The Case of Cabin 13

 The Case of Cabin 13 (1999) by Sam McCarver

Synopsis (from the back of the book): Passengers are dying on the White Star Lines transatlantic ocean liners. Three mysterious suicides, on three different ships--all in first-class cabins numbered 13. And with the maiden voyage of their newest ship imminent--an incomparably lavis vessel called the Titanic--the cruise line can't afford a fourth. With the police stumped, Professor John Darnell, the world's first and only "paranormal detective," may be their last hope of debunking rumors of a murderous ghost. Soon the famed skeptic has agreed to be the next occupant of cabin 13--and he's sure it's no spirit he's after.

As the world's largest and purportedly safest ship sets sail, neither Darnell's sixth sense nor his investigative skills can protect him from the twin perils he is about to face. Can the American-born Englishman possibly survive the deadly forces of both nature and man? Because somewhere on the icy sea, a killer is lurking...

Okay...I've got to get a couple of things off my chest at the outset. First there's our hero, the "first and only 'paranormal detective.'" Really? I believe (if we're sticking to fictional characters) that Sheridan Le Fanu's Dr. Martin Hesselius (from the 1870s) and William Hope Hodgson's Thomas Carnacki (first written of in 1910) would like a word. And then, like the historical mysteries that are littered with strong-minded women and the men who love and encourage them, the Titanic seems to be bursting with fictional detectives who are hot on the trail of murderers and who manage to find one of the limited spots on a lifeboat to live to tell the tale. As I said in my review of the Holmes pastiche which finds Holmes and Watson onboard the ill-fated ship:

...if all the fictional people who have sailed on the Titanic and lived to tell the tale had actually been there and done that....well, none of the real, live people who survived the tragedy could actually have made it. There wouldn't be room on the survivor roll call. 

Now that we've got those two quibbles out of the way...I am enthusiastic about this take on a mystery set on the Titanic as well as the mystery itself. The plot has a few flaws (like Darnell not actually deducing who the killer is and only finding out when the culprit sneaks into his cabin to see if the poison in his sherry had done the job), but Darnell is a charming character with a lot of promise and potential. The motive for the crimes make sense and could have been deduced, so there's a definite attempt at fair play here. It was interesting to see that McCarver gave some of the reported actions of Lightoller and Ismay to Darnell and the killer respectively, but it was done in good faith to service the fictional murder plot. This is a good debut to a series that has five more entries. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: Professor John Darnell smiled as he poked his way along through the clammy opaqueness of the thick, moist fog, using his black umbrella as a walking stick.

Last line: "I think you know," he said, smiling into her eyes, "which cabin we won't take."
****************

Deaths = 18 (two overboard; one poisoned one shot; one natural; thirteen drowned)

Spellbound

 Spellbound (apa The House of Dr. Edwardes; 1927) by Francis Beeding (John Leslie Palmer & Hilary St. George Saunders)

This is the novel that the Hitchcock movie featuring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck was adapted from. It revolves around a "House of Rest" (for which, read a mental asylum) which serves as a haven for the imbalanced rich and a place where Dr. Edwardes, who owns the castle on the on mountain, can study interesting cases without worrying about money. The house, a literal fortress, sits in a circle or rock surrounded on three sides by the sheer slope of a desolate mountain in Switzerland. When night comes, it is a great crouching black hulk which the townspeople claim is the home of the Devil himself.

Constance Sedwick is a recently qualified doctor. Dr. Edwardes is an old friend of her father's and Edwardes offers her the position of his assistant. But before she arrives, Dr. Edwardes was sent away by his own doctor for a much needed rest and she finds a young Dr. Murchison, a doctor brought in from England, in charge of the asylum. At first all seems well, but Murchison has some odd quirks--reading books about the Devil and flinching when the shadow of a cross falls on him. There is also the funeral of one of the attendants at the hospital--murdered by the newest inmate. And a tale told by the villagers of blood which appears on the white stone in the black wood whenever the Devil is about. 

Things get worse...the inmates, who were fairly docile and benign in their own delusions begin to act in strange, more menacing ways. They talk about a wedding to come and begin patrolling around Constance's room at night..."to protect her." But she believes there is danger coming. Can she escape it--and take the innocent with her?

A very interesting read. I haven't actually seen the Hitchcock film (one of several of his films that I have yet to see), so I didn't have any preconceptions going in. Quite suspenseful, though I was a little disappointed that Constance didn't catch on to what was going on a little sooner. The characters are great--particularly the patients at the asylum. Beeding does a great job making each one distinct so it's easy to keep track of who is who. 

This is very much a "how will the heroine get out of this?" and "will the villain get away with it?" kind of story rather than a whodunnit. It's pretty obvious (to the reader, if not to Constance) pretty quick what's going on here...it's just a matter of how will everything be resolved. Now I want to go watch the movie. ★★★★

1st Line (Prologue): Dearest Helen, How delightful to get your letter, which we found waiting for us at Thonon.

John is an angel, but I shouldn't care to take a honeymoon with anybody; so don't be rash, and if ever you feel in the consenting mood, which so often happens, pull yourself together and think it over. Fortunately, John and I agree about all the most important things. What I mean is that we both like to sleep with the window open. (p. 7)

1st Line (1st Chapter): Constance Sedgwick, M.D., aged twenty-six, was staring at herself critically in the long mirror.

Fortunately for Doctor Edwardes, lunacy is not confined to the poorer classes; and he had treated in his time more than one poor gentleman who, if ha had not been sitting so comfortably in Chateau Landry, might have been sitting rather less at his ease, though possibly quite as much at home, in the House of Lords. (p. 13)

Last Line: I must stop now or I shall be losing the post. We are moving on next week to Bordighera and Alaisso. My best love to you all, Always your affectionate Susan"
******************

Deaths =6 (two fell from height; two stabbed; one natural; one in war)

IU Summer Reading Challenge

 

For the first time ever, Indiana University, my alma mater and current employer, is hosting a summer reading challenge. The challenge runs from June 1 - Sept 1, 2026. And you know me--I can't resist a reading challenge. So here I go...

To complete the challenge, you can go for the usual across, down, or diagonal bingo OR you can complete the IU trident symbol (red squares) OR you can try to cover the card. I'm currently working on the trident. 

