Two Bronze Pennies

 Two Bronze Pennies (2015) by Chris Nickson

It's Christmas Eve 1890 and DI Tom Harper is looking forward to his first Christmas with his wife, Annabelle. They'll spend an hour with her sister and then the rest of the time will be all theirs. But...murder has other ideas. When a young Jewish man is found stabbed to death with his body arranged in the form of a cross and two pennies on his closed eyes, Harper is called out on the cold night. He grew up in the area where the victim was found--an area that has slowly filled with Jewish immigrants from all over Europe. The climate had remained calm for many years, but now "No Jews" signs are popping up throughout the area and a group of young Jewish men are forming a society to push back. After all--they were born in England and are just as British as anyone else, why shouldn't they be treated equally? Harper's superiors want him to find the killer/s quickly and prevent the massive outbreak of violence that may come if tension is not relieved.

But before Harper and his men can make much headway, a young firebrand Rabbi is also murdered and left in the same fashion. In an effort to get a lead, Constable Billy Reed agrees to go undercover in a group of "England for the English" ex-military officers. Having served in Afghanistan himself, Reed fits right in. Through his covert operations, he soon learns of a shadowy leader known only as "Alfred" (most obviously not his real name) and even gets to meet him. But before he can learn Alfred's real identity, his cover is blown. He's found unconscious and severely beaten in a woods near the Jewish district. It isn't until Reed finally awakens and there is a chance spotting of Alfred in the hospital that Harper can begin connecting the dots between the killings...the killers...and Alfred. And he still has to get hard evidence that Alfred was on the spot in order to put the man away for good. Can it be done?

A nicely atmospheric, fairly solid Victorian police procedural. It leaves a bit to be desired in actual clues/evidence (the way Harper uses Reed to make the charge stick to Alfred is a bit unsettling) but overall a good look at police procedure near the turn of the century. What I most appreciated about this one is that I got the hoped-for character expansion (which I expressed in my review of the series debut). We learn quite a bit more about Harper and Reed and the women in their lives which gives a new depth to the characters. ★★★

First line: "Have you heard a word I said, Tom Harper?"

Last line: "You'll just have to wait and see, won't you, Tom Harper?"
*****************

Deaths = 5 (two stabbed; two natural; one strangled)

DeKok & the Somber Nude

 DeKok & the Somber Nude (1967) by A. C. Baantjer

Inspector DeKok of the Amsterdam police and his right-hand man Vledder are pulled into a search for a missing young woman. Nanette Bogaard's cousin Kristel van Daalen comes to report her as missing. Nanette is Kristel's partner in a flower business with Nanette creating beautiful arrangements while Kristel handles the business side of things. At this point the beautiful young woman has been missing less than twenty-four hours and Vledder can't understand why DeKok feels such an urgency about it. The cousin insists that Nanette has never stayed away overnight before and that she is certain that something awful has happened. As the two men begin their investigation, they find that they aren't the only ones looking for the flower-arranger. There's her morphine-addicted cousin, Frank Bogaard and journalist Barry Wieler who says he loves her but seems more like a reporter in search of a hot story, and Mr Staaten, a fiftish art collector and stockbroker who insists that the seventeen-year-old Nanette had agreed to marry him. In the background, there is Staaten's son Ronald who definitely did not care for the idea of a stepmother--especially one about his own age. There is is also the mysterious Brother Laurens, who may or may not have been Frank Bogaard's supplier, and  Pierre Popko, who painted a portrait of Nanette nude on the late Mrs. Staaten's couch.

The painting showed up at an art dealer's shop near the canals and seems to be very much in the center of the mystery. Once it's discovered, things move very quickly with Nanette's dismembered body found by the men at the Municipal Garbage Dump. A dirty one-legged doll helps lead DeKok to the location of Nanette's murder...and eventually to the culprit in this fairly grisly and cold-blooded murder.

I have such a mixed reaction here. On the one hand, I thoroughly enjoy Baantjer's style and the excellent translation work by H. G. Smittenaar. The read is smooth and fast-paced and the descriptions of Amsterdam make for a terrific background for the story. The murder is a little more violent than I tend to like, but we don't dwell on the imagery too long. And I thoroughly enjoy the relationship between DeKok and Vledder. My main frustration (which I share with Vledder) is that DeKok keeps things close to his chest--like Holmes. I guessed part of the solution. But the key word there is guessed. There are a number of observations that DeKok makes (to himself) that we're not privy to. He can't believe that Vledder (and we) didn't catch those things. But how could we? But for that I would be giving this four stars instead of ★★★ and 1/2.

