A Stitch in Crime

 A Stitch in Crime (2015) by Ann Yost

Synopsis (from book flap): When the coveted title of Saint Lucy goes to outsider Liisa Pelonen, folks in the close-knit town of Red Jacket are riled, but on one anticipates violence, especially not temporary police chief Hattie Lehtinen. So it is a distinct shock when Liisa's lifeless body turns up in the sauna of Arvo Maki's funeral home, the evening before the Christmas Festival.

Hatti, owner of the fishing/knitting supplies shop Bait & Stitch, took on the top cop job in the believe that it would consist of emptying the parking meters on MainStreet. She's no Finnish Columbo and she knows she's not qualified to investigate a suspicious death. But she succumbs to pressure from Maki who is worried about the murder's likely effect on the town's major tourist event.

Hatti has known the people of Red Jacket all her life and can't see any of them as a murderer, but she accepts the challenge, confident that she can count on help from her friends, the members of the Keweenawesome Knitting Circle. She has not counted on the deal she'll have to make with the devil, aka Jace Night Wind, her almost ex-husband.

There are several suspects from Liisa's "foster" parents, Arvo & Pauline Maki,  to Ronja Laplander, mother who is furious that an outsider has stolen the St. Lucy title from her own daughter, to Mattie Murso who loved Liisa and may have been upset when he found out she was pregnant, to Liisa's father to Reid Night Wing...Hatti's brother-in-law. Reid and Liisa were secretly married...and it's just been discovered that she was worth a couple of cool millions. When a second murder occurs, it eliminates one of the suspects and it becomes abundantly clear that someone near Hatti must be responsible. But who?

Color me baffled. How on earth does Hatti get to be "acting police chief" just because her dad is police chief but he's out of commission due to a "hit-and-run snowmobile accident"? And, if we swallow that set-up, how on earth does Hatti grow up in and now (again) live in a house with a policeman, read a ton of detective novels, and start a law degree without having a single clue about how to run a murder investigation once she's saddled with one? One of the suspects has to remind her that she ought to be interviewing them and taking notes. She forgets to secure the site of the murder or the victim's room...or really anything of importance.

Speaking of the ton of detective novels, this quote is one of the best things about the whole book: I sighed, plopped down into Pops's easy chair and stared at the books lined up on the shelves. My eye was caught by the titles by Margery Allingham, Patricia Wentworth, Ngaio Marsh, P. D. James, and, of course, Agatha Christie. I'd read them all at one time. I wished, fancifully, for the wisdom of those fictional detectives and their clever authors like Dorothy L. Sayers and her Lord Peter Wimsey.

So many things bothered me about this mystery. It seems like we were going for the cutesy/cozy themed mystery set-up. We've got the title--A Stitch in Crime--which is a total play on the fact that Hatti owns a shop called Bait & Stitch (a combo fishing/knitting supply store, what the heck?). And yet--we spend almost no time at the shop or doing anything that has to do with knitting. We also have mention in the blurb of the knitting circle, but does Hatti actually spend much time meeting up with them. No. There's a tiny little bit about ice fishing, but, again, virtually no time spent at the store. It's just there to provide a useful title and the occasional joke about how can Hatti possibly have a store that sells live bait when she is so anti-creepy-crawlies. 

And then there's her "soon-to-be-ex" Jace. Who told her that their marriage was over after a mere six months with absolutely no explanation. And who has now popped up in Red Jacket supposedly (we learn at the end of the book) because he missed her so much and wants to apologize and make things right...BUT who every time there's an open opportunity to talk to her absolutely does not. She has to goad him into finally explaining.

"You have some nerve, Jace Night Wind. You dump me without explanation, ignore me for a year, then insult me when we bump into each other.
"It's not a bump into. I came out here on purpose to talk to you."
I decided to ignore the untruth in that statement. I gazed at him steadily. "Then talk."

I was so distracted by Hatti and Jace that I really couldn't follow the mystery properly. I was sortof on the right track, though I picked the wrong half of a duo and the wrong motive. I'm still not convinced that the culprit we're given would have been the type to start planting home-made "sticky bombs" on people's cars. ★★ Others on Goodreads seem to have enjoyed this way more than me, so your mileage may vary.

First line: The annual St. Lucy's Day parade was about to start and, at least crime-wise, all was quiet on the Northern front, which might seem like an odd thing to be grateful for, but then, I am, at the moment, the sole representative of what passes for the law in my hometown, Red Jacket, Michigan.

Last line: "Of course."
********************

Deaths = 3 (two poisoned; one car bomb)

Winds of Evil

 Winds of Evil (1937) by Arthur W. Upfield

A strangler is at work at Wirragatta Station in the far reaches of the Australian outback. The killer operates during violent windstorms that last more than one night--all the better to cover any traces he may have left behind. Enter Joe Fisher (aka Detective-Inspector Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte) who offers his services to Martin Borradale, owner of the station, as a hired laborer. Though the last murder took place a year ago, Bony is convinced that he can track the killer--after all, he's not left a crime unsolved yet. When there is another attack--this time leaving the victim alive, but with a dangerous head injury, Bony finds himself next on the killer's attack list. Fortunately, the wily detective is able to escape with only a bruised throat. 

He starts with a list of eleven men as possible suspects and with patient questioning he's able to whittle the list down to five. He believes he knows who the man is and why he behaves as he does, but there's no proof. Meanwhile, a clueless detective from the nearest city has arrested a man whom Bony is sure is innocent. He decides to prepare a trap that will be sprung during the next violent windstorm....but will it catch the right man?

Another excellent mystery from Upfield--full of excellent descriptions of the outback and details enough of the windstorms to make you feel the sand stuck to your skin. Bony is good at slipping into the skin of an itinerant laborer (with Borradale's full knowledge of his true identity), though he doesn't manage to fool the landowner's sister for long. I was quite pleased with myself that I spotted the killer and his backstory well before Bony did--at least before Upfield allowed us to know that Bony did. I don't often get to the solution before the good detective. 

If you want a mystery that will give you a run for your money with great descriptions of place as well as a real feel for Australia in the 1930s, then you can't go wrong with Upfield. Just remember when these were written and that folks weren't exactly PC at the time. ★★★★

First line: It was a wind-created hell in which the man who called himself Joe Fisher walked northward towards the small township of Carie.

In, general, murderers are the most stupid of criminals, prone to commit a hundred mistakes. They are more stupide than embezzlers. I believe that it is the fear of the rope which upsets the average murderer and makes him make mistakes. Even the really clever murderer, the odd one in the hundred, will make at least one vital mistake. Not always, however, does the investigator see, or recognize, the mistakes, so that it is always the investigator who fails to sheet home a crime and not the cleverness of the criminal to get away with it. (Inspector Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte; p. 45)

Last line: "And you," loudly asserted Detective-Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte, "are another!"
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Deaths =  7 (two strangled; four natural; one shot)

A Conspiracy of Poisons

 A Conspiracy of Poisons (1977) by J. G. Jeffreys (Ben Healey)

Synopsis (from book flap): The ace of Bow Street Runners, rollicking, resourceful, womanizing Jeremy Sturrock, and his dreadful clerk Master Maggsy, are back again, this time called on to investigate a Napoleonic plot which may threaten the safety of Britain in an ingenious and carefully worked-out mystery.