1. The Harlot of St. Cecelia's by Darcy Graves (Debut Novel)

2. A Case of Life & Limb by Sally Smith (Historical Fiction Novel)

3. Spellbound by Francis Beeding (One-Word Title)

4. The Case of Cabin 13 by Sam McCarver (Book with Number in Title)
5. 

A Case of Life & Limb

 A Case of Life & Limb (2025) by Sally Smith

It's the Christmas season in the Temple and even the King's Counsellors are feeling festive with the dusting of snow. It's time for a break in court appearances, family gatherings, and presents in pretty packages. But the gaily-wrapped that shows up on Sir William Waring's doorstep doesn't exactly contain glad tidings of great joy. A desiccated severed hand is wrapped up in the tissue paper within...with a card that says: Can I give you a hand?

After Sir Gabriel Ward's success at tracking down a murder just a few months ago, Waring turns to him again to discreetly investigate the origins of the grisly package. Gabriel would much rather spend his time preparing for a particularly difficult libel case brought by the beautiful and beloved music hall star Topsy Tillotson against the notorious tabloid newspaper, the Nation's Voice. The newspaper had published a story that Topsy, known as "the unconquerable," had been truly conquered by the Honorable Frederick Sewell. She swears she doesn't know the man, has never even met him, and that the story is a filthy lie. And she wants Gabriel to represent her in the case against the tabloid. He has quite a job ahead of him to prove their case. And now he has to divide his time on a hunt for the practical joker with a morbid sense of humor.

But when more packages arrive and the shock of receiving one kills one of Gabriel's oldest friends withing the Inner Temple, he knows he must devote more time to the investigation. It becomes quite evident that someone has a deep-set grudge against the members of the Temple and doesn't mind if a few people die while they exact their revenge. Gabriel teams up with his new-found friend Constable Wright of the City of London Police to bring the culprit to justice...all while finding a way to salvage the reputation of his client in the libel case.

This was a terrific follow-up to Gabriel's debut in A Case of Mice & Murder. Often the second book in a series is weaker than the debut, but not so in this case. Gabriel has gained confidence in his sleuthing skills (which spills over into his conduct of the libel case--out-performing the histrionic Sir Edward Hopkins and winning over the jury with flair and emotion). His relationship with Constable Wright has also progressed and the two make an even better sleuthing team than before. I enjoyed watching them investigate the mysteries--both together and separately--and particularly enjoyed Wright's dishing out a bit of extra justice when Sewell receives what seems to be a mere hand-slap. 

This is a particularly satisfying mystery--even if I did see one part of the ending coming. But I have to say that I found the development of Gabriel's character even more satisfying. Smith is gradually widening his experience--the man has had a set pattern to his life and few social interactions or commitments beyond those necessitated by his profession. Constable Wright is becoming a good friend and the way a certain cat by the name of Delphinium insinuates herself into his routine is delightful. I am eager to see where the next Case takes him. ★★★★ and 1/2

First line: No hint of the horror to come was discernible in the pure snow.

"Nothing is horrible beyond description," said Gabriel, his inner lawyer--ever alert to inaccuracy of vocabulary--challenged this observation. "Words are all we have. Everything is describable, however terrible. Look at Medea; look at the Book of Revelation; look, for that matter, at Dracula." (Gabriel Ward; p. 10)

Last lines: Really, he thought to himself disagreeably, sometimes I do wonder about Sir Gabriel Ward KC. Now he has taken to walking about the Tempe with that objectionable cat at his heels. A lawyer of his seniority and distinction. One of our King's Counsell! In public! I shall have to speak to him.
*******************

Deaths = 4 (two natural; one hit on head; one strangled)

The Harlot of St. Cecelia's

 The Harlot of St. Cecelia's (2026) by Darcy Graves

Synopsis (from the back of the book): London, 1923. American expat librarian Eden Brior thinks things are bad when she is accidentally locked overnight in the St. Cecelia's Library vault with the charming and unreliable playboy Simon Cross. Then she emerges to find the body of his estranged wife, a French actress, draped over a chair upstairs.

Detective Inspector William Garrett is quiet, perceptive, and fairly certain he already has his man. He tells Eden to go home, read a book, and leave the detecting to the professionals But how can she?

Racing to clear their names before Garrett closes the case, Eden follows the truth from the bright footlights of the London stage through the sleek drawing rooms of Jazz Age society, and secrets that someone will kill to keep buried.

Eden believes Garrett has decided that she and Cross may be in cahoots and this leads to her seeking answers on her own. When Simon's sister Meg also finds Garrett's investigation to be too focused on her brother, she and Eden join forces to out-sleuth the sleuths. And it's amazing what suspects and witnesses will tell ladies that they'd never dream of telling the police...But when their queries put them too close on the murderer's trail, they find that s/he isn't afraid to kill again if necessary to keep their secrets safe.

This is a marvelous debut novel in a new historical series. My favorite historical time period runs from the Victorian era through World War II and this look at the years between the wars was a great treat. The characters are vivid and well-defined and even though we've just met, I feel like I've known Eden and Meg, Simon and Inspector Garrett for ages. Eden and Meg make an excellent amateur detective team and really steal the show from Garrett (if he's intended to the be the leading recurring character). Not that the inspector doesn't have his charm. One definitely sympathizes with his trials and tribulations with his less competent subordinates (and superior, if the truth be told). One gets the feeling that he could really shine if there were better support amongst his colleagues. I thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward with great anticipation for future installments! 

First line: There was very nearly a murder in the Library that Thursday afternoon.

