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)

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:

3. An "Impossible" Crime:

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:

23. Victim with Lots of Enemies:

24. Features Small Town Secrets:

25. From Multiple Suspects' Perspectives:

26. New-to-You Author:

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:

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (1998) by Alexander McCall Smith

When Precious Ramotswe's father dies, she sells his cattle (with his life-time-given blessing) and buys two things--a house and a building in which she can set up a detective agency. She is gifted with an incredible memory (fostered by the cousin who helped bring her up when her mother died) and a deep understanding of people--two qualities that will serve her well when she begins her work. Her cases cover everything from errant husbands to wayward daughters to fraudulent insurance claims to deceitful doctors. She deals with each case with quick efficiency and a kind heart (for those who deserve it). But one case follows her through the book--the case of a missing eleven-year-old boy, feared dead, but perhaps taken by a witch doctor. If Mma Ramotswe can find the boy alive, she will consider herself a real detective.

Though there are mysteries here and Mma Ramotswe does solve them, this is less a detective book than a commentary on life in Botswana. McCall Smith gives the reader a sweeping look at life in the small towns and countryside in this part of Africa. As we follow our detective on her cases, we meet everyone from the local shopkeepers to school-age children to mechanics and gangsters. We are shown at once that people are the same everywhere, even as we see the differences that come with life in Botswana. The appeal of the people and the descriptions of place compensate for the simplicity of the mysteries Mma Ramotswe solves. The best of them is the one that takes the longest to unravel--the missing boy. [SPOILER]  And I'm pleased to say that she's successful. Not necessarily the kind of mystery I prefer, but quietly satisfying in other ways. ★★★

First line: Mma Ramotswe had a detective agency in Africa, at the foot Kgale Hill.

"We are the ones who first ploughed the earth when Modise (God) made it," ran an old Setswana poem. "We were the ones who made the food. We are the ones who look after the men when they are little boys, when they are young men, and when they are old and about to die. We are always there. But we are just women and nobody sees us." (p. 34)

Last line: "Of course I will," said Mma Ramotswe.
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Deaths = 5 (three natural; one hit by train; one eaten by crocodile)

March Reading by the Numbers Reviews

 

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The Avenging Chance

 The Avenging Chance & Other Mysteries from Roger Sheringham's Casebook (2004*) by Anthony Berkeley

The collected short works of Anthony Berkeley [Cox] and this second edition contains added material--one "lost story," an article by Berkeley on why he writes detective stories, and one parody. I originally read the first edition back when it first came out and was pleased to find this copy at our annual community book fair in 2018. I remembered reading some of these--especially the title story since it has appeared in various anthologies and was the basis of Berkeley's novel, The Poisoned Chocolates Case. But I didn't remember the solutions to most of them. My favorites among the stories are "White Butterfly" and "Perfect Alibi," but all of them have their merits and only "Unsound Mind" and the parody (which didn't strike me as at all amusing) were well and truly disappointing.  ★★★★

"The Avenging Chance": A box of poisoned chocolates--sent to one man and brought home by another--kills Joan Beresford. Who was the intended victim? [one poisoned]

"Perfect Alibi": Eric Southwood, a notorious rake, very conveniently dies while visiting the home of his latest conquest. He was shot while out in the woods--but everyone with a motive also appears to have an iron-clad alibi. [one shot]

"The Mystery of Horne's Copse": Could also be called "The Case of the Reappearing Corpse." Frank Chappell keeps finding the corpse of his cousin (and the man who would be his heir). But when he brings the authorities to examine the body, it disappears. Is he going crazy? Or is someone trying to drive him there? [one stabbed]

"Unsound Mind": A man rings up the police station to announce that he's just taken prussic acid and left a note to explain everything. But when Chief Inspector Moresby gets there, he's sure it's murder. But can he prove it? [one poisoned]

"White Butterfly": Mr. Warrington says that his pretty but volatile wife has left him for another man. But the village gossips say that he has done away with her and got rid of the body. Sheringham is certain the woman has been killed, but just who did it and where her body is, is the question. [one strangled]

"The Wrong Jar": Cynthia Bracey is poisoned by arsenic in one of her medicines. But how did it get there? Did the doctor accidentally grab the wrong jar when making up the medicine? Did the nurse have it in for her patient? Was the husband tired of his wife? Did the doctor's assistant meddle with the prescription? Sheringham will find out. [one poisoned]

"Double Bluff": Several witnesses all claim to have recognized James Meadows as the man who shot  Mrs. Greyling in the middle of the busy town. Can they all be wrong? Sheringham believes so. [one shot]

"'Mr. Bearstowe Says...'": Mrs. Hutton is quite taken with Mr. Bearstowe and impresses this upon Roger Sheringham when they have a chance meeting at a party. Two years later, Mr. Hutton has gone missing while bathing and a body is found drowned. Sheringham has to wonder what exactly Mr. Bearstowe said to Mrs. Hutton and what did he (and she) do? [one drowned]

"The Bargee's Holiday": An additional short, short story, found after the first edition of this collection of stories, in which Roger Sheringham correctly deduces when and where the next major campaign of WWII will take place simply by speaking with a couple of men on leave and meeting up with their commanding officer in a bookstore. The reader is asked to figure out how Sheringham did it.

First line (1st story): When he was able to review it in perspective Roger Sheringham was inclined to think that the Poisoned Chocolate Case, as the papers called it, was perhapes the most perfectly planned murder he had ever encountered.

Last lines (last story--the parody): I wish I could remember my idea. It was such a brilliant one.

*All stories originally written/published pre-1960