Peril at End House

 Peril at End House (1932) by Agatha Christie

Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings are having a holiday on the Cornish coast. Poirot is, he insists, retired. He has, in fact, turned down an appeal from the Home Secretary which has just arrived by post. But then Miss Nick Buckley comes into the garden below where he and Hastings have been sitting on a terrace. They invite her to join them and in the course of conversation, she reveals something alarming:

I've had three escapes from sudden death in as many days so I must lead a charmed life.

They aren't quite sure what to make of her story of a heavy portrait crashing from the wall above her bed, of a boulder plunging into the sea where she was swimming, and the curious failure of car brakes. Then there is a buzzing as if from a wasp and when her friends call her to join them for drinks and she leaves her hat behind Poirot finds evidence of a fourth attempt. A bullet hole in the hat and a bullet in the garden.

Poirot quickly leaves retirement behind and determines to protect Nick from whomever may be plotting against her. He meets her friends and those in her household at End House (her family home) and makes a list of suspects and their possible motives. But although he is certain that he has given Nick all the protection she needs, death still visits the lonely house on the cliff. But it isn't Nick who dies--her cousin Maggie is shot while wearing Nick's red shawl--and Poirot is even more determined to catch the murderer who would dare to kill right under the detective's nose.

Not my all-time favorite Christie, but still very good. I enjoy the different ways that Christie has used the mistaken identity theme over the course of her books. I had the right culprit early on, but I couldn't figure out the motive. Then I got distracted by Christie's red herrings (as she intended) and decided I must have been wrong. So...once again, she fools me. This is why she gets ★★★ and a half. What keeps this from a higher rating is the characters. There just weren't any vivid characters in this particular outing--Poirot and Hastings didn't even seem to be at the top of their game (from my point of view). Generally speaking in Dame Agatha's work there is at least one memorable character (other than our detective) and sometimes there's a whole train full of interesting people. But even Nick, who is at the center of the action, doesn't leave a great impression. I read nearly all of Christie's mysteries 30-40 years ago and despite my memory being more and more sieve-like (I rarely remember whodunit except for the biggies--like that train mystery), I can usually name a character from the book. I definitely would not have come up with any of the characters' names for Peril...and I'd bet good money that it won't be long before they fall out of my head again.

First line: No seaside town in the south of England is, I think, as attractive as St. Loo

Last line: "Now I know everything," he said happily.

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

Deaths = 1 definite (shot) [one more is implied--but we aren't told for sure]

Replay

 Replay (1987) by Ken Grimwood

As the cover indicates, Grimwood's novel poses the question: What would you do if you could do it all over again? Or even just part of it? Jeff Winston, a 43-year-old radio journalist gets the chance to find out. In 1988, he dies from a heart attack while on the phone with his wife. But he immediately becomes conscious again and finds himself back at college in 1963. He's naturally disoriented at first, but quickly realizes that all his memories of the next 25 years are intact and begins to figure out how he can use that to his advantage. A few strategically placed bets and soon he...and his partner Frank are set for life. (Since Jeff was underage, he needed Frank to place the bets.) The two set up a company and begin making investments based on Jeff's "sense" of the market. Along the way, Jeff makes an effort to change history for the better--attempting to prevent the assassination of JFK by tipping the FBI off about Oswald. But it's all for naught...someone else does the job and history unfolds as if nothing had happened. 

He even tries to avoid his own death in 1988 by living a far more healthy lifestyle. But when 1988 rolls around, he's hit with that same slam in the chest and finds himself back in 1963--just a few hours later than the last time. He goes through several rounds--trying various life-styles and producing small, but insignificant (in the grand scheme of things) changes. And then he meets a woman (Pamela) who is experiencing the same thing. They fall in love and then they try to find a way to have a happy ending. But the resets keep getting shorter and they don't know what will happen when there's no more time left to reset. Will there be a happily-ever-after after all?

I read this back in the late 80s, shortly after it first came out and absolutely loved it. I was deep in my science fiction mode at the time and I really enjoyed the theme of reliving your life and trying to get things right...or better. I absolutely would have agreed then that this was an award-winning book (as it was--World Fantasy Award 1988). This time--it just didn't hook me in the same way. I still can see that it was an influential book. You can see its stamp on Groundhog Day, for instance, and other stories where traveling into your own past is involved. At times, the writing is really, really good. But I did get  bogged down a bit in the various resets. They just didn't interest me as much on a second reading 30-some years later. 

One thing that I did think about this time: Why was this happening? Was the point to make Jeff and Pamela realize how their choices affect their lives? And how exactly did it happen? There's no real attempt at explanation. It just happens. Because. I gave the book four stars when I first read it. ★★★ now.

First line: Jeff Winston was on the phone with his wife when he died.

If the Shroud Fits

 If the Shroud Fits (1941) by Kelley Roos is the story of murder in the world of advertising photography. It opens with Haila Troy, new bride of mere months, waiting for hubby Jeff to come home (hopefully with news of a job). While she's waiting, Julie--a friend from Haila's modeling days--drops by. Julie is clearly in a nervous state and she desperately wants to consult Jeff. Since his success in dealing with the mystery in Made Up to Kill, she's sure that he can handle whatever mysterious thing might be going on. Haila finally convinces her friend that she doesn't know where Jeff is, nor when he'll be home and why not get her mystery off her chest while she's here?

It winds up that Julie had a very odd experience in the dark room of Photo Arts, the photography studio where she works as a designer. Mac and Kirk (co-owners) had a big shoot that day. An advertising photo shoot that could make their reputation. Everything had gone well and Julie had gone into the dark room to retrieve a list of props. She was in a hurry and knew exactly where it was, so didn't bother turning on the light. She suddenly became aware that she wasn't alone in the room...

 When you hear a noise that has danger in it, you can sense that danger somehow. (p.10)

The noise startled her, but then she noticed an odd smell--a smell she only identified later as chloroform. That's when she got nervous. Because she was sure that someone had murder on their mind and she didn't know who would be the killer and who would be victim. Obviously not her--because he or she had their chance when she called out "Who's there?" But they didn't take advantage of the moment...they just slipped quietly out while she was having a case of the jim-jams.

As Haila's trying to calm her down, the phone rings and it's the studio--the pictures have been ruined and they're going to have to do the whole thing over. Haila tells Julie that she must go and let Mac & Kirk know what happened and she (Haila) will come as soon as possible with Jeff. Well...Jeff doesn't come and Haila decides she must go without him. As soon as she gets there, Julie tells her it's all okay; she'll explain later; and Haila can just go home. Before Haila can get any sense out of her, she's (Haila) roped into taking the place of a missing model and the shoot once again goes well. That is...until everyone is changing back into their street clothes and Mrs. Isabelle Fleming, the star of the piece, is found stabbed to death before the mirror in her dressing room.

When the police show up, it doesn't take them long to fasten on Mac as first suspect. He's married to the victim's niece and only heir. The niece will now inherit a nice bundle and the photo studio is badly in need of an influx of cash. Various other clues seem to point in his direction as well. But Haila...and Jeff, once he arrives on the scene, are convinced that there's more to this murder (and the one that follows) than meets the eye. And it's up to them keep Mac out of the electric chair.