Last line: when he reached the end of the street Garrett turned and looked back, but she had returned to her garden.
********************

Deaths = 3 (one strangled; one natural; one shot)

[finished on 6/1/26--but vacation delayed my review]

 ~~~This book was given to me as a review copy by the author, Darcy Graves in exchange for an honest review. All comments (except the quoted synopsis--in italics) are my own and I have received no payment of any kind.

The Man Who Didn't Fly

 The Man Who Didn't Fly (1955) by Margot Bennett

Four men--Joseph Ferguson, Maurice Reid, Harry Walters, and Morgan Price--decide to book a private plane for Dublin. They all claim to have business in Ireland and plan to come back to their family and friends at home. But those who saw the plane start its westward journey across England tell of a fireball that plunged into the Irish Sea. But when an investigation is mounted, the police find that only three of the men joined the pilot in that disastrous journey. The difficulty is finding out which man didn't fly. No one who saw the men--from the bus driver who took passengers to the airport to the barman at the small airport to the men who helped get the plane ready can swear to which men were actually there. There were too many other people milling about and there was no reason to take special notice of any of them. The only things the detectives assigned to the case have to go on is a half-heard conversation that mentions Australia...or maybe South Africa and the fact that at least one of the men might have smoked and might have had a silver cigarette case.

It is odd that the man who didn't fly doesn't come forward. Did he somehow arrange for the plane to go down? If so, how? And why? The investigation comes to center on the family left behind--listening to their version of what happened in the days leading up to the plane's take-off. Other clues crop up in the conversations and eventually the police are able to fit all the pieces of the jigsaw together.

I have to say that I'm not finding the revival of Margot Bennett stories to be very satisfying. I wasn't nearly as impressed with her The Widow of Bath as some of my Golden Age Mystery friends (see linked review) and The Man Who Didn't Fly was just as disappointing. This time around the characters are not nearly as well-drawn (though they are just as un-engaging). I had a hard time keeping all the men straight (Was "Uncle Joe" the one who might have been in the plane or was it Hester's father?). And, speaking of Hester--she may not be "bitter, dreary, and cruel" as I have described the heroine of Bath, but she's definitely not one of the shining lights of GAD leading ladies. Her relationship, such as it is, with Harry is not at all believable. Why on earth both she and her step-mother (?--I'm not really sure about the relationships of all the women in the case either) are both attracted to him is a mystery to me. And the rest of the women are just as unimpressive. Added to the lack of interesting characters is a lack of interesting detection. We've taken what could have been a very engaging mystery (the premise really hooked me when I purchased this copy) and dragged it out through an endless parade of "here's what happened--in excrutiating detail--on the Monday before they all left" and "here's what happened on Tuesday"...rinse and repeat for each day leading up to the plane crash. Even breaking up the recollections with other bits of investigation didn't help me. By time things picked up and we were finally getting some action and interesting discoveries I was too numb to even care. ★★

But--my friend Kate over at Cross Examining Crime gave this a glowing review--so your mileage may vary.

First line: At eleven in the morning the aeroplane began its westward flight across England; shining like snow under is blue sky; losing its glitter in the thick white clouds; passing, heard but unseen, over the Welsh hills.

"Would you be willing to say that one of them wore a hat?"
"No. and I'll tell you why. Because I didn't see. and, if I did see, I didn't remember. And if I didn't remember, it was because I was thinking of something else. And, if I was thinking of something else, it was the three thirty at Lingfield. And if I was thinking of the three thirty at Lingfield, there's no law against it." (Police detective, Mr. Crewe; p.4)

He is a poet in words. That is now of no importance. I am a poet of money. Words! We have too many words. Word poets talk all the time of love and death. People fall in love and they die and no amount of poetic advice has ever helped them to do either of those things more successfully." (Joe Ferguson; p. 55)

"Let me try curling my lip. Do you suppose when people curl their lips it's convex or concave?" She went to the glass over the mantlepiece. "It looks queer both ways. If I curl it up towards my nose it is worse, don't you think? People in those books must look odd most of the time." (Prudence Wade; p. 116)

Last line: She kissed him and there was nothing left of Harry, except a small handful of poems for the anthologies.
*****************

Deaths = 5 (four airplane crash; one shot)

June Reading By the Numbers Reviews

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

June Virtual Mount TBR Reviews

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

June Vintage Scavenger Hunt Review

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

June Mount TBR Reviews

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

White Orchids

 White Orchids (1935) by Grace Livingston Hill

Camilla Chrystie, in a mad rush to retrieve medicine vital for her ailing mother's recovery, manages to avoid serious injury when she becomes involved in an automobile accident. Her dilapidated "flivver"? Not so much

...a great truck came smashing down the crossroad, full power, striking the little flivver with a mighty impact, neatly removing a wheel, and sending the car spinning straight into the air in a series of somersaults. It landed in the opposite ditch with crumpled fenders, broken bumpers, a twisted axle, and a fatal injury to its internal organs.

Fortunately for Camilla, a handsome, pleasant young man in a big shining car comes to the rescue. He takes her to pick up the medicine (secretly arranging for full repairs to the broken car) and speeds her home in time to save her mother. The privileged Jeffrey Wainwright has never met anyone like Camilla--with her simple faith and her loving devotion to her mother. She and her mother don't have much of the world's goods, but they do have love for each other and a peace that he can't understand. Jeffrey's world is made up of fancy parties, glamorous women, and mother who may care for him, but who has remained distant from the time he was brought up by nannies. He doesn't quite understand what the Chrysties have, but he feels drawn to it...and to Camilla.

The night he rescued Camilla, he was supposed to be going to a dinner party hosted by his girlfriend--or the one he thinks is girlfriend (though she doesn't act too attached to him). He's been having misgivings and Camilla's accident gave him the excuse he needed to give Stephanie's party a miss and he gives Camilla's mother the white orchids he'd intended to take to Stephanie. Camilla is also drawn to this man and they have a dinner together--but she winds up telling him that they are from two different worlds. He thinks she's talking about social and financial standing, but she means something far deeper. And, if he can't find a way to bridge the gap, he'll lose this sweet woman forever. 