The year is 1804, and the trail leads from a beautiful but mysteriously poisoned prostitute to the grisly digging up of a still more mysterious corpse, back to the salons of a fashionable brothel, and on to a headlong ride to the wilds of Savernake Forest.

Once upon a time, a young Bev read A Wicked Way to Die (the second book in the Jeremy Sturrock series) and pronounced it good enough to put Jeffreys on the TBF (To Be Found) list. This resulted in my picking up both the current read (book #4) and Suicide Most Foul (book #5) along the way. I've not come across the first or third in my book hunts. And now, having finished, A Conspiracy of Poisons, I'm left wondering just what the heck young Bev was thinking. Sturrock has a fine head on his shoulders for detective work in these early days of the Bow Street Runners, I will give him that. But you'd need to do a hefty bit of detective work yourself to find a more unsavory cast of characters (every single one of them, from the "good" guys to the bad guys) in a piece of historical detective fiction. 

With the language of the book (which does its best to give us early 19th Century speech and writing patterns), it's a bit of a slog to make one's way through to the essential details. And with several characters running around under more than one name, it's a bit difficult to keep up with the players (with or without a scorecard)--especially keeping track of which ones might be minions of the chief villain. That's the good news. Once the chief villain is introduced, there's no problem remembering who they are. Unless you were looking for a good old-fashioned whodunnit and wanted to try and figure out the villain from clues. Then it's bad news, I suppose. 

We've also got a run of pretty senseless murders. The first one makes the most sense--we're afraid the woman is going to give away the whole plot against the British crown. But one is pure mistake and another is for reasons I still haven't gotten clear (and I read that bit twice). All in all, a fairly disappointing read. I can only suppose that either A Wicked Way to Die was a much better mystery or that young Bev wasn't nearly as jaded as she is now. I'll probably go ahead and read the last Jeffreys book I own--but unless it's much better than the ★★ outing I've just had, I won't be seeking out any more. 

First line: "Pray, Mr. Sturrock," said my publisher, tapping his fingers on the desk, "pray," says he, "let us have a work of more weighty matter."

Last line: I cheered as loud as Master Maggsy when His Majesty emerged from the sea.
*****************

Deaths = 6 (four poisoned; one stabbed; one shot)

Who Killed Alfred Snowe?

 Who Killed Alfred Snowe? (1933) by J. S. Fletcher

Mr. Alfred Snowe, a frail and elderly antiquarian, is found strangled at the foot of his stairs. He apparently interrupted an intruder in his home. But did the culprit find whatever he came for? Snowe's nephew, Dr. Aubrey Snowe, is acquainted with Ronald Camberwell, a partner in the well-known Chaney and Camberwell Detective Agency. Fortunately, Camberwell has been playing cricket nearby and is ready and willing to plunge into the fray. Though Inspector Bailiss seems sceptical of "amateurs" at first, he soon welcomes the help of the private detective. However, try as they might, they can find no clues to point them towards a solution to the mystery. Even a mysterious note Alfred Snowe sent to his solicitor mentioning "a most important discovery" that will have "an effect of the most serious sort upon the lives and fortunes of more than one person" leads nowhere since nothing among Snowe's effects seem to indicate what the discovery might be or who might be affected. Until...

Alfred Snowe's will is read. For the most part, it's very straightforward, leaving all he had to his family--life interest shares to his sister and sister-in-law and the remainder to his niece and nephew. And then there's the two codicils. The first instructs that a certain antiquarian bookseller will be offered his library of books--in total (not to be sold piecemeal). Except for one book, A History of Wrenchester by Septimus Flood, which is to be handed over to the Bodleian Library at Oxford. Nothing odd there, except...when they go to find the Flood book, it's not there. Nothing by a nice little empty space on the shelf where it should be. And the local clergyman Canon Revington, who is also an antiquarian, is absolutely certain that the book was on the shelf on the night of Snowe's death. Was that where the important discovery was? And was that the object of burglar? Canon Revington assures the sleuths that he's handled the book often over the years and can think of nothing "important" (other than to historians) therein. 

The inquest is held--murder by person or persons unknown. And then a series of events happen--a solicitor's (not Snowe's) clerk, Skrimshaw, goes missing with 2,000 pounds in one pound notes stashed in small case. A bank clerk seems to know too much about both Snowe's and Skrimshaw's business. There are odd goings-on in a couple of tents on the local squire's property. Skrimshaw's favorite walking stick is found abandoned in a small boat. The local squire's very proper butler isn't telling all he knows. The trail takes Chaney, Camberwell, and Bailiss to Paris and back to a lonely farmstead where the trail ends with a small fortune and nice, old-fashioned shoot-out.

Fletcher, it seems to me, loves a good whodunnit with a thriller ending. Our story begins with a classic whodunnit--murder of a fairly unoffensive man; detectives hunt for clues and track down and interview suspects. Then we move into thriller territory--a "superior" villain who seems untouchable (despite our heroes now knowing precisely who's behind everything); a dash to another country in pursuit of said villain; surreptitious surveillance of the bad guy/s at a creepy abandoned farmhouse; much shooting with one hero injured and one poor, unnamed supporting good guy killed; nice, tidy ending with main villain killed (along with supporting villain and one unnamed henchman)--no expense for a trial (yay!).

I hadn't run across Camberwell and Chaney before--but Fletcher indicates that this isn't our heroes' first adventure (and a quick check of the internet shows me at least ten more with Camberwell (and, I assume, Chaney). I enjoyed this combination, especially in harness with Bailiss (one he got over his condensation towards "amateurs"). Clever gentlemen who seem to know exactly how to handle their business. Depending on the type of suspect/witness to be interviewed, either Camberwell or Chaney will take the lead. And each has his own methods of deduction which are interesting to watch put into practice. I will say that Fletcher needed to work a bit harder on camoflaging his villains. While it was fun to watch the detectives pursue their investigations, once met, it wasn't difficult who the main villain and supporting villain was. A bit more mud in the waters would have been good. But--overall a good read. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: I was in bed, half awake, at the Mitre Hotel at Wrenchester, about half-past six o'clock one fine morning in the June of 1924, when the night-porter came thundering at my door and roused me to awareness of the fact that he was not only there himself, but was accompanied by somebody who was loudly calling my name.

Last line: Everything was very silent there, but somewhere overhead sea-birds were calling.
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Deaths = 6 (one strangled; two poisoned; one fell from height; two shot) Could have had two more if Fletcher had been thoughtful enough to name the good guy and henchman.