First lines: It was raining. It had been raining for days, endless long July days.

Last line: "Yes," he said, "a snake in the shape of an angel."
******************

Deaths = 2 (one natural; one strangled)

These Names Make Clues

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Deaths = 3 (one electrocuted; two shot)

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)

Murder Enters the Picture

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Death = 5 (four stabbed; one poisoned)

The Plumley Inheritance

 The Plumley Inheritance (1926) by Christopher Bush

Major Geoffrey Wrentham has just arrived back in England after wrapping things up abroad after the end of the Great War. He's at loose ends and think he'll look up his old friend Ludovic Travers after checking in with his financial advisors. He learns two things from the financial wallahs--that Henry Plumley, the business magnate with whom Wrentham had invested money, had gone a bit mad while Wrentham was out of England and the finances are not all that they should be and that Travers has been serving as one of Plumley's secretaries (after Travers was invalided out of the war). Wrentham learns that Plumley is going to give a speech that very night and figures that Travers will be on deck for the event, so the major decides to kill two birds with one stone and try to see both men at the event.

He doesn't see Travers and he doesn't get a chance to talk to Plumley because the man drops dead in the middle of his speech. And a very odd speech it was. One of Plumley's other secretaries hands the man a note and suddenly the businessman starts spouting off about treasure and lillies and gardens. When Wrentham finally runs Travers to earth, he finds that Plumley had his secretary on a scavenger hunt shortly before he died--finding particular bits of wire, pine cones, used suitcases, waterproof cement,methods for making glass opaque, and other odd things. 

Plumley had more than one residence and one of them just happens to be in the village where Wrentham grew up. Travers has to stay in London to wrap up Plumley's affairs, so the major heads home to stay with his father and to scout around. He discovers that Plumley did some rather odd things in the garden the last time he was at his country house--ordering the replanting of the garden border and redesigning an old well among them. Just as Wrentham has been writing clues down like mad and tidying up his notes to share with Travers, someone steals his notes, sets a booby trap (that gives the major one of several knocks on the head), and Plumley's other secretary, Andre Moulines, is found dead from wounds very similar to Wrentham's. Next thing we know, someone has been digging up the gardens at both of Plumley's residences...someone else is in search of buried treasure. Will Wrentham and Travers figure out the hidden message in Plumley's last speech before their unknown rival? Will Burrows, the local policeman, arrest one of them for Moulines murder--or if not that, then for impeding an officer in the pursuit of his duties? And, in the midst of all the treasure-hunting, will anyone figure out who killed the secretary? 

So...what we have here is the very first of the Ludovic Travers mysteries by Christopher Bush. Except...our protagonist is Geoffrey Wrentham. The man who does nearly all the on-page legwork and brainwork is (you guessed it) Geoffrey Wrentham. Ludo (as he's known to his friends) comes across as a bright side-kick to the hero. I somehow don't think that the most auspicious beginning for a series sleuth. But then maybe Bush didn't plan on a series. Or maybe he started out thinking that Wrentham was going to be his main man. I don't know--but other than figuring out the last bit of the treasure hunt puzzle (with a clue that unless I missed it Bush didn't even give to us), Travers really doesn't do much of the detective work here. Wrentham isn't the best detective in the world (our culprit gets the best of him repeatedly), but he does decipher about 90% of the treasure puzzle. Nobody really figures out the murder--we get a convenient confession letter left mailed to Wrentham after the bird has flown. 

On the other hand, I really enjoyed Wrentham and his boys own adventure antics. It's a shame that Bush didn't make him just a little more perceptive and a little less prone to getting bashed on the head. He could have made a very appealing lead detective. Fortunately (from previous experience), I know that Bush polishes up Travers and makes him into a better detective than his first appearance would leave us to believe possible. This one is an enjoyable read even though the tale leaves a bit to be desired. ★★★

First line: Geoffrey Wrentham yawned sleepily and stretched his long legs, then, eyes opening to the sun of a July evening, started up quickly.

The reception of money was to him [the vicar] much of a mystery. That he generally found somethin in the bank when he was there was enough for him. (p. 40)

People talked about the army and its stereotyped phraseology, but that was plain as the way to the parish church compared with the sort of drivel those lawyer blokes could produce when they really got going. (p. 53)

A more unlikely conspirator than Ludovic Travers could hardly be imagined. He did not possess that keenness of manner and that incisiveness of speech which would appear to be the distinguishing marks 

of the human bloodhound. (p. 67)

The thing was that you never knew just what he [Travers] was capable of doing or when he was going to do it. Such was Wrentham's faith in him that he would have consulted him on anything, form toothache to tattooing, and have been sure of an answer. (p. 68)

Last line: "By Jove!" exclaimed Wrentham; "there goes one more bloke who'll remember the Plumley inheritance!"
**********************

Deaths = 5 (one poisoned; one natural; one fell from height; one hit on head; one in the war)

My Reader's Block All Challenges Drawing Winner!

