action in the Austrian snow! Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Hmph. I'm thinking that maybe I just wasn't quite in the mood for a spy thriller, because I feel like this is a better book than I think it is at the moment. Maybe I'm a bit depressed because of what's currently going on in the world (and the good ol' U. S. of A) at the moment. Either that or I was disappointed that this wasn't more of a traditional mystery (as my previous experience with the author's Murdered: One by One would lead me to expect). So, yeah, very little mystery here--other than are all the people we think are dead really dead? (SPOILER--no, in fact they aren't. Or--if they are, not when we think they are.) Mostly a lot of running about looking for people who get snatched and tied up or snatched and (maybe) killed. The writing is pretty snappy and fast-paced, so there's that. But I really would have liked a bit more mystery and less hole-in-corner business. Especially when the wrap-up at the end doesn't feel very wrap-up-ish. Probably because Beeding had no idea where world events would take everyone in just a few years.

This is one that I'm probably going to need to read again sometime, just to see if it really is better than I think right now. ★★★

First line: I was working, aloft in Battersea, in the high flat which is not a flat, and the butler, who is not a butler, had received orders that I was on no account to be disturbed.

Last line: As for Wilhelm Fuchs and his brotherhood of Edelweiss, for all I know, the nine waxed faces still move around the pleasant streets of Innsbruck or upon the wind-swept crags of the mountains around the city, helping those that fly from a tyranny still triumphant in a world heading ever faster for Armageddon.
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Deaths = 4 (three shot; one executed)

Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Gently Down the Nile

 

Please know that if you have not read the book or seen any filmed version (especially the one from 2022), then there will be spoilers. You have been warned.

So, after listening to David Suchet narrate the audio edition of Death on the Nile, I decided to watch Peter Ustinov in the star-studded 1978 film. And that led me on a continuous boat ride down the Nile in 2004 and 2022. And, taking a little detour from book reviews, I'd like to share my thoughts on these three adaptations. [And, brother, do I have thoughts--especially on the most recent version. Hold on to your asps!] All three manage (to greater or lesser degrees) to remain faithful to aspects of the original novel] while all take liberties with the material in some way as well.

First up, the beautifully shot, beautifully cast 1978 film starring Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot. Does Ustinov look the least bit like my image of the Belgian detective? No. But he's the first Poirot I ever saw on film and I have a great fondness for him. He adds a quirky note to Poirot's self-importance that I find charming. The supporting cast is spectacular from Bette Davis and David Niven to Angela Lansbury, Maggie Smith, and Mia Farrow to Olivia Hussey and George Kennedy. Simon MacCorkindale and Lois Chiles may not have been as big a name draw for me at the time I first watched this, but I did think they did well in their parts. 

David Niven is a smooth, debonair Colonel Race who is ever-ready for action as evidenced by his swift rescue when Poirot taps out an SOS on the communicating wall and Race comes running to stab a cobra before it can strike (one of the instances that stray from the original). 

What are you doing here?

One of my favorite (non-canonical) scenes is when Salome Otterborne leads Race onto the dance floor to dance the tango as it ought to be danced. Race just doesn't know what to do with her.

Shall we dance? Am I dancing?

Speaking of Salome Otterborne...Angela Lansbury is spectacular as the oversexed, alcoholic author with grudge against the victim. Mia Farrow gives us an incredible performance as a woman scorned walking on a knife's edge of emotion. And then there is Mrs. Van Schuyler and Miss Bowers. The exchanges between Bette Davis and Maggie Smith are gold.

Mrs. Van Schuyler: How would a little trip down the Nile suit you?
Miss Bowers: There's nothing I would dislike more. There are two things in the world I can't abide: it's heat and heathens.
Mrs. Van Schuyler: Good. Then we'll go. Bowers, pack.

And at the end of the film...

Mrs. Van Schuyler: Come on, Bowers, time to go. This place is beginning to resemble a mortuary.
Miss Bowers: Thank God you'll be in one yourself before too long, you bloody old fossil!

Beyond the incredible cast, there is the amazing cinematography. They take advantage of angles that not only make for beautiful shots, but enhance the storyline. Shot on location, we get terrific footage of the sites along Nile as well as the river itself.