Stephanie, who hates to lose anything she considers hers, does everything she can to make sure he forgets Camilla....or at least can't find her. When Jeffrey has to accompany his mother to Florida, Stephanie trails along to remind Jeff of her charms and while they're there she arranges with her man of business (for she's wealthy too) for the Chrysties to be moved out of their house and the street itself to be bulldozed for a city works building. [Amazing what money can accomplish.] And she doesn't even mind footing the bill for moving expenses and dishing out a bonus (anonymously, of course) if they move quickly.

So...when Jeffrey discovers that faith will bring him into the same world as Camilla and rushes home to let her know that they now share the same values, he can't believe she's gone. And every person he thinks could help him find her is either MIA as well or has died in his absence. It's as if everything is conspiring to keep them apart. Amazingly enough, it's white orchids that will bring them together in the end.

This is another of GLH's sweet Christian romances. I read this before when I was on a Christian romance binge (back in the 80s) and don't remember it as a favorite. But I must say, I really like Jeffrey's integrity--even before he found his faith--and the way he jumps in to help Camilla and her mother early in the story. I also enjoyed the thread with Camilla and her coworker, a young woman who has had no loving influence (like Camilla's mother) to help her know how one should conduct themself in an office environment. Camilla takes the girl under her wing and helps her grow in confidence and character. Of course, it wouldn't be a GLH story without a happy ending and we get one here. A nice story with a good message. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: The light flashed Red and Camilla jammed on her brakes.

Last line: But the bridal bouquet was of white orchids!

Book Challenge by Erin 25.0

 

BCBE 25.0 

It's the Silver Edition of the book challenge sponsored by Erin. So, a lot of the prompts have suitable themes, as you can see.

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

The challenge runs from July 1, 2026 - October 31, 2026. You submit your book list prior to beginning the challenge. Exchanges are accepted for the first round, but not in the bonus round (announced later). No books started before 12 a.m. on July 1 or finished after 11:59 p.m. on October 31 will count. (We live in different time zones--follow according to your own time zone.) Each book must be at least 200 pages long. Audio books are fine too. Read one book for each category. For full details see Erin's page on Facebook (link above). You will need to join the private group to view.

Freebie: Winds of Evil by Arthur W. Upfield [256 pages]

Book set in country different from one you reside in:

Dekok & the Sombre Nude by A. C. Baantjer (Netherlands) [232 pages]

Book #2, #5, #20, or #25 in a series:

Blotto, Twinks & the Dead Dowager Duchess by Simon Brett [211 pages]

A book with the word two or five or twenty-five in title:

Two Bronze Pennies by Chris Nickson [215 pages]

Book with author whose name is Silver, cover font is silver, or "silver" is in title:

Death of a Harvard Freshman by Victoria Silver [232 pages]

Award-winning book from the last 25 years: 

Dandy Gilver & an Unsuitable Day for Murder by Catriona McPherson (Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel 2012) [290 pages]

Book where main character is 25 years old/early adulthood

Beverly Gray's Return by Clair Blank [251 pages]

Book originally published 1925 or 2025 or 25 years ago (2001):

The Charteris Mystery by A. Fielding (1925) [232 pages]

Read one of 300+ books Erin has read for BCBE: 

Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart [408 pages]

Book about a book club:

A Catered Book Club Murder by Isis Crawford [336 pages]

The Six Iron Spiders

 The Six Iron Spiders (1942) by Phoebe Atwood Taylor

Asey Mayo has arrived at his Cape Cod home for two days of leave from his war work at the Porter tank plant. He's expecting a little rest and relaxation. What he gets is mass confusion from start to finish. He had sent a telegram to his cousin/housekeeper Jennie warning her of his arrival and requesting a ride home. No one meets him at the station and he has to hitchhike and walk home. When he gets to his house, it looks like a bunch of lunatics have taken over, with his cousin as the chief looney. Splints and bandages are being wielded on a dummy. Everybody is zipping in and out of the rooms on mysterious errands. His friend Doc Cummings stops him from going in--telling him that he'll only be recruited for First Aid treatment and other entertainments that he wants no part of. 

Before Asey can make up his mind about that, Jennie blows a whistle and the entire gang comes rushing out of the house--mounting bicycles, jumping into cars, and even starting up a horse-drawn wagon. They're off on a "Problem"--a mock accident at a surprise (to all but Jennie) location. And they all have to get there by whatever means they can as quickly as they can. Now that the coast is clear, Asey and Doc get into the house in search of supper for the weary traveler. But instead of dinner, they find Philemon Mundy, one of the First Aid group, dead in the buttery from a bash on the head. He's apparently been laid out by an iron "spider" (a cast iron skillet). And, of course, New England's answer to Sherlock Holmes, will have to find out who killed him and why the body was stashed in Asey's larder.

Winds up that there may be a few folks with reason to get Mundy out of the way. He'd recently come to the area and already had his fingers in several of the pies. Perhaps he stepped on one too many toes. Even Jennie had been known to have words with him. But were any of the toes crumpled hard enough to warrant murder? What follows is one of the most convoluted pieces of detection I've come across in a long time...and it's full of folks shouting at one another (generally not in anger) and not letting other folks get a word in edgewise (even as the shouter is demanding said other folks to answer them). Doc Cummings shouts at Asey--because he thinks Asey's not telling him everything. Lieutenant Hanson shouts at pretty much everybody. Asey even "shouts" (though in a much quieter way) at Doc and Hanson and a few of the other characters. The mystery might have been solved a bit quicker if people had just been allowed to talk...

I find with Taylor's books (more so in her Leonidas Witherall series) that there is a definite B movie feel to a great many of them. With all the rushing about and people talking at cross purposes and some of the over-the-top characters, like Tiny Hazard, the large, feminist woman in search of a man, I can picture this as movie in the line of an Abbott and Costello film. This makes for great fun and much confusion and it definitely makes it difficult for the reader to keep track of the players...or the clues...or the motives. If you're looking for a fast read with a lot of fun and don't mind not being able to solve the mystery before Asey tells you all about it, then you'll enjoy this one.

One side note--this is one of few mysteries written during the war years that makes a great deal of the home front war effort. It's played for laughs, but we do get to see what folks were doing--clothing drives, learning First Aid, organizing rescue parties, etc. 

 ★★★★