Okay...I've been mulling over my review (for much longer than intended) and I'm just not sure about what I think of this one. One question I had right off the bat--how did they know to call the Troy's apartment to find Julie at the beginning? I mean, Julie was all worried that somebody at that photo shoot was a killer and she didn't know who. She also didn't tell anybody about her encounter in the dark room, so I can't imagine she announced to everybody: "Hey, I'm gonna go over to the Troy's place for a quick consultation." But that's minor. And really, most of my quibbles with this one are. The humor falls flat--especially the wise-cracking policeman who at times seem to be doing a weak imitation of good cop/bad cop. Haila really doesn't hold up her end of the couple detective business very well. And...that ending. Seriously? Spoiler in apparent empty place: We're really supposed to believe that Haila's imagination made her believe she was being gassed to death? That she was that hysterical? Not a good look for the female detective. Not at all.

On the plus side: I particularly liked the setting. I thought the photo shoot made an interesting backdrop for the murder. It gave us a closed group of suspects, and with characters milling about--getting into and out of outfits for the photo shoot, wandering in and out of the dark room, and, of all things, doing cartwheels--it's no wonder it was difficult to figure out who grabbed the knife and when. And overall we get a good feel for the time period--from the agency itself to the elaborate dining set that gave background for the photo shoot tableau to the streets of New York to the various apartments belonging to the suspects. I also enjoyed the scenes where Jeff was present--a shame he was missing for a good portion of the first half. ★★★ for a middle-of--the--road mystery.

Both Kate at Cross Examining Crime and JJ at The Invisible Event have previously reviewed this. Click the links to check out their thoughts.

First line: It had started raining about six o'clock, a cold blue October rain that slashed horizontally against the windows and swirled over the roof.

Last lines: Your mind! And what does it matter? You're awful cute, Halia. Kiss me.

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Deaths = (one stabbed; one strangled)

Where Serpents Sleep

 Where Serpents Sleep (2008) by C. S. Harris

Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin is surprised when Hero Jarvis, daughter of a man who would cheerfully have Devlin killed if he thought he could get away with it, comes to him for help. Hero is much like her father--proud, imperious, and certain to get her way, but she differs from him in one way: she is reform-minded and has been spending her time among the prostitutes doing research towards public reform for these women. Her research had taken her to the Magdalen House, a home for fallen women run by Quakers. While there one evening, men come and brutally kill eight of the women. Hero narrowly escapes after one of the women who had gone by the name of Rose dies in her arms. 

The house goes up in flames and the powerful Lord Jarvis arranges for Bow Street to be satisfied that the women all died from the fire (not murdered as Hero can bear witness). He doesn't want any scandal connecting his daughter to these women from the streets and he forbids her to go to Bow Street herself. But he didn't tell her she couldn't investigate on her own...or ask for private assistance. And she wants to find out how Rose, a young woman gently born, had wound up in Magdalen House and why she had to die. So, she makes an uneasy partnership with Devlin. On the face of it, the viscount has no reason to aid his adversary's daughter, but his curiosity gets the better of him and he can't resist an opportunity to annoy Jarvis.

Their investigation takes them from the rooms of an upscale brothel to the Mayfair mansion of a well-born family and from East End docks to the steps of the House of Commons. There are secrets in that Mayfair mansion and a plot swirling around the government. But even in what they discover, all is not what it seems and they have to make their way through layers of mystery to get to the real reason for the murders. The killers are ruthless and determined to eliminate anyone who might be able to identify them and reveal their ultimate purpose. There is an attempt on Hero's life--three times--and she and Devlin narrowly escape a water death in the rising tide. Lord Jarvis won't be pleased...especially when he discovers who had marked his daughter for murder. Fortunately for him, his adversary Devlin is very good at keeping his associates out of the grave.

The fourth in the series and Harris keeps the action going. I really enjoy the time period and Devlin is just a very good character. Hero Jarvis is also very interesting and it was great fun to see her take more of a center stage and to give Devlin as good as he gives. She's intelligent and able to keep up with him--and she's a pretty good shot in a pinch. Harris also weaves historical events into the story without either beating the reader over the head with research or mangling events in order to make a story--as she explains in the afterword, a few liberties were taken but nothing that changes history significantly.

Again, there are clues that would allow the reader to identify the perpetrator of the final murder...but I don't know that I find this person as compelling in the role. More background on the incidents leading up to their decision to kill would have been useful--though perhaps that might have provided too much of a neon sign to shout "X is the killer!" But this is a minor quibble and overall Harris has provided another enjoyable historical mystery. ★★★★

First line: The girl stared out the window, one hand sliding up and down her shawl-covered arm in a ceaseless, uneasy motion.

Last line: Tightening his knees, he sent the mare flying forward across the park. Toward his father, and toward a reconciliation too long delayed.

**********

Deaths = 16 (four shot; seven broken necks; four stabbed; one poisoned--suicide)

Look Your Last (slightly spoilerish)

 I've seen so many investigations into this, that, and the other. Each time one hopes that the truth will be uncovered. And sometimes that happens. But even when it does, what good is it? The most curious aspect of truth seems to be that nobody will believe it. We can swallow any quantity of falsehoods and fancies, but not the truth. (p. 89)

Look Your Last (1943) by John Stephen Strange (Dorothy Stockbridge Tillett)

Look Your Last is a spy thriller murder mystery set in 1941 before the United States had entered the war and before many people believed Hitler and his schemes for European domination were any concern of ours. It focuses on a intrigue within the realm of big oil--companies who didn't mind a little dirty dealing with Germany in the interests of the almighty dollar. We begin with a Senate Committee investigation into Star Oil. It is an investigation that threatens to bring down a senator and the committee is eagerly awaiting the testimony of Chester Dimmick--but Chester has disappeared. At the same time, a mysterious Mr. Smith walks out of his house and winds up dead days later in a rooming house--evidence seems to point to the man whose rooms he had been sharing, Alfred Quinn (aka Arthur Cronch). Both men had been implicated in an earlier death of Hiram Stone, a big man in Star Oil who was staunch in his anti-Hitler beliefs.

Two newspapermen, Gridley Carson and Barney Gantt, are very interested. And Carson seems to have a way of getting all the good anonymous tips...like the one telling him that Mr. Smith was really Dimmick and that Dimmick had been murdered before anyone else knew he was dead. Carson is willing to go to jail before he'll reveal who his anonymous tipster is, but he regretfully believes that Cronch is guilty.

Barney Gantt, on the other hand, believes Cronch to be innocent and, along with FBI man Jack Higgins, starts looking for Stone's secretary who has been missing since the original murder. They will succeed in their quest--but what they find will surprise them. They also uncover a massive plot to overtake the U.S. government that goes beyond just owning a Senator. 

There is another plot-line running that follows two cousins in Germany--one of whom is denounced as a traitor and sent to Dachau. Strange ties this all in for a satisfying (if unpleasant for the cousin) denouement. Lots of conspiracies and spy-ring action.

This was an interesting look at the U.S. in the years running up to the war. Not just your typical spy thriller, but giving good background on the prevalent viewpoints of the day. The mystery aspect is perhaps a bit weak--I spotted the prime villain fairly quickly, but still very enjoyable. I think perhaps this is a work that benefited from being abridged in the Mercury Mystery edition which I read. The action is stream-lined and didn't seem as bogged down in politics as Kate implies in her review from 2017 over at Cross Examining Crime. ★★★ and 1/2.