And what of the faithfulness to the original? Well, overall, the 1978 film is pretty faithful. We lose some of the passengers (the Allertons, mother & son; James Fanthorpe, and Guido Richetti) as well as Fleetwood, an engineer on the boat who just happened to be the maid Louise's ex-lover. Colonel Race is the one who is there on behalf of Linnett's British solicitors and interferes when Pennington tries to get her to sign papers without reading them. And the subplot of jewel thefts has gone by the wayside. We have Mrs. Van Schuyler the kleptomaniac doing all the stealing. The extra murders run according to schedule, though the discovery of the maid's body takes place a little differently (and takes place a little differently in all three films). And then there's Simon Doyle. Simon has way more bravado in the wrap-up scene then he is given credit for in Christie's original work. The confrontation with Doyle takes place off-stage, as it were, in the book and he immediately cracks. In the film's grand finale, Doyle tries very hard to brazen his way out and does well until Poirot threatens him with the fictional "Moulage test." No such bluff takes place in the book. But--given the needs that visual media have that the written word does not, this is a very faithful rendering of Christie's story.

Death on the Nile, Take Two!

We couldn't get everyone in front of the camera at the same time.

In 2004 David Suchet takes his own little trip down the Nile. With a television budget, Poirot wasn't surrounded by near as many big name actors, but we do have David Soul of original Starsky & Hutch fame and we get to see Emily Blunt in role of chief victim, Linnett Ridgeway. And...having brought her up...can I just say that a: I don't see Linnett as a platinum blonde (perhaps because of the 1978 film) and b: Emily Blunt is not convincing as a platinum blonde.

Oh no! I put on the wrong wig.

 She looks like she's wearing an ill-fitting wig that belongs to somebody else. And she's a spoiled rich b---- to her core. In the 1978 film, Lois Chiles gives Linnett a bit of humanity at the beginning. She seems ready to help her friend Jackie until she actually sees Simon and decides she wants him and is going to have him. The scene in 2004 is cut to such an extent that I never got the sense that Linnett was very connected to Jackie. J.J. Feild does the boyish look of Simon very well, but I didn't feel like he got the character quite right during the period where he was supposed to be fed up with Jackie.

Aren't' I just so boyishly cute?

The rest of cast are very good and this version retains more of the original characters. This Jackie isn't quite on the razor's edge of emotion that Mia Farrow's version walks, nor do I get the depth of emotion behind Emma Griffiths Malin's cry of "I shall die if I can't marry him" that I do from Mia. But the rest of her performance is quite strong. Among the other characters, I find myself very taken with this particular Dr. Bessner as well as Cornelia Robson and I like them as a couple (though I do feel a bit sorry when Mr. Ferguson gets pipped at the post by the good doctor). James Fox as Colonel Race here is a little more understated than Niven's version, but I can easily see him as the unobtrusive intelligence officer. The scene where he travels across the desert incognito to join Poirot is quite nice.

Once again the filming of the scenery and locations is superb. Beautiful shots and we get a real sense of the trip down the Nile. We also have a great deal of fidelity to the source material. We've kept most of the characters (Fleetwood, Louise's ex and James Fanthorpe, representative of Linnett's British law firm, still don't appear) and the jewel theft subplot is back in play. We even get the private breakdown of Doyle instead of the grand wrap-up scene with all the suspects as well as the exit of Doyle and Jackie as per the book rather than in the middle of Poirot's explanation in the lounge. Considering that this was made for television and does not have near the length of early film, it manages to keep the plotlines pretty much intact and even includes some of what was left out in 1978. A fine production.

Which brings us to the final trip down the Nile: In which Kenneth Branagh and company does whatever the heck they want with Poirot and all the other characters and even throws a bonus wrench into the production.

So....when Branagh took up the Poirot mantle in Orient Express, I decided I appreciated it for what it was and even appreciated the fact that it was fairly faithful to the original. Despite the fact that I thought that mustache was going to come off the screen and get me like some weird mutant growth in a 1950s B-movie sci-fi horror adventure. And the fact that Poirot is NOT an action hero. If today's audience wants a 1920s/30s action hero detective, then how about we dust off Sexton Blake or one of his friends that regularly got bashed over the head, tied up, gassed, and what-have-you but still managed to fight their way through to a victory at the end?! 

Sorry, I digress. Anyway. About Branagh's Death on the Nile...those two quibbles are still there. The mustache doesn't seem quite as distracting, but it still is. And, again, Poirot is NOT an action hero. There is absolutely no need for the chase scene through the boat with killer shooting at him and dousing part of him with boiling water (which doesn't seem to phase him a bit). Seriously. Quit with heroics already. Now we'll approach the film in the same way as the others.