 

I'm a week behind on this announcement--my apologies. I hope you haven't been waiting all this time with bated breath...But I finally remembered to pull out the Custom Random Number Generator to find us a winner in the Block's All Challenges prize drawing. After a lengthy warm-up (much needed here in the wintery midwest!), it has given me entry #10--Barbara H! Congratulations, Barbara. I'll be sending you an email telling you how to claim your prize in just a few moments.

Thank you to everyone who participated in my challenges in 2025! I hope you had fun and also hope that you are joining me again in 2026. Happy reading everyone!

Death on the Slopes

 Death on the Slopes (1978) by Norma Schier

Jason Ryder has been trying to recover from the death of his wife in a tragic car accident when two things happen. Valerie Mayne, a woman who says she was friend of his wife in college, shows up at his door and attaches herself, limpet-like, to him. He just can't seem to get her to get a job and an apartment and out of his hair. And he receives a letter from his cousin asking if he'd like a change from the high-powered world of New York publishing to the mountain slopes of Colorado. His cousin, who teaches at a small college in Aspen, is going to Italy to teach and there's an open position. Jason decides the change is just what he needs...and it's a chance to get rid of Valerie gracefully.

Except...

"But Jason, that's too good to be true! I'm dying to go to Aspen!"

And the limpet tags right along to Colorado. Where she immediately stirs up trouble, making everyone think that Jason has a live-in girlfriend. So...when Valerie winds up stabbed with a ski pole and Jason was last person known to be her...well what is the detective in charge of the case to think?

But...Aspen's newest female D.A., Kay Barth, doesn't think the police have enough evidence to make a charge stick and demands that the officers dig a little deeper into Valerie's past. Except...it's evident that's going to be a challenge. Despite making the national news and calls for information, no one comes forward as family or friends to help the police or claim the body. Could there be something in Valerie's past that finally caught up with her on the ski slopes? New evidence is found that there were other men in Valerie's life and that she had history of using what she knew about people to get what she wanted. Whose position did she threaten the most?

This is one of the better mysteries in the Zebra Puzzler series, though one could have hoped for more clues to the motive. On the plus side, there are plenty of suspects to choose from and there are several clues that could point more than one way. So the book is true to the series name--providing a puzzle for the reader. With the set-up, one did know that Jason would be cleared even though it looked quite black for him even at moments towards the end. And this series just isn't the type to turn things absolutely on its head by making the apparently guilty from the beginning suspect the actual villain after all. A fun, quick read that I enjoyed. ★★★★

First line: Margaret Watterson was new to skiing.

Last lines: "You can keep the scotch," she called out. The front door slammed behind her.
**********************

Deaths = 4 (one auto accident; one stabbed; two airplane crash)

Calendar of Crime Headquarters

 

Original 2026 Challenge Post

2026 Calendar of Crime Challengers

Calendar of Crime Category Spreadsheet

 (use tabs at bottom for each year)

Mystery Author Spreadsheet

January Reviews (reviews submitted)

February Reviews (reviews submitted)

March Reviews (reviews submitted)

April Reviews (reviews submitted)

May Reviews (reviews submitted)

June Reviews (reviews submitted)

July Reviews (reviews submitted)

August Reviews (reviews submitted)

September Reviews (reviews submitted)

October Reviews (reviews submitted)

November Reviews (reviews submitted)

December Reviews (reviews submitted)

All 2025 Challenges Wrap-Up

The Ultimate My Reader's Block Challenge Wrap-Up

I'm still playing catch-up on so many things in the blogging world after being away so much during November & December. [New links/headquarters for the 2026 challenges coming soon!] Here is the wrap-up one-stop shopping plan for all of the Block challenges in 2025. If you participated in any of the Reader's Block challenges, then you may submit your wrap-up posts here. The linky will be open until Sunday, January 18th. Then on Monday, January 19th, I will pick a random winner from all the challenges to select a prize from the prize vault. If you have participated in more than one challenge, you are welcome to submit a separate wrap-up post for each challenge and earn yourself an entry for every challenge.