First line: At about six-thirty on a chill, rainy evening in the last week of April in the now almost forgotten spring of 1941, a man turned the corner at Seventh Avenue in New York City and walked quickly west on Twenty-fourth Street.

Last line: They said nothing. Leaning on the rail, they watched the ciy drawing away from them and were content.

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

Deaths = 4 (two bashed on head; one shot; one overdose)

The Nine Tailors

 The Nine Tailors (1934) by Dorothy L. Sayers.

This is going to be a far more informal review than usual. If you'd like more detail on the story itself, please see my previous reviews linked below. I was quite surprised when I decided to read this for the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge's "Mensa Reading list grades 9-12" prompt (having tried JFK's Profiles in Courage and just not being able to get through it)...as I said, I was quite surprised to find that I had not used The Nine Tailors previously for my very own Mount TBR Challenge. So, I'm very excited that I can count this for more challenges than expected. 

I will say that this is a brand new edition for me (reading-wise)--previous reviews (found HERE, HERE, and HERE) were from the World War II-era Pocket book edition and from listening to the audiobook. I was delighted to find that this newer Harcourt Brace Jovanovich copy has maps of both the church and the town and country around it. I always like it when mysteries offer up maps to help the reader orient themselves to the countryside or the floorplan of the vital building in the plot. 

As always, it was great fun to visit once again with Lord Peter and Bunter.  I was struck this time by how much I like the Rector, Mr. Venables as well as Hezekiah Lavender, the elder statesman of bell ringers in Fenchurch St. Paul. And Sayers writing is always a joy to read. It was a bit poignant to visit with them in this book where the influenza is playing such a huge role--though not quite as much as watching the filmed version where Bunter actually helps get Will Thoday home when he stumbles into the Wheatsheaf looking like death warmed over. One wants to warn Bunter to put his scarf over his face. ★★★★

First line: "That's torn it!" said Lord Peter Wimsey.

Last Line: "I'll wish you good-morning, gentlemen," he said, and went out.

Foot in the Grave

 Foot in the Grave (1972) by E. X. Ferrars

Christine Findon likes her quiet little home life with her husband Henry. She's not much of a people person and definitely doesn't like them in large quantities. So, when she finds herself with a houseful of people one weekend, she already feels out of sorts. Like maybe she was suffering from an overdose of the human race. In a very short time period, her house had filled up with one cook/housekeeper that she really didn't need; her rather precocious young nephew and niece; their au pair; the prodigal son of the cook/housekeeper; her brother-in-law; and one of Christine's oldest friends who is visiting in order to give a talk on antique shoes. 

Things definitely start out weird when Christine goes upstairs after breakfast and meets a strange man coming downstairs.

As she went, she wondered if she might be going mad. She could usually recognize the people whom she met in her own home, or at least account for their presence there.

Of course, the man winds up being the prodigal son of their prodigal cook/housekeeper. Mrs. Heacham had originally been the cook/housekeeper for Christine's father when he was alive. When the Christine's father died, Mrs. Heacham had gone to Canada for several years and had just recently come back to England. Somehow it was assumed that she would just take up where she left off and work for Christine. Next, Vivienne, Christine's friend, arrives and her wearable shoes disappear. Well...not all of them. Just the left shoe from each pair. Anybody in the house could have taken the shoes, but why would they? 

The next morning Christine finds the missing shoes burned and destroyed in the remains of a bonfire (made from leaves the housekeeper's prodigal son Lew had thoughtfully swept up for them). But that isn't the worst thing found destroyed that morning...the body of Mrs. Heacham is found stuffed in a trunk in the storeroom and now they not only have a thief but a murderer amongst them.

The best thing about this one is the characters. Ferrars gives us fully realized, well-drawn characters and fills the house with them (literally). Their interactions with one another make for interesting reading. What keeps this from being a first-rate mystery is the plot itself. I'm just not sold on the motive that results in murder--I might have been if there had been any indications of it. But there weren't. Spoiler in apparent blank space--highlight if curious: At no time are we given any indication that Vivienne has reasons to steal Henry's snuff boxes. No hints that she or her husband have always coveted them or were in need of money. She's supposedly an old friend of Christine's and we've no reason to think she would do anything so despicable. It just pops up at the end. Others on Goodreads give the mystery high marks indeed, so your mileage may vary.  ★★★--just.

Quotes

First line: Christine Findon was going upstairs after breakfast to get sheets from the linen cupboard to make up the bed in the spare room for her friend, Vivien Richmond, who was arriving  that afternoon to spend the weekend with the Findons, when she met a perfectly strange man coming downstairs. 

This happened almost every time he and Christine went out. A week or so before the occasion, Henry was capable of believing that he would enjoy it, and when he was actually in the middle of it he enjoyed it as much as anyone, but in the few hours before it a deep gloom settled on him at the prospect of being torn away from his home. (p. 30)

Last line: It took Christine longer than she had expected to begin to get used to that continuing quiet.

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

Deaths = one hit with hammer

Why Mermaids Sing

 Why Mermaids Sing (2007) by C. S. Harris

Third in the Viscount Devlin (Sebastian St. Cyr) Regency-era mystery series. It's now September 1811 and Sir Henry Lovejoy once again approaches Devlin for help with a gruesome series of murders. The sons of some of the wealthiest families in London have been found slain--their throats cut, portions of their bodies mutilated, and strange objects stuffed in their mouths. The young men have obviously been killed elsewhere and then dumped in prominent public places--someone wants their handiwork to be seen. But then a merchant captain's son and the son of a country parson are also killed. The Bow Street Runners (who take over the case) claim there is no connection--but Devlin is sure it's all part of a deadly serious pattern.

The first connection he finds is to a John Donne poem, "Song: Go and catch a falling star." The items found in the young men's mouths all come from the lines of the poem. Next, he finds that the fathers of all the young men were survivors of the doomed last voyage of Captain Edward Bellamy's ship, the Harmony. The fathers all behave as if they have something to hide and definitely don't want Devlin to investigate. So, he becomes convinced that something dreadful must have happened on that ship. But why kill the innocent sons who weren't even born yet? Once Devlin can answer that question, he'll be on his way to finding out who is behind the murders haunting London.

This is another really well-done mystery on the part of Harris. It doesn't claim to be in the Golden Age tradition, but the clues truly are all there and one could (despite the fact that one didn't) figure it all out before Devlin did. Lots of action and adventure and twists and turns to keep the reader on her toes. It's not easy to use the "murderer following a rhyme or poem or song" theme and make it work--but Harris does. There is a very logical (to the murderer) reason for the use of the Donne poem and it's not overdone. 

I honestly had forgotten how gruesome this series could be. Fifteen deaths is a pretty high body count and the deaths are not pleasant. Not that murder ever is, but these are particularly nasty. Of course, one understands why after the motive is revealed and the fact that the method of murder follows on the precipitating event makes it easier to have read. I think one reason I remembered this series so fondly is because Devlin is such an interesting and well-drawn character. The struggles he faces both in his investigations and in his personal life are very realistic and bring the reader firmly into Devlin's corner. We want him to succeed in his investigations and we want him to succeed privately.