Isn't this the best honeymoon ever? I'm taking everybody who has a reason to hate me along.

The cast. The cast is amazing from Gal Gadot as Linnett to Dawn French as Bowers. We've got Annette Bening and Armie Hammer and Tom Bateman and Jennifer Saunders. I'm sure that if I were up on more recent actors (spoiler alert--I'm not, not even a little bit) that all of these names and the names I haven't mentioned are bigger than I think. Taking the film as a film (and not thinking about it as an Agatha Christie story), the portrayals are terrific. I believe in these characters and who they're supposed to be. Well--mostly (we'll get to my quibbles when I talk about fidelity to the source). Not many complaints here. I am a little curious about that whole Marie Van Schuyler as Linnett's godmother business. It's so very contrived. In fact, making everybody "friendly" enough to deliberately take them on the whole honeymoon trip seems contrived. But then, Christie setting up practically everybody on the boat to have have motive and just happen to be on the same boat with them is a bit contrived as well....sigh.

So...the filming itself. The costumes are sumptuous. The scenery is beautiful (even if you can definitely tell when CGI gets used--honestly, the alligator jumping up to eat the birds?). And you still get the feeling that you've been on a boat ride down the Nile (even though you really weren't--obviously because you weren't there....but neither were they). And the plot is fine--if you don't care about fidelity to Christie's characters.

So, yeah, fidelity let's talk about tha---

Why aren't you on the train?

Wait. What?! What the heck is Bouc doing in the middle of this story? And flying a kite for heaven's sake.  And therein lies my first, biggest, I-just-can't-with-this-movie moment. MAJOR SPOILER coming!!! So...not only do we have Monsieur Bouc (who, by the way is much younger than I ever expected in these films) in the middle of a Christie plot where he does not belong! Not only that--we're going to make him be the jewel thief and lie his head off to his friend Poirot. Not only that--we're going to make him the one who sees the blackmailing maid get killed. Not only that--we're going to kill him right in front of Poirot. And that's on top of rearranging and merging characters. For instance the doctor is now also the lord that Linnett almost married and he's also kept some of Ferguson's characteristics. We've changed the whole Bowers/Van Schuyler dynamic. Bouc and his mother have taken on the Allertons' roles. We've completely changed Salome and Rosalie Otterborne's characters (and I'm not talking about diversifying them). Sure, Salome is a dynamic jazz singer. That's awesome. But she's not anything like the character as written--and neither is Rosalie. And let's just talk about Rosalie for minute and, yes, this is about the diversity thing.

So...at one point we learn that when spoiled, rich Linnett was a young girl, she objected to "colored people" swimming in the same pool as her. We're supposed to believe that with the upbringing that produced that spoiled, segregationist viewpoint that Linnett would go to a school which would actually allow "colored" girls in and (if they did) that Linnett would suddenly have made friends with Rosalie and "made it all right for the other girls to be friends too"???? Seriously? What version of rich, white America does Branagh and company think existed during that time period? 

Back to Bouc....So, not only do we have that whole disturbing bit mentioned above. But Bouc's mother has hired Poirot to dig up the dirt on Rosalie and what Bouc's up to. Really? Poirot--the world's greatest detective (according to him) is doing background checks on potential brides now?

I come back to this--even more strongly in this second film. Agatha Christie did not write this Poirot. He's not a run-of-the-mill private eye who takes on divorce cases and trivial checks on potential girlfriends/boyfriends. He wouldn't stoop to that. He wouldn't do that to a friend. And, here's the point, Bouc is his friend. His mother isn't. Maybe (I stress maybe), Poirot would take on a case for a friend that he wouldn't normally touch. But not for the friend's mommy. And the presentation of his findings in this film? Ick. And, I say again, Christie did not write an action hero. She wrote a thinking man who uses his little grey cells. If you're going to film a story about that character, then by golly let's have that character. The way he was written. He doesn't need to be an action man and he doesn't need whatever angsty backstory you want to tack on to him. Christie's books have never been out of print. Apparently, people like her stories the way she wrote them. Call me a stick in the mud. But I'd like a bit more fidelity to what she envisioned. And if you want a quirky detective with great thought processes AND action hero abilities who has angst, then create that character and write some stories for him. 

