Tied Up in Tinsel

 Tied Up in Tinsel (1972) by Ngaio Marsh
[read by Wanda McCaddon]

Agatha Troy Alleyn, who is finishing up a portrait of her host, is spending Christmas at Hilary Bill-Tasman's country house. Bill-Tasman is from an old family, but had re-purchase the family pile with earnings from a lucky and lucrative business partnership as well as a few big win in the pools.  But it's not a typical country house Christmas. The entire staff of the manor are "oncers"--men who have murdered once, in a kind of brainstorm of passion and have been released from prison for good behavior. The authorities believe they aren't dangerous. Less likely to do it again because they know what being in prison is like now. In addition to this rather unconventional lot of servants, there is the Christmas festivities themselves. A kind of mash-up of druidic/pagan, Christian, and Santa Claus all rolled into a weird bundle. And--once all the guests arrive, there is an odd kind of tension. We have Bill-Tasman's fiancee, the lovely and totally mod Cressida Tottenham, who punctuates every sentence with "you know" and who thinks Alleyn (once he arrives) is "the mostest." We have Bill-Tasman's Uncle Flea (Colonel Fleaton Forrester) and Aunt Bed along with Uncle Flea's former batman cum valet, Moult. And we have honorary uncle & business partner, Bert Smith. None of them are too fond of the staff--especially after a series of practical jokes referencing the style of the various "oncers" is played upon them.

Uncle Flea is all set to do his usual round as a Father Christmas turned Druid when he has one of his "turns" (weak heart) and Moult steps in to take his place. But things get really tense when Moult disappears directly after handing out the gifts. A search of the house and as much of the grounds as is practical in the obligatory snow storm gives no trace of the man. Where is he? Why has he disappeared? And...is he still alive? There was a kind of armed truce between Moult and the manor house staff--and the staff were certain that Moult was behind the practical jokes meant to make things look bad for them. Would they go so far as to do away with the man? Alleyn has been out of the country on special assignment, but he arrives home just in time to be invited to join the house party (ostensibly so he won't have to be alone for the holidays, but Bill-Tasman really wants him to lend the local constabulary a hand). And when Moult's body is discovered, it turns into a real busman's holiday and Alleyn is asked by the local police to take over. 

As I said when I last reviewed the book, this is a mixed bag for me. Marsh does the country house set-up well. She's got quite a crew of eccentric characters--though. The plot is pretty good--but I don't see any way that the reader could know the motive for the killing. I just don't. I believe I went down the same garden path that Marsh led me down before. I absolutely thought that one of the "practical jokes" had been staged by the person it was perpetrated upon--and, of course, it wasn't. 

I knew--or remembered--exactly where Moult's body would be found as soon as we knew he was missing. I'm still nonplussed at Marsh's attempt to use "hip" late 60s/early 70s slang. If felt forced--"like, you know?" [to quote one of the characters. Alleyn and Troy are delightful as always, but Alleyn's appearance comes much too late in the game. And we barely get to see Fox at all. A decent mystery for the Christmas season, but not one of Marsh's strongest. I've just realized that this is one of two Marsh novels nominated for the Edgar for Best Novel. I'm a bit baffled at the nomination. ★★★

First line: "When my sire," said Hilary Bill-Tasman, joining the tips of his fingers, "was flung into penury by the great slump, he commenced scrap merchant."

Last line: "I bet you anything you like," said Alleyn.
*****************

Deaths = Two (one hit on head; one natural) [for the purposes of the Medical Examiner's Challenge, it's a shame that all those people that the "oncers" knocked off weren't given names....]

Destination Unknown

 Destination Unknown (aka So Many Steps to Death; 1955) by Agatha Christie

Destination Unknown is one of Agatha Christie's non-series books. As seems to be usual for her stand-alone books, this is a foray into spy/thriller territory. This time we have scientists and chemists and medical researchers disappearing at an alarming rate. In the Cold-War-Era climate, this is particularly disturbing and England's secret service becomes especially interested when a young scientist by the name of Thomas Betterton vanishes. They suspect that his wife knows where to find him even though she does quite a good job of portraying the wife at her wit's end. When she suddenly decides to leave England for her health on "doctor's orders" they decide to keep close tabs on her.  Then her plane crashes and she isn't expected to live.

Enter Hilary Craven. Hilary's husband has deserted her for another woman and her daughter has just died from a long illness. She thinks that taking a trip will somehow change her life. But when she arrives in Morocco she finds that what she has been trying to run away from is herself...and you can't do that. Thinking that she has nothing left to live for, she goes from pharmacy to pharmacy gathering enough sleeping pills to end her life. But Hilary has caught the eye of one of the secret service men...or rather her red hair has. And he offers her a bargain...take an assignment that means almost certain death (and which might just get her interested in living again) rather than taking pills which may not be as pleasant a way out as she anticipates.

What is wanted is for Hilary to take the place of Mrs. Thomas Betterton and her particular shade of red hair makes her the perfect candidate. The scientist's wife is definitely not going to survive her injuries and Hilary is to take on her persona. If anyone contacts her about joining her husband, she is to follow along and lead the agents to where the scientists have been taken. It will be dangerous and she's going to have to be letter-perfect in her role. Will she do it?  Hilary decides she will.  Off towards a destination unknown.

Generally speaking, I haven't been as big a fan of Christie's stand-alone novels as I am of Poirot and Miss Marple and Tommy & Tuppence. The one big exception is And Then There Were None (aka Ten Little Indians, etc), which I think is absolutely awesome. But this one is pretty darn good. Christie loves to take the standard of various plots in the mystery/detective world and give them her own little twist. Here she does it with the "scientists defecting to the other side" motif. Only....are they? Or, rather, are they going where they think they are and for the purpose that they believe in? That's the real question.