There is a whole sub-story of mystery revolving around Devlin and his missing mother as well as Devlin and his lover, the actress Kat Boleyn. New twists keep appearing and I for one am eager to find out where Devlin goes from here. He's dealt a pretty devastating blow at the end of this one...but maybe there is hope for a happy ending eventually. ★★★★

First line: Fear twisted Dominic Stanton's stomach, compressed his chest until his breath came shallow and quick.

Last line: And still he sate there, until the last of the day faded from the sky, and the lamplighter on his rounds set a flickering flame to the oil lamps in the square.

***********

Deaths (including those contributing to the motive and resulting from catalytic event that started it all) = 15 (seven stabbed; one hit by sailing vessel; two drowned; two hit on head; one fell from height; one alcohol poisoning; one natural causes)

Death of a Warrior Queen

 Death of a Warrior Queen (1991) by S. T. Haymon

Detective-Inspector Ben Jurnet is overjoyed that the love of his life, Miriam, has returned to England after a year spent in Israel. He's not sure exactly where the relationship stands, but he knows he just wants to be with her. When he gets an invitation to examine an archaeological dig in the Lanthrop area in order to give advice about how best to protect any finds, he decides to turn it into a picnic holiday with Miriam. After a brief stop at the archaeological site, the venture to a lovely strop of beach along the sea. There's even a handy little hide-away in the dunes for lovers to get reacquainted. 

All is going well--in fact, even better than Jurnet expected--until their activities unearth a brown, leathery hand attached to a very dead body. Jurnet is hastily turned from ardent lover to cop on a job and his task is to find out who wanted Annie Chance dead. All indications were that she had packed everything she owned and planned to leave town (leaving her adult, but somewhat backward son behind) and some say she was leaving with traveling sales rep. Her suitcase is missing and there's no sign of the sales rep. Annie wasn't the most pleasant of women--so there are a few suspects in the village as well, including her son who may have gotten tired of her blows, both verbal and physical. Annie's isn't the only death in Lanthrop--but Jurnet will have to determine if an auto accident, an apparent suicide, a death from AIDS, and/or the slaughter of a herd of goats have anything to do with Annie's murder.

I have to say that I was disappointed with this one. I had read the first five Haymon mysteries in the late 80s/early 90s and found Ben Jurnet to be an interesting detective. The mystery plots were all solid--nothing extraordinary, but they were well-plotted and were good for a day's read. Reading the sixth installment about thirty years later, Jurnet is still an interesting and well-drawn character, but I wasn't all that keen on the plot. I found the motive for murder to be rather bizarre and, well, tawdry [explaining would be a MAJOR spoiler]. And, yes, murders are often tawdry in real life, but I don't generally want my fiction experiences to leave me feeling so icky.  ★★

Quotes

First line: They came to the coast by narrow roads that snaked between fields of barley and heathland where the bracken along the verges bent to the stir of the car's passing.

But things that change your life, I've discovered, don't have to be showy or dramatic. They can be so small that when you look back at them afterwards, it seems incredible such little things could have such colossal consequences. (Hannah Millburn; p. 41)

You could say that she was the one who put the whole idea into my mind. I mean, if somebody suddenly makes it plain that they think you capable of things  you never suspected you were capable of, well, you begin to think perhaps you are, if you take my meaning. (Endymion Mobbs, p. 175)

Last line: Dazed with joy, he watched the door slowly opening.

 

***********

Deaths = 5 (2 car wreck; 1 natural causes; 1 stabbed; 1 hit)

Murder on the Eiffel Tower

 Murder on the Eiffel Tower (2003) by Claude Izner (Liliane Korb & Laurence Lefevre) is the debut novel in a historical mystery series set in France at the end of the 19th Century. As the title would indicate, it revolves around a set of murders that occur on the Eiffel Tower, at the 1889 World Exposition where the tower was unveiled, and to others who had visited the tower during the Exposition. The first death to attract major attention (though, not precisely the first of the string of murders) occurs on the upper platform. An inoffensive poor relation who had escorted her niece and nephews to see the sights and exhibits dies suddenly from an apparent bee sting. 

Several similar deaths occur and a brand new newspaper Le Passe-partout manages to scoop the other papers each time. Marius Bonnet and his team of journalists are on the spot (having a luncheon at the Tower's cafe) when poor Eugenie Patinot dies and they make the most of it. And even though the police keep insisting that bees are the culprit, the paper keeps hinting that a murderer is loose among the exhibits. 

Victor Legris, a friend of Bonnet, is a bookseller and literary man who has been invited to the luncheon and to contribute literary articles for the paper. He soon notices that various people, including his mentor and business partner Kenji Mori, seem to be on the spot each time a new death occurs and begins to investigate on his own. He sets out initially to prove that Mori couldn't be involved in such wickedness but the more he discovers the more unsure he is. But his other main suspect doesn't make him any happier. Through the newspaper, he has met the beautiful  Russian illustrator Tasha and begins to fall in love with her. But...she also has been in the vicinity each time death has struck and there are certain clues that he thinks could well point to her. It isn't until someone tries to eliminate Victor and carelessly leaves behind a most illuminating clue that he begins to see the real plot. He'll need to rush back to the Tower--but will he be in time to prevent one more death?

This is another middle-of-the-road read for me (I seem to be on a string of those). There were enough clues that, had I paid proper attention to them, I could have figured things out before the reveal. The setting is charming and I found the descriptions of both Paris in the late 1800s and the World Exposition in particular to be quite entertaining and interesting. The murder method, plot and motive were all interesting as well. I wish I could say as much for Victor as our protagonist. He really is something of a goop and certainly isn't a born detective. He is all set to suspect the man who has served as a substitute father and his mentor of murder on the flimsiest of evidence. Then he's ready to suspect the woman who he's falling in love with on...well, not flimsy evidence, but very ambiguous evidence. And he's so wishy-washy about it all. One moment he's certain she did it and is clumsy enough to let her see it--making her mad if she's innocent and tipping her off if she's not. The next moment some other tidbit comes along and he's quite sure and hugely relieved that she didn't do it. He sortof recognizes that there are other suspects, but for about 80% of the book he's too busy being worried about the people he cares about to really work on figuring out whether somebody else is the murderer.

The characters with the most interest for me are Joseph, the bookshop assistant, and Tasha, the beautiful artist (though I don't get why she keeps letting Victor come back after every episode where he pretty much accuses her of being a heartless murderer...). Joseph has way more brains than Victor and could probably have identified the killer at least three murders earlier if he'd had access to all the clues his employer had stumbled across. But poor Joseph, he's stuck in the bookshop dealing with obnoxious lady customers while Victor bumbles picking up clues that he doesn't really recognize the significance of. And Tasha is an intelligent, independent woman. Although she has this overpowering attraction to Victor (that's the only explanation I can come up with for why she keeps allowing him back), she's set on keeping her independence even when the murders are all solved and he wants her to marry him (or at least live a lot closer to him in a nicer apartment).

It would seem that the Izner books focus on Victor as an amateur detective and I have picked up several more in the series. I'm willing to give the series another look. I hope that Victor's skills as an investigator improve and become as interesting as the setting and plot. ★★★

First line: Storm clouds raced over the barren plain between the fortifications and the goods station at Les Batignolles, where the scrubby grass smelled unpleasantly of sewers.