Climbing down off my soapbox now.

I enjoyed Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express for what it was. But I can't say the same for Death on the Nile. Too many changes. Too much fiddling with Poirot. 

For a different take on the 2022 film. please check out Brad's review over at Ah Sweet Mystery! He's a lot more positive than me. 

Crooked House

 Crooked House (1948) by Agatha Christie

At the end of World War II, Charles Hayward meets Sophia Leonides in Egypt and falls in love. He realizes that they haven't really had a chance to get to know each other properly, so he tells her that once he winds things up in Egypt he'd like to come and visit her back in England. That way they can see if they still feel the same way back in the normal world. 

It takes him two years to get things settled and when he returns to England he finds that Sophia's grandfather Aristide Leonides, a wealthy entrepreneur, has just died. When he and Sophia meet, she tells him that she fears that her grandfather has been murdered. The family doctor apparently agrees that there's been some monkey business because he refuses to sign the death certificate and now Scotland Yard is involved. Fortunately Charles's father is the Assistant Commission of Scotland Yard, so Charles has an in with the detectives (he's also served in military intelligence so can sleuth on his own). She says that she can't even think about marriage until the cloud is cleared from the family. 

The family...the entire family has lived with Aristide at house called the Three Gables. His young second wife, Brenda; Sophia's parents Philp Leonides & Magda West (her stage name, being an actress) as well as her younger brother (Eustace) and sister (Josephine); Philip's older brother Roger and his wife Clemency, a scientist; Edith de Haviland, Aristide's sister-in-law; Laurence Brown, the children's tutor; and Janet Rowe, nanny to the Aristide children, cum cook to the household. When it is proved that the head of the household was poisoned with eyedrops substituted for his insulin, suspicion falls upon them all. They'd love for the killer to be Brenda--no one likes the spoiled young woman who was young enough to be Aristide's granddaughter instead of his wife. But Charles, who manages to wander through the house like he belongs there--asking questions and learning the lie of the land, soon realizes that none of them really think she did do it. So, who did?

Charles finds an ally in young Josephine, a born snoop who seems to know everything that happens in the house. She's on the case and gives Charles clues ever so often--whenever she's feeling generous. Her snooping reveals that Roger, who had been put in charge of one of Aristide's businesses, was about to leave the country with his wife, running away from bankruptcy. He'd had an argument with his father the night of the murder. Brenda has been writing love letters to Laurence Brown (whose admiration for the young widow has been apparent). Magda was upset that her father-in-law wouldn't back a play. Sophia even had a motive--revealed when the will everyone expects to be valid turns up unsigned and another will (lodged with an old friend of Aristides instead of his lawyer) is produced naming Sophia as his sole heir. Edith de Haviland never liked her brother-in-law, but had her dislike tuned into something more? In fact, who hated the old man enough to poison him? 

I hadn't read this one since my first Christie binge back in the 80s or so. I own several copies, but I elected to listen to the audio version narrated by Hugh Fraser so I could listen on the way to work and while I did other things. It was very interesting to listen to "Hastings" read this non-Poirot mystery. As per usual, Fraser does an excellent job with all the voices. He's a delightful narrator who gets the tone of the Christie novels just right.

The mystery itself is very good as well. Lots of red herrings and I didn't pick up on the two clues that should have told me who the killer was if I'd just paid attention to them properly. I did feel that Charles could have been a stronger character--stronger just in himself, but also a stronger detective. He does seem a bit slow on the uptake for someone who had worked in intelligence. But that's a minor quibble. The scenes with Magda are fun. She's always playing a part and you never know who she's going to be for her next appearance. I'm glad I revisited this one and that Hugh Fraser was my tour guide for the adventure. ★★★★

First line: I first came to know Sophia Leonides in Egypt towards the end of the war.

Last line: "I've thought so for some time. Poor child..."
*********************

Deaths = two poisoned; two fell from height (in car crash)

*Cover shown above is the dustjacket which belongs to the hardback edition I own. Unfortunately, I don't own the dustjacket. Picture courtesy of Facsimile Dustjackets LLC.