The Methods of Sergeant Cluff

 The Methods of Sergeant Cluff (1961) by Gil North (Geoffrey Horne)

Sergeant Cluff has a murder on his hands. It's the murder of a young woman and the obvious suspect is the young man who has been dangling after her. The girl had more money and better clothes than her job at the local pharmacy would allow and everyone assumed that she was making money at night. In the ways that ladies of the night might make such money. And everyone in town assumes that the lovelorn young man couldn't stand what she was doing and didn't respond well to her rebuffs. Well, neither I nor Sergeant Cluff were ready to believe the obvious. I went looking for clues. I'm not sure what Cluff was looking for. He wasn't all that communicative. You see...

One of Sgt. Cluff's methods seems to be to keep the identity of the victim a secret (from the reader, anyway) as long as possible. I love it when the story starts with a bang--murder up front and we're off and running on the investigation. So...we get that. But do we get to know who she is? Nope. Cluff knows, but he's not telling (and won't let his inspector tell us either). [And--just so you know--the library thoughtlessly plastered their barcode sticker over the part of the blurb where I think the name is revealed. So, having bought this at the library used book shop, I'm in darkness until somebody decides to mention the girl's name.] Ah...finally...she has a name! But not until Cluff had wandered all over town.

"She's--" Mole started to say, opening the handbag.

"I know who she is," Cluff stopped him.

Mole pushed the envelope he was pulling out back in the bag. "Of course," he said bitterly. "I was forgetting. You were born and bred in these parts. You know everybody."

Other methods seemed to include elliptical conversations with all the people he meets. Conversations where the eavesdropper (that would be the reader) feels like they have poor reception on a cell phone and are missing half or more of the conversation. Most of his "interviews" don't seem to make sense. I didn't see the ending coming and I honestly don't know how anyone could. Cluff didn't even figure it out...he only knows the final solution because he played eavesdropper outside a door and overheard the murderer confess. 

To say that I'm underwhelmed with Sergeant Cluff would be an understatement. To say that I have another of the Cluff books on the TBR pile and I'm not at all sure I want to read it would very accurate. This one, however, is going out the door--re-donated to the Friends of the Library Bookstore. Maybe somebody else will appreciate Sergeant Cluff more than me. ★★ and I think I may be a bit generous.

First line: The constable watched him swing across the deserted High Street, from the corner by the church.

More than facts was in question here, the intangible, invisible passions of human beings. Facts could have one meaning to Mole, another to Barker, still another to Cluff. It wasn't facts that mattered, but what lay behind the facts.

Last line: He added, before he was too far away for Barker to hear, "Where's the Sergeant got to, anyway?"
*********************

Deaths = two hit on head

Harriet Farewell

 Harriet Farewell (1975) by Margaret Erskine (Doris Margaret Weatherby Williams)

Inspector Septimus Finch is on loan to the Ilverstoke Division. He's not expecting much in his line (homicide); the Superintendent has assured him that "financial chicanery is our usual fare." But he's not there long before the much younger, third wife of Theodore Buckler (the patriarch of the wealthiest family in Ilverstoke) is shot and killed during a Guy Fawkes celebration on the Buckler estate. Consuelo Buckler wasn't much loved by anyone in the family except Theodore. Her stepsons and their wives all despise her and  took exception to her sly, interfering ways. Harriet Buckler, especially hated her.

Harriet has just recently been released from an institution after a mental breakdown brought on by her responsibility for her and Miles Buckler's young son. The incident brought on amnesia and she seemed to be fairly calm and reasonably well when released--other than her inability to remember anything of the car accident that resulted in "Bunny's" death. That is until Consuelo started a campaign to make her remember. And when Miles mentions that his revolver is missing just hours before Consuelo is found dead near the lake, Harriet is the obvious suspect. It doesn't help that she has disappeared--as if she's avoiding capture. 

But there is more going on in Ilverstoke than just the death of Consuelo. There is a missing French artist and a stolen ivory art piece from the Buckler collection. And not long after Harriet was sent away to the institution, Miles' and her home was burned down. Finch suspects a connection, though it will take some time to work out the pattern. Unfortunately, more deaths will occur before he puts the final piece in the puzzle. 

This was the first Erskine mystery I ever came across and was the reason I put her on my To Be Found list. I first read Harriet Farewell in the early 90s--long before blogging was a thing for me. I decided it was time to revisit the story and see how it holds up. The mystery plot itself is pretty solid. Though not a Golden Age book, it does follow GAD standards for clue dropping and puzzle points. It could use a few more credible suspects, though. Erskine tries to spread suspicion among all the Bucklers, but doesn't really accomplish that goal. We've got, at most, three good suspects--with a bit more effort we could have had six (which is the number I think she was shooting for). But it was a good bit of entertainment and made for a fast-paced read. And it was a definite pleasure getting reacquainted with Inspector Finch. ★★★  and 1/2

First line: Emma, the youngest of Theodore Buckler's three daughters-in-law, came hurrying through the woods, scuffling up the gold-brown leaves as she walked.

Last line: "I'd say it was more educational," Finch assured her solemnly.
**************

Deaths = 7 (one auto accident; one shot; two natural; two hit on head; one crushed by tree)

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)

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.

Frederica

 Frederica (1965) by Georgette Heyer

Vernon, the Marquis of Alverstoke, is at the top of the ton; the highest  levels of fashion. He is wealthy and handsome and the hope of every mother determined to make an excellent match for one of her daughters in the Marriage Mart. But...Alverstoke is easily bored by the ladies of the ton and never spends longer more time than a brief flirtation or discreet liaison on any of them. Then along comes Frederica Merriville with her three younger siblings. He's never met a woman like her.

The Merrivilles are distant cousins and Frederica is determined that Cousin Alverstoke will launch her sister Charis into ton on her come out. There is nothing that Alverstoke would less--as he's already explained to his sisters who have wheedled and schemed and everything in between trying to get him to host a ball in their daughters' honor. Hosting balls bore him and he hates being bored. But there's something about Frederica that appeals to him--she's not pretty and she's "on the shelf" (an elderly twenty-four [!], no longer seeking a entree into society for herself), but she can talk to him without resorting to coquettish ways and (gasp) even argue with him. Her sister Charis is a beauty, a diamond of the first-water, and he suddenly realizes that helping Frederica to bring her out into society will put his sisters' noses so far out of joint that they (the nose) may be facing backward. And what great fun that will be! 