Hilary Craven is a very intelligent and likeable character. It is easy to see why she might have been full of despair, but being the type of woman she is, it's also easy to see why she would take up the challenge offered her by Jessop. It's not that she despises life in general--she just wants a reason for living. As she says to herself when contemplating suicide:

The reality of herself and what she could bear, and what she could not bear. One could bear things, Hilary thought, so long as there was a reason for bearing them. (p. 31)

And Jessop provides that for her. The plot--her taking on another woman's persona, especially with such a short time to learn her part--may be a bit shaky, but it's got enough grounding to make the reader willing to believe it. There are other interesting characters--including Jessop; Andrew Peters, a young American scientist; and Mrs. Calvin Baker, an American tourist who's not quite what she seems. Mrs. Baker may not be on the side of the angels, but I did enjoy the persona she embodied. A fun and quick read. ★★★★

First line: The man behind the desk moved a heavy glass paperweight four inches to the right. [sound a bit like Poirot, needing things positioned just so]

W: Nobody's so gullible as scientists. All the phony mediums say so.  Can't quite see why.

J: Oh, yes, it would be so. They think they know, you see. That's always dangerous.

~Wharton; Jessop (p. 3)

"I'm handicapped," said the man behind the desk bitterly. "I never believe anybody." ~Jessop (p. 5)

I don't go in for being sorry for people. For one thing it's insulting. One is only sorry for people if they are sorry for themselves. Self-pity is the biggest stumbling block in our world today.

~Jessop (p. 53)

E: When one has at last reached freedom, can one even contemplate going back?

HC: But if it is not possible to go back, or to choose to go back, then it is not freedom!

~Ericsson; Hilary Craven (p. 120-1)

Last line: "You Frenchmen are so well-read," said Jessop.
****************

Deaths = one natural; one plane crash; one poisoned

April Reading by the Numbers Reviews

 

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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: Don Among the Dead Men by C. E. Vulliamy

 

Double: 2 books by 

Triple: 3 books by 

Homerun: 4 books by 

Cycle: completed previous four 

Foul: 

Bunt: "The Poisoned Dow '08" by Dorothy L. Sayers

 

Stolen Base:  (read by  )

Strike Out: Dangerous Crossing by Rachel Rhys

The Murder Wheel

 The Murder Wheel (2023) by Tom Mead

Edmund Ibbs is a young, idealistic lawyer working for the defense in what looks like a hopeless case. Dominic Dean, bank manager, and his wife Carla took a ride on the Ferris wheel at the local fair. But only one of them survived the ride. When their carriage reached the top, there was a shot and Dean was dead before he could receive medical attention. Carla swears that she's innocent and Ibbs wants to find a way to make a jury think she could be. He hears about a mysterious "limping man" who had been following Dean and was seen leaving the fair after the shot by the man who operated the Ferris wheel. He starts looking for answers--interviewing workers at the bank and learning that there had been a robbery at the bank not long before. Is there a connection?

Ibbs is also an amateur magician and decides to take in a show featuring Professor Paolini. During one of the illusions, a dead man falls out when a locked crate is opened....and it is Varga, the operator of the Ferris wheel. When another impossible crime happens in the theater, Ibbs finds himself the prime suspect. But fortunately, Joseph Spector, the expert on impossible crimes is on hand to investigate and between the two of them, they will discover who is responsible for each murder. Do they all tie in with the robbery? And if so, does that mean that Titus Pilgrim, an underworld crime boss, is at the back of it? Or are there different culprits with different motives? We will have to wait and find out.

Tom Mead is carrying on the tradition of John Dickson Carr and other locked room/impossible crime experts from the Golden Age...and doing it well. Using the magician's stocks-in-trade (the art of distraction and sleight-of-hand), he makes it difficult to keep your eye on the ball and figure out which cup it's really under. I absolutely fell for one of the red herrings and was busy trying to tie it to one of the suspects. This kept me from spotting the clues that Mead obligingly sprinkled through the text (and which he helpfully footnotes during Spector's wrap-up scene). I'm still not sure I completely understand how the body got in the crate--even with the delightful little map/diagram that we're given. But I'm trusting that it really does make sense to those more able to decipher the layout. 

Just as with a good magic show, I thoroughly enjoyed being mystified and I really liked the opening mystery with the Ferris wheel. It was also satisfying that we came full circle and had a second helping of attempted murder on the wheel, creating an exciting finish for our hero. This second adventure in the Joseph Spector series is nearly as good as the first and it is another terrific effort at recapturing the spirit of the Golden Age of Detection. ★★★★

First lines: It began with the book. If not for the book, the rest of it would not have happened.

Last lines: Ibbs looked back at the old man. Spector's pale eyes gleamed.
******************

Deaths = 12 ( four natural; four shot; one beaten to death; one broken neck; one fell from height; one hanged)

GAD Mystery Word of the Day: Pareidolia

 

My new bookish meme for 2026: the Golden Age of Detection (GAD) Mystery Word of the Day. Whenever I find a word that I'm unfamiliar with--or shall we say not absolutely confident I know the exact meaning of, I'm going to actually take time to look it up and share it with mystery-lovers everywhere. 😊

Today's GAD Mystery Word of the Day: Pareidolia (noun): the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern.

This is a first-class case of pareidolia. You're trying to pick out patterns where there aren't any, like those fools who look for faces in clouds. (from the GAD-style mystery The Murder Wheel by Tom Mead)

An Heiress's Guide to Deception & Desire

 An Heiress's Guide to Deception & Desire (2021) by Manda Collins

Miss Caroline "Caro" Hardcastle, last seen as sidekick to Lady Katherine Eversham (Bascombe as was then) in A Lady's Guide to Mischief & Mayhem, takes center stage in this second book in the Ladies Most Scandalous series. Caro's good friend, actress Effie Warrington, has been kidnapped and Caro and Kate set out to find out what has happened to her. Kate's husband, Inspector Andrew Eversham, is also on deck to help out--as is Lord Valentine Thorn, cousin to Effie's betrothed. Frank Thorn, was beaten soundly when two men accosted Frank and Effie and drove off with the actress in her carriage.