Panic in Paradise

 Panic in Paradise (1951) by Alan Amos (Kathleen Moore Knight)

Julian and Serena Cornish live in Casa Paraiso, between the Pacific coast of Panama and the jungle. They live with their children Brian (with wife Rita), Maura (with husband Pierce Harding), and Pam (as yet unmarried). Their home also lies near the area where the fabled and fabulous treasure of San Juan de Salud was said to be buried. In 1945, when a group of soldiers was stationed at Punta Paraiso, Julian was encouraged to tell the story of the treasure saved and buried by priests in the early days Panama. Tragedy struck when a few of the soldiers succumbed to gold fever and went searching. One soldier died and another, Willie Trout, went mad and was sent to the local military insane asylum. 

Now that the war is over, an ancient sketch is discovered at Casa Paraiso which may lead to the whereabouts of the treasure. The treasure was supposed to have been buried by the priests and marked with an altar of rocks which has since fell into serious disrepair. The placement of the stones supposedly indicated the exact location of the treasure. The sketch shows how the stones were originally placed and if the clues can be deciphered then perhaps the cache will finally be found.  

Brian Cornish wanted to start a search immediately, despite the rainy season although his father insists they wait. While they wait, newspaperman and friend of the family Watson "Wat" Gilday volunteers to do some research at the city museum to see how the sketch matches up to the information in the archives. Also at Casa Paraiso is Oliver Bradley, who had wooed Maura Cornish during his wartime service in Panama, coincidentally appearing after Wat had printed a story about the legend of the treasure. And of course, there is Barry Toland who regularly visits from the city to see Pam. Meanwhile, Willie Trout, has made his escape from the asylum and may also be in the area.

Events move swiftly once Wat declares his research intentions and he's found shot near his car on the road leading to the Cornish home. The ancient manuscript with the sketch is missing and then Barry, who discovered Wat's body, disappears as well. The finger of suspicion points first Barry (naturally, since he disappeared before the police could question him), but then events make it clear that Barry couldn't be responsible. So suspicion falls first one member of the Cornish household and then another until a final showdown with the killer on a night when Casa Paraiso is cut off from outside help. 

First of all, the set up of this book is very interesting. It is one of the earliest mysteries to provide multiple viewpoints. Each of our main characters give us information on the mystery in diary-like chapters which have been written at the behest of Serena Cornish. The story is framed with opening and ending entries from Julian, giving background info (at the beginning) and wrapping it all up at the end. Some of the chapters which are also direct responses to earlier chapters--for instance, Barry Toland's entry directly addresses Wat Gilday's portion--especially taking issue with Wat's passages about Barry. 

This is the first mystery I've read by Knight (under either her own name or a pseudonym) and I did enjoy the closed atmosphere. Even before they were cut off by the bridge going out, it felt very isolated at the house caught between the cliffs and the jungle. So the entire mystery feels very much like a closed-circle plot even though, in theory, anyone could have done the first of the murders and there might possibly be a madman (or two) hiding out in the jungle throughout. 

I do take exception to the blurb on the dustjacket--it makes it sound like Wat Gilday might be our amateur detective here, but that soon proves impossible when he is killed almost the minute he starts researching. And, actually, that's probably my main quibble with the story: there really isn't a detective, amateur or otherwise. Apparently, the only detective is the reader. Various characters do try to find things out and relate their findings in their diary entries, but there doesn't seem to be a concerted effort to get to the bottom of things. I'm not quite on the level of Hercule Poirot, but I do like a little more order and method in my detective novels. Good characters, good setting, and an interesting format go a long way in this one. ★★★ and 1/2 

First line: Now that it is all over, and life at Punta Paraiso has once more become orderly and secure, I have been looking over the great heap of papers which Serena put for safekeeping in the lower drawer of my desk.

Last line: I wouldn't swap that moment for all the gold of San Juan.
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Deaths = 4 (two fell from height; two shot)

Murder Every Monday: Pull Up a Chair!

 

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/or titles  from books we own that match the prompts she posts in advance (see link).

This week's prompt is covers with someone seated at a table or desk. So Pull Up a Chair and get cozy. Or...maybe you shouldn't considering that quite a number of these folks are dead or will be by book's end.