First line: Asey Mayo heard the thin ice coating of the puddles crack under his feet as he dashed along the lane in the fruitless pursuit of his best gray felt hat, which capered like a chamois just beyond the reach of his outstretched hand.

"Hanson, in your vast an' varied experience, has it ever been the rule for bodies to disappear from the place where you found 'em? No, it ain't! It ain't been my experience either," Asey said. "The doc an' I figgered that if someone'd gone to all the trouble of leavin' Mundy in my buttery, then that was the place where they meant to leave him, an' the place where they meant him to be found. It never for a minute entered our heads that someone'd fly in through a keyhole an' whisk him away." (p. 84)

"I suppose she's been reading the back of the First Aid book again. I don't think it's sensible to read the back of any book till you come to it, do you? I mean, I think you should take things as they come. Father always reads the ends of mystery stories first, and I don't think it's fair." (Tiny Hazard; p.178)

Last line: "It's because I can't hardly wait to get back to the peace an' quiet of the Porter tank plant!"
*******************

Deaths = two hit on head

The Buttercup Case

 The Buttercup Case (1958) by Frances Crane (#22)

Pat Abbott has just wrapped up a case in New Orleans and his old friend, Captain Bill Jonas invites Pat and his wife Jean to join him at his little get-away spot--cabins on the plantation of Etienne Lamont. The three are included in a lavish dinner birthday party planned for Etienne's wife, Stella. The other guests include Etienne's sister Suzanne, his daughter Anne, Anne's beau Mark Mason, a sister-in-law Crystal, and the local doctor, Dr. Dick Cox. But before anyone can have a bite of the delicious southern meal, Etienne's sister Suzanne dies most dramatically. Both Jonas's and Abbott's detective instincts are aroused and Bill draws the ire of the Lamont family by insisting on an autopsy since the symptoms look like poison to him. Winds up he's right...but it's snake poison and Suzanne loved to wander through plantation looking for plants for her garden and just might have been bitten. 

Despite the family's antagonism towards anyone "snooping" into their affairs, neither Jonas nor Abbott can resist investigating and they discover several family skeletons hidden in the antebellum closets. There's Etienne's missing brother Jack--the black sheep of the family who is wanted by the FBI (and whose wife Crystal suspects is back in the neighborhood), Crystal herself, whom the Lamont family loathes and who helped Jack run through his inheritance like water, Dora Lindley, Dr. Cox's nurse who worships the ground Doctor walks on and who loathes the Lamont family for reasons not quite clear, a deaf-mute family retainer by the name of Frenchy who looks an awful lot like Etienne's great-grandfather, and Marie-Laure, an old servant to the Lamont family, who paints in her spare time and whose latest masterpiece seems to hold clues to recent events.

Things really hot up when both Frenchy and the missing Jack wind up killed and Marie is attacked in her own cabin. Her latest painting is also stolen and burned. What does the old woman know and why won't she talk? Even Pat, at his most charming, can't get her to tell everything she knows. It's an uphill battle for the detectives to discover the motive behind the killings and to unmask the killer--but Pat Abbott gets there in the end.

Two Crane mysteries in a row where Pat Abbott is asked by at least one person involved to investigate and then everyone (including the persons who do the asking) resents his detecting ways and wants him to leave. It's really quite tiresome. And just about everyone in this one shouts at him at some point--Bill Jonas shouts that the Lamonts are his friends, so stop making them mad. Etienne Lamont shouts and keeps insisting that Pat, Jean, AND Bill need to leave (but never really forces them to). And even Dr. Cox shouts when it seems Pat is asking the wrong questions (wrong for somebody, anyway). Oh...and, although it's toned down a bit, we still have Jean assuming that Pat is more interested in the females in the case than he ought to be. She really comes across as an insecure wife.

I couldn't really enjoy this one much. The entire Lamont family is pretty annoying and/or just down-right rude. I honestly didn't care much who was killing them (and their servants) off. I couldn't understand Jonas's loyalty to them especially when it looked at times like he'd side with them over Abbott. He's known Pat Abbott for a long time and he knows Pat's a good private detective. He knows Pat doesn't look for crime where it doesn't exist just for fun. And I spotted the killer way too soon--enter character X and "boom" there's the killer. Well...not quite. But almost. 

The one thing that Crane has going for her in this one is her descriptive abilities--atmosphere and descriptions of the plantation, cabins, and southern mansion. She does it well and, apart from her cattiness over everything female, Jean Abbott provides entertaining commentary on the proceedings--oh, and she has a nice scene where she fends off a threat from a gun-toting man. All stars are for these points. ★★

First line: She died at forty-one minutes past six on a lovely spring afternoon.

Last line: And it was then that he began to worry for fear Arnaud's bisque was superior to his own.
*****************

Deaths =  4 (two poisoned; two shot)

The Cat Who Could Read Backwards

 The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (1966) by Lilian Jackson Braun

Synopsis (from the book blurb): When leathery crime reporter Jim Qwilleran gets stuck on an art beat, he expects tea and cakes with the ladies' auxiliary. Instead he ends up in the middle of a bitter knock-down brawl between some of the "nicer" people in town! Heated words turn to bloody deeds when an art dealer gets his throat cut...an artist "falls" from a rafter onto a concrete floor...and art critic suffers the ultimate criticism--a KNIFE in the ribs! Everybody's stumped--everybody, that is but a Siamese cat with some very odd reading habits!

This is the first book in Braun's popular "Cat Who..." series. Once upon a time I read one of these books (The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern, the second book)--I got it through the Mystery Guild book club--and thought it a decent read. I also read The Cat Who Saw Red since starting my blog. I could have sworn that I had read this one as well--but if I did, I never logged it on my running list of books read. But--whether I read more than just two or not--I never really bothered to go on with the series. It's an interesting concept. Our hero is Jim Qwilleran, a news reporter for the Daily Fluxion, who as the series progresses winds up with two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum. Qwilleran used to be a crime reporter--quite a good one--until a rough divorce resulting in depression and a problem with alcohol caused him to lose his job. 

Here in the the series debut he has taken a job with the Daily Fluxion and in an effort to his way back to respectability. He is offered the art scene beat--not as an art critic (the paper already has one of those--more on him later), but as a feature journalist to write up human interest stories on the artists and gallery owners themselves. The managing editor is hoping to balance human interest against the scathing (but fairly popular) critical reviews by George Bonifield Mountclemens. A good review by Mountclemens could mean fame for an artist while a bad review could cost a sculptor a hefty commission (and does!).