The involvement of Val, just recently made Viscount after the death of his elder brother, is (pun fully intended) a thorn in Caro's side. She and Val had been romantically involved until the Thorn family made clear that the daughter of a businessman (no matter how successful and no matter how large her inheritance might be) was no match for someone of Thorn's rank. The family's opinion didn't matter near as much as the fact that Val didn't stand up for her at the time--something Val has regretted from the moment it happened. Both still have feelings for the other, but both are too proud to say so...yet. But having to work together so closely to help two people they each care about may provide the means to patch up their differences.

But first....to find Effie. And then Frank disappears as well and the hunt is on for two missing persons instead of just one. There are two possible threads to follow. First, that one of the group of admirers who swarmed around Effie after her theatre performances decided to make her his own--even if he had to kidnap her to do so. Or, second, Effie, who had been raised by foster parents, was trying to discover her true parentage. Clues seem to indicate that she had been successful and that she may have a claim upon a substantial inheritance. Is there someone whose position is in danger? And are they willing to kidnap...or worse to keep that position. In either case, Frank is just collateral damage. Will our heroines and heroes find the pair in time? And will Caro and Val find true love along the way?

So, this series is heading into cozy romantic mystery fluff territory. The solution is more obvious this time around and there are fewer alternate possibilities (at least fewer of substance). But the writing is good as are the characters and the interactions between the characters are fun. I'm still amazed at how many progressive men and women are running about int he mid-1800s. Frank and Effie are in the progressive club--and we've just been introduced to another couple, who I am willing to bet will feature in their own installment soon. If you like light mysteries with romance and aren't hung up on historical accuracy when it comes to progressive views, then this may just be a series for you. ★★★ 

First line: "They're behaving as if  I haven't been on my own, managing my life, for the year they were in Paris."

Last line: And if they were lucky, there would be a million other perfect moments left to come.
**********************

Deaths = 5 (four natural; one drowned)

Shadow of Madness

 Shadow of Madness (1950) by Hugh Pentecost (Judson Philips)

Dr. John Smith, a criminal psychologist, decides that what he really needs is a fishing trip. He hasn't been fishing and camping since he was young and so he gathers camping gear and his fishing gear and decides to head out into the woods.  And gets lost. And gets captured by a madman with a Thompson submachine gun. When someone asks him later how he got into the dangerous position he finds himself, he responds:

Because I am an idiot. I haven't been fishing for twenty years, Mr. Cornwall. I got the urge for the great outdoors. Do I fish off a bridge near my own comfortable lodgings? No. Do I mosey along a pleasant winding stream through the farm lands in the neighborhood? No. I strike out for the great outdoors. I am a woodsman. I am going to camp out--an idea I haven't had since I was twelve years old, a frighteningly long time ago. I strike out into the woods. I have all the modern camping gadgets from Abercrombie and Fitch. After one hour of fishing I cannot find my camp or my equipment. After four hours I find myself confronted by a young man with a machine gun. That, Mr. Cornwall, is the history of my idiocy.

Yes, Dr. Smith is taken prisoner by Mark Douglas. A madman with a mission. Someone has been blackmailing Mark over a crime worthy of the District Attorney's attention and Mark has had enough. He's been pushed over the edge. He knows the blackmailer must be one of eight people--his wife or one of seven "friends" he's known all his life. He brought them all to this secluded lake where they spent their younger days swimming, boating, fishing, and sleeping in the large cabin. Then he wrecked the cars and told them if the blackmailer didn't confess...or they didn't work together to expose him/her...then he would kill them all rather than endure anymore demands. Now that Dr. Smith has wandered into the party, he's expected to play by the same rules. Can the man who works with criminal insanity on a regular basis defuse the ticking time bomb that Mark has begun? And when murder strikes among the party can he solve that little problem as well?

This was one of the most interesting mysteries/thrillers/suspense stories that I've read in quite a while. The opening chapter is amazing. The set-up intriguing. The way the doctor goes about interviewing the captives and working on Mark is fascinating. Pentecost does a brilliant job in building the tension and bringing in the back ground that the doctor needs to understand the currents running under the surface among these people. Did I spot the blackmailer and/or killer? Not exactly. I was kind of leaning their way, but didn't get there before the reveal. Speaking of the reveal, that was the most disappointing part of the story. After the big build-up, I expected a bit more oomph in the finale. It's not that it wasn't good--it just wasn't great. So I couldn't quite bump the star rating all the way to the top. ★★★★

First line: The small gray man pushed his way through the brush and came out into the clearing.

Last line: "Why not?" the Doctor said. "Why not?"
******************

Deaths =  5 (one shot down in war; one stabbed; one natural; two car accident)

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (audio novel)

 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) by Agatha Christie
  (read by Hugh Fraser)

My synopsis of the story (for those who have not yet read it...and why not, I ask you): 

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd actually begins with the death of Mrs. Ferrars, widowed within the last year. The rumor mill of King's Abbot had been grinding away--envisioning wedding bells between Mrs. Ferrars and the wealthy Roger Ackroyd. But Mrs. Ferrars is found dead from an overdose of veranol in what is first supposed to be an accident, but the village grapevine suspects is suicide. Dr. James Sheppard, our narrator, is confronted by his  sister when he returns home after the discovery.

My sister continued: "What did she die of? Heart failure?"
"Didn't the milkman tell you that?" I inquired sarcastically.
Sarcasm is wasted on Caroline. She takes it seriously and answers accordingly.
"He didn't know," she explained. (p. 3)

 When Sheppard insists on accident, Caroline rejects the idea. She's convinced the woman killed herself out of remorse. Because obviously she killed the husband who was cruel to her. 