Stag Dinner Death ~John Penn

An Ad for Murder ~John Penn

Headlined for Murder ~Edwin Lantham

Murder at Cambridge ~Q. Patrick

The Dishonest Murderer ~Frances & Richard Lockridge

Murder in Any Language ~Kelley Roos

Literary Murder ~Batya Gur

Miss Agatha Doubles for Death ~H. L. V. Fletcher

Hangman's Holiday ~Dorothy L. Sayers

Strong Poison ~Dorothy L. Sayers (I think this is my favorite of my table/desk offerings)

The Case of Sonia Wayward ~Michael Innes

The Eight of Swords ~John Dickson Carr

Death of a God ~S. T. Haymon

Murder at Plums ~Amy Myers

The Family at Tammerton ~Margaret Erskine

Mrs. Jeffries Stands Corrected ~Emily Brightwell

The Search for Maggie Hare ~Elizabeth Byrd

Murder at the Savoy ~Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö

Thirteen Guests ~J. Jefferson Farjeon

Murder Within Murder ~Frances & Richard Lockridge

Duplicate Death ~Georgette Heyer

The D.A. Goes to Trial ~Erle Stanley Gardner

Murder on the Left Bank ~Elliot Paul

Strong Poison ~Dorothy L. Sayers

Death on the Nile

 Death on the Nile (1937) by Agatha Christie (narrated by David Suchet)

I was looking for a comfortable book to listen to while I was doing mundane tasks. Something that I had already read and it wouldn't matter if I missed a line here or there. Usually, I choose Sayers and Lord Peter Wimsey--but this time I decided to take a little trip to Egypt with another of my favorite sleuths and revisited Death on the Nile. If you'd like to take a look at a more thorough analysis of the story, please see the link at the title. Here, I'll be talking about the audio version. 

David Suchet is my pick for Poirot--especially in his earlier appearances as the sleuth, before his personal views started encroaching so heavily. (That's a discussion for another time. I won't pull out my Murder on the Orient Express soapbox right now...) His is the voice I hear in my head when I read the hard copies of the Poirot stories. So, listening to him step into Poirot's voice in this audio novel was music to my ears. And, for the most part, he does an excellent job with the various characters. My two main quibbles--Miss Van Schuyler and Colonel Race. After seeing the star-studded 1978 filmed version, Bette Davis will forever by Miss (Mrs.) Van Schuyler and hers is the voice I expect. Suchet's selection of voice for the rich, spoiled woman is meant to be irritating, I do get that, but it just sets my teeth on edge and is near-unbearable. And, as far as Colonel Race goes, not only is the voice not at all like David Niven's, Suchet has--for reasons known only to himself, given Race a periodic weird lisp. But on the whole, a lovely listening experience.

First Line: Linnet Ridgeway! "That's Her!" said Mr. Burnaby, the landlord of the Three Crowns.

Last Line: For, as Mr. Ferguson was saying at that minute in Luxor, it is not the past that matters but the future.

********

Deaths = 5 (four shot; one stabbed)

A Knife in the Fog

 A Knife in the Fog (2018) by Bradley Harper

Not long after the publication of A Study in Scarlet, Arthur Conan Doyle (not yet Sir), receives a message from former Prime Minister William Gladstone's secretary, Jonathan Wilkins, urgently asking him to come to come to London--"as many lives may lie upon its balance." Assuming that the summons is medical (though a bit mystified why Gladstone would call upon him), Doyle arranges to go. Only to find out that Gladstone wants him to work with the police to capture "Leather Apron" the killer of prostitutes who will soon become known as Jack the Ripper. Doyle feels completely inadequate, but when pressed says he will take up the commission on one condition--that his mentor Professor Joseph Bell (who served as the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes) agrees to work with him.

Wilkins agrees on Gladstone's behalf and also arranges for the men to have a guide in Whitechapel to help them navigate the unfamiliar world where the killer operates. He has selected Margaret Harkness, a journalist who writes about Whitechapel and the surrounding area under the name John Law. Harkness becomes a worthy member of the amateur detective team, more than proving her mettle when it comes to dealing with razor-bearing ruffians and thieves. She guides them to sites of the previous murders, introduces them to a working girl named Mary, and then shows them the way to future sites. Little by little, Bell and Doyle pick up pieces of the puzzle that will reveal who the killer is--but then the Ripper focuses on their team and the hunt becomes personal. Can they find him before one of their own becomes the next victim?

I am always up for a Holmes-adjacent story or a Jack the Ripper story. And, if you combine the two, even better. Jack the Ripper is one of the serial killers I can read about. I prefer my true crime/serial killers to have a bit of age on them. I'm not keen on true crime books about recent murders. Just my opinion, but I don't like to think of profiting off murders with current victims (family of those killed, for instance) still around to be hurt. Unless the goal is to provide a new perspective on an unsolved crime with the hopes of finally bringing closure, then I'd rather read about true crimes that are far removed from the present day. [Okay, I'll step down from my soapbox now....]