What he doesn't bargain on is becoming fond of Frederica's two younger brothers--Jessamy and Felix and serving as a father-figure/guardian stand-in. But at least with Felix, he is never bored. Felix is a scientifically-minded young fellow who gets into the most extraordinary scrapes all in the interests of science--from disappearing overnight on a steam packet (to get an up close and personal experience of the steam engine) to going up in a hot air balloon and then falling out of it when it had a bad landing. Jessamy isn't far behind, having a run-in with some Londoners when he tries out the latest conveyance (an early form of the bicycle). No, boredom has never been so far away. And...he also doesn't bargain on becoming fond of Frederica. She interests him more than any woman of the ton ever did. But does she interest him enough to make this confirmed bachelor settle down for life?

So often bookish quizzes and challenges either want to know your "guilty pleasure" reads or have a prompt asking you to read a "guilty pleasure" book. I generally say that I don't really have any guilty pleasure reads: If I like reading a thing, then I like it and will own up to it. There's no feeling guilty about it. That said, if I have to choose a guilty pleasure read then I will claim historical romances for that category simply because I'm not a big romance fiction reader. And if I'm going to read romance then there's nothing better than one of Heyer's Regency romances. I love the research Heyer has put into getting the period right; I love making my way through the colloquialisms of the time--everything from "top-lofty" to "making a cake" of oneself to "ninnyhammer." [As an aside, it's a shame that there is not even a hint of a mystery in this particular Heyer--some of the romances do have a bit of mystery as well--because it's chock full of words and phrases that could have been used as the GAD Word of the Day.]

This is another of Heyer's best. Frederica makes for an admirable love-interest for Alverstoke. She's able to give plenty in their verbal give-and-take and she has enough force of character to stand up to him. The subplots involving Felix and Jessamy are well-done, incorporated nicely, and most interesting. I find Charis and Harry (the eldest Merriville--mostly off at Oxford) a bit disappointing, but I suppose the whole family can't be interesting. The one thing that keeps this from being a full five stars is the fact that, despite being a Regency romance, the romance is very definitely flying under the radar. In fact, for most of the book, Frederica doesn't even realize that romance is in the works for her. But the finely-drawn characters and the various storylines carry the day and make this a compelling historical fiction read. ★★★★

First line: Not more than five days after she had despatched an urgent missive to her brother, the Most Honourable the Marquis of Alverstoke, requesting him to visit her at his earliest convenience, the widowed Lady Buxted was relieved to learn from her youngest daughter that Uncle Vernon had just driven up to the house, wearing a coat with dozens of capes, and looking as fine as fivepence.

Last lines: "If I promise faithfully not to blow the house up? If you please, Cousin Alverstoke...?"

Escape While I Can

 Escape While I Can (1944) by Melba Marlett

Elizabeth and her mother go to northern Michigan for a month's vacation while Elizabeth waits to hear results of her applications for teaching positions. Little does she know that she won't be leaving any time soon. They receive an invitation to dinner at the Brandons, the remaining members  of a once prominent and extremely wealthy family. Now the Brandons are reclusive--staying away from most neighbors and they normally don't take to strangers. But apparently Thayer, the sole male member of the family, has seen Elizabeth and taken quite a shine to her. 

Not long after the dinner, Elizabeth's mother, who has always had a weak heart, dies and the Brandons immediately take Elizabeth in--helping with funeral arrangements and giving the young woman a place to stay. And giving Thayer the chance to woo her. She is sure that she'll hear good news from her applications any day, but when no offers come she decides to marry Thayer. Thayer's pleasure in his new bride is short-lived and soon Elizabeth realizes that she has made a mistake. She finds the household difficult to understand. Effie, the eldest Brandon, seems to fear something (insisting that all doors be locked); Anne is often heard weeping and railing against Effie's strictures; Maggie, an adopted sibling, is treated poorly. Her husband is moody and they quarrel often. And his family is really quite odd--there have been strange deaths in the past, their dogs are now accused of attacking sheep, and now a little girl belonging to a vacationing family has disappeared from their beach. There is secrecy and fear hanging over the house. Elizabeth takes her last one hundred dollars and leaves her husband and the Brandons behind.

Eight years of successful teaching later, Effie writes to let Elizabeth know that Thayer has died of pneumonia and that she needs to come back so his affairs can be settled. As soon as she returns, the atmosphere makes its impression again and Elizabeth realizes there is still something to be feared on the Brandon property. Two people are attacked and there is a murder before Lieutenant Stark (who had investigated the missing child) can discover the truth behind all of the incidents in the Brandons' past.

So, one of the strongest parts of this story is Elizabeth. I really liked the fact that despite her naive plunge into matrimony, she was aware enough to realize that things were not right in the Brandon family and that things were not going to get better with her husband. So often in these stories we have the heroine staying in the uncomfortable or even threatening circumstances, thinking that it's all going to work out. 

The mystery is fair. There really wasn't much choice for culprit, so the real mystery is what really happened to the little girl. I was glad to find out that it wasn't as nasty as what we were led to believe even though I still didn't like what use the killer made of her death. But if you like a bit of midwestern melodrama, a smidgen of suspense, and stories about troubled families, then this is definitely the mystery for you. I found it to be a decent read by an author that I hadn't sampled before. ★★★

First line: Today I found in the back of my bureau drawer an old letter from Maggie Mitchell, and my first look at the fine, sprawling handwriting brought back last summer as clearly as the lifting of the lid of my rose jar brings back last June's Killarneys and Talismans and Ophelias.

Last line: Lieutenant Stark says I couldn't find a better place to live or one as convenient for him.
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Deaths = 13 (five natural; two car accident; one hanged; two shot; one poisoned; one hit with axe; one fell from height)

A Death for a Double

 A Death for a Double (1990) by E. X. Giroux

Buford "Buffy" Sanderson, young friend of London barrister Robert Forsythe, asks the sometime amateur sleuth to look into the goings-on at the Dower House. The Dower House near the village of Safrone has been bought by Anthony Funicelli a wealthy Italian-American businessman whom Sanderson stayed with during an exchange year in the States. Apparently, Funicelli has been receiving death threats and, in the words of a movie, "the call is coming from inside the house." Once Fortsythe is established in the house, he learns from Funicelli that the threats are coming on his personal notepaper and make references that only those who live at the Dower House would know.

And who's at the Dower House, you might ask? The businessman's much younger, beautiful wife, Lucia--who is recently pregnant. Funicelli's strong-willed mother, Mama Rosa--who's on hand to make sure her daughter-in-law has a safe and healthy pregnancy. Hansel and Gretchen--Funicelli's adult children from a previous marriage. Funicelli's cousin, Fredo Clemenza--a poor relation and a near identical double for his rich cousin. There's also Tip, the houseman--brought from Mexico and indebted to his master (or is that indentured?); Mrs. Flower, the cook, and her son Jacob, who tends the gardens and nurses hate, and her other son Noah, a gentle soul with the mind and emotions of a six-year-old. 