Then that evening Roger Ackroyd is found dead--stabbed to death by his own decorative dagger and rumors are flying about blackmail. But then there is also the fact that Ackroyd's nephew, known to have disputes with his uncle over money, has disappeared from the scene. And what about the maid who gave notice that very afternoon? And the mysterious stranger who was looking for Ackroyd's home at about the time of the murder? And who made the phone call to the doctor that brought him to Ackroyd's house and resulted in the discovery of the crime?

Fortunately for King's Abbot, a funny little foreigner who "looks like a hairdresser" has come to the countryside for his retirement. A foreigner by the name of Hercule Poirot. He's sure to get to the bottom of the mystery, for as he tells Ackroyd's niece (who has asked him to investigate): What one does not tell to Papa Poirot he finds out.

If you would like to see my full review of the mystery, please follow the link above, but be aware that there are spoilers. This review is devoted to the audio edition which I borrowed from Hoopla through the local library. Hugh Fraser is my favorite reader for Christie novels which do not feature Miss Marple. I think he is perfect as Captain Hastings in the Poirot television series and even though Hastings does not appear here (except as Poirot references him) it is still delightful to listen to Fraser tell us the story of Poirot and murder in King's Abbot. He manages to give each character a bit of distinction so you aren't confused about who is speaking--even when there's a longer bit of dialogue. Reading--or in this case, listening to--an Agatha Christie novel is a comfort read for me. And it was fun to settle in and let Fraser's words flow around me. ★★★★★
 

First line: Mrs. Ferrars died on the night of the 16th-17th September--a Thursday. 

Last line: But I wish Hercule Poirot had never retired from work and come here to grow vegetable marrows.
*********************

Deaths = 3 (two poisoned; one stabbed)

Consequences of Sin

 Consequences of Sin (2007) by Clare Langley-Hawthorne

1910 England (mostly). Ursula Marlowe--heiress, Oxford-educated, wanna-be journalist (but NOT a women's fashion/gossip/society writer), and suffragette--receives a phone call that plunges her into murder and a mystery linked to a South American expedition from twenty years ago. Winifred Stanford-Jones, a friend and fellow suffragette, asks for Ursula's help when her (Freddie's) lover is killed in compromising circumstances. Freddie is arrested--after all, what are the police supposed to think when Laura Radcliffe is stabbed to death in Freddie's own bed? 

But then Laura's father commits suicide and Ursula finds links to an expedition that her own father, as well as Colonel Radcliffe and other prominent men had sponsored. When another sponsor's daughter is killed, it begins to look like someone has a vendetta against those who backed the trip to South America. But Colonel Radcliffe was the only survivor of that doomed expedition...or was he? Ursula tries to get her father and their legal advisor, Lord Wrotham, to give her information that will help find the real killer and set her friend free, but they insist that she stay out of it. But Ursula can't do that...she'll  get to the bottom of this--with or without their help. But will she survive long enough to share what she learns?

Here we go again...strong-willed woman meets supportive man (yes, Lord Wrotham is a young legal advisor and, though he seems to through obstacles in her way, he actually admires her intelligence and courage). It's a little bit more believable this time around because we're in the middle of the "votes for women" era. So in the middle of the story, Ursula--who has never been anywhere outside of England--suddenly decides to go traipsing off to South America where a massacre took place during an expedition her father and other backers funded to see if the man she (and the backers) think may be running amok and killing people right and left is still in the jungle or not. And she manages to disguise herself as a man and successful navigate booking passage so she can travel alone on the boat. And then she goes off by herself to find the man in the back of beyond. I'm sure that could happen. And why on earth did she suddenly abandon her male disguise in the middle of it all? That was baffling.

I wanted to like this more than I did. It had an interesting opening and the premise for the murders actually worked well. But the story dragged a bit up till the point that Ursula goes running off to South America. Lots of action from that point on, but her trip wasn't quite plausible enough. It would have worked better if she'd been given at least a bit of experience as a traveler. The other quibble I have is how rapid things turned to romance. Even faster than usual in these romantic historical mysteries. I'm giving all of the star value to Ursual, whom I really do like as a character, and the mystery itself. ★★★

First line: When the telephone rang downstairs so early that Saturday morning, Ursula Marlow knew it could only be bad news.

Last line: "Always."
******************

Deaths = 7 (three natural; one accident; one stabbed; one shot; one strangled)

Murder Enters the Picture

 Murder Enters the Picture (1942) by Willetta Ann Barber & R. F. Schabelitz

Christopher "Kit" Storm is a moderately successful commercial artist who also does portraits and acts as an artistic consultant to the New York Police Department. He regularly assists his friend, Captain Tony Shand with sketches of the crime scenes as well as the suspects interviewed. And has gotten more intimately involved in more recent cases (see my review of Murder Draws a Line) But he and his new bride, Sheridan (Sherry), are off on their honeymoon--little suspecting that a plea from Sherry's aunt will embroil them even more deeply in murder than ever before.

Sherry's Aunt Mattie asks the couple to stop by the Plateau, home to the Mints and a place that Sherry knew well growing up. It seems that Uncle Ezra (long since deceased) has recently been seen roaming the grounds--or rather his ghost has. And Aunt Mattie wants them to check in on Sara (the seer of ghosts) and find out what's going on. What's soon to be going on is murder. Andrew Mint, the heir of the Mint's Meats business and fortune is soon found murdered--killed by the stab of an ice pick. He's quickly followed by other members of the family. The youngest of the clan goes missing for a while (but found safe, thankfully); a field is set on fire; there's a question whether some valuable etchings have been sold (and replaced with replicas); there's blackmail; and a whole slew of motives swirling about. Kit is quick with his sketches and spotting the clues he captures in them--but Chief JIm Lang doesn't know Kit like Captain Tony Shand does and is more apt to view him with an eye of suspicion. After all, isn't odd that Kit's always on the spot when another body is discovered? Kit will have to work hard to convince Lang of his innocence and even harder to put the sketched clues together to identify the culprit. Especially if he doesn't want to become the killer's final victim.