Last line: Before they left she looked around happily at the untidy room: she had uncovered the dormer and sunshine was now flooding in.

***********

Deaths = 6 (five poisoned; one stabbed)

Shadow on the Wall

 Shadow on the Wall (1934) by H.C. Bailey

People do sometimes tell the truth. Unintentionally. ~Reggie Fortune (p. 49)

This is the first full-length novel featuring Bailey's doctor-detective, Reginald Fortune. Fortune is a country doctor at heart, but acts as a special advisor to Scotland Yard. The story opens with the good doctor giving the final verdict on a young society matron's death--suicide, no question. His friend Lomas, Chief of the Yard's C.I.D., thought something seemed vaguely off about the situation but when Fortune tells him that there is no doubt about suicide he is ready to wash his hands of the case. Fortune sees it as a beginning to more deadly things, however, when the woman's husband, a pilot, dies in an aircraft accident that could well have been a suicide as well. He's particularly disturbed when the couple's young daughter receives a nasty note indicating that there was more to mummy's death than met the eye.

The scene then shifts to Lady Rosnay's house and garden party--a party that she practically begged Fortune and Lomas to attend. The doctor obliges and is met with gossip and scandal swirling about the name of Poyntz (the couple in question) and a certain up-and-coming member of Parliament by the name of Simon Osmond. There are whispers about women and drugs. Lady Rosnay's granddaughter Alix is in love with Osmond and means to marry him and Lady Rosnay means that she shouldn't. Then the old lady tumbles downstairs and Fortune finds her bruised and missing her tiara while footsteps run away and a man's shadow flickers on the wall. Murders soon follow, a drug ring tied to a perfumier on the continent is discovered, and it becomes clear that Osmond is implicated--but is he an active participant or is someone trying to get him out of the way? Is the target really Lady Rosnay or is someone trying to derail Osmond's political career?

Fortune is convinced that he and the Yard are being forced to see what the opposition wants them to see: "we're only seeing what's arranged for us and the shadows of the people behind." It isn't until Fortune takes the offensive and makes the deadly mischief makers react to his moves that he begins to see the pattern behind the spree of killings; a pattern that includes the shadow flickering on the wall, a girl who dies from morphia tablets that were not what they seemed, a perfume labelled Le Matin d'un Faune, and a dead monkey. He has a bit of a job making Lomas believe that it is all connected--even the Poyntz suicide--but the Yard man can't deny the logic once Fortune's case is made.

On the whole, I found this full-length Fortune adventure to be a bit of a toss-up. On the one hand, I quite liked the set-up--most of the deaths are arranged to look like suicide and accident. And, but for Mr. Fortune, they might have passed for such. Of course, once Fortune gets involved and takes the offensive the murderer gets flustered and the deaths get a bit more messy (and more obviously murder). But, initially, it is interesting to watch Fortune try to make a case to Lomas that there is an evil guiding hand behind all these deaths. Just following this storyline is quite absorbing and interesting. 

The primary distraction from the plot is Reggie Fortune himself. If there was a single page where he was not moaning or described as plaintive, I'm afraid I missed it. It really is quite annoying. I don't recall his plaintive personality getting in the way so much in the short stories I've read and I honestly think he's best suited to that medium. In this, I apparently agree with Dorothy L. Sayers who said of Fortune in her May 6, 1934 review, "Mr. Fortune moans and mumbles even more than usual over this perverse series of villainies, and, on the whole, his eccentricities of manner seem best suited to the short-story form...." She does go on to say that "his swiftness and sureness of psychological deduction carry him triumphantly through the intricacies of the longer plot and keep the interest well sustained." And I also agree that despite his plaintive moaning and mumbling I did stay interested right through to the end.

The other difficulty with the plot is also mentioned by Sayers. When the final reveal occurs, both she and I felt that the psychology of the motive was a bit lacking. Not only (as Sayers says) was there little indication of the motive throughout the book, resulting in a lack of fair play for the reader, but I also found it difficult to believe in the motive when it was presented. Of course, that may have been precisely because I hadn't been prepared for it throughout the story and so there was no "Ah, so that's why so-and-so did this or said that" moment. We just don't see the person in question displaying any behaviors that make the motive make sense. ★★★

First line: The history of this war may most lucidly begin with a certain garden party at Buckingham Palace.

Last lines: Yes, that's the real force of progress, old thing. The common man's common virtues. Not the eminent expert.

*********

Deaths = 7 (two shot; one airplane crash; one fell from height; two poisoned; one stabbed)

Talking About Detective Fiction

 Talking About Detective Fiction (2009) by P. D. James

A somewhat disappointing overview of primarily British detective fiction from a highly respected recent author in the genre. Disappointing in several ways. First, don't read this if you haven't read all of Agatha Christie and all of Josephine Tey and a smattering of others. James, who ought to know better, spoils several plots in her meandering walk through the Golden Age of murder mysteries. Some of her spoilers are mere references, but she comes right out and tells you whodunnit in Christie and the main plot point in Tey. Second, although she claims to have enjoyed these Golden Age authors, she comes across as slightly condescending towards them--all those delicate sensibilities of the Golden Age who had their murders decently off-stage and dealt in very little blood and violence; little depth to the characters (meaning that we didn't get to see all the motivations which drove the evil-doer to do the wicked deed). But then she turns round and decries the current trend towards angsty detectives with all sorts of emotional baggage and background, saying how it would be refreshing to have a nice, dull, happily-married detective instead. [I thought she was plumping for interesting characters? I guess she means suspects and not detectives.] Third, unless you're brand-new to the detective genre, she doesn't really have much new too say. Which may seem contradictory to my statement that you shouldn't read this unless you have read a fair amount in the field. That's part of the problem--a book of this sort should bring new insights into the genre, especially having been written by an author, without spilling the beans on her colleague's work. I mean--if you haven't already read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, why would you bother to do so after James told you straight up who did it? There are many other books that have come before [and since] that have provided fresh insights and interesting information on mysteries while avoiding spoilers--or, at the very least, when spoilers seem necessary, giving fair warning to the reader. I'm really a bit baffled why this book won both a Macavity and an Anthony Award for Best Mystery Nonfiction and Best Critical Non-Fiction when it contributed so little in fresh material--unless it was simply the name of the author.  ★★

The Revenge of the Wizard's Ghost

 The Revenge of the Wizard's Ghost (1985) by John Bellairs is the fourth in a series of middle grade Gothic mystery/adventure books featuring thirteen-year-old Johnny Dixon and his friends, Professor Childermass and Fergie. In the previous story (The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull), Johnny had helped break a spell that held the professor helpless. But now the wizard has a bone to pick with the boy who spoiled his plans and sends the evil ghost of one of his relatives, Warren Windrow, to possess young Johnny. 

The professor calls on one of his friends, a priest, to perform an exorcism, but the evil spirit proves too strong. So, it's up to Professor Childermass and Fergie to discover the means to save their friend. Research into the Windrow family history reveals that the source of the wizard's power comes from ancient Jewish artifacts that are rumored to be buried on the family's abandoned estate. But they will have to decipher clues relating to the final resting place of one of the Windrow family. Will they be able to find the artifacts in time to save Johnny...and themselves?