Most of the household have reason to hate the master of the house from Hansel and Gretchen, who believe Funicelli to be responsible for their mother's death, to Fredo, who is completely dependent on his cousin, to the Flowers who believe Funicelli to be responsible for the deflowering of the daughter of the house, to Tip, who says Funicelli keeps him working for him by threatening his (Tip's) family's security in the States. But when murder rears its ugly head, it isn't Anthony who is shot and killed in his personal elevator...it's his double Fredo. Did the killer miss his mark or was Fredo the target all along. Forsythe will have to sift through the red herrings to find the answer.

Three stars seem to be the standard for the Giroux series. Each one is perfectly fine--with a decent mystery and mostly interesting characters, but just lacks a certain something that would boost the rating. For this one, I miss Forsythe's secretary, Sandy. She doesn't make an appearance until the very end and then it's she who poses the really vital questions that turn the solution slightly on its head. The other thing that nags me a bit in this outing is the final death (which a good armchair detective will catch if they read every bit of this review)--I had a bit of a difficulty with that one (as did Forsythe--it really made him angry). The surprise for me wasn't in the final twist (I thought that was the complete solution)--it was the bit just before that I didn't see coming. Forsythe seems to think that justice will be served in the end, but it's not quite as satisfying to think that Mama Rosa will be dishing it out instead of the courts. ★★★

First Line: Robert Forsythe decided he might qualify for the Guiness Book of World Records as the only person in London who had never entered any of the outlets of a world-famous chain of hamburger restaurants.

Last Line: "Because of a child named Noah, Sandy, and a little dog he called Blackie."
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Deaths = 5 (one trampled by horse; one natural; two car accident; one shot)

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Great War

 The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Great War (2021) by Simon Guerrier

Another adventure for Holmes & Watson! Wait...not that Watson. Augusta Watson is young VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) member serving at a hospital near the frontlines in France in 1917. She's a very frustrated service member--after being trained in medicine, ambulance (and other) driving, mechanics, and various other skills, she's being used as skivvy for the nursing staff. Got dirty linens that need washing--let Watson do it. Got patients that need all sorts of bodily fluids cleaned up--let Watson do it. And her attitude sometimes let's her frustration show. So, she's surprised to find that when she's been called to Matron's office (again) it's not to have the riot act read.

She's to have the honor of showing the latest dignitary to visit the front around the hospital. These men generally come to see what "can be done for the boys in the trenches" and then don't seem to get anything done. But when she sees that this particular guest is the illustrious Mr. Sherlock Holmes, she's even less thrilled than usual. You see, with her last name she's had to endure every kind of joke possible--especially when she (a woman!) expressed the desire to study medicine. Nobody takes her seriously and she blames the celebrity of Holmes and his biographer. 

But she can't help but get interested when she realizes the detective is there to investigate a mystery and not just dole out empty promises about making things better. Holmes is on the trail of a young officer who was injured at the front and supposedly died at the hospital, but there is no record of him. Not as having been on the ward. Not as having been dead on arrival and sent straight to the morgue. No record at all. Watson is assigned to assist Holmes in his inquiries and the further they dig, the more they come to realize that there is a deeper plot...one that seems intent on causing unrest and higher casualities among the soldiers--on both sides of No Man's Land. It's up to Holmes and Watson to find those behind the plot and put a stop to it.

Not every entry in "The Further Adventures" series of Holmes stories is created equal. I don't seem to be able to resist these whenever I come across them--in used bookstores, at our annual community book fair, or at Barnes & Noble--and I've let myself in for some real stinkers (The Veiled Detective, I'm looking at you). But once I got over the fact that we just had to have a nurse's aid by the name of Watson, I settled down and enjoyed this one. The mystery is a good one with several well-placed clues and a lot of war-time adventure. I was just a bit worried that we were going to venture down the path blazed by Laurie King (throwing this Holmes & Watson into a relationship), but I don't think that was the plan. And by the end of the story I was hoping that Guerrier had penned another. There are some sentences here and there that refer to an adventure in which Augusta Watson gets to meet the Dr. Watson. But, alas, it seems that adventures has not yet been discovered among Watson's papers.

Overall, an enjoyable Holmes pastiche. ★★★★

First line: By the first week of December 1917, I thought myself quite inured to the horrors of war.

Las line: Nonetheless, do write and say if, for the sake of your archive, you should also care for my own account of those events.
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Deaths: 8 (six shot; two stabbed)

Dangerous Crossing

 Dangerous Crossing (2017) by Rachel Rhys

It's 1939 and as Europe heads towards another world war, Lily Shepherd is headed for a new life in Australia. Leaving her parents and brother behind (sadly) as well as memories she'd rather forget, Lily is taking part in a program that gives her passage to the land down under and an opportunity to find employment. But during the weeks spent aboard ship she finds a different sort of opportunity--the chance to sample a world full of adventure, new friends, dancing, visits to some of the wonders of the world, and a taste of life among the upper classes. But that world is also full of danger--men with only one thing on their minds; men with grudges against certain groups of people--including some of Lily's new friends; and women who are so bored with life that they will try anything at least once. Lily thinks she may find romance with a young law student who is traveling with his sister...but when a friend disappears one night (apparently lost overboard--or was she pushed?) and another death occurs, she finds herself in the middle of a terrible situation and nowhere to go.

First thought: I am not a fan of present tense--especially when it seems to be done in such a weird way. It's like it's trying to be partially first-person present tense and mostly omniscient present tense and not quite successful at either. This, I'm sure, colored my reading somewhat. There was all the makings of a really good mystery, but somewhere it went a bit off course and we wound up with a middle-of-the-road story. The background was good. And the beginning started well. But once we settled in onboard ship, we spent way too much time on the weird interpersonal interactions between Lilly and the Campbells. And, honestly, wound up with very little mystery. It's obvious what happened to Maria (the friend who disappears overboard) and the second death happens right before our eyes, so we know immediately who did it. If Rhys had simply wanted to write a historical story set aboard a ship, that would have been one thing. But--she states plainly in her afterword that she thought the journal written by a friend of her mother's about doing just what Lily did would make a marvelous basis for a "historical crime novel." And the blurb led me to expect just that, so I think it natural that I felt a bit let down. 

As a historical novel, it is a good solid read (especially if you don't mind or can get past the present tense). But if you're looking for a great historical crime or mystery novel, then I don't think it quite meets the case. ★★★

First line: Sandwiched between two policemen, the woman descends the gangplank.