There are a lot of things to like about this series. I love the drawings that accompany the stories and the fact that if I were better at spotting all the clues then I could have had solid evidence to justify my suspicions. Yes, I did spot the killer (after an initial miscalculation)--and most of the motive--but I missed the biggest clues in the sketches that would have supported my theory.] Barber and Schabelitz also provide terrific characters with interesting personalities and good interactions. The mystery itself is solid and all the clues are provided, as well as enough red herrings to muddy things nicely. 

My biggest complaint is Sherry. Not as a character--but as a narrator. I noted my dislike of Sherry's "Had-I-But-Knowning" in the previous review and it's still in evidence here (though toned down a bit). I really think we could do without it altogether and get rid of Sherry's first-person narration and we'd have a better book. I'm not a huge fan of first-person perspective in general and Sherry's perspective just doesn't sit well. You'd think since she's a newlywed and all that we'd get a lot more of Kit in this story than we do--after all, the book's conceit is based on his sketches. But other than the last few chapters and the places where it's necessary to bring him in so we can have another sketch, we don't see a lot of him. The first couple chapters he's there in name only. It's really a bit bizarre.

Don't think that means I didn't enjoy the book. I did. Quite a lot. It's a fun book and a good mystery despite my quibbles with the narrative voice. ★★★★

First line: Ezra's ghost, come back to haunt the Plateau!

Peter Plow is handsomer than any man has a right to be; that is, in a vigorous, reckless, half-ugly sort of way. (p. 21)

Last line: But, in time, that would come too.
********************

Death = 5 (four stabbed; one poisoned)

Portrait of a Nightingale

 Portrait of a Nightingale (2024) by Manda Collins
~Read by Gemma Dawson

Synopsis from Goodreads: Miss Penelope Monckton, just returned from nursing with Florence Nightingale’s in Crimea, has come to the country estate of one of the most scandalous men in England, Lord Rickarby—nicknamed Rakerby—to collect a bequest from his late wife, her childhood friend Millie. But something about Millie’s death doesn’t sit right with Penny, and she’s determined to use this visit to learn all she can about the events leading up to her dear friend’s death.

A celebrated painter, Joss, Lord Rickarby, knows Miss Penelope Monckton only from the letters she sent to his late wife during her time nursing in a war zone. But what he knows, he greatly admires. Since Millie’s death, however, he’s been under a cloud of suspicion that only grows darker with every new tabloid story—doubtless Miss Monckton believes the worst of him too. But when he finally meets the intrepid nurse, it’s while he’s lying on the forest floor bleeding from a gunshot wound from an unknown assailant.

With the shooting having cleared Joss as a suspect, Penny is now determined to work with the all too handsome earl to find out who killed Millie. But with every clue they uncover, a different picture of the killer begins to emerge—and it’s clear that instead of Millie’s circle during her marriage, the culprit comes from the world of her childhood—a childhood spent with Penny by her side. And as the healer and the hellion grow more entangled, the body count grows. Can this unlikely pair catch the killer before he puts a permanent end to their budding romance?

My Take:

Collins writes very interesting and engaging characters. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Penelope and Joss, as well as Joss's sister and, most particularly, his mother. These are characters that I would like to spend more time with, but I don't get the sense that Collins intends to make them part of a series.The mystery kept me interested, despite (as mentioned below) a reader who was not interesting except when characters were speaking. There were plenty of red herrings--enough that I was on wrong the track entirely. I went far enough afield that I'm not sure I would have come to the right conclusion even if the spoiler below had been handled properly. The plot was wrapped up nicely, though I'm not completely sold on the motive--especially since the culprit's instability on certain matters wasn't really established. ★★★ and 1/4

Just a few quibbles: ~Again, if there were as many progressive, independent women and supportive men running around in Victorian times as we've got in historical mysteries and romances, women would be much further ahead now than we are today. ~The element of coincidence is huge here. Almost too big to believe. ~Our reader seems to think the portions of the book that are not dialogue should be as boring and monotonous as possible. She's obviously capable of reading with energy and emotion because it comes into play whenever characters are speaking. But she makes a quite interesting mystery seem as dull as ditchwater. A bit of enthusiasm would go a long way to making the audio version more enjoyable. Fortunately the mystery captured my attention despite Dawson's best efforts to discourage me and I was caught up in trying to figure out who was trying to do in Lord Rickaby. ~This quibble is based on my preference for Golden Age mysteries and fair play. [spoiler coded in ROT13] TNQ ehyrf fnl gung gurer fubhyq or ab gjvaf be ybat-ybfg eryngvirf gung gur ernqre unfa'g orra nqrdhngryl cercnerq sbe. Eboreg (bhe ivyynva) fcevatf n arire-orsber-zragvbarq gjva ba Crarybcr (naq gur ernqre) va uvf pbasrffvba ng gur raq. Gurer'f ab jnl jr pbhyq unir svtherq bhg jub gur xvyyre ernyyl jnf.

First line: A shower of birds burst into flight when the shot rang out.

Last line/s: This time she kissed him and they were quiet for a good long while.