Since this is a work of fiction, Harper gives us a fictional solution to the murders even though he peoples the book with real people--from Doyle and Bell to Gladstone and Wilkins to Margaret Harkness and Inspector Abberline, as well as many others. While I was familiar with those who figured prominently in the Ripper investigation and knew a fair amount about Doyle and his mentor Bell, I was completely unfamiliar with Margaret Harkness. It was very interesting to learn about her journalistic work among the lower classes in London. Harper may have taken some liberties with her character and given her what seems like a more modern viewpoint, but given her dedication tot the under-represented in London's society at the time the liberties may not be as great as they appear.

The mystery is perfectly fine. Again, given that this is fiction, I was expecting Harper to give us a solution that satisfied his additions to the Ripper story. This means, unfortunately, that the person he's chosen to fill the Ripper's shoes doesn't come as a big surprise. The possible suspects aren't exactly thick on the ground. The wrap-up is a bit of a let-down--of course, the villain has it in for Doyle. Because reasons. The reason he selected Doyle as his opponent doesn't make a great deal of sense to me. Of course, given the state of the villain, perhaps it's not supposed to make sense--but one wishes it had. Overall, a perfectly fine, middle-of-the-road read. ★★★ 

First line: The small cardboard box arrived from Florence last month and sat unopened on my desk until today.

Last line: I miss you, dear friends. Happy New Year.
******************

Deaths = 9 (six strangled & stabbed; one poisoned; one hanged; one stabbed)

She Came Back

 She Came Back (The Traveller Returns; 1945) by Patricia Wentworth (Dora Amy Turnbull)

Anne Jocelyn came back alright--back from the dead, apparently. To the shock of her family and especially her husband Sir Philip Jocelyn.  Anne had gone to France to see about claiming a legacy (that Philip had told her not to accept) and was caught in the first German assault on France. Philip had arrived to get his wife, her look-alike cousin, and anyone else in the household he could to safety. Under fire from the Germans, Anne (Philip is certain) was killed and Annie Joyce (the cousin) was lost in the fray--presumed captured. But now someone claiming to be Anne Jocelyn has shown up and she insists that it was Annie who was shot while she survived.

The resemblance between the women was so great that most of the family and even the family lawyer isn't certain where the truth lies. Only Philip insists that Annie is trying to take the family fortune which she had always believed should have been hers and not Anne's. If she has to live as Anne for the rest of her life, then he is sure she'd do so. Philip is prepared to bear public censure and a court case if need be rather than accept an imposter as his wife, but the family lawyer points how unpleasant life could be if the case couldn't be proved. So, Philip agrees to a six-month trial to be sure. But then murder enters the picture and his doubts come back. The murdered woman is an old nanny of Annie's and when Scotland Yard is called in, Sergeant Frank Abbott immediately begins consulting Miss Maud Silver. She's shrewd, but it takes two murders and an attempted third before she can sort things out properly.

The second half of this book is way better than the first. Why? Because Miss Silver finally shows up. The first half where Anne turns up and is trying to get Philip to believe that she really is who she says she is just didn't do it for me. But when the murders start and Miss Silver gets down to cases, well, now we're talking. I don't think anyone will be surprised about the answer to whether Anne is really Anne or Annie, but the real surprise is finding out who the murderer is. The war references and connections are good and Wentworth does an excellent job with all of her characters--even the minor ones. ★★★ and 1/2 (all for the second half)

First line: The air in the Food Office was cold and stuffy.

Last line: She said, "I hope so."
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Deaths = 5 (two natural; two shot; one hit by car)

Ten Pins Game: 2025-2026

 

Rick at the Mystillery has the bowling lanes waxed, the bowling pins polished, and the bowling shoes all lined up for those who don't have their own. Your reading challenge goal is to knock down all ten pins using books with numerals in the title. You can use any book read this year. For full details click on the link above.