Last line: GREETINGS FROM THE NEW LADY CULLEN STOP MARRIED TWO WEEKS STOP SETTING OFF FOR NYERI KENYA TOMORROW STOP IF EATEN BY LIONS MY PEACH SILK IS YOURS STOP ELIZA
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Deaths = 4 (one drowned; one stabbed; one bled to death; one suicide)

Masterpieces of Mystery: Amateurs & Professionals

 Masterpieces of Mystery: Amateurs & Professionals (1978) selected by Ellery Queen

In the 1970s Ellery Queen put together a set of red leatherette books featuring the best of the best short stories and novellas--a large number of which appeared in the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. This particular edition features amateur sleuths and professionals, ranging from hotel manager Pierre Chambrun to the dedicated cops at the 87th Precinct. Of course, in any collection it would be an extraordinarily difficult task to pick stories where absolutely everyone thought every story was the all-time best. And it's true here. My favorites are the Chambrun (even though I spotted the answer early), "The Stripper," "The Happy Days Club," "Smash & Grab," "Cause for Suspicion," and "The Botany Pattern." These are all nicely plotted with good clues that the reader can spot. The rest are decent mysteries--so no duds--but not quite as fair or interesting as those mentioned. ★★★ 3/4

"Chambrun & the Electronic Ear" by Hugh Pentecost (Judson Philips): Chambrun is disgruntled to find that the FBI is playing spy games in his hotel. He's even more upset when wire-tapping leads to murder. [one broken neck]

"The Poisoned Dow '08" by Dorothy L. Sayers: Montague Egg, wine salesman extraordinaire, must help the police discover how a man was poisoned using one of Egg's firm's bottles of wine. [one poisoned]

"The Stripper" by H. H. Holmes (Anthony Boucher/William Anthony Parker White): Jack the Stripper, a serial killer who strips before he kills, is terrorizing a southern California town. Sister Ursula's friend, Professor Flecker, thinks he may know who it is and writes a cryptic letter asking her to put him in touch with her police friend, Lieutenant Marshall. But he's killed before he can speak with Marshall. If Sister Ursula can decipher Flecker's cryptic last message, she will be able to name the murderer as well. [one stabbed--plus others not named]

"The Affair at the Bungalow" by Agatha Christie: Jane Heiler, a beautiful actress, tells this story. She presents it as having happened to "a friend," but the others are quite sure that the story is Jane's own. While on tour with a play, she was called in by the police to be identified by a young man who claimed she had written a letter and requested his presence at a certain bungalow which belonged to another actress. He had met her there and then been drugged.  A robbery had taken place at the bungalow and he is being held as a suspect. But when Jane arrives at the police station, the man says that she isn't the right woman. What really happened? Miss Marple knows...even though she says she doesn't while the group is all together.

"Wally the Watchful Eye" by Paul W. Fairman: Could also be titled "How to Solve a Murder in Two easy lessons. Wally is a clerk in the local grocery store who longs to be a private eye. He signs up for a correspondence course on detection and solves a murder disguised as suicide before completing all his lessons. [one gassed]

"The Happy Days Club" by James M. Ullman: A mutual fund company gets suspicious when the Happy Days Club in Iowa seems to be following their buy and sell movements--almost before they make them. They hire James & Bennett, couple of industrial espionage men, to find out how it's done.

"They Can Only Hang You Once" by Dashiell Hammett: Sam Spade pays a call on the uncle of his client--a lawyer who thinks his cousin is putting pressure on the old man. But before Spade can fulfill his commission there is murder in the house. [two shot]

"Wild Goose Chase" by Ross Macdonald (Kenneth Millar): An anonymous woman hires Lew Archer to attend a trial--to use his judgment about how the jury reacts to the defendant. If they appear to think him guilty, then she just might have to give evidence...evidence that could damage her. [two shot; one car accident]

"File #1: The Mayfield Case" by Joe Gores: A rookie investigator gets a little too emotionally involved with a case of a defaulted loan. [one stabbed]

"About the Perfect Crime of Mr. Digberry" by Anthony Abbot (Fulton Oursler): Mr. Digberry is a master wigmaker who seems to be the latest victim of "The Driller," criminal who is extorting money from various well-known people. But when it's noted that Digberry's escapades with The Driller coincided with the murder of one of Digberry's most famous clients, he immediately comes under suspicion. Thatcher Colt gets to the bottom of the surprising case. [one shot]

"The Devil Is a Gentleman" by Charles B. Child: Inspector Chafik J. Chafik of the Baghdad police investigates the murder of the most recent admirer of a beautiful dancer who is suspected of being a spy. [one stabbed]

"A Winter's Tale" by Frances & Richard Lockridge: A miserly old man who was thought to have died from a fractured skull is found to have froze to death. Captain Heimrich must figure out how he froze to death in an 80 degree house. [one froze to death]

"Clancy & the Shoeshine Boy" by Robert L. Pike (Robert L. Fish): Lt. Clancy investigates the murder of an eccentric old man who was rumored to have a stamp and coin collection. But was it worth killing for? Along the way he reforms the grandson of a shoeshine "boy" who just happens to give him the one clue he was missing. [one beaten to death]

"Smash & Grab" by Henry Wade (Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher: There's a rash of smash and grab robberies taking place across London and when the latest hits a jewelry store, Detective Constable John Bragg, fresh from the Downshire countryside, has his chance to make his mark at Scotland Yard.

"The Motive" by Ellery Queen (Dannay & Lee): When the son of a local farmer is hit on the head and left in a ditch, the town is upset that the sheriff's deputy assigned to the investigation can't find the killer--especially when other deaths follow. But how do you track a killer who's left no clues and seems to have no motive? [three hit on head]

"Cause for Suspicion" by George Harmon Coxe: Dr. Paul Standish refuses to believe that a woman who tried to kill herself once has finally succeeded. Everything tells him that this time it's murder. [one poisoned]

"The Stollmeyer Sonnets" by James Powell: A straight-up farce about the cold war spy era where stamps serve as stand-ins for the arms race and spies aren't above a little blackmail over spicy sonnets. Our hero--a Canadian Mountie who reminds me of Dudley Do-Right--manages to save the day despite himself.

"The Botany Pattern" by Victor Canning: The Department of Patterns looks for patterns that others don't see. Viaur is new to the department but immediately spots a connection between a series of murders. Six men have died and four more are on the list--will Viaur and Papa Grand (head of the department) be in time to save the last four? [one shot; one stabbed; one blown up and others unnamed]

"H as in Homicide" by Lawrence Treat: Two women, who have just met, head west in a car. They stop for the night in a small town--where one of the women's ex-husband just happens to live. She winds up strangled. Did he do it? And, if not, who--and why? [one strangled]

"Nightshade" by Ed McBain: It's just a regular evening at the 87th Precinct. Steve Carella and the boys look into the killing of a young actress, the bombing of a black church, the stabbing of a family....and ghosts who steal jewelry. [five stabbed; one shot]

First line (1st story): Mrs. Veach, the motherly-looking chief operator on the switchboard at the Beaumont Hotel was the first one to detect something irregular about the telephone in Room 912.

Last line (last story): "You can't win 'em all," O'Brien said.