Deaths = 3 (one shot; one fell from height; one poisoned)

The Gaunt Stranger

 The Gaunt Stranger (The Ringer; 1925) by Edgar Wallace

Lewis Meister is a crooked lawyer. He represents criminals--for a steep price, usually a hefty percentage of whatever ill-gotten goods they've managed to get their sticky fingers on. And he isn't above "shopping" them to the authorities if he thinks it's in his best interests. But he's done it once too often. Henry Arthur Milton, known throughout the underworld as the Ringer, was Meister's partner in crime for a good while and they did quite well. Then Meister set him up and mismanaged his defense in such a way that he was sent to prison. Prison was never meant to hold the likes of the Ringer, though, and he escaped to Australia where he plotted his revenge. Because nobody shops the Ringer and gets away with it. Nobody. Just ask Toby the "nose" (police informant) who ratted on him once...oops, you can't. The Ringer introduced Toby to his favorite weapon, the knife, and Toby won't be ratting on anyone else. Ever. The Ringer is a master of disguise and, now, London is buzzing with the rumor that he's back in England and ready to mete out his own particular brand of justice to the crooked lawyer.  

Inspector Alan Wembury doesn't much care for Meister, but he cares for murder even less and is determined to foil the Ringer's plans to kill the lawyer. But it's hard to defend against a man who could be anybody...the Ringer's gift of disguise is that good. He's also got an added worry, the young woman whom he has loved since they were young is working for Meister (who gave her a job "out of the goodness of his heart" when her brother was sent to jail for robbery) and he's afraid of what the Ringer will do if she gets in the way of his plans.

The gaunt stranger is a mysterious figure haunting Flanders Lane where Meister lives. The stranger watches Meister. He watches Wembury and the division's doctor. He watches Mary Lenley. He watches everyone connected with the case. But who is he? And is he the Ringer or is he on the side of the angels?

One of Wallace's thrillers, we learn from Curtis Evans' excellent introduction that it was reworked into a stage play and a revised novel called The Ringer. There is plenty of suspense as we wait to see if the Ringer will succeed in his quest for vengeance and how many others he will kill along way. Since we know "who" the culprit is and what the crime will be, the only real mystery for the reader to try and solve is who, among the characters introduced, the Ringer really is. I'm pleased to say I figured that out--but didn't figure out the reverse of the coin (spoiler coded using ROT13) [Xabjvat gung gur Evatre jnf ABG gur tnhag fgenatre, V qvqa'g svther bhg jub gur fgenatre jnf--gb or ubarfg, V guvax Gur Tnhag Fgenatre vf n cbbe gvgyr, orpnhfr bapr V'q svtherq bhg gung gur gvgyr punenpgre vfa'g gur Evatre, V ernyyl qvqa'g cnl zhpu nggragvba gb uvz ng nyy.] The story is pretty standard fare from Wallace. My one complaint--even though this is a fairly short book, it seemed to take for-ev-er for the Ringer to really get busy. As it stands, it could easily have been a short story. There needed to be more real action in the 190-ish pages to warrant its length. Otherwise, good characters--I particularly liked Inspector Wembury. He's quite human and is willing to give Mary's brother a chance to make things right. ★★★

First line:  Flanders Lane, Deptford, is narrow and dingy.

Last line: He raised the glass to his lips and did not put it down until the enormous quantity had disappeared, and Alan watched him, fascinated.
******************