Please list your name in the following manner (especially if you've got more than one entry): 

Name (challenge name) [example-- Bev@My Reader's Block (Vintage Scavenger Hunt)]

If you don't blog and don't have an URL to link up, you may post your wrap-ups in comments below (one comment per challenge) and I'll add you into the drawing. I will keep my eye on the entries and enter everyone onto a spread sheet in the order I see the entries appear. That order will determine the number for the random number generator to select.

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Reminder: My Reader's Block Challenges for 2026

The new year is almost upon us and I just wanted to remind my faithful challengers and all those looking for reading challenges that the posts for my regular Reader's Block Challenges went up a little late this year, but are ready and waiting. The Headquarters links in the sidebar will be updated for next year's challenges as soon as possible. Here's a handy list of each one. Come join me for new reading adventures in 2026!

 

Vintage Scavenger Hunt

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

Virtual Mount TBR Reading Challenge

 

Reading by the Numbers Challenge

Calendar of Crime

Color Coded and Read It Again, Sam Challenges

2026 Calendar of Crime: My Sign-Up

 

As I mention elsewhere, mysteries are my genre of choice. So, I have little difficulty filling up my calendar with all sorts of mysterious dates and dastardly deeds. The goal--to read one month-related mystery book per month for a total of twelve books. See link at the Calendar of Crime for details and a link to the monthly prompts.

January: Death on the Slopes by Norma Schier [New Year's] (1/9/26)

February: 

March: 

April: These Clues Make Names by E. C. R. Lorac [April Fool's] (5/12/26)

May: Murder Enters the Picture by Willetta Ann Barber & R. F. Schabelitz ["M" word in title] (3/20/26)

June: Don Among the Dead Men by C. E. Vulliamy [author DOB] (1/7/26)

July: The Plumley Inheritance by Christopher Bush [takes place in July] (2/13/26)

        Two Bronze Pennies by Chris Nickson [author DOB] (7/20/26)

August: 

September: DeKok & the Somber Nude by A. C. Baantjer [author DOB] (7/10/26)

October: The Division Bell Mystery by Ellen Wilkinson [author DOB] (1/12/26)

November: Harriet Farewell by Margaret Erskine [takes place in November] (4/8/26)

December: The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Great War by Simon Guerrier [takes place in December] (2/7/26)

                    A Case of Life & Limb by Sally Smith [Christmas] (6/11/26)

Calendar of Crime 2026

 

photo credit: Ellery Queen's Calendar of
Crime (Signet edition)

Ready for another year of mysterious months and dangerous days? I'm pleased to sponsor the 2026 edition of the Calendar of Crime. Just a reminder that this mystery-based challenge allows readers to include any mystery regardless of publication date. If it falls in a mystery category (crime fiction/detective novel/police procedural/suspense/thriller/spy & espionage/hard-boiled/cozy/etc.), then it counts and it does not matter if it was published in 1896 or 2026. 

 

The Rules
~Challenge runs from January 1 to December 31, 2026. All books should be read during this time period. Sign up at any time. If you have a blog, please post about the challenge. Then sign up via the form below and please make the url link to your challenge post and not your home page. If you don't have a blog, links to an online list (Goodreads, Library Thing, etc.) devoted to this challenge are acceptable OR you may skip that question.

~All books must be mysteries. Humor, romance, supernatural elements (etc.) are all welcome, but the books must be mysteries/crime/detective novels first.

~Twelve books, one representing each month, are required for a complete challenge. You may find the spreadsheet with monthly categories HERE. We will be using the 2024 version again this year.

~To claim a book, it must fit one of the categories for the month you wish to fulfill. Unless otherwise specified, the category is fulfilled within the actual story. for instance, if you are claiming the book for December and want to use "Christmas" as the category, then Christmas figure in some in the plot. Did someone poison the plum pudding? Did Great-Uncle Whozit invite all the family home for Christmas so he could tell them he plans to change his will?

~The "wild card" book is exactly that. If July is your birth month (as mine is), then for category #9 you may read any mystery book you want. It does not have to connect with July in any way--other than a July baby chose it. The other eleven months, you must do the alternate category #9 if you want to fulfill that slot.

~Chinese Zodiac: Animal must be important to the book in some way. Examples: animal name appears in title (stand-alone, not part of another word); animal itself is important to the story; animal appears on cover; important character is associated with the animal (nickname--for instance, owns one as a pet, etc.) OR book may have been published in a year that corresponds to the Zodiac year.

~Books may only count for one month and one category, but they may count for other challenges (such as my Vintage Scavenger Hunt Challenge). If it could fulfill more than one category or month, then you are welcome to change it at any time prior to the final wrap-up.