High Marks for Murder

 High Marks for Murder (2008) by Rebecca Kent (Kate Kingsbury)

Meredith Llewellyn is the headmistress at the Bellehaven Finishing School. A place that is known for transforming the "most incorrigible tomboy into a refined young lady." It's also a bit progressive for the beginning of the 20th Century--encouraging their refined young ladies to think for themselves and allowing exploration into other ways to find fulfillment beyond the role of wife and mother. The teachers may teach deportment and household management, but you just might find them chanting "votes for women" along with their students. You never know what you might see if you arrive unannounced. But I don't think anyone expected to see a ghost...

That's just what Meredith does see after her friend Kathleen Duncan, the home management teacher, was found bludgeoned to death with a tree limb. The local bobby doesn't want to waste precious time investigating too deeply into the demise of a woman out wandering in the garden at night alone (where no respectable lady should be...) and decides it's a death by tramp. A very convenient tramp who is long gone with no way to trace him. Meredith is upset that her friend's death is so easily dismissed and thinks about investigating on her own. But she has no idea how to go about it. Until she starts seeing Kathleen's ghost who seems to be trying to tell her something through various signs. If she can just figure out what Kathleen's motions in the garden mean, she just might have the clues to get an investigation started. 

Pure cozy mystery. No blood to speak of. No traumatic or complicated goings-on in our amateur sleuth's life. And, honestly, not a whole heaping lot of detection. So--if you're looking for a standard mystery with clues to follow and deductions to make, then this might not be your thing. If you like a gentle mystery with a hint (just a hint, mind you) of the supernatural and likeable characters, then this might well be your thing. 

I like the setting at a girls' school. I like our main characters--Meredith and her two, somewhat reluctant, Watsons, Felicity and Essie--though I'm not quite sold on Meredith as a Sherlock just yet. This was a pleasant read but the mystery wasn't too difficult. I knew exactly what Kathleen's ghost meant when she kept pointing at the garden and I'm not quite sure why Meredith was so baffled. Perhaps her grief got in the way? I have the second book in this series and hope that we will see more detecting than trying to communicate with spirits (though I already know there is a ghost involved in that one as well). ★★★

First line: Under normal circumstances Meredith Llewellyn enjoyed the Sunday services at St. Edmund's.

Last line: "Now what's your story?"
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Deaths = one hit on head 

Old Bones

 Old Bones (1943) Herman Petersen

 Marian Wayne, wife of our narrator Ben Wayne, is on the hunt for local-sourced, vintage pine board for a redecoration project. She's hunted high and low in abandoned barns and farmhouses with no success. But then she remembers the grist mill on the property of the area's power family--the Wights. She finds what she's looking for there...and a bit more. While looking around she happens to look in the stand pipe, a well-like opening with water in the bottom, and sees a jumble of bones lying at the bottom. When her husband hears her story, he brings in Doc Miller, the county coroner, who in turn calls upon the D.A. Even before they try to retrieve the bones, Miller is convinced that they've an old murder to solve because someone dumped in old timbers as well in an effort to hide the remains. 

Since it is after dark and there's no lights in the mill, they decide to return in the morning to drain the stand pipe and bring up the bones. But when they get there, they find that someone has beaten them to it and the bones are gone. 

Bones, bones, who's got the bones? 

by grandeduc on Getty images

Fortunately, the person who snatched them in the night wasn't so great at the "hiding" part of hide-and-seek and the bones are rediscovered fairly quickly. The Wights, however, immediately use their influence to try and railroad the D.A. into calling the death an "unfortunate accident to John Doe." But as soon as Doc Miller gets a good look at the bones, he isn't having any. He recognizes healed bones representing injuries that he treated himself and declares that the bones belong to Nate Wight, the black sheep of the family who supposedly slunk off to New York City a few years ago. All clues seem to point directly to the Wights--no wonder they wanted things hushed up. And one of them will go to any length to keep the secrets of the past unseen. Now Doc Miller with Ben acting as his leg man must race to identify Nate's murderer before more people are hurt...or killed.

Lots of action--from a chase through the swamps to a midnight rescue from the stand pipe to blazing (literally) grand finale. Ben Wayne endures some very pulpy private eye encounters--all in the dark, so we don't know who the villain is till the end. Doc Miller spends a fair amount of time tending to Ben's injuries and you have to sympathize with Marian who is afraid that her husband won't survive the next go-round with the culprit. There is also a good amount of good old fashioned deduction on Doc Miller's part, making for a good detective story on top of the pulp action. The characters are great from the interactions between the good doctor and Ben, the good doctor and all the Wights. I especially enjoyed the two younger Wights--Peg and Lightning. They made good sleuthing sidekicks for Ben.

There are a few drawbacks--like the overall motivation of the killer. The initial murder and cover-up I get. But the follow-ups are bit tenuous--especially if the Wights and their entourage stick together as they've always done. It might have helped if there had been a bit more attention to the background of the characters (delightful as most of them are, we don't learn a lot about them). And I don't see the point of the fire at the end--not even with the murderer explaining it. But the pluses outweigh the minuses and I thoroughly enjoyed Petersen's story. I'll definitely pick up the first two in the Doc Miller series if I come across them.  ★★★★

First line: I had spent most of today in the city; a business demand had been satisfied, and I had managed to call on my tailor too.

Last line: What became of the cat?"
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Deaths = 5 (one natural; one hit on head; one shot; two burned to death)

Shadows Before

 Shadows Before (1939) by Dorothy Bowers

Professor Matthew Weir escaped the gallows in 1937 by the skin of teeth. In Scotland, the verdict would likely have been brought in as "Not Proven." His highly abrasive, interfering sister-in-law had died from arsenical poisoning and the Weir's equally poisonous housekeeper had done her darnedest to see that her employer wound up with a noose around his neck. Weir university had stood by him during the entire ordeal (perhaps a point in his favor with the jury...), but he felt impelled to give up his post and flee to the country where he and his family lived in a small Tudor manor house near Oxford for two years without incident. Unless you count the slight mental decline of his wife.

It's thought wise to bring in a companion for Kate Weir--especially to accompany her on walks where she's apt to pick wild herb and whatnot to brew up her special teas. The doctor, who is instrumental in hiring Miss Brett (the companion), insists that the teas are harmless. But...Mrs. Weir had been experiencing gastric distress before Miss Brett was hired. Is that linked to the teas? Or, as the housekeeper (yes, the same one) points out, the illnesses seemed to follow hard on visits that Kate Weir made to Alice Gretton, one of the few local women with whom Mrs. Weir has made friends--could Alice have been giving Kate something to make her sick? It's interesting that the episodes stop as soon as Alice Weir disappears from her cottage.