Deaths = 7 (one fell from height; one drowned; one hanged; three stabbed; one shot)

 ~~~This book was given to me as a review copy by Stark House in exchange for an honest review. All comments are my own and I have received no payment of any kind.

GAD Mystery Word of the Day: Gossamer

 

My new bookish meme for 2026: the Golden Age of Detection (GAD) Mystery Word of the Day. Whenever I find a word that I'm unfamiliar with--or shall we say not absolutely confident I know the exact meaning of, I'm going to actually take time to look it up and share it with mystery-lovers everywhere. 😊

Today's GAD Mystery Word of the Day: Gossamer [as used in the book*] (noun): Gossamer cloaks were lightweight, sheer garments often made from silk or lace. Often worn over dresses, they provided a sense of modesty while enhancing femininity.

She had on what is called a gossamer, which covered her from neck to toe, and on her head a hat wrapped all around with a blue veil. (That Affair Next Door ~Anna Katharine Green)

*I knew the basic meaning of gossamer, but hadn't come across gossamer as a garment before.

GAD Word of the Day: Ebullitions

 

My new bookish meme for 2026: the Golden Age of Detection (GAD) Mystery Word of the Day. Whenever I find a word that I'm unfamiliar with--or shall we say not absolutely confident I know the exact meaning of, I'm going to actually take time to look it up and share it with mystery-lovers everywhere. 😊

Today's GAD Mystery Word of the Day: Ebullitions (nount): sudden outburst of emotions or violence

"Have you read the horrid papers?" and "How is papa this morning?" and "What shall we do to save Howard?" now flew in rapid questions from their lips; and feeling that it was but natural that they should have their little say, I sat down in my most uncomfortable chair and waited for these first ebullitions to exhaust themselves, (from That Affair Next Door ~Anna Katharine Green)

That Affair Next Door

 That Affair Next Door (1897) by Anna Katharine Green

Synopsis (from the book blurb): Miss Amelia Butterworth prides herself on being an observer of human nature, especially of the people she sees every day from her usual spot at her front window--that is, until she witnesses the prelude to a ghastly murder. Late at night two people enter her neighbor's home, but only one leaves, The next morning a young woman is found dead, crushed beyond recognition beneath a cabinet. But her death was no accident--it soon comes to light that she was stabbed by a seemingly innocuous item: a hat pin.

Rife with social tension and mistaken identity, the messy case is assigned to veteran detective Ebenezer Gryce. He expects Miss Butterworth to demurely return home, but she was there at the beginning of this case and she intends to see it through to the end. Miss Butterworth is determined to solve the mystery before the detective, but what begins as a battle of the sexes soon turns into a fight for the ever-elusive truth.

Miss Butterworth is your standard nosy neighbor--not that she would admit it. But she misses nothing that happens outside her house and she's especially interested in the house next door which belongs to the Van Burnam family, a well-known and well-to-do. So, it isn't surprising that she just happens to look outside when a carriage pulls up to the house around midnight. And it isn't surprising that she's very interested--especially since the house has been closed up while the family is away. So, who on earth could these late-night visitors be and why don't they turn on any lights while they're there? Then man leaves--leaving the woman in total darkness. When there is no sign of life the next day, Miss Butterworth calls on the policeman doing his rounds to investigate. And when the police seem all too eager to fasten the guilt on the younger son of the family, Miss Butterworth sees it as no more than her duty to ensure that justice is done--even if i means going out late at night with her maid and investigating a Chinese laundry or playing nurse to an anonymous young woman or being called an old busybody.

This is quite a complicated story from the pen of the grandmother of American mysteries. We have everything from husband and wife conflict to missing jewelry to quick costume changes to mistaken identity. We have suspicion focusing on first one then another of the Van Burnam family and then a surprise twist ending that makes Miss Butterworth reconsider everything she thought she knew about the case--but she still manages to stay a few steps ahead of Gryce and the police. I certainly didn't spot the correct killer or motive. A clever early American mystery. ★★★★

First line: I am not an inquisitive woman, but when in the middle of a certain warm night in September, I heard a carriage draw up at the adjoining house and stop, I could not resist the temptation of leaving my bed and taking a peep through the curtain of my window.

Last line:  He has never lifted the veil from those hours, and he never will, but I would give much of the peace of mind which has lately come to me, to know what his sensations were, not only at that time, but when, on the evening after the murder, he opened the papers and read that the woman he had left for dead with her brain pierced by a hat-pin, had been found on that same floor crushed under a fallen cabinet; and what explanation he was ever able to make to himself for a fact so inexplicable.
*****************

Deaths = one stabbed

[finsiehd on 3/11/26]

GAD Mystery Word of the Day: Cognomen

 

My new bookish meme for 2026: the Golden Age of Detection (GAD) Mystery Word of the Day. Whenever I find a word that I'm unfamiliar with--or shall we say not absolutely confident I know the exact meaning of, I'm going to actually take time to look it up and share it with mystery-lovers everywhere. 😊

Today's GAD Mystery Word of the Day: Cognomen (noun) 1. surname; especially the third of usually three names of an ancient Roman 2. nickname or epithet

My father, who was a shrewd man of the old New England type, said more times than I am years old (which is not saying it as often as some may think) that Araminta (the name I was christened by, and the name you will find in the Bible record, though I sign myself Amelia, and insist upon being addressed as Amelia, being, as I hope, a sensible woman and not the piece of antiquated sentimentality suggested by the former cognomen)....

From That Affair Next Door by Anna Katharine Green

A Lady's Guide to Mischief & Mayhem

 A Lady's Guide to Mischief & Mayhem (2020) by Manda Collins

England 1865: Lady Katherine Bascomb is a rather unconventional Victorian woman. She not only owns a newspaper, thanks to her husband's early demise, but she also (gasp!) writes columns. When a serial killer who has been dubbed the "Commandments Killer" by the press goes uncaptured by Scotland Yard after four murders, she and her newly found friend Caroline "Caro" Hardcastle decide to cowrite a column to investigate the latest murder. A column they plan to develop into practical advice for ladies about how to stay informed and protect themselves. They realize that not only has the killer been leaving cards with one of the Ten Commandments on the bodies, but it can be proved that each victim was "guilty" of breaking that particular commandment. Their investigation finds a young barmaid whom the Yard managed to miss interviewing and who may have seen the killer. The ladies write their article and the Yard immediately finds a man matching the description and arrests him....

Except Inspector Andrew Eversham, who was relieved of duty on the case because his superior was upset that mere reporters found what he couldn't, doesn't believe the right man is behind bars. And neither does Lady Bascombe, for that matter. When they meet (in the fracas that follows the new inspectors announcement to the press), he's understandable upset with her over what he regards as interference. She points out to him that it wouldn't have been necessary if he'd done his job. They part on less than friendly terms.

Lady Bascombe is invited to her friend Lord Valentine's country estate for house party--she plans on enlisting his aid to get the Yard to investigate the murders more thoroughly (knowing that the men in charge will listen to a titled man before listening to a woman's "fancies" about justice). She doesn't expect irrefutable proof that the wrong man has been jailed to appear on a country walk near the estate. But that's just what happens and Katherine is the one to find it. Another murder and another card with a commandement. And guess who the Yard sends to investigate? Inspector Eversham. Those two are sure to lock horns....unless they realize that they're on the same side and actually....the other person really isn't that annoying. In fact, they're kind of attractive....