Qwilleran's first assignment is to interview Cal Halapay, a wealthy local who does oil paintings featuring kids with curly hair and rosy cheeks in his spare time. Mountclemens has frequently torn Halapay apart in his review column. But the Fluxion would like to do a nice little human interest story on him to build up a little good will (and maybe some financial support)...But interviewing Halapay isn't as easy as it sounds. It's like trying to interview a hyperactive spaniel who's got his eye on several squirrels at once. While Qwill is trying to find a good angle to the story, he gets distracted by a little death spree in the art world. 

First, Earl Lambreth, owner of a local art gallery is killed. Then, the sculptor known as Nino (as in 9-oh) falls to his death during an art Happening (yes, we have "Happenings" instead of Events). Mountclemens is the third to die and Qwill isn't just interested because of his involvement in the paper or because of the savage reviews that may have caused someone to seek revenge...but the art critic had become Qwill's landlord--offering the new reporter an apartment in his large Victorian house. And Mountclemens' Siamese Cat Kao K'o-Kung (nicknamed Koko by Qwill) is taking a great interest in the matter. With the help of Koko, Qwill will eventually get to the bottom of the murders.

Slight Spoiler Ahead!

I'm glad that I needed on of the other books in the 3-in-1 Detective Book Club edition for another challenge and that it spurred me to go ahead and read the other two (including this Braun book). It was good to go back to the beginning of the series and see how Qwill, who has never interacted with cats much before, gets acquainted with the highly intelligent Koko. Full disclosure, this isn't an intricately plotted mystery with clues and red-herrings everywhere. The villain of the piece kind of pops up out of nowhere. I don't mean that the character never appeared till then--just that once introduced, I promptly forgot about them and didn't really notice them if they appeared elsewhere along the way. If there were clues that should have told me that they did it, I completely missed them. (But I don't honestly think they were there.) None of that mattered, though. I enjoyed riding along with Qwill as he stumbled into one situation after another and then followed Koko to the solution. ★★★  and 1/2

One side-note: Jim Qwilleran's mustache has more personality than some human characters I've come across in books. It dances and bounces in indignation and supposedly says things that Qwill is thinking, but dare not say aloud. Like "who-the-hell-wants-a-nice-clean-beat?" 

Kate over at Cross Examining Crime has also just recently reviewed this one (and also notes the active mustache). Check out her thoughts on Qwill's first mystery at the link.

First line: JIm Qwilleran, whose name had confounded typesetters and proofreaders for two decades, arrived fifteen minutes early for his appointment with the managing editor of the Daily Fluxion.

Last line: Then he twisted his lithe body into a tortured shape, turned up his nose, crossed his eyes, and scratched his ear with one hind leg and an expression of catly rapture.
********************

Deaths = 3 (two stabbed; one fell from height)

The Evil That Men Do

 The Evil That Men Do (1966) by Hugh Pentecost

Doris Standing, the world's second richest girl, has spent her youth looking for kicks. She and her jet-setting friends, known as Doris' Standing Army, enjoy playing cruel practical jokes on prominent members of society--from ruining the comeback of a once great singing star to destroying the political career of a conservative's bid for a governorship to making a fool of a fading romantic leading man. It's all fun and games to them--even when the games lead to heartbreak, madness, or worse. But this time something has happened that Doris can't face. She comes to the Beaumont Hotel under the name of Dorothy Smith and claims that she has no memory of the last three weeks. But she's sure that something dreadful has happened. When her Army shows up at the hotel, the unflappable manager, Pierre Chambrun is determined to keep them from sullying the good name of the Beaumont. But can he defend it against murder?

Someone is killing members of the Standing Army. Has Doris had enough of their cruel humor and decided to free herself from them--permanently. Or could it be that Gary Craig, the man who loves her no matter what she's done, has decided to liberate her from their evil influence? Or perhaps someone injured by one of their cruel tricks has decided to get revenge. Chambrun, his hotel staff, and Lieutenant Hardy from Homicide will have to find out quick...before the killer wipes out the entire Army.

Pentecost gives us an interesting puzzle even as he peoples the mystery with some very unlikeable characters. It's difficult to be very upset when member of the Army are picked off one by one. They haven't exactly had a lot of compassion for the people whose lives they've ruined or much (if any) remorse about those who took their own lives because they couldn't recover from the "joke." But I still enjoyed trying to figure out who is behind the killings. There are a few clues that an observant reader might catch (I didn't), so Pentecost does try to play fair if you're looking for that kind of thing. If you want a mystery that will give you the full flavor of the 1960s and a peek at the running of a high-class hotel, then this is definitely a series for you. Chambrun is the king of his little village and Mark Haskell makes for a good right-hand 

man in the Archie Goodwin tradition (with a few less wise-cracks). A good solid entry in the series. ★★★ 

First line: It was shortly after five o'clock in the morning when a young woman got out of a taxi in front of the Hotel Beaumont, paid the driver, and walked through the revolving door into the hotel's lobby.

Last lines: And there is Chambrun. Without him, there would be no Beaumont.
*****************

Deaths = 6 (three natural; three shot)

No Peace for the Wicked

 No Peace for the Wicked (1966) by E.X./Elizabeth Ferrars (E.X. on my 3-in-1 volume; Elizabeth when published on its own)

Synopsis (from the book): Antonia Winfield is just about ready to crack wide open! And who wouldn't be! Her vacation on a "quiet" little Greek island has become a nightmare of terror and DEATH. A ghoulish-looking character starts following her around. A black-robed figure leaps out and steals her belt--of all things! A Greek girl is STABBED TO DEATH! A madman holds Antonia at gunpoint...shoots one victim...then gets MURDERED himself! And that sinister figure keeps following Antonia--everywhere! Even you would be a little unnerved by this time. Wouldn't you?

Each year Antonia Winfield takes a holiday in the Greek isles. She loves the sun and the warmth of the Mediterranean. Her husband, not so much. He prefers fishing in Scotland...and fortunately his job takes him there while Antonia plans her latest holiday. She follows her usual pre-holiday plan--last minute shopping, a trip to the beauty parlor, a final fitting on a new outfit, and picking up the tickets and traveler's checks from her travel agent. Everything just as always...except for the man in the rumpled brown suit. Everywhere she goes, there he is. 