This is the first book that I have read by Bellairs--I somehow missed him when I was a young reader. I noticed that many reviews on Goodreads say that this is not Bellairs at his best. But I must say that I thought this a very nice middle grade book and I'm quite sure I would have loved it when I was young. I love the cover illustration and frontispiece by Edward Gorey. I enjoy the three main characters, even though we don't see as much of Johnny since he spends a great deal of time possessed or in a coma-like condition. And the action that takes place in the gloomy Windrow mansion is good and spooky. The only real issue is the ending--the way the artifacts are employed in order to save Johnny is a bit of a let down. After the wizardry that goes on in the house, one might expect a little more pizazz in the rescue. So, I'll give this one ★★★ and a half.

First line: No! No! Keep then off me! Keep them off!

Last line: Reaching into his other coat pocket, he took out another cigarette box, opened it, fished out a real cigarette, and lit it while everyone laughed.

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

Deaths = one hanged

The Mystery of the Skeleton Key

 The Mystery of the Skeleton Key (1919) by Bernard Capes

"What about your average inventive intelligence, Baron?"

"I said, specifically, a man's," pleaded Le Sage. "Women, fortunately for us, are not eligible for the detective force."

The main action of our story takes place at Wildshott, the Hampshire seat of the Kennetts, though it opens in France and the tragedy has its roots there as well. Sir Calvin and his son have each invited friends down for the weekend. Baron Le Sage will be on hand to offer Sir Calvin a battle at the chessboard and Hugo Kennett has sent an urgent message to his friend, Mr. Bickerdike begging for his assistance in some mysterious problem (Kennett is apt to blow minor contretemps into major catastrophes). Also among the party throughout the weekend are Sir Calvin's daughter, Audrey, and their neighbor Sir Francis Orsden, Audrey's ardent admirer. 

Tragedy strikes after shooting party attended by the young men when the body of one of the maids is found shot to death on a deserted pathway. Hugo had stopped to light a cigarette and exchange a few words with the young woman and carelessly left his shotgun leaning against a tree. Suspicion focuses on various members of the household from the Baron's valet who fancied himself a romantic conqueror to the butler who had considered the girl his until the Gallic casanova came along to Hugo who had dallied with the girl himself. Le Sage may seem to be nothing more than a genial houseguest intent on a game of chess with his host, but the clever young Sergeant Ridgway who is assigned to the case soon finds that chess strategies aren't the only puzzles the baron can unravel.

Bickerdike, who comes across as a very pompous young man, also tries his hand at sleuthing, but fastens his attention on the Baron. He has thought there was something not quite right about the man from their first chance meeting in Paris (in our opening scenes). He noticed immediately that "[the Baron] could not, or would not, answer a direct question directly; he seemed to love secrecy and evasion for their own sake, and for the opportunity they gave him for springing some valueless surprises on the unsuspecting." Bickerdike also observes his man behaving most peculiarly late one night in Sir Calvin's study and definitely suspects the worst. 

This may have been quite thrilling back in 1919 when it was published and folks were a little more used to the style of writing and hadn't already encountered a similar solution. But Capes takes a long time to get where he's going with some of his paragraphs. It's particularly rough going when we're getting the point of view of Bickerdike--who keeps his journal in the same pompous style as he conducts his social interactions. I much preferred the third person sections of the novel. I'd say that this mystery is definitely for those who have a deep affection for early British detective novels and who can appreciate the early forms of their beloved mysteries. 

The solution didn't come as a surprise to me--I thought it was telegraphed pretty plainly even though there weren't any real clues that the reader was allowed to see. Baron Le Sage follows in the footsteps of Sherlock Holmes and keeps what clues he finds very close to his chest* so there isn't any way to spot the criminal except through inference--but, for all that, I do like the character of Le Sage and wish that Capes had lived long enough to provide us with some more adventures. ★★★

Kate over at crossexamingcrime has also reviewed this one and has given it a similar rating.

*Like the titular skeleton key, for instance. I kept waiting for it to show up. It doesn't make an appearance until the big reveal at the end.

Quotes

First line: Some few years ago, in the month of September, I happened to be kicking my heels in Paris, awaiting the arrival there of my friend Hugo Kennett.

I had expected from him, on her disappearance, some significant look or gesture, betokening his acceptance of the inevitable conclusion; but he made no such sign, and merely resumed his business conduct of the case. He knew better than we, no doubt, that in crime the most obvious is often the most unreliable. (p. 57)

But Audrey was prejudiced against him, and the prejudices of young people are like their loves, unreasoning and devastating. (p. 156)

Are we not a little apt to judge a man by his business--as that a lawyer must be unfeeling, a butcher cruel, a doctor humane, and a sweep dishonest? But it is not his profession which makes a man what he is, but the man who makes his profession what it appears to him. A lawyer does not appropriate trust funds because he is a lawyer, but because he is a gambler...a detective is not impeccable because he is a detective, but because he is an honest man. (Baron Le Sage; p. 175)

Last line: Now let us talk of something else.

***********

Deaths = 2 (one shot; one natural causes)

Bound to Murder

 Bound to Murder (1987) by Dorsey Fiske 

"That was a plaguy heavy book," Bunce declared. "You're lucky to have a harder head than most; it'd have cracked some skulls like an eggshell."

"Not Caldicott's Discourses on Socmanry. His theories are far too lightweight to do any real damage," scoffed Fenchurch...

Bound to Murder is the second of two academic mysteries featuring John Fenchurch a Fellow of the imaginary Sheepshanks College of Cambridge University. What begins as an investigation into the thefts of precious color prints from various antique volumes and then the disappearance of an entire rare medieval test from the university library, soon becomes a matter of murder when the alleged thief is found murdered on the night of one of the college's feast days.

An abundance of clues and an apparent eye witness makes things look very black indeed for a young history student, Harry Huntingfield whose very existence as a younger son of a noble family (even though impoverished) put him at odds with the left-leaning victim. But Fenchurch is convinced that the murder has something to do with the thefts and can't see any way of connecting Huntingfield to those. And when the beautiful Vivien, Harry's fiancee, begs Fenchurch (who is not immune to her charms even in his middle-aged bachelorhood) to prove Harry innocent, he must needs play the knight errant. He's also got the reputation of the college on his shoulders--what with murder and thievery and a bevy of ladies of the evening who crash the feast. A couple of last minute discoveries finally point the way to an unexpected culprit

A mid-range academic mystery saved by a very engaging amateur sleuth. Fenchurch is quite charming and I enjoyed the way he managed all sorts of personalities--from the sullen Mr. Maunders (our victim) to the charming Vivien to the somewhat gaga emeritus professor who occasionally likes to be addressed as Geoffrey (Chaucer, that is). He also has an interesting relationship with the local police in the person of Inspector Bunce. The two make a good team.

Fiske does a fairly good job of spreading red herrings about and making several suspects behave in a most suspicious fashion--all but one for perfectly innocent reasons (at least as far as murder goes). One spoilerish quibble (highlight the following, if curious): I don't think Fiske or her publishers or whoever is responsible could have chosen a more spoilerish title if they'd planned it. Once anyone figures out what that title has to do with the plot, it's very likely they'll know whodunnit. But overall a very pleasant read. ★★★

Added 9/21/20: One thing I meant to mention: Dorsey Fiske must be a Dorothy L. Sayers fan. I noticed several parallels between the Harry Huntingfield/Vivien Murray romance and Lord Peter/Harriet Vane. Harry meets Vivien and immediately falls head over heels in love--proposing marriage right off the bat. Of course, Vivien isn't suspected of the murder, but Harry is and she immediately seeks a way to clear him of suspicion. Since she doesn't have the obstacle of feeling grateful to overcome (as Harriet does), Vivien succumbs to Harry's charms much quicker. The witty back and forth word play between the two is also reminiscent of LP/HV.