~Books do not have to be read during the month for which they qualify. So--if you're feeling like a little "Christmas in July" (or May or...), then feel free to read your book for December whenever the mood strikes.

~A wrap-up post/comment/email will be requested that should include a list of books read and what category they fulfilled. [Example: January: The House of Sudden Sleep by John Hawk (original pub date January 1930)]

~The headquarters link in the left-hand sidebar will be updated in January for 2025 for easy access to this original challenge post, monthly review link-ups, and the final wrap-up. The final wrap-up link will not go live until the end of 2025, so please save your notification until that time.

~If you post on Facebook, Instagram, or other social media to log a book, please use #CalendarOfCrime2026.

The Curse of Braeburn Castle

 The Curse of Braeburn Castle (2019) by Karen Baugh Menuhin

It's Halloween in 1921. Major Heathcliff Lennox's friend Jonathan Swift has married, retired from official detective work, and now lives with his wife's family at Braeburn Castle on an island in Scotland. He decides to do a bit of renovation in the section of the castle that holds their living quarters and while doing so makes a discovery within the wall. Lennox receives a message that Swift has found a skeleton wearing a crown and the former inspector wants Lennox to come to Scotland to help investigate.. The discovery has attracted archaeologists (whom Swifts suspects are really treasure seekers) and the head and crown have gone missing. 

The inhabitants of the castle believe the skeleton to be Black Dougal (an ancient enemy to the Braeburns) and that it comes with a curse and ghosts--very appropriate to Halloween. At the very least it comes with murder--because one of the archaeologists is shoved off the battlements to his death. And then someone burns the only boat on the island. Why does the murderer want them trapped? And why was the archaeologist killed? Swift and Lennox investigate and it seems that they will need to dig into the curse (which is a secret held closely by the Laird of the castle) and the history of Black Dougal. Then a second murder takes place and while Lennox has a suspect in mind, it seems impossible that they could have committed the crime. When he figures out how the person could appear to be in two places at once, he's ready to help Swift capture the killer.

Very atmospheric--Menuhin captures the castle setting very nicely. You are very aware of how drafty, yet claustrophobic the place can be. She also gives us good descriptions of the inhabitants and the archaeologist. Well-drawn characters that are clearly defined and work well in the setting. The only one I'm not sold on is Miss Fairchild, a psychic/medium who makes a beeline for the castle as soon as the skeleton is found. She's a nice enough lady and all, but she really isn't necessary to the plot unless the point is to validate the ghosts and whatnot for the Halloween theme. But she's doesn't add anything plot-wise that couldn't have been covered just as well by other characters. The plot itself is well done and I appreciate the way Menuhin has taken a device that provided a solid alibi in a particular Agatha Christie novel and turned it on its head. Very nice! ★★★★

First line: "Are you absolutely certain he said skeleton?" I asked, with a degree of scepticism.

Last line: I picked the little cat up, dropped him gently into my jacket pocket, called my dog and headed off for a long walk in the peaceful countryside.
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Deaths = 5 (one war; one Spanish flu; one fell from height; one stabbed; one buried alive)

An April Shroud

 An April Shroud (1975) by Reginald Hill

Superintendent Andrew Dalziel has seen his right-hand man, Inspector Peter Pascoe, happily married and off on his honeymoon. Dalziel is off himself on a vacation--a rarity for the superintendent. He has no definite plans, just aims to drive off and see where it takes him. The mild rain that started with the ceremony soon turns into full-blown showers...and eventually into floods. Dalziel finds himself stranded near a small river and rescued by a floating funeral procession. The family of the deceased man take him to their home, Lake House, until things dry up enough to rescue his car.

There are a number of odd things at Lake House: a "medieval" restaurant--not quite fully constructed; a frozen rat in the freezer; the lovely mistress of the house who has now lost two husbands to death under mysterious circumstances--the latest (and subject of the funeral procession) stabbed by a drill to the heart; anonymous phone calls; insurance fraud; and a general air of secrecy and deception about the place. Two more deaths put Dalziel's detective skills to the test, but he won't figure things out until the restaurant has opened and Pascoe returns from his honeymoon.