When her husband's niece appears on her doorstep having left her husband (to think things over), Antonia invites Tessa to come along with her to Greece. And when a train strike in France forces last-minute changes to their travel plans, she's sure that they've given the man in brown the slip. Until he shows up on the boat to the Greek island. She finally has had enough and confronts him. Of course, he denies following her about. And so it would be her word against his. Then a woman in black follows her to a local aquarium and steals her belt. Just when she decides that she and Tessa should leave the island, their husbands show up--Roger Winfield because there's been a burglary at their house and he wants to be sure she's okay and Alec Foley to try and mend things with Tessa. And then the murder happens. And another death. And Roger finally figures out what it's all about.

This stand-alone novel by Ferrars is more suspense and thriller than mystery. We spend a great deal of our time wondering why the man in the crumpled brown suit is following Antonia around--and wondering if anyone is ever going to take her seriously. Fortunately, her husband does and when he arrives things really start happening. I have to say that I wish there had been more of Roger and Antonia together in the book. It got way more interesting plot-wise and Antonia herself got more interesting as well. Overall, I enjoyed the fast-paced adventure and was pleased to be fooled. I had tagged another character entirely as the villain of the piece...even though I shouldn't have. So, the surprise at the end added the right amount of spice to the wrap-up. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: When the small gray-haired woman in the brightly flowered silk suit appeared in the doorway of the hairdresser and hesitated there in the warm sunshine, as if she were making up her mind whether or not to take a taxi, the man who had sat for the last hour in the coffee bar on the other side of the street got up and strolled out on to the pavement.

"Normal? Are conditions anywhere ever normal?" she demanded. "One always strikes the wettest, or the hottest, or the windiest season that's been heard of in that spot for years. This year, someone's probably going to tell us, we've just been unlucky and struck the most murderous." (Antonia Winfield; p. 169)

Last line: Next year was a long way off and there were hundreds of other beautiful islands in this shining sea.
*****************

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

Squire of Death

 Squire of Death (1965) by Richard Lockridge

The book opens with James McLaren arriving home from a business trip to find his wife missing. There's a note left behind that tells him that's she gone away to think things over because "things have gotten out of hand." While it's true that they had had a few squabbles before he left--primarily over her career as a singer, McLaren didn't really think it had gotten that bad. And...there's something not quite right about the note she left.

Quickly he walked back to his bedroom, where the letter she had written him lay flattened on his dresser. He looked intently down at the letter and then took it up and read it once more.

For an instant there seemed to be only one word in the letter Lucile McLaren had written to her husband. That word was  wrong.

We leave McLaren puzzling over his personal problems to find Lieutenant John Stein, Detective Paul Lane, and Assistant District Attorney Bernie Simmons knee-deep into an investigation of the murder of Jefferson Page--a financier engaged to Teresa Langley (who is in line to be wife number four) and waiting for a divorce from Isabel, the current Mrs. Page. Mrs. Langley insists that Charles Halstead has killed Page. That Halstead, who had been so "kind and gentle" while she was mourning the death of her first husband and who probably hoped to be considered as the next in the husband sweepstakes, had uttered threats against Page. Had warned her against Page. And had killed him. There's just one snag. Halstead was at Le Cafe Bleu all the evening that Page was shot and there are three witnesses who say he never left the restaurant.

Stein and Lane start digging into everyone's statements and looking for other motives and Simmons, who admits to being nosy and poking that nose in where detectives ought to be going, also does the rounds. And then McLaren (an old classmate of Simmons') brings the story of his missing wife to the Asst. D. A. It ought to be a job for the Missing Persons Department, but...Joan Southey (Lucille's stage name) was the singer at Le Cafe Bleu until the Saturday night when Page was killed and Halstead was apparently parked in his usual booth. The brothers who run the restaurant for Halstead say that she gave notice (very abruptly) that night and just walked out. But Simmons (and McLaren) begins to wonder if Lucille saw (or didn't see) something that night that has resulted in her disappearance. Then one of the three witnesses is killed in a hit-and-run accident...and it becomes even more imperative to find the singer and find out what she knows. If she's still alive....

Okay...so I didn't put any spoiler alerts on this because it becomes obvious real soon who is behind the killing of Page. There aren't any viable alternate suspects despite Lockridge trying to dangle a few pale pink herrings in front of us. The real questions is whether that person is responsible for everything that happens after Page's death. That adds a bit more spice to the pot--though I must say that I think Richard Lockridge was really missing Frances and her plotting abilities here. I wouldn't say that the Lockridge books were ever intense puzzle-plots, but those that were joint-written have better plots with a little more in the way of suspects and possible motive. That's not to say that I don't enjoy the books written after Frances's death. They just have a different flavor and aren't quite up to the mark of those which came before. ★★★ --just

First line: It was good to be back in the tight, close-knit city.

Last line: We shall not, I think, go to Le Cafe Bleu.
*********************

Deaths = 4 (one shot; two natural; one run over by car)

How to Solve Your Own Murder

 How to Solve Your Own Murder (2024) by Kristen Perrin

Synopsis (from book flap): It's 1965 and teenage Frances Adams is at an English country fair with her two best friends. But Frances's life takes a hairpin turn when a fortune-teller makes a bone-chilling prediction: One day, Frances will be murdered. Frances spends a lifetime trying to solve a crime that hasn't happened yet, compiling dirt on every person who crosses her path in an effort to prevent her own demise. For decades, no one takes Frances seriously. Until, that is, nearly sixty years later when Frances is found murdered. 

In the present day, Annie Adams has been summoned to a meeting at the sprawling country estate of her wealthy and reclusive great aunt Frances. But by the time Annie arrives in the quaint English village of Castle Knoll, Frances is already dead. Annie is determined to catch the killer, but thanks to Frances's lifelong habit of digging up secrets, it seems every endearing and eccentric villager might just have a motive for her murder.

Can Annie safely unravel the dark mystery at the heart of Castle Knoll, or will dredging up the past throw her into the path of a killer? As Annie gets closer to the truth, and closter to the danger, she starts to fear she might inherit her great aunt's fate instead of her fortune.

My take--the short and sweet version: not nearly as captivating as anticipated. 