First line: I am afraid there can be no doubt of the fact he was murdered; no doubt whatever.

Last line: Ah, well, I daresay he forgot the time--far too busy beating his wife.

[Finished 9/16/20]

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

Deaths = 2 (one stabbed; one fell from height)

Into the Valley of Death

 Into the Valley of Death (1986) by H.R.F. Keating (as by Evelyn Hervey)

Harriet Unwin is a governess in Victorian England who manages to get herself tangled up in mystery and mayhem--beginning with the first book (The Governess) where she must prove her own innocence. She's done so well at pointing out clues and connections that the authorities have missed, that it's not unusual that her childhood friend, Vilkins (a housemaid in a country house), calls upon her to help a man who has, she says, been wrongly accused of murder. This time is very different, however. Jack Steadman has already been to trial and is due to be hanged in less than a week's time. His wife is absolutely sure that her husband didn't do it--not that he couldn't kill a man, for after all he had been in the Crimean War, but that he wouldn't be a coward and shoot a man in the back.

When Alfie Goode was found dead, shot in the back, lying nearby was Jack Steadman--knocked out cold, apparently from stumbling over a root (or some such)--with his own discharged rifle beside him. In Jack's pocket was a note signed by Goode arranging for a meeting in the wood. Jack swears that he never saw the message before and that he was walking in the woods when he was struck from behind and knew no more until they awakened him.

Fortunately for Vilkins and the Steadmans, Miss Unwin is available for a trip to the country because her charge is on a family visit and her services aren't needed for a while. So, she makes the journey to Chipping Compton, but when she hears the facts of the case and reads the detailed account of the trial in newspaper clippings that Mrs. Steadman had collected, she offers very little hope. The evidence very clearly pointed to Jack. After talking with his wife, she becomes convinced of the man's innocence but doesn't see any way of finding proof. 

Miss Unwin begins "snooping," pretending to be a ladies magazine writer looking for details to write a sob story piece about the poor little wife who will soon be all alone. She's barely begun when she meets her old friend (though at one time her pursuer when she was thought guilty of murder) Inspector Heavitree in the village. The two team up and soon their questions begin to make people uncomfortable. When it becomes clear that one of the key witnesses in Steadman's trial has been telling lies and then he winds up dead, they know they're on the right track. But will they find enough evidence in time to save an innocent man?

This is a very light historical mystery. No intense detection and no intricate plot--but it is enjoyable and Miss Unwin is an interesting character. Once she has given her word that she will investigate, she doesn't let anything stand in her way--not threats from certain parties or doubts from skeptical men. I also appreciate her interactions with Vilkins, Heavitree, and Mrs. Steadman very much--well, mostly (after the story is full-steam under way). The one thing that will keep my rating mid-range is the beginning. The way the details first get told to Unwin by Vilkins and Unwin's responses to her are infuriating. There surely was a better way to handle that conversation--it makes Miss Unwin appear to be a nitwit instead of the observant person who will save the day for the poor Steadmans. ("What do you mean, Vilkins?" "I don't understand a thing.") But I'll tell you right away that I will take Keating writing as Hervey over any fiction I've read under his given name any day of the week and twice on Sunday. To date, I've read two under Keating--the first rated a dismal one and a half stars and the other I couldn't even finish properly. A quick, fun read. ★★★ and a half

First line: Miss Unwin took a hansom. If she could get to the Paddington Station in a quarter of an hour, she calculated, she might yet catch the only train that would get her before late evening on this Sunday to the Valley of Death.

Last line: I am no more than a simple governess, and it is to nothing more erudite than the Rev. C. P. Wilkinson's Heroes of the Crimea, told for boys, that I owe my knowledge of what happened in the days of the real Valley of Death.

**********

Deaths = two shot

Vintage Mystery: Hat (2016 Silver Scavenger Hunt)

Out of Control

 Out of Control (1945) by Baynard Kendrick

The sixth mystery featuring Captain Duncan Maclain, blinded during the war and who has since refined his remaining senses to become a brilliant detective. His preference is for impossible, near-perfect crimes ("near" because, of course, our hero always solves them). This outing finds Maclain on his honeymoon in the Great Smoky Mountains where he comes up against a killer who uses a perfect murder method one too many times. When Walter Crane is found dead in an apparent auto accident, the local Sheriff asks the famous detective to lend a hand. Maclain soon realizes that it will be difficult to bring the crime home to the villain and devises a clever plan to trap the culprit.

While I generally enjoy Kendrick's mysteries and the character of Duncan Maclain in particular, I found this one less to my taste. I'm not a big fan of the inverted mystery and I was disappointed to discover that we know from the opening chapters who the villain of the piece is. And since this is inverted and we see most of the action from the culprit's viewpoint it means that Maclain enters the story much later than in the previous Kendrick novels I've read. The best I can say for this one is that it is an interesting character study of a person spinning out of control. The murderer is quite sure that they have everything all sewn up even as they proceed to fall apart emotionally and it is fascinating to watch. Those who appreciate a good inverted vintage mystery will most likely rate this higher, but for me--★★★.

First line: The perpetual purple mist from which the Great Smokies derive their name, circled the mountaintops and bunched together into a great gray storm cloud.

Last line: God what fun it was to kill and to be free of Duncan Maclain!

**********

Deaths = 3 (auto accident)

Bullet for a Star

 Bullet for a Star (1977) by Stuart Kaminsky

Toby Peters, Hollywood private investigator, debuts in this 1940s-era murder and blackmail fest. He's hired by Sid Adelman of Warner Brothers to make a blackmail payment drop on behalf of Errol Flynn. Someone has a photo and a negative of Flynn with a very young girl in a very compromising position. They're both naked as the day they were born. Adelman and Flynn both claim it's a fake, but they won't be able to prove it until they can examine the negative. So, Toby is hired to drop off the cash and take possession of the print and its negative. If anything goes wrong, he must not mention the studio or Flynn.

What could go wrong? He makes the scheduled appointment, hands over the cash, gets an envelope in return, starts to check the contents...and gets bashed on the head. When he comes to, his gun is gone, the blackmailer is dead--apparently shot with Toby's gun, and the cash and the photo envelope are MIA as well. His brother is a cop, so he manages to wiggle out of a murder rap, but his brother isn't exactly happy with the story he's been told. Which is, naturally, lies from beginning to end since Toby can't mention what he was really there for.

Peters sets off to find the original of the negative and the trail leads him through the film world and, eventually, to the set of The Maltese Falcon, where Bogie and Lorre are cast in roles they hadn't planned on. Errol Flynn gets to play they hero's role at the end, saving our P.I. from a final attempt on his life.