Reginald Hill is another author with whom I have an on-again, off-again relationship. We're more off than on for this outing. Blurbs I've read here and there indicate that this is supposed to be filled with humor. I just don't see it. There's vulgarity and sex for the sake of vulgarity and sex (as far as I can tell). There's rather inexplicable conversations between Dalziel and the inhabitants of Lake House. There's a mystery that Dalziel doesn't really seem to want to solve and when he does, he doesn't give the local law enforcement the full story. It's a pretty unsatisfactory book all 'round. But, hey, it's got a near four-star rating on Goodreads and other bloggers seem to have enjoyed it more than I did--so your mileage may vary. ★★

Side-note on the title: Unless I missed it, we're not told explicitly (other than on the book's flap), but I'm guessing that all the action happens in April. Otherwise there's no reason for the title except it gives Hill the chance to quote John Keats:

...the melancholy fit shall fall 

Sudden from heaven like a weeping cloud

That fosters the droop-headed flowers all

And hides the green hill in an April shroud

Honestly, I just figure he had a burning desire to use that quote because I don't really see a connection to the plot at all.

First line: No one knew how it came about that Dalziel was making a speech.

Last line: with a sigh he turned over on his side, reached out to the bedside table, picked up The Last Days of Pompeii and opened it at his place.
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Deaths = (3 one stabbed; one beaten to death; one drowned)

[Finished on 10/19/25--just haven't felt like reviewing it.]

Mrs. McGinty's Dead

 Mrs. McGinty's Dead (1952) by Agatha Christie

Mrs. McGinty's dead!
How did she die?
Down on one knee, just like I!

The old children's rhyme comes to life (or rather death...) when Mrs. McGinty, a woman who made her living cleaning for others (down on her knees, as it were) is found killed. She was hit over the head by an unknown weapon and apparently for her small savings of about thirty pounds. All signs point to her lodger, James Bentley. Bentley is an ineffectual man who had recently lost his job and was badly in need of money. But would a man hide the money under a rock in the backyard? 

Even though the evidence pointed to Bentley and a jury of his peers found him guilty and the man has already been sentence to hang in a very short time, Superintendent Spence isn't happy about the verdict. He can't say why exactly, but he doesn't think Bentley did it. So, he calls on his old friend Hercule Poirot and puts the case before him. Poirot is interested enough to go stay in the village of Broadhinny to see if he can spot anything that Spence missed. The detective's attention is drawn to two things: the bottle of ink that Mrs. McGinty bought two days before her death and a newspaper article cut out of the paper used to wrap her shoes. When he discovers that the article featured four women who were involved with old murder mysteries, he's sure he has found a trail to follow. And when a second woman, who had said she recognized one of the photographs associated with the article, is killed, Poirot knows he's on the right track. But he won't be able to name the killer until he can figure out which photograph both Mrs. McGinty and Mrs. Upward recognized.

I had a good time reading the book and then also listening to Hugh Fraser narrate it on Hoopla. He does excellent voice work and manages to give everyone their own vocal qualities. Given how large the cast of characters is, this is quite a feat. It's always fun to listen to "Captain Hastings" narrate an Agatha Christie story. The novel was a palate cleanser after the Beeding I just finished. It was so nice to sink into a nice straightforward detective story after Beeding's spy-thriller. Christie does it again--clues strewn about in such a way that you don't necessarily pick up on the right ones...or, if you do, you don't look at them the right way. We've got four women from the past, one of whom just might be hanging out in Broadhinny, and we've got to figure out where she's hiding. Or do we? Somebody killed Mrs. McGinty for her money. Or did they? She recognized a photograph and if we find the right photograph, we'll know who the killer is. Or will we? Christie managed to keep me in the dark (mostly) until the reveal. I had my suspicions, but couldn't quite put the clues together properly. 

While I enjoyed the scenes with Mrs. Oliver and Robin Upward wrangling over his adaptation of her book to the stage, I'm not sure she fits in well to the story. I mean, yes, she does provide one of the means (can't be more specific without a spoiler) by which Poirot begins to see daylight, but otherwise she really doesn't add to the investigation. In other appearances, she provides more information and data that Poirot needs and she seems a little more integral to the plot. But overall another great outing with Poirot. ★★★★

First line: Hercule Poirot came out of the Vielle Grand'mere restaurant in Soho.

Last line: "He's a murderer all right!" He added: "Cocky enough for anything!"
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Deaths = 7 (two hit on head; two natural; one poisoned; one hanged; one strangled)

Murder in the Grave

 Murder in the Grave (2021) by Irina Shapiro

Jason Redmond and his new bride have just returned from their honeymoon trip to Italy. Just in time for the newly wedded lord to land in the middle of another puzzling mystery.

Sebastian Slade, a young curate who had recently come to Upper Finchley from London, is covered over in a grave that had been prepared for another body. When Arthur Weeks, tasked with digging graves and making preparations for funerals, stopped by the grave early in the morning to make sure that all was shipshape he was surprised to find it not as deep as it should be. Thinking he must have made a mistake, he grabs his shovel and prepares to dig a little deeper and is shocked to find a body under the loose earth at the bottom. That same shovel was used to bash Slade over the head and bury him in the open grave. But who would have wanted to kill the new curate?

When Redmond and Inspector Haze begin to investigate, the answer seems to be "nobody." The man hadn't been in the area long enough to make enemies and everyone speaks of how kind and nice he was. But the longer they look, the more they find that the good man of God wasn't. Good, that is. He was sent to the country parish as punishment for butting heads with his superior in London. He had a taste for gambling. And an eye for a pretty face...especially if the pretty face was a bit on the young side. Did one of his creditors get tired of waiting for payment? Or did a relative of one of the girls he seduced decide to take revenge? Meanwhile, our detectives discover that Slade's niece was kidnapped and the trail seems to lead to Upper Finchley. Is there a connection to Slade's murder? Redmond and Haze need to find out before there is another death...

This series is turning into a bit of a comfort read for me. Comfortable characters with interesting interactions. Just enough background on the recurring characters to give them depth without bogging down the mystery with personal drama, angst, or hang-ups (like so many current authors like to weigh their detectives down with). And the plot in this one is a bit stronger than the previous four (not they weren't good). We got a nice little twist on the motive and I like the way Shapiro ties up all the loose ends from the two mysteries. A very strong entry.  ★★★★ and 1/2.

First line (Prologue): The day dawned bright and humid, the sun blazing in a cloudless sky and the temperature rising with every passing hour.

First line (1st Chapter): Jason Redmond came awake in the best way possible to find his new wife leaning over him, her lips brushing against his as her nightdress offered a tantalizing glimpse of her lovely breasts.

Last line: "The Bells," Jason agreed, and followed Daniel to the tavern.
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Deaths = 9 (one hit on head; four natural; three hanged; one beaten to death)

Appointment with Death (audio novel; mini-review)

 Appointment with Death (1938; audio novel 2001) by Agatha Christie
  ~audio novel read by Hugh Fraser

I listened to the HarperAudio version of Christie's book while traveling to and from my parents' house this past week. When taking audio novels along for road trips, I prefer to listen to stories I've previously read so that it won't matter if I miss a few details while concentrating on the traffic. Since I have already reviewed Appointment with Death here on the blog, I won't go into detail about the plot or my reaction to the story. Those interested in those details may find them at the link connected to the title.

The audio novel, which is read by Hugh Fraser who played Captain Hastings on television, is superb. Fraser is excellent at capturing the voices of each character and, amazingly, was able to give distinction between Poirot's Belgian accent and Dr. Gerard's French. I thoroughly enjoyed the audio experience--listening to "Captain Hastings" recount the adventures in Petra made the miles fly by. Given how much I enjoyed Fraser's performance, I'm going to bump up the rating for this experience of the book to ★★★★ stars instead of the three previously awarded for the novel alone.

First line: "You do see, don't you, that she's got to be killed?"

Last lines: "She didn't get what she wanted out of life. It must have been tough for her."
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Deaths = 3 (one natural; one poisoned; one shot)

Finished on 7/11/25

Twelve Drummers Drumming

 Twelve Drummers Drumming (2021). C. C. Benison (Doug Whiteway)

Father Tom Christmas (who prefers vicar or just plain Tom) comes to Thornford Regis looking for peace and quiet for himself and his daughter. He's escaping London where his wife was brutally murdered in their church by an unknown assailant. He has come to replace the Reverend Peter Kinsey, the village's previous vicar who had vanished into thin air not long before. Tom expects life in the small English village to be far less complicated and much safer. But as preparations are made for the annual May Fayre festivities, a young woman is found bludgeoned to death and stuffed inside the largest of the Japanese drums that were scheduled to be part of the entertainment.

Sybella Parry had led a wild life in London with her mother (a celebrity of sorts) and her father, after gaining custody, had brought her to the village where he lived with his second wife in an effort to help her straighten out her life. But the villagers noticed that Sybella seemed sly and like she knew everybody's secrets...and just maybe might do something about them. Did someone decide to do away with her before she could? Or is it significant that she and Mitsuko Drewe look extraordinarily similar from behind? It seems that it might be when one of Mrs. Drewe's famous quilts--based on pictures of village life--is stolen. It's a quilt that showed a picture of the cemetery the very night that the previous vicar disappeared. Was there a clue in the quilt? And did someone want to get rid of both the quilt and its creator (missing the mark in the second case)? Father Christmas has parishioners confessing to him right and left and he will face a moral dilemma or two as he decides what he can share with the authorities. Will he be able to help see that justice is done?