The premise was really good. Here we have the village busybody keeping track of everyone and their doings for a completely new reason. They're not just doing it to be nosy. They're not feeling holier-than-thou and wanting to point out everybody's "sins." They're not the village blackmailer. No--they just want every little fact they can get their hands on to try and figure out who might want to kill them and why. But, honestly, I wasn't all that taken with Frances. I definitely didn't care for her "friends." And Annie wasn't all that appealing either. Neither the diary entries from 1966 nor the current-day chapters featuring Annie felt authentic. The portions supposedly written by teenage Frances feel more mature than the bits with Annie, who has graduated from a London arts college and, I assume, is older. 

Of the two mysteries (there's a disappearance in the 1960s that is never explained until Frances is killed), I actually found the missing girl more interesting. While there was a definite effort at red herrings and false clues in the matter of Frances's death (and I did appreciate the attempt to create a classic crime novel), it didn't pay off. The culprit was obvious to me fairly soon after Annie started trying to piece things together.

It appears that there's a series of these books where Frances keeps getting involved in murders and whatnot and somehow those murders mirror or are connected to modern-day mysteries in Annie's life. Really? I'm thinking you can only take duality so far...and the first book seemed to me to reach that limit. ★★

First line: "Your future contains dry bones."

Last line: Putting pen to blank paper, I started writing.
*********************

Deaths = 3 (one poisoned; one shot; one natural)

GAD Word of the Day: Cheiromantist

 

My newest mystery meme: 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: Cheiromantist (noun) - a person who practices palmistry, the art of reading character and predicting future events through the interpretation of lines, shapes, and mounts on a person's palm.

Suddenly she looked eagerly around the room and said, in her clear contralto voice, "Where is my cheiromantist?" (from "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime: A Study of Duty" by Oscar Wilde in Murder Mayhem Short Stories)

These Names Make Clues

 These Names Make Clues (1937) by E. C. R. Lorac (Edith Caroline Rivett)
"Some of these names would have made quite good clues. I wonder if Coombe thought of that." (Chief Inspector Macdonald; p. 82)

Chief Inspector Macdonald is all set to have a quiet evening with a fire, pipe, and a book when he opens his mail to find an invitation to a treasure hunt party--hosted by a celebrated publisher whose firm had published a detective novel that the Scotland Yard man had criticized (without knowing the identity of the man). Mr. Graham Coombe would like the real life detective to come and pit his wits against authors who devise fictional mysteries in a treasure hunt featuring literary, logical, and practical clues. He pretty much decides that he may look like a fool whether he goes or stays home--if he doesn't outwit the authors he'll have shown that his criticism was meaningless and if he doesn't go then Coombe can say he wasn't willing to put his money where his mouth was.

Then Peter Vernon, journalist and sometime-aide to the causes of justice (as pursued by Macdonald) shows up and talks him into going. Vernon was invited as well, but has to beg off due to a prior journalistic commitment. He wants Macdonald to go and then give him a scoop on who was invited and what the party was like and...who won. So Macdonald goes. Everyone is given a literary nom de plum and the festivities begin. Then comes a lights-out moment that was not part of the treasure hunt plan and when the lights come back on "Samuel Pepys" (aka thriller writer Andrew Gardien) is dead. First appearances indicate heart failure--the man was known to have a weak hear, but further investigation makes Macdonald sure that Gardien received the shock of his life (literally) which resulted in his death. As Macdonald investigates, he finds that all roads lead to Reading. Or at least many of the suspects have connections to that small town. But what can Reading have to do with the man who wrote detective thrillers? Once Macdonald figures this out, then he can pinpoint the murderer.

One thing that made this book difficult reading (and which has been mentioned by others in their reviews) is everybody having more than one name. Keeping everyone straight was a bit difficult at times depending on who was talking. The basic motive wasn't difficult to figure out once a certain discovery was made by Macdonald, but that motive could have applied to just about any of the suspects. There wasn't a hope of figuring out the particular version of the motive that applied to the actual killer. As usual, Lorac's writing was superb and I enjoyed Macdonald and most of the characters Lorac gives us throughout the story.

Nominee for best character: Peter Vernon, even though he's not involved in the treasure hunt and disappears from view for a chunk of the story. He's the one who gives Macdonald a good push towards accepting the invitation and he comes in at the end for his mad-dash pursuit of Denzil Strafford (aka Thomas Traherne at the party). And what fun it is to watch him in pursuit. He's witty when talking to other people and keeps up an amazing inner dialogue with himself as he tracks Strafford to Reading (where there will soon be a meeting of the suspect minds). Overall, an enjoyable entry in the Macdonald case files. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: Chief Inspector Macdonald, stretching his long limbs into an adequate chair by his own fireside, was prepared to enjoy the sort of evening which he preferred to any other. His own company, a book (he and just got Peter Fleming's News from Tartary), a pipe, and a wood fire--these promised a perfectly satisfactory evening.

People's minds and memories don't stay put. They take colour from their contacts. (p. 55)

Nobody came here with a length of flex and a plan for fusing the lights just in order to commit murder in general. Murder is always particularised, selective and limited. (Miss Susan Coombe; p. 87)

Psychology, as a scientific study, is one thing. Your Freudian rag-bag simply nauseates me. You are neither psychic nor logical. (Miss Coombe; p. 91)

Well, if eminent historians take to crime they oughtn't to try being funny. (Inspector Jenkins; p. 101)

She was old enough to disregard scoffs at "pusseries" and "henneries," experienced enough to know that a man in the house does not always spell complete bliss for the wife who darns his socks, and in the autumn of a strenuous life she regarded "peace, comfort, and cuisine guaranteed by women for women" as the desirable factors in life. (p. 152)

The young people of to-day call detective stories "escape literature"! All stories are a means of escape--from the trivial round and common task. (Mrs. Etherton; p. 156)

Last lines: "Those are the clues of the Treasure Hunt, which helped me not at all. This is the list of the Treasure Seekers--and these names made clues."

*****************

Deaths = 3 (one electrocuted; two shot)

GAD Mystery Word of the Day: Pelf

 

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: Pelf (noun) Money or wealth, especially if gained dishonestly.

Immediately upon beholding this amulet we knew that we must possess it; that this treasure alone was our logical pelf from the centuried grave. ("The Hound" by H. P. Lovecraft in Murder Mayhem Short Stories)