This is a fun romp through 1940s Hollywood for mystery and movie fans. It's also good for readers who like a bit of light hard boiled P.I. action. I must say, however, that Peters is pretty bad at being a tough guy hero--he gets shot at, knocked out, beat up, and framed for murder more often in one book than most detectives do over the course of a series--and Errol Flynn has to save him from the bad guy in the end. But it does make for entertaining reading. And the homage to the glittering silver screen stars of the past was really well done--the cameos didn't feel forced and definitely worked with the story. ★★★

First line: It was the summer of 1940, a hot August day in the San Fernando Valley, and I had doubts that my '34 Buick would even get to Warner Brothers.

Last Line: I ran for the door, without saying goodbye to Sid Adelman or Warner Brothers.

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

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

The October Country

 The October Country (1955) by Ray Bradbury

...that country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger and midnights stay. The country composed in the main of cellars, sub-cellars, coal-bins, closets, attics, and pantries faced away from the sun. That country whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts. Whose people passing at night on the empty walks sound like rain... [intro]

Ray Bradbury was just an amazing writer. This collection is excellent with just a few that are too weird or too slight. But his use of language and description is, as always, right on target, reeling the reader in and keeping us on the edge of our seats to see what happens next. ★★★★ for the collection. Synopses of the stories follows.

"The Dwarf": A dark and painful tale about a young woman who only wants to help and the jealous man who turns her good into evil...and apparently can't see what he's done that's so wrong.

"The Next in Line": A young wife becomes very fearful in a town whose cemetery has an unusual method of interring the dead of families who cannot pay for burials in full. An interesting study of her breakdown and her husband's unfeeling response.

"The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse": Poor Mr. Garvey is a terrible bore and never has had much of a social life...until the avant garde crowd decides that boredom is the latest rage. Garvey finds that he loves being the center of attention and is willing to go surreal lengths to stay there.

"Skeleton": Very creepy story of a man who has pains in his bones, convinces himself he is at war with his own skeleton, and is finally driven to consult an unorthodox specialist. The last line of the story is fantastic. 

"The Jar": Another story of man looking for attention. A poor farmer buys a (kindof disgusting) "thing" in a jar which becomes the center of nightly discussions among his neighbors. His wife hates the thing and tries to ruin his fun...but he has another surprise up his sleeve.

"The Lake": An emotional piece about first love--a love lost to the cold death-grip of the water and how it all comes rushing back to the young man who will never forget Tally.

"The Emissary": A young invalid has two primary contacts with the outside world--his dog and his teacher. His teacher stops by to play games with him and the dog goes on adventures outside, bringing back the smells of the seasons as well as bringing in people he meets to visit his master. But then his teacher is killed in an accident and Dog disappears. The boy is all alone until one night Dog returns...smelling very strange indeed and bringing with him a very unexpected guest.

"Touched with Fire": Two old insurance men have made it their mission to rescue future murderees from their fate. They have learned to spot the psychological and outward signs...but with one woman their good intentions don't have the effect desired.

"The Small Assassin": A horror story built on postpartum depression before it had even been named as such. A woman becomes convinced that her baby is out to kill her....

"The Crowd": A man has a night-time auto accident and has a feeling that the crowd around him gathered much too fast. He doesn't know why it bothers him so much, but he does a bit of research on accidents in the area and comes to a startling conclusion. Before he can share his findings with authorities he has another accident....

"Jack-in-the-Box" This one is odd. A boy is raised in complete seclusion--seeing only his mother and "Teacher"--after his father is killed by the "beasts" outside (in what the reader presumes was a car accident). He is repeatedly told that if he leaves the World (house) that he will die. No wonder he thinks he's dead at the end of the story....

"The Scythe": a brilliant examination of the ways of death and the power of grim reaper.

"Uncle Einar": More dark fantasy than horror, it tells of Uncle Einar, a man with wings (one wonders if he's a vampire) who loses his night-time flying radar one night in an accident with a high tension power line and finds love. He thinks he'll never fly again until his children show him a way he can fly during the day and not be shot down as a monster.

"The Wind": A world traveler finds that he has braved the elements one too many times when the elements come after him in his own home.

"The Man Upstairs": An interesting and creepy twist on the vampire story and how a young boy with an interest in "innards" manages to defeat the man living upstairs.

"There Was an Old Woman": There was an old woman who didn't believe in death--defied it for years. And when death finally came calling and snatched her body away from her, she determined to get it back.

"The Cistern": A young woman who has lost her love describes the secret world in the sewers under the city...where lovers reunite after death. Her sister scoffs at her...until the young woman leaves the house and doesn't come back.

"Homecoming": Uncle Einar's family (all supernatural beings, but one) gather at Halloween for a Homecoming. Timothy is the lone mortal in the family and he feels his differences very much. All he wants is to be able to be like everyone else--something all children feel at one time or another.

"The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone": A reclusive author's fans track him down to ask him why he went into hiding and gave up writing 25 years ago.

A Child's Garden of Verses (...and more)

 A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson

I grew up with a shortened, Golden Book style edition of this book. I loved that book very much (and still have it buried somewhere in a box of my son's things--having given it to him when he was young) and it was nostalgia for those simple childhood verses that influenced my purchase of this longer edition which includes his Garden of Verses poetry as well as the poetry collections "Underwood" and "Ballads" and two short stories which I had previously read, "The Sire de Maletroit's Door" and "The Bottle Imp."   

I found the verses aimed at children still very sweet and charming. The poems "The Land of Story Books" and "My Shadow" are especial favorites. And I'm sure my sense of having loved these so much when I was growing up still influences me--because, honestly, Stevenson was a much better prose writer than he was a poet. Especially when it came to the poems in other two collections which seem to be aimed at a more adult audience. These poems are cumbersome and burdened under his wont for description. His descriptive prose serves him well in short stories and novels, but makes his poetry seem heavy and more difficult to read through. His "adult" poems are really not my cup of tea.

The short stories are two of his best. Each features a protagonist faced with life-altering choices and it is interesting to see how Stevenson works out the problems. "The Sire de Maletroit's Door" centers on a fun-loving cavalier who stays out past curfew one night and finds himself followed by the night watch. Rather than face the music, he slips through an unlocked door to avoid a reprimand. He has no idea that the unsecured door was a trap designed to ensnare the lover of a young woman who lives in the house with her uncle. Uncle takes a severe view of her dalliance, doesn't believe that the cavalier isn't the man in question, and calmly tell him that if he doesn't agree to wed the girl then he will be killed before morning. Will the cavalier take honor to the extreme--dying rather than forcing an unknown and unwanted husband on a lady whose heart belongs to another? "The Bottle Imp" features Keawe, a poor native Hawaiian, who buys a magical, unbreakable bottle which contains a wish-granting imp. The catch? If Keawe cannot sell the bottle for less than he has paid and do so before he dies, then his soul belongs to the devil and will be bound for hell. He decides to risk it and uses the bottle only to own a beautiful home and prosperous land on his home island and immediately sells the bottle. Then several years later he falls in love and asks the young woman to marry him. Life will be even more perfect now. But the morning after his proposal, he finds that he has broken out with what the reader assumes is leprosy (the ailment is not named directly). He decides to hunt down the bottle again, but finds himself in an impossible position--he can buy it, but if he does (at the price of one penny) it seems it will be impossible for him to sell it. Will he risk his soul for love? Is there any way out of this devil's bargain if he does?

★★★ for the collection--primarily saved by the charming poems of my childhood and the two excellent short stories.