So, I have a few problems with this. First, the style of writing is very difficult for my to like. Benison takes Tom Christmas (and us) into scenes, cuts them off to take a look at another scene, and then has Tom doing these flashback moments to tell us what happened in the rest of the scene we left. So--what we get is a book that is a good 25-50% flashback telling. One of the first rules of writing is show--don't tell. Why on earth could we not just write the complete scene and let the readers see for themselves what happened rather than giving us half of it through Tom's memory of the moment?

Second, like many others, I originally picked this up thinking there would be a holiday theme. After all, we have Father Christmas (and it's pitched as a "Father Christmas mystery) AND we have a title and cover straight out of an incredibly well-known Christmas song. If we just wanted the title to match the vicar's name, then fine. But those drummers look like they're out of the Nutcracker and the actual drummers in the story are playing Japanese instruments. Seriously?

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Slight spoiler ahead:

Third, I'm not a fan of the dangling mysteries we've got going on. Especially since it looks like Benison abandoned this series after the third installment, so it's unlikely that they're ever resolved. We've got the murder of Tom's wife that was never solved. And then we have the mystery surrounding his verger's involvement in a previous murder case (totally unrelated to the story here) and the fact that he's disappeared. I'd be willing to bet money that neither of those mysteries are cleared up in the next books--especially when I look at the synopsis for each one. Very unsatisfying.

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On the plus side, I do like Tom Christmas and his housekeeper, Madrun Prowse. Madrun's letters to her ailing mum are probably the best part of the book. If Tom and Madrun had teamed up to be actual amateur detectives and Benison had ditched all of the "flashback" internal musings this would have been a much better mystery. ★★

First line:  Dear Mum, When I sat down to write this morning's letter, I couldn't help but think about that May Fayre 30 years ago, when I moved back to Thornford R from London, you all dressed up as always in that red shawl Dad found that time at Newton Abbot market and your pink brocade turban with Grannie's ruby broach stuck in.

Last line: There's a mystery there, for sure!

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Deaths = 6 (one struck by lightning; one stabbed; two hit on head; two train accident)

Thief Is an Ugly Word

 Thief Is an Ugly Word (1944) by Paul Gallico

Augustus Swinney, American refrigeration specialist (and ham connoisseur), is a bit mystified as to why he's been invited to a diplomatic, neutral gathering of Nazi, American, British, French, and Swiss representatives at the home of an Argentine millionaire to view the millionaire's latest art acquisition. Sure, he's a fairly high-flying businessman, but he's no art critic. And when he recognizes the painting on display as belonging to a Dutch gentleman of his acquaintance--a gentleman who at best has been displaced by the Nazi occupation of Europe and at worst.... Swinney knows good and well that the piece has been stolen from its rightful owner and, throwing caution to the wind, he says so to the company present and walks out the door with the painting. The Nazis, who are expecting financial assistance for their "glorious cause" in exchange for the painting, aren't too concerned. They are quite certain that Swinney won't make it out of Buenos Aires with painting. But Swinney comes up with a most ingenious method of sending the art piece to America...right under their noses. And even a beautiful Nazi sympathizer can't talk him out of his plan to return the painting to Mr. Jan van Schouven--if he can.

I enjoyed this short little mystery which apparently was originally written as part of WWII propaganda to get the word out about the Nazi war machine trying to fund itself through stolen artwork (see a mention of the story at H.V. Morton). Augustus Swinney is an appealing character and it's too bad that Gallico didn't write more stories about him. It's always nice to see Nazis outwitted and Swinney does it in such an interesting way. There's not a lot of mystery here. The single question is how Swinney plans to get the artwork out of Argentina. But it's handled so well that you don't really notice that there's nothing else to figure out. My only quibble with the story at all is below in my comment about the final sentence. Honestly, Mr. Swinney, I don't care how beautiful she is on the outside. ★★★★

First line: If one were to take a pencil, and upon a stereographic projection of a world map execute a series of straight lines connecting New York, Munich, and Buenos Aires, one would find oneself looking at a large isosceles triangle, the points of which are at a distance from one another that they might seem to preclude the coincidence of a certain day in early January 1944.

Last line: He reflected that only a fool bore a grudge against a beautiful woman. [Bev's take--if the beautiful woman is working with the Nazis, then a man would be a fool not to bear a grudge. Because the beauty is obviously only skin deep and she's rotten at the core.]