But then Miss Brett arrives and Mrs. Weir has another, final bout of illness. And when the autopsy is done arsenic is once again the culprit. Was Matthew Weir erroneously acquitted and has he struck again? If so, he must be hoping that his wife's niece is also no longer among the living--because if Joyce Murray is alive and well in Australia, then she'll inherit everything except 6,000 pounds. But if she's dead....well, Matthew's inheritance will be much bigger. When Scotland Yard arrives in the persons of Chief Inspector Dan Pardoe and Detective Sergeant Salt, they'll have a job to find the guilty party--whether the obvious or not. Also cluttering up the possible suspects are Matthew's niece and nephew (who could benefit indirectly), an old gypsy woman who seemed to take a sudden dislike to Mrs. Weir after a brief friendship, and Matthew's brother, Augustus, who also could benefit from a brother with more ready cash. When a vehicle suffers a mysterious "accident" and the gypsy disappears, Pardoe realizes he'll need to work quickly to prevent more deaths.

This one gets off to a slow start with the lead up to the hiring of Miss Brett and her train journey to Steeple Cloudy--although I did love Miss Flora Hickey, a schoolteacher from Indiana (!), and her observations of her fellow passengers. I was disappointed that she didn't play a bigger part throughout the story (hoping for a sortof a mild version of Miss Marple and her keen people skills). But she does come through towards the end, giving Pardoe a vital clue. And speaking of Queens of Crime (Christie), I found the final letter in this partial epistolary story to be quite Sayers-like. "Mew," the mother of one of the supporting characters, reminds me of the Dowager Duchess in several of her turns of phrase. I wouldn't have minded seeing more of her (or her letters) either.

Once the second murder happens and Pardoe and Salt arrive, things pick up nicely. A good mixture of close questioning of the suspects and action and the clues are displayed fairly (though I missed a few). I noticed an early one and then promptly forgot it once other items drew my attention and was a bit surprised by the ending. If I'd been paying proper attention, I shouldn't have been. A very good outing with Pardoe and Salt. ★★★★

First line (prologue): So, it's all over, Mew, or nearly.

First line (1st chapter): Five months after the death of her employer, Aurelia Brett walked up from Castlebury Station in search of Dr. Smollett's house.

"By all accounts, piecing this, that, and the other together, taking off a slice here and supplying a bit there, she [Miss Leah Bunting] was one of the most difficult, though not most uncommon, types of maiden lady, given over at the same time to good works and to the exercises of an uncharitable tongue. In short, it seemed as if the good works had wrung all the goodness out of her." (Inspector Pardoe; p. 52)

The villagers might, for all he knew, be the heartless scandal-mongers he [the rector] made them out, but when you had a murder (and presumably a murderer) plopped down in your midst, you ought to be permitted a little mongering. (p. 149)

"'He travels fastest who travels alone,'" murmured the A.C. "Play a lone hand when next you do a murder, Sergeant." (p. 186)

Last line: And you will certainly come to me before you go and see Mussolini--Zoe, Nick, and Dinah too, please, and that poor little Freddy if the ogre will let him (I don't mean Mussolini, of course, but the other one). Your loving, Mew

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Deaths = 11 (four poisoned;three natural; two car accident; one train accident; one hit on head)

The Division Bell Mystery

 The Division Bell Mystery (1932) by Ellen Wilkinson

Ellen Wilkinson was one of England's first female MPs and gives readers an intimate look at the hallowed halls of Parliament in this, her first...and only detective novel. Her debut novel introduces Robert West, private secretary to the Secretary of State for Home Affairs, who finds himself playing amateur detective when a violent death happens during his Chief's private dinner with reclusive American financier Georges Oissel. 

Initially, the death of Oissel looks like suicide. The Home Secretary (who seems to be nameless...unless I missed it somehow) had to leave his guest a bit before the division bell (a signal to Members that a vote is about to be taken). The room is virtually sealed--all windows locked and the only door under observation of a waiter preparing to bring coffee for the Home Secretary's return as well as West and his own guest who are just coming down the hallway--when a shot is heard. The three men rush to the room and find Oissel shot through the heart and a revolver on the floor nearby.

The House officers quickly arrive and a search is made, but there is no one out of the ordinary to be found. Inspector Blackitt of Scotland Yard is called in and also seems to favor suicide--at first. But Oissel's granddaughter insists that her grandfather would never kill himself. And then the Oissel's apartment is burgled and the Home Secretary's own man who had been serving as a kind of body guard is killed. And then...the evidence (lack of scorching of any sort) supports the theory of murder. But if it is murder, how did the murderer get away? West and Blackitt will have to solve the impossible crime if they're going to nab the killer.

Wilkinson does an excellent job of setting the scene. Even this Yank began to feel at home in the House of Commons--it was so well-described. It was fun to see the inner workings of the 1930s Parliament--the machinations and tricks and deals to get things done. And to realize that "the more things change, the more they stay the same." Her characters are vivid and well-defined and I think it's a shame she didn't write more mysteries, especially if they would have featured Lord Dalbreattie and West investigating again. Inspector Blackitt is given the short end of the stick, though. After showing how it couldn't be suicide and beginning to investigate, he sort of fades into the background. 

She doesn't do too badly with the impossible crime either--especially given that this was her first attempt at a detective novel. One one real complaint is that I can't remember a particular thing being mentioned about the room where Oissel was killed. It's kind of important to solving the mystery. I just went back and reread all the scenes I could remember that took place in Room J (as it's known) and I couldn't find mention of it at all. So, I don't see how the reader could possibly have figured out how it was done.

Overall a thoroughly enjoyable read. ★★★★

First line: No matter how exciting the day, the House of Commons loses all interest between the hours of 7 am and 9 pm.

The public was not quite sure of him [the Prime Minister] because he, elusive, incalculable, was never quite sure of himself....to some degree he reflected the lack of purpose of his period. It was counted to him for a virtue that he could answer any question and leave the questioner soothed, but completely in the dark as to what he meant. (p. 159)

"Flossie" [the Home Secretary] was priceless. He had committed the most unpardonable piece of folly, he had outraged every official British tradition. If the facts were suspected not only the Government, but the Party were irretrievably ruined, and there he sat, a pillar of the Established Church and the Established Everything Else, shocked at the wickedness of the the unknown burglars. (p. 167)

Robert felt like he ought to apologize for the poor old Parliament that had insisted on having a mystery although it ought to have known that Lord Dalbeattie didn't like them. (p. 175)

"The police are no match for a really highly trained servant, especially one accustomed to holding his or her tongue in a place like the House of Commons. I learned that fact in a very costly way when I was trying to get a divorce. My wife knew it, and I paid for the lesson. (Lord Dalbeattie; p. 179)

"But it is no use trying to unravel a mystery like this unless you are prepared to face every possibility, and keep your own emotions out of it. Find the truth, and then let your feelings dictate what you should do with it. That seems to me to be the only common-sense way." (Lord Dalbeattie; p 182)

[The "Under Gallery"] is rigidly barred to any woman, though she may be the expert in charge of a bill. Women M.P.s might try to abolish this absurdity, but the House, which in the past has swallowed whole strings of new camels, would die in the last ditch in defence of some antiquated gnat of a custom. (p 194)

Last line: "The police forgot the river."
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Deaths = two shot