I've got my bowling shoes on and am on my way to knocking all ten pens down:

One Fell Sloop by Susan Kenney (7/3/25)

A Thief or Two by Sara Woods (3/13/25)

The Three Coffins by John Dickson Carr (6/4/25)

The Four of Hearts by Ellery Queen (7/15/25)

Bodies from the Library 5 by Tony Medawar, ed (3/2/25)

Six Nuns & a Shotgun by Colin Watson (5/9/25)

 

The Nine Waxed Faces by Francis Beeding (9/22/25)

  The World's Best 100 Detective Stories Volume Ten by Eugene Thwing, ed (4/14/25)

 

Death on Gokumon Island

 Death on Gokumon Island (1948) by Seishi Yokomizo

Gokumon Island has a long, forbidding reputation--with a name meaning Hell's Gate Island and a history as a pirate stronghold. Since its pirate days, it came to be ruled by two strong, clannish fishing families. The head family, long lead by Kaemon Kito, is depending on Kaemon's grandson Chimata to return from the war and take his place as head of the family. But Kosuke Kindaichi, the famous detective, served with Chimata and when his friend succumbs to an illness acquired during the war, he begs Kosuke to go to Gokumon Island and protect his younger sisters. Chimata is certain that the girls will be killed if Kosuke can't prevent it.

Unfortunately, Kosuke's arrival sets in motion a well-prepared plan. A plan that even Japan's greatest detective could hardly have expected. And soon his mission of prevention becomes one of investigation as one by one the sisters are murdered in bizarre circumstances. Suspicion falls upon, the girls' father, a man driven mad by his autocratic father and Kaemon's treatment of the son and his wife. But the madman is locked up--how could he have done it? Other suspects include the "branch" family--related to the Kitos, but not in power. The scheming matriarch of the branch family wants the power for her own--would she or one of her household kill for it? And Kosuke himself spends a night in jail when Sergeant Shimizu, the island's police officer becomes suspicious of the strange outsider (before Kosuke has revealed his true identity and mission).

There is a lot going on here...and, unfortunately, some of it takes place off the page. So, when we get to the wrap-up scene at the end, there really isn't any way for the reader to have reached the same conclusions as Kosuke. I had a sneaking suspicion of part of the answer, but no solid evidence to back me up. I just thought a certain person was acting a bit oddly (though, if you read the story and see how many of these people are behaving oddly, you might wonder how I told the difference...). But--the story is engaging, provides a lot of history for the area and time period, and gives a good, twisty plot that can be enjoyed even if one might wish for more clues. ★★★ and 1/2

First line (Prologue): Seventeen miles south of Kasaoka, falling right on the border between Okayama, Hiroshima, and Kagawa Prefectures, in the middle of the Seto Inland Sea, there's a tiny island.

First line (1st Chapter): Kosuke Kindaichi. Reader, if you happen to have picked up the mystery The Honjin Murders, you will be familiar with him.

Last line: He placed his hands together in a posture of prayer as he bade farewell to Gokumon Island.
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Deaths = 11 (five natural; one drowned; three strangled; one hit on head; one in war)

Murder Every Monday: Spotlight on Murder

 

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/or titles  from books we own that match the prompts she posts in advance (see link).

This week's prompt is covers with indoor lighting (not torches--flashlights, I assume). Some of the lights/lamps/chandeliers/etc are harder to see than others...

Vintage Whodunnits ~Maxim Jakubowki (ed)

Stand Up & Die ~Richard & Frances Lockridge

Silence Observed ~Michael Innes

Deception Island ~M. K. Lorens

Die All, Die Merrily ~Leo Bruce

A Trap for Fools ~Amanda Cross

Somewhere in the House ~Elizabeth Daly

The Ghost of an Idea ~Mary Challis

Blood on the Tracks ~Martin Edwards (ed)

These Names Make Clues ~E. C. R. Lorac

The Emperor's Snuff Box ~John Dickson Carr

Who Killed Alfred Snowe? ~J. S. Fletcher

Little Hercules ~Francis Wallace

The Battles of Jericho ~Hugh Pentecost

Murder by the Book ~Norma Schier

Always Lock Your Bedroom Door ~Roy Winsor

Unnatural Death ~Dorothy L. Sayers

Murder at Midnight ~R. A. J. Walling

This Club Frowns on Murder ~Albert Borowitz

The Red Lamp ~Mary Roberts Rinehart

Judgment of Murder ~C. S. Challinor

Cocaine Blues ~Kerry Greenwood

The Hands of Healing Murder ~Barbara D'Amato

A Death for a Darling ~E. X. Giroux

Madman's Bend ~Arthur W. Upfield

Mrs. Malory & the Fatal Legacy ~Hazel Holt

Rutland Place ~Anne Perry