First observation: If there really had been as many progressive/headstrong women determined to live outside the conventions in the 18th and 19th centuries as historical mystery writers have strewn about, then there would have been a social revolution much sooner with more far-reaching results. Especially, if there had also been as many men who were so willing to support these women. I mean, they would have been tripping over each other all the time. 

Now that I've gotten that out of the way....This is a fun, nicely plotted mystery. Did I spot the culprit? Yes (Qualified, yes, that is. Can't explain or that would be a spoiler.). Did I completely figure it out? No. And that's satisfying. I figured out just enough to be able to pat myself on the back and enough was left for the author to explain that I got a bit of surprise. I like Katherine and Andrew together and Caro and Lord Valentine are good supporting characters. It's hard to believe that a mystery featuring serial killings could be cozy and done with a light touch, but Collins achieves this. There are more in this series and I've already put the next one on hold at the library. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: If Sir Horace did not desist from his asinine talk about what constituted appropriate conversation for a lady, she would do one of them an injury, thought Lady Katherine Bascomb, hiding her scowl behind her fan.

Last line: Eversham was sure he was up to the challenge.
*****************

Deaths =  10 (six stabbed; four natural)

An Affair to Remember

 An Affair to Remember: The Remarkable Love Story of Katharine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy (1996) by Christopher Andersen

(From the dust jacket): She was a living legend, a symbol of fierce independence who defied convention to live life on her own terms. He was the greatest screen actor of all time, the personification of the rock-solid American male. During their twenty-six years together, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy mesmerized the world with their famous on-screen chemistry like no other couple. Yet their private love affair--which ended only with Tracy's death in 1967--remained shrouded in secrecy. Now, as Hepburn turns ninety, international best-selling author Christopher Andersen draws on his own extensive conversations with Kate--as well as those who knew the legendary duo intimately--to paint the first full, inspiring portrait of these beloved American icons and the life they shared. As Andersen did in Jack and Jackie, in An Affair to Remember he reveals the strength, wit, and dignity that characterized that historic partnership--and offers new revelations, including: 

New information about Hepburn's pre-Tracy affairs with Howard Hughes and others./The five family suicides that haunted Kate her entire life--and ultimately shaped her approach to the man she loved./Tracy's Other Women--from Joan Crawford to Loretta Young to Gene Tierney and Grace Kelly; why Kate never forgave Ingrid Bergman for having a secret romance with Spencer./The true, shocking extent of Tracy's alcoholism and undiagnosed depression; his erratic, often violent behavior, and how Kate bravely tried to tame the demons that drove him./How J. Edgar Hoover came close to destroying their careers./Never-before-told details of their physical relationship--including how Kate helped him to overcome impotency./The real reason why Tracy would not divorce his wife Louise, and marry Kate--and what Kate would have said had he asked her.

An Affair to Remember is, first and foremost, a poignant love story--the often funny, sometimes heartbreaking, always captivating portrait of a Great American Romance.

My take: While I learned a great deal about Spencer Tracy and a little bit about Katharine Hepburn (I've read two previous biographies about Kate)--and those things were very interesting, I didn't feel like the book lived up to its billing. Nearly the entire first half is spent giving us the biographies of these two fascinating people. Then the real focus on the on the relationship begins. But even then, a fair number of the remaining pages are devoted to them separately (Kate off on the East Coast working in Shakespeare or in the Congo filming The African Queen; Spencer fretting away on the West Coast or working on his separate projects...or more often off on a drunken bender). 

I'm not sorry I read this--as I mentioned I learned a lot about Spencer Tracy that I didn't know and I did learn more about their relationship than I already knew. But...it's not quite the book as advertised. I expected more of a spotlight on the love affair than we got. Spencer and Kate have quite an interesting dynamic--and looking back on the relationship from 2026, there are many aspects that are troubling. Particularly when you consider what an independent woman Kate was in all other aspects. Quite an interesting book for those who are fans of either (or both) star or who are interested in the golden age of movie making. Just know that the love affair does not really get top billing, despite the credits. ★★★

First line: Lying on the floor, her head resting on the down pillow she had brought in from her bedroom, Katharine Hepburn pulled the blind back, slid the patio door open a crack, and breathed in the California night air.

Last line: Theirs was an affair to remember.

52 Book Club: Mystery Genre Challenge

 

The 52 Book Club: Mystery Genre Challenge

As you all know, I am a mystery junkie. If we were only allowed to read one genre for the rest of our lives, then mystery would definitely be my category. So...when The 52 Book Club dropped their latest addition to the Club's family of challenges, I couldn't resist joining in. If you love mysteries or challenges...or both, then check out the details at the link above and join me for some detecting fun.

There is no time limit on this one, so in order to claim it for my 2026 challenge scoreboard, I'm committing to ten prompts or the equivalent of one chapter.

Chapter One: The Crime

1. A Classic Mystery: The Gaunt Stranger by Edgar Wallace (3/16/26)

2. Opening Line Hooks You: Murder Enters the Picture by Willetta Ann Barber & R. F. Schabelitz (3/20/26)

3. An "Impossible" Crime: The Murder Wheel by Tom Mead (4/1/26)

4. Murder Disguised as Accident:

5. Missing Person:

6. Cozy Mystery:

7. Unsettling Read:

8. Title Includes "Death" or "Dead":

9. White-Collar Crime:

10. Humorous Mystery:

Chapter Two: The Detective

11. "Brilliant" Detective Trope:

12. Amateur Sleuth:

13. Antagonist Toys with Detective:

14. Includes a Podcaster, Writer or Journalist:

15. Crime-Solving Duo:

16. Detective Has to Confront Their Own Past:

17. Iconic Detective:

18. Police Procedural:

19. Detective on the Cover:

20. Title Starts with 1st Letter of Author's Last Name:

Chapter Three: The Suspects

21. Serial Killer:

22. Unreliable Narrator: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

23. Victim with Lots of Enemies:

24. Features Small Town Secrets:

25. From Multiple Suspects' Perspectives:

26. New-to-You Author: Consequences of Sin by Clare Langley-Hawthorne (3/21/26)

27. Crime of Passion:

28. Character Wrongly Accused

29. Set by a Lake:

30. Character With Memory Gaps:

Chapter Four: The Clues

31. Missing Murder Weapon:

32. Solved with Forensic Science:

33. Mystery/Other Genre: Portrait of a Nightingale by Manda Collins (3/17/26)

34. Snowy Setting:

35. Hidden Rooms/Secret Passages: A Lady's Guide to Mischief & Mayhem by Manda Collins (3/7/26)

36. Book You Can't Put Down:

37. Includes Inheritance or Will:

38. "I Know What You Did Last Summer":

39. Published Before 1960:

40. Has Flashbacks:

Chapter Five: The Reveal

41. "Howdunit" or "Whydunit":

42. Features a Courtroom Scene: That Affair Next Door by Anna Katharine Green (3/11/26)

43. From a Completed Series:

44. Ending That Surprised You:

45. More Than 4 Stars on Goodreads:

46. House on Cover:

47. Collection of True Crime Mysteries:

48. Recommended by an Author on This Challenge:

49. Suspects Gathered for Big Reveal:

50. Published This Year: