Hercule Poirot's Christmas

 Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1938) by Agatha Christie (read by Hugh Fraser)

From all appearances Simeon Lee is looking for a good old-fashioned Christmas with his family gathered round him. His daughter-in-law Hilda Lee hopes that he is ready to reconcile with her husband David--a breach having occurred when David's mother died. But Simeon Lee, a nasty patriarch who has always taken great enjoyment in stirring up as much trouble as possible, provided he always came out of it all right, has other plans. A good shake-up and threats of will changing are on the agenda. On the guest list are all his sons and their wives.  Alfred, the good boy who has stayed home and allowed himself to be kept under father's thumb; George, the "respectable" one--a member of parliament and in need of a generous supply of cash to support the life-style...and his rather expensive, spoiled wife; David, the one who resents his father most...primarily because of the way dear old dad treated his mum; and Harry, the black sheep of the family who left home after certain unmentionable events and is ready to be welcomed back to the bosom of his loved ones.  Surprise guests include Pilar, Simeon's granddaughter by his only daughter--who ran off with a Spaniard--and Stephen Farr, son of Simeon's partner from the old days in South Africa.

Simeon starts the party off with a bang--first by making it clear that Harry is not only home for a visit, but will be staying for good. This does not please Alfred at all--he and Harry never got along and he, like the good son in parable of the prodigal resents the black sheep being taken back into the fold like nothing ever happened. The patriarch of the Lee family also indicates that he has taken a great fancy to his granddaughter and the message is clear that changes to his will are in order. George, who has relied on a generous allowance from his father to meet his bills, is informed that future installments will be greatly reduced. There are other minor skirmishes, but those are the big battles.  It's no surprise that the evening after relaying the news about the will Simeon is found murdered--with his throat cut after what appears to be a violent struggle. It is a surprise that the door was locked from the inside and there is initially no indication of how the murderer got out.  It is also a surprise for the murderer that Hercule Poirot is staying with the Chief Constable and is soon on the spot to get to the bottom of it all.

As Poirot proves in the final wrap-up, they all had motives and they all could have done it--even the ones who were apparently alibied.  There are red herrings and clues a-plenty and an astute reader should be able to reach the proper answer.  That's not to say that you will--I didn't neither the first or this, the second time of reading--but it's there for the taking if you can grab onto all the correct clues.  Tight plotting and interesting twists are par for the course in a good Christie novel--and this is definitely one of that rank. ★★★★

First line: Steven pulled up the collar of his coat as he walked briskly along the platform.

I'm old-fashioned, I daresay, but why not have peace and good will at Christmas time? (Hilda Lee, p. 25)

I believe the present matters--not the past! The past must go.  If we seek to keep the past alive, we end, I think, by distorting it. We see it in exaggerated terms--a false perspective. (Hilda Lee, p. 26)

Pilar--remember--nothing is so boring as devotion. (Simeon Lee, p. 48)

Do you mean to tell me, Superintendent, that this is one of those damned cases you get in detective stories where a man is killed in a locked room by some apparently supernatural agency? (Colonel Johnson, p. 88)

Her eyes met Poirot's. They were eyes that kept their own secrets. They did not waver. (p. 106)

The character of the victim always has always something to do with his or her murder.

Mon cher, everyone lies--in parts like the egg of the English curate. (p. 142)

[about a triangular piece of pink rubber and a small wooden peg picked up at the scene of the murder]
HP: Yes. What was it that the senorita picked up?
SS: I could give you three hundred guesses! I'll show it to you. It's the sort of thing that solves the whole mystery in detective stories! If you can make anything out of it, I'll retire from the police force! (Hercule Poirot, Superintendent Sugden; p. 165)

When one suffers some great hurt physically, it causes shock and pain, but it slowly mends, the flesh heals, the bone knits. There may be, perhaps a little weakness, a slight scar, but nothing more. My husband, Mr. Poirot, suffered a great hurt mentally at his most susceptible age.  He adored his mother and he saw her die. He believed that his father was morally responsible for that death. From that shock he has never quite recovered. (Hilda Lee, p. 178)

Last line: Hercule Poirot conscious of the draughts around his neck, thought to himself: "Pour moi, every time the central heating..."

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

Deaths = one stabbed

The Clocks

 The Clocks (1963) by Agatha Christie (read by Robin Bailey)

This is a reread for me (as are nearly all Christie stories) and I reviewed it in detail last year. (HERE) So, I'm not going to do so here. This will be more of a story about listening to the story.

When traveling up to my parents' house in Wabash, I like to listen to audio novels to make the three hour trip go by quickly. My preference for audio novels (especially when driving and concentrating on traffic) is to listen to stories I've already read so if I miss a bit here or there it won't matter so much. And when my son goes with me, it's especially fun to take an Agatha Christie along to see him react to various clues and red herrings. It was great fun to listen to him point out certain features that I knew were leading him astray and the experience also gave me more time to appreciate some of the humor in Christie's narrative that I had missed before. What is really interesting is that just like last time--I remembered the main culprit (of the murder portion of the plot), but Christie still fooled me on the motive. I'd completely forgotten about that connection.

The best part of this audio experience was sharing it with my son. He is definitely not his mother's child when it comes to books and I treasure every time we can connect over novels like this. Road trips to his grandparents seem to make for good times for sharing a story and I'm pleased that he enjoys the Christie mysteries enough to listen along with me. He even asked to have the remaining disks so he could finish the book (six hours wasn't quite enough time to reach the grand finale). A definite win for his book-loving mom!

I stand by the ★★★  and 1/2 rating (average of book and audio performance ratings) that I gave this last June.

First line: The afternoon of the 9th of September was exactly like any other afternoon.

Last lines: Our friend Colin has married that girl. If you ask me, he's mad. All the best. Yours, Richard Hardcastle.

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

Deaths = 3 (two stabbed; one strangled)

The Death at Yew Corner

 The Death at Yew Corner (1980) Richard Forrest

Dr. Fabian "Faby" Bunting was a force to be reckoned with. An opinionated former educator who now lives Murphysville Convalescent Home, she spends her days shouting encouragement to the home's staff who are currently striking for better pay and benefits. She's a loud supporter and doesn't mind who knows. She also spends a bit of time watching what everyone gets up to with her old pair of opera glasses. But she watches one too many odd things and winds up scaled to death in the center's therapy hot tub. The center's managing director is all set to sweep the death under the rug--disguised as "heart failure" (well one's heart probably would fail if one were dumped into scalding water...), but Faby has an ex-student and friend in former Senator Beatrice Wentworth. 

And Bea Wentworth learned from the best when it came to investigating oddities and not taking no for an answer. She knows there's no way Faby climbed into that scalding tub by herself (she was wheelchair-bound) and no one will fess up to helping her in. It's intimated that maybe Dr. Bunting committed suicide because she knew she was old and declining in health, but who in their right mind would commit suicide by scalding water? Bea and her husband Lyon, have gotten involved in murders before and insist that their police friend Chief Rocco Herbert investigate. He's a bit reluctant until it becomes apparent that the striking workers' union leader disappeared at about the same time as Faby died. Perhaps Faby saw what happened to Marty Rustman? And then one of the orderlies on duty that day at the convalescent home turns up dead....and more deaths follow. It seems that the convalescent home has become a center of death instead of recovery and there's quite a trail of corruption leading to the owners of the convalescent center. But is that the motive for murder? Or is something else driving the killer? It's up to Lyon--with his eye for small details--to put all the clues together.

I wasn't all that taken with the background of the strike and the corruption going on at high levels. It was all a bit heavy-handed and really disrupted my enjoyment of the mystery. Which is unfortunate, because Forrest really sets a pretty problem. You have the matter of a dead man who maybe isn't. You have a string of deaths that may be related and, if so, may be revenge killings. But--you have to decide whether someone is using all that as cover...and, if so, who? And, finally, Forrest gives us a really nice locked room murder towards the end. The explanation is interesting and I'm still trying to decide if it really could have been done in the time allowed. If you buy into that possibility, then it really is a nifty locked room solution. I'm pretty well giving all the star value to the locked room portion of the story. ★★ and 3/4--not quite a full three.

First lines: "Don't let the g-d- scabs in here. Hit him with a two-by-four!"

Last lines: He wanted to cry but knew it wouldn't help. He knelt next to them to help scrub.

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

Deaths = 7 (one scalded to death;  four suffocated [one buried alive; one drowned in wet cement; one buried in debris from dump truck; one with plastic bag over head]; one poisoned dog named Kurt; one shot)

Spare Time for Murder

 Manders End, I thought. Yes, I would drive there now in the Pardiso and stay the night in one of those nice sounding pubs. That was how the trouble started. Spare Time for Murder (1960) by John Gale

For reasons inexplicable to me (other than it fits with the plot) Anthony Somers takes one look at a flyer left in the glove compartment of his brand new (to him) Paradiso car and decides that it's been his life's ambition to go to Manders End, home of the Manders End Research Laboratories. Now, if I were looking for somewhere fun and/or relaxing to spend my holiday, I don't think a village whose claim to fame is a research laboratory would be my first (or second or tenth) choice. But maybe that's just me. 

Then, the next inexplicable thing happens. He walks into a pub at Manders End and watches the owner be unusually interested in his car. A girl named Cynthia Trail at the bar mistakes him for a man named Saunders and does he correct her? Oh, no. He just lets it lie and winds up letting the pub owner call another inn and make a reservation for him (and his new friend Cynthia)...under the name of Saunders. But then he signs in as Somers (does nobody wonder why the different names?). Did he tell Cynthia his real name on the way over? Does she believe him? Gale certainly doesn't think we need to know.

Perhaps Somers is just looking for a bit of adventure to liven up his life. Who knows? After all, when we meet him, we learn next to nothing about him. He's got two weeks of holiday left. That's is--we don't know what he does for a living--whether he's got a deadly dull job or what. Later, Gale casually drops the fact that Somers is in the Navy. Supposedly doing hush-hush things. But for a guy who does hush-hush things, he certainly blunders about. It's a miracle that he gets out of this little adventure alive.

So...anyway, Somers gets involved up to his eyeballs in a thriller that involves a secret lab, unusual experiments, and mysterious deaths. Scotland Yard, in the form of Inspector Clarke, is on the spot--wondering why two men who had connections with another hush-hush place have suddenly died in mysterious "accidents." When Clarke finds Somers in Manders End, he checks up on him and discovers that he's just the man he can trust. Thye get down to business figuring out just what Dr. Larkins is doing up in that lab of his...and whether or not he's on the side of the angels.

The blurb on the dust jacket flap calls this "fast-paced and convincing." Fast-paced, I can agree with. I sat down and read this in about an hour and a half. Once Somers gets installed in Manders End, the pace picks up and zips you right along to the end. Convincing? Not so much. I still find it odd that Somers wants to spend his holiday with his spiffy new sports car in an out-of-way place that has only a research lab as its claim to fame. And Somers isn't really the hero-type. Perhaps Gale is going for the "average guy thrust into extraordinary circumstances" trope. But--if you buy the premise, then this is a fun ride and Somers (bumbler though he is) is likeable fellow and his relationship with Clarke is a good one. I also appreciated that Gale did something a little different with the boy-meets-girl storyline. 

If you're looking for a whodunnit puzzler, then this definitely isn't going to fit that bill. But for adventure, this thriller might be just what the doctor ordered. ★★★ and 1/2.

First line: I still had two weeks' holiday left when my Premium Bond came up, and this was enough to decide me.

It seems a pleasant enough place. But there seems to be something a shade wrong with it. It is as though people are waiting for something to happen; something is going on that is wrong. It is going on deep down underneath and you can't tell what it is; you only know it is there because now and then it just disturbs the surface and distorts it. (Tony Somers; p. 59)

Last line: "Muriel will have to wait," I said.

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

Deaths = 7 (one drowned; beaten to death; one bombed; one mauled by dogs; three shot)

A Christmas Carol

 A Christmas Carol (1843) by Charles Dickens, performed by Sir Patrick Stewart (1991)

With all the adaptations of A Christmas Carol out there--everything from the Muppets to Scooby Doo to Fred Flintstone to Mickey Mouse to Patrick Stewart (filmed version as well as this audio novel) to Rich Little to the classic 1951 film with Alistair Sim and the 1970 version with Albert Finney & Alec Guinness, surely I don't need to summarize the story. Even if you've never read it, the story of the greedy, nasty miser who has a change of heart has seeped into the public consciousness so thoroughly that we all seem to know what it means when someone is accused of being a Scrooge.

So, let's just skip to this audio performance by Patrick Stewart. Stewart reads the story in full, giving full flavor to each character. It is a spirited performance (no pun intended) and very entertaining. And, of course, I adore Patrick Stewart and enjoyed him reading this well-loved Christmas classic. Listening to this version may just have to become a holiday tradition--just as watching White Christmas is for me. ★★★★★

First line: Marley was dead, to begin with.

Last line: And so, as Tiny Tim observed, "God bless us, everyone."

In the Crypt with a Candlestick

 In the Crypt with a Candlestick (2021) by Daisy Waugh

Sir Ecgbert Tode has finally shuffled off this mortal coil and his widow, the still feisty (at 70-ish) Lady Tode is ready to hand over the reins of the family estate, Tode Hall, to the next generation. She's been counting the days until she can kick over the traces and go live at her place in Capri. Unfortunately, someone else has other plans and what she winds up kicking is the bucket...

In this case, you definitely can't judge a book by its cover. The art deco cover picture with very twenties-style lady would make you think a historical, Golden Age mystery was in store. The blurb on the back:

"Fans of P. G. Wodehose and Agatha Christie should bag this madcap comedy whodunnit."

would also lead you to believe you had something set in the twenties or thirties. You would be wrong. Discovering that mistake, you might think you were getting a modern take on the Golden Age mystery. You'd be pretty much wrong on that assumption as well. That may have been what Waugh was going for...after all we have a huge ("have you forgotten how big the house is? That's like being Town Manager. Imagine being Mayor of the most beautiful town in the entire world.") country house. We have Sir Ecgbert and Lady Emma Tode. Well...we Sir Ecbert briefly...after all, when he's introduced he's already dead at 93. And Emma doesn't stick around too long. But, hey, we get another Sir Ecgbert and various relations. So, yeah. "typical" Golden Age country house family. And we have the devoted (sortof) butler who's been with the family for donkey's years. And the elderly ex-housekeeper who winds up back at the estate. And various people swanning around like it might be the Golden Age. But it's not...we've got cell phones and internet and email. And the country house has become a tourist attraction because taxes and because it was used as the location for a "Downton Abbey" sort of television show. People are takins selfies in the bedroom where the Duke of Whosit (played by Laurence Olivier [seriously?]) played out his death scene.

As indicated by the title we wind up with a (fresh) corpse in the crypt bashed with a candlestick. And we're supposed to want to know who did in Lady Tode in such a foul manner just when she was getting ready to enjoy herself. But...honestly, the mystery is just not that interesting. And it's certainly not nearly as humorous as Wodehouse nor as well-planned and plotted as Christie. All of the "clues" to whodunnit are dumped out in the very last chapter and there is no way on earth the reader can get the answer by deduction. I mean, there aren't exactly heaps of real suspects running round, so it's not difficult to guess. But spotting the killer because they're pretty much the only choice is a far cry from solving a cleverly plotted puzzle. I'm super-glad I checked this out from the library and didn't buy a copy...  ★★

First line: Lady Tode stood by the Great North Door of her important house, a vision of slimness and grief as she watched her husband take leave of the building for the last time.

Last line (from an email): Big hugs to you all and REALLY look forward to welcoming you super-gorgeous people home to your super-gorgeous home!

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

Deaths = 4 (one natural; one drug overdose; one hit on head; one fell from height)

Fan Fiction

 Fan Fiction (2021) by Brent Spiner (with Jeanne Darst)

Brent Spiner spins a tale loosely based on real events to show what happens when fans become fiendishly obsessed with celebrities. It's 1991 and Star Trek The Next Generation is beginning to take off. Spiner and his TNG colleagues are getting bags and buckets full of fan mail. It's all very pleasant to have people like your character so much...until one day a rather odiferous package arrives at Spiner's trailer. It's got a pig's penis (yes, you read that correctly) in blood and message that indicates that Data's days are numbered. More nasty notes follow and soon everyone from lot security to the FBI are interested in Spiner's stalker. He winds up hiring a body guard (who takes her job of sticking close to her employer very seriously). Other weird mail also shows up...from a woman in Minnesota who thinks Spiner is calling her up late at night to talk dirty. Is she the stalker? The entire cast get involved in trying to save their favorite android--Patrick Stewart offers to teach Spiner self-defense, Jonathan Frakes offers his home as sanctuary, and Michael Dorn offers well-meaning advice (with some corny jokes thrown in for good measure). But it's good, old-fashioned detective work that saves the day when our stalker forgets that wearing gloves while writing threatening notes might be a good idea.

So...I really wanted to read this because it's Star Trek related and it sounded like a lot of fun. It wound up being okay. Some good bits of humor, but they're overshadowed by the outlandish pair Cindy Lou (FBI agent) and her twin sister Candy (Spiner's bodyguard). I just really didn't buy into their characters and they way they behave when on the job. I understand that this fiction (and, perhaps, a bit of fantasy/wish fulfillment for Spiner) but this didn't connect with my inner Trekkie the way I hoped it might. I  understand that the audio is really good with all the Trek actors contributing, I might have to give it a whirl to see if that version is better at meeting my expectations. 

The mystery of the stalker's identity is well-done and I do like Spiner's style. The plot moves quickly and it's a fast read. And I think he represents his fellow cast members well on the page. A little more believability in the extra characters would have gone a long way to increasing my enjoyment. ★★★

First line: When I was twenty-two years old, I left home for the first time and departed for New York City along with a meager cache of savings and a dream of being an actor.

Last lines: ...there is one absolute truth for all so-called celebrities That finally, finally, where would we be without the fans?

The Man Who Died Twice

 The Man Who Died Twice (2021) by Richard Osman

The septuagenarians of Cooper's Chase retirement home are off on another murderous adventure...or perhaps I should say adventures. Elizabeth, the self-appointed leader of the Thursday Murder Club and an ex-MI5 agent, receives a message asking her if she remembers Marcus Carmichael and asking her to come round for drinks at his new flat at Cooper's Chase. Does she remember Carmichael? You bet. The last time she saw a man named Marcus Carmichael, he was found dead under a bridge in one of her spying escapades. Is she going to accept the invitation? You bet. 'Cause she knows that the man who sent the invite is really her ex-husband, a still-active MI5 agent. 

It winds up that Douglas is hiding out from the mafia. It seems that while on an assignment that had him and his partner waltzing through an underworld banker's* home looking for goodies a bagful of diamonds worth 20 million pounds disappeared. At least that's what the banker, Martin Lomax says. Douglas wants Elizabeth, who he knows was the best and whom he still trusts, to help keep him safe. Elizabeth figures it will be a nice adventure and, besides, she knows Douglas. There's diamonds somewhere that she just might be able to find. And she's sure her friends in the Thursday Murder Club will want in on the action

Meanwhile, Ibrahim, one of the other three club members has been mugged and beaten. He recovers physically pretty quickly, but he's shaken and his friends are afraid he'll never leave the retirement home again. The perpetrator is pretty slick and the police know they won't be able to hold him. So the club puts seeking a little revenge...er, justice...on their to-do list as well. As with the first book, the bodies start piling up, and soon our merry band of retirees are trying to figure out who killed whom,  who is really dead, and just whose side some of these people are on anyway. Not to mention playing hunt the diamonds and dishing up a tidy plate of just desserts for that nasty mugger. 

I'll just say up front that this one requires an even bigger suspension of disbelief than the first book. In The Thursday Club Murders, Elizabeth, Ibrahim, Ron, and Joyce were pretty busy for a group of senior citizens--but at least the murders they were solving were home-grown, more related to their community. This time round, they are outsmarting MI5 agents, mafia henchmen, cocaine dealers, and small-time crooks right and left. They manage to hand DCI Chris Hudson and his partner Donna De Freitas a nice bunch of criminals on a silver platter. They whisk the diamonds out from under the noses of everyone. And they do it while trading innocent comments and friendly banter.

This isn't a look for all the clues and red herrings puzzler. But--if you're looking for a rollicking good time, plenty of action, and an argument for life after your sixties, then here you go. This is just plain fun and it was nice to see Joyce make a couple of good deductions that put her ahead of Elizabeth for once. I like Elizabeth--but it is nice when someone else gets to be right. I also enjoyed the twist upon twist upon twist (of course, when one is twenty pages from the end, one knows there must be something else up the author's sleeve...). There is a great deal of humor and also, more soberly, small doses of reflections on friendship, loyalty, growing older, and what death might be all about. A very enjoyable read. ★★★★

*the underworld banker holds collateral for various parties who are working out deals--everything from diamonds to cash and precious art to expensive race horses. 

First lines: "I was talking to a woman in Ruskin Court, and she said she's on a diet," said Joyce, finishing her glass of wine. "She's eighty-two!"

Revenge is not a straight line, it's a circle. It's a grenade that goes off while you're still in the room, and you can't help but be caught in the blast. (p. 72)

"It is fine to say 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.' It is admirable. But it no longer applies when you're eighty. When you are eighty, whatever doesn't kill you, just ushers you through the next door, and the next door and the next, and all those doors lock behind you." (Ibrahim; p. 116)

Last line: I'm ever so sorry to interrupt, she says, but I don't suppose anyone here knows anything about 20 million pounds from Antwerp?*

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

Deaths: six shot 

 *Thanks to Scott for providing the quote that I neglected to write down before sending the book back to the library.

Murder at Kensington Gardens

 Murder at Kensington Gardens (2018) by Lee Strauss

Lady Ginger Gold takes her dog "Boss" (short for Boston) for a walk in Kensington Gardens only to discover the body of woman under one of the bushes. The woman wasn't dressed for the weather (in fact, wasn't dressed quite up to standards) and Ginger is appalled to see that body is that of Emelia Reed--the estranged wife of Chief Inspector Basil Reed. Emelia has what looks like a snake bite on her neck and it winds up that she did, indeed, die from snake venom. Basil and Ginger barely get started investigating the murder before Superintendent Morris, Basil's dimwitted, slightly envious superior, decides that Basil, as the victim's husband, is the obvious suspect.

Before Basil was arrested, he and Ginger had discovered that Emelia had been working as a burlesque dancer in one of the less reputable clubs. In order to find the real killer and clear Basil's name, Ginger goes undercover at the club--assuming a French identity which served her well in her secret service work during the war. "Antoinette" becomes popular with her French maid routine and manages to dig up evidence that several people might have had motive to eliminate "Destiny" (Emelia's pseudonym at the club). There's the fact that she was blackmailing a few of the club workers, as well as an American ambassador. There's also the rivalry between her and her fellow dancers--for the best position in the dance line-up as well as for the attentions of certain members of the regular audience. But when some of the suspects also wind up dead from snake bites, it begins to look like Ginger has been following the wrong leads. What clues has she missed?

Things are beginning to wear a bit thin in this series...the on again/off again nature of the relationship between Ginger and Basil for one thing. In the last book, Basil's wife had once again had an affair and Basil had decided to finally divorce her--he'd given her a second chance and tried to make things work, but Emelia let him down again. He and Ginger started seeing one another more seriously and it looked like the course of true love was straightening out. And then Emelia gets murdered and we're back to square one--Ginger doubting that Basil really loves her. Not understanding that the man could honestly be upset and mourn the death of a wife he'd decided to divorce. To doubt that he ever had feelings for Ginger at all. Honestly? It doesn't help that Basil goes all distant and then declares at the end of the book that he's been put on leave and so he's going to go to South Africa and "find himself" (my words, not his). I'm getting a bit tired of it all.

In addition to my exasperation with the romance on the agenda, there's Strauss's insistence that there simply must be a chattering,  immature young woman in Ginger's life to make things difficult. We had Felicia (Ginger's sister-in-law), but just when we get Felicia settled down a bit and showing some maturity Strauss decides to thrust Ginger's half-sister Louisa on us. Louisa is your stereotypical brash American--loud, blurting out everything that pops into her head, and she makes Felicia at her most annoying look like a saint. And Louisa was only in evidence in the last few pages of the book. I can't wait until the next book where she's bound to be more prominent.... [sarcasm font on full]

The mystery is decent (though I'm not sure I'm completely on board with the logic of making Emelia a burlesque dancer and a blackmailer--but once you accept that's just the way it is...). I did spot the villain of the piece (there were a couple of clues dropped that I actually spotted), but I missed what the motive was. Perhaps it was explained and I just wasn't paying proper attention to the audio novel at the right moment...Anyway, not the best of the series, but I will keep going to see if we ever get Basil and Ginger together and leave them together. ★★ and 3/4.

First line: "Your wife isn't being unfaithful, Mr. Patterson."

Last lines: "I'm getting married." Ginger gulped. "To whom?"

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

Deaths =  three poisoned

Reprint of the Year: Murder in the French Room

 For the last several years, Kate at Cross Examining Crime has been rounding up the vintage mystery bloggers and having us perpetuate her brilliant brainstorm (one of many that she has had). In the wake of various publishing houses recognizing the virtues of Golden Age (and more recent) vintage crime novels through reprint editions of both well-known and more obscure titles, Kate thought those of us who love those vintage mysteries would like the chance to feature the year's reprints and make a pitch for our favorites to be voted Reprint of the Year (ROY). We loved the idea so much that we keep coming back for more.

*******Voting Booths Are Now Open!! Go HERE to cast your votes. You may submit up to three selections. Please make sure at least one of them is for a Reader's Block choice!*******

My second choice is Murder in the French Room by Helen Joan Hultman. This 1931 mystery was reprinted by Coachwhip Publications in an edition which also includes Death at Windward Hill. I own the Mystery League's edition (pictured below)--so I can't tell you anything about that second title. I picked it primarily because it's been sitting on my TBR stacks for a while and the chance to use it for the ROY Award nomination gave me a good reason to read and review it. So, this nomination is more a leap of faith than last week's entry.

It winds up that the French Room is the posh section of the Line and Hollis department store in Buckeye Heights an urban setting in Ohio that seems to be trying to give New York's fashion row a run for its money. One wouldn't expect to find a "Madame" anybody managing a high-class ladies department in a store in a Cincinnati-type town during the 1930s, but Buckeye Heights certainly seems to imply that connection. And the murder that happens takes place in the dressing room. Joyce Terry leaves her customer alone just long enough to retrieve her order book...and be detained by the floor manager. When she returns to dressing room E to finalize the sale, she finds her customer stabbed to death. Madame Nordhoff, the ladieswear manager and buyer, is first on the scene, followed quickly by Jessica Brooke the store detective and then police detective Dan Bratton.

Unfortunately, Joyce didn't get her customer's name before running off for the order book and someone (the murderer or someone else?) has taken the woman's purse. She wasn't a regular customer at Line and Hollis and no one seems to know who she was.

Once the victim is finally identified as Vivian Agnew Thayer, second wife of the wealthy Rupert Thayer, things begin to get interesting. Bratton soon learns that many people with connections to Vivian were in the store that day...it's just a matter of discovering if any of them had motives and, if so, whose was the strongest. There are many false trails and false clues and, to be honest, a few too many characters running around for this reader to keep track of without a scorecard. While there are several things to like about this story from setting to strong female characters in both Jessica Brooke and a reporter named PaulaPringle, it does become a bit difficult to keep all the players straight. 

If you like puzzles that require keeping track of who was where when and could character X have made it to the scene of the crime and back again with nobody noticing, then this is definitely right up your alley and you should vote for Hultman for the ROY Award. If you like mysteries with an interesting setting, then this will also be for you. I'm afraid that if the department store setting makes you think that there will be lots of descriptive bits about ladies' outfits (Moira), then you'll be a bit disappointed, but don't let that deter you from choosing Hultman when it's time to cast your vote. And--you'll be happy to know that fashion does work it's way into the solution of the mystery. But...if you don't think I'm selling Murder in the French Room hard enough as a big ROY contender, then go back to last week's nominee--The Odor of Violets. Baynard Kendrick definitely deserves your vote!

**Note of interest: my Murder League edition contains the second of three Baffle Cases. These were short stories published at the end of three Murder League mysteries and set up as contests. The story was published without a solution and readers were encouraged to solve the crime themselves and submit answers in an effort to win prizes. Solutions to the Baffle Cases were supposed to be published in subsequent volumes--but this happened for only the first case. Murder in the French Room includes the story "The Crime at Laurel Lodge." I think I've figured out the solution, but I guess I'll never know for certain.

First line: Joyce Terry scuttled from the cashier's desk across the taupe-carpetted expanse of the women's ready-to-wear department of Line and Hollis's and into the more secluded quarters of the French Room.

Last lines: "It was a great case, Galway, but, believe me, it's the last time I ever want to have to run down murder in a department store. I'm not that kind of ladies' man..."

************ 

Deaths = 2 (one stabbed; one carbon monoxide poisoning)

A Surprise for Christmas

 A Surprise for Christmas (2020) by Martin Edwards (ed)

Another fine collection of mysterious Christmas tidings put together by Edwards and the British Library Crime Classics series. We have everything from jewel robberies, to killer radio sets to Christmas ghosts who solve modern murders. The best of the stories are "The Hole in the Wall" by Chesterton, "Death on the Air" by Marsh, and " A Surprise for Christmas" by Hare. Even though I'd read the Marsh story previously, I still find it a nicely put-together little piece and the ending of Hare's story is well-done and leaves the reader considering what will happen next. ★★★ and 3/4

"The Black Bag Left on a Doorstep" ~Catherine Louisa Pirkis: Craigen Court is burgled and 30,000 pounds worth of jewels have disappeared. Loveday Brooke, first female professional detective, is called to take up the case--she is also interested in a black bag containing clerical garments and a strange note which has been left on a spinster's doorstep. Are the two connected?

"The Hole in the Wall" ~G. K. Chesterton: Lord vanishes from his holiday fancy dress house party. One of the guests heard strange banging noises in the middle of the night and then was awakened at dawn by a cry for help. Murder is soon suspected...but where is the body?

"Death on the Air" ~Ngaio Marsh: It's Christmas Day and Septimus Tonks intended to listen to the Christmas programs on his fancy wireless set. But he's found dead, leaning up against the radio cabinet as if to listen more closely. It appears he's been killed by his favorite hobby...but by whom and how? It's up to Chief Inspector Alleyn and Inspector Fox to answer those questions.

"Person or Things Unknown" ~Carter Dickson: A historical mystery in which the host of a holiday party invites his guests to investigate a supernatural death from the past--which took place, naturally, in a room where no one wants to sleep now.

"Dead Man's Hand" ~E. R. Punshon: A snowstorm gives cover to a man who has robbed and killed his employer. It looks like he might get away with it...but then his wife blurts out a sentence that will likely seal his fate.

"The Christmas Eve Ghost" ~Ernest Dudley: Craig, the detective, is asked to investigate the ghost of a dancing girl and winds up solving a murder.

"Dick Whittington's Cat" ~Victor Canning: The cat in question is an actor playing the part in a pantomime. When he singles out a couple for attention, he has a fall and the lady's bracelet disappears...is the cat the thief or is it her escort who has been attendance when several other bits of jewelry have gone missing?

"A Surprise for Christmas" ~Cyril Hare: When Jimmy Blenkiron's nieces and nephews decide to give him a surprise for Christmas, it turns from a pleasant sugarplum dream into a nightmare--all because they wanted to give him a Christmas tree.

"On Christmas Day in the Morning" ~Margery Allingham: Campion investigates the death of a postman who was hit by a car on Christmas morning. Did it really happen when and where it would seem it had to have happened? No matter which way the police look at it, it seems impossible.

"Give Me a Ring" ~Anthony Gilbert: Gillian is planning a lovely Christmas with her beau when she goes out to pick up a few last minute items. She gets lost in the fog, finds a little shop with a lovely ring she decides she wants, and winds up smack dab in the middle of a drug ring and she and her beau come close to celebrating their last Christmas together...or with anyone. Arthur Crook saves the day.

"Father Christmas Comes to Orbins" ~Julian Symons (same story appeared in The Christmas Card Crime & Other Stories under the title "Twixt the Cup & the Lip"): Mild-mannered bookshop owner, Mr. Rossiter Payne has an odd little hobby--jewel robberies. And when the Russian family jewels are put on display at Orbin's department store can't resist planning the perfect crime. But then things go wrong--if only he hadn't made that one comment to his shoe repair man.

"The Turn-Again Bell" ~Barry Perowne: The rector's son is set to get married on Boxing Day, but there is tension in the air (all three of the rector's sons had admired the fair Iris) and a dark legend attached to the church bells. Not really a mystery, but a dilemma is solved.

First line (first story): "It's a big thing," said Loveday Brooke, addressing Ebenezer Dyer, chief of the well-known detective agency in Lynch Court, Fleet Street.

"He was not there when he did it," explained Fisher. "It's a poor sort of murderer who can't murder people when he isn't there." ("The Hole in the Wall")

"Modern intelligence won't accept anything on authority. But it will accept anything without authority." (Fisher; "The Hole in the Wall")

Last line (last story):So finally, at peace with himself, this one of the many Rectors the parish had known walked on home, and the small, flint-built, eleventh-century church, on the knoll overlooking the common, was left alone in the wide, white silence under the stars.

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

Deaths = 10 (one drowned; one electrocuted; two stabbed; three shot; one killed in an explosion; one hit by car; one neck broken)

Still Life with Murder--slightly spoilerish

 Still Life with Murder (2003) by P. B. Ryan

Set in Boston, 1800s. The Hewitt family is one of the wealthy elite who have lost sons to the Civil War. Nell Sweeney is an Irish immigrant who has known great hardship and now works as an assistant to Dr. Greaves. When Nell Sweeney assists the doctor at a particularly difficult birth for one of the Hewitt's maids and Viola Hewitt decides to adopt the girl's baby, she asks Nell to take on the role of nursery governess. Three years later, after Nell has proved herself as a governess and won Viola's confidence in many other ways, the Hewitts are dealt a blow. Their eldest son, William, thought to have died at Andersonville in the war has appeared in Boston--as the prime suspect in a murder.

Viola is certain that Will is innocent, but her rigid, upright husband is sure he's guilty and washes his hands of his son. Having no one to turn to and recognizing that Nell has a street sense and good observational skills, she begs her to help find a way to prove that Will, a former surgeon, did not kill. Nell isn't sure how she will do it, but she promises the woman who gave her a chance to make something of herself that she will try. Her investigation will take her from the prison to a cheap pub to an opium den.Will insists he did it...even though he has refused to plead guilty. Nell knows he's hiding something, but what? And why? 

I wanted to like this one a lot more than I did. It didn't even help that I like Nell. She's an intelligent young woman who takes on a task that's really too big for her. She makes mistakes and that makes her realistic--instead of making her the super-brilliant, always right amateur. She stumbles into situations that she's not prepared for and makes assumptions about clues in her rush to do what Viola asks. She also becomes very drawn to Will and wants to help him for his own sake. Will is exasperating--not willing to give her any help. It becomes quite obvious that he is innocent and is covering for someone. I'm disappointed that Nell didn't figure that out sooner.

Unfortunately, the mystery plot itself did not draw me in at all. Even though the motive behind the murder is compelling (and even understandable), it just did not work for me. I have two more of this series on my TBR mountainscape and I honestly don't know that I'll be compelled to read them.  ★★

First line: "It's going to be a bad one."

Last line: He turned and walked away, into the morning sunshine.

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

Deaths = 3 (one stabbed; one shot; one gassed/poisoned)

Murder at the Mortuary

 Murder at the Mortuary (2020) by Lee Strauss

The previous book left us with a cliffhanger. Ginger Gold had been investigating two mysteries, one of which involved a missing young actor. Throughout the story, she had no luck tracing the man and then the book ends with Agnes Green's body showing up unannounced at the morgue (no paperwork, etc) among a group of other cadavers. Before long more unregistered bodies have appeared and Ginger and Inspector reed find themselves investigating a series of murders that appear to be work of the Italian mafia--a group that has recently gotten a foothold in England. There are indications of cocaine smuggling and horse doping in addition to murder, but finding the evidence to tie the deaths to Charles Sabini, horse racing enthusiast and Italian mob leader is difficult. They have little luck identifying the middle man (or woman) at the morgue who has been forging the papers for the extra corpses.

This is Ginger's first paid job as an investigator. Angus Green's father and brother hire her to find out what really happed to Angus and help the police bring the culprit to justice. She also feels somewhat responsible because her sister-in-law had asked her to find the man and she had failed. Things get very dangerous--not only for Ginger but for both Hayley, her friend who is studying to be a forensic doctor, and for Inspector Reed as well. And they will find that the mob has a reach that touches some who are very close indeed.

Another good historical mystery. This one is tinged with a bit more danger and action than previous installments. But Strauss continues her efforts to fairly clue her mysteries and create a more classic detective story. There were parts that I figured out fairly easily, but there was enough left to make the mystery intriguing. I thought the design to use the morgue to hide victims in plain sight (if you will) was clever. Not quite up to the standard of the previous story, but still very good. ★★★ and 1/2.

First line: It was unclear how long Angus Green had been dead.

Last line: Ginger wouldn't leave this hospital until she found out.

Deaths =  four shot 

The Christmas Card Crime

 The Christmas Card Crime & Other Stories by Martin Edwards (ed)

A third collection from the British Library's Crime Classics series. Edwards has selected another fine collection of Christmas crimes, holiday horrors, and seasonal slayings to delight every vintage detective fiction lover's heart. I'm pretty sure I've read several of these before, but nearly all were enjoyable--whether it was the first time reading or not. Particular favorites are "By the Sword," "Blind Man's Hood," and "A Bit of Wire-Pulling." While the solution to how the jewel thief is caught in t he Symon's story was pulled off very nicely, it was still one of my least favorites. It didn't quite meet the festive spirit of the collection. And the Paul Temple story is pretty light-weight--hardly a story at all. But--for the collections overall:  ★★★★

"A Christmas Tragedy" by Baroness Orczy: Major Ceely is murdered on Christmas Eve and all circumstantial evidence points to the unsuccessful suitor of Ceely's daughter. It's up to Lady Molly of the Yard to save an innocent man from the gallows.

"By the Sword" by Selwyn Jepson: Alfred Caithness is sure that the world is determined to do him out of what should be justly his--money, his cousin's wife, prestige, you name it. When his cousin refuses to loan him money during the holidays, he plots to get everything due him...he might wind up getting his just desserts. Not plum pudding....

"The Christmas Card Crime" by Donald Stuart: Dramatist Trevor Lowe and his friend Inspector Shadgold are on their way to a country house Christmas when their train is stranded in the deep snow. The passengers set out for a nearby pub to seek food and shelter for the night...but not everyone will live to see Christmas morning. [As a side note...Lowe is the detective here. Shadgold makes a pretty shabby showing for the Yard.]

"The Motive" by Ronald Knox: Sir Leonard Huntercombe tells an elaborate story of defending a man who may or may not have been guilty of murder to entertain holiday travelers on a sleeper train to Aberdeen. An unexpected (possibly unfair) twist at the end.

"Blind Man's Hood" by Carter Dickson: A tale of murder in a country house--told by an oddly pale woman in old-fashioned clothes. Inspired by an unsolved crime from 1902, Dickson gives us the impossible murder of Jane Waycross--killed in a house with the doors locked, surrounded by snow with no footprints that can't be accounted for.

"Paul Temple's White Christmas" by Francis Durbridge: Paul Temple foils a Christmas kidnap plan...aimed at himself!

"Sister Bessie or your Old Leech" by Cyril Hare: A tale of a man and his blackmailer. Just when he thinks he's free of the blackmail...he finds himself drawn more deeply into the web.

"A Bit of Wire-Pulling" by E. C. R. Lorac: Sir Charles Leighton's life has been threatened and Inspector Lang of the Yard is on hand at a holiday party to keep him safe. It doesn't look too good for the Yard man when Leighton is killed right under his nose.

"Pattern of Revenge" by John Bude: Not a whodunnit, a bit of a how-was-it done--a deathbed confession explains the truth about a love triangle murder and sets an innocent man free.

"Crime at Lark Cottage" by John Bigham: When John Bradley's car breaks down in a winter storm, he finds himself at Lark Cottage where a frightened Lucy Shaw expects her escaped convict husband to come and murder her. She begs her visitor to stay the night...and then signs appear that someone is outside the house.

"Twixt the Cup & the Lip" by Julian Symons: Mild-mannered bookshop owner, Mr. Rossiter Payne has an odd little hobby--jewel robberies. And when the Russian family jewels are put on display at Orbin's department store can't resist planning the perfect crime. But then things go wrong--if only he hadn't made that one comment to his shoe repair man.

First line (1st story): It was a fairly merry Christmas party, although the surliness of our host somewhat marred the festivities.

Last line (next to last story*): "And so did I," said Sergeant Wood. "I was frozen stiff."

*The last line of the last story would give everything away.

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

Deaths = 9 (four stabbed; one hanged; two shot; two accident...plus more not named or method not revealed)

Silent Nights

 Silent Nights (2015) by Martin Edwards (ed)

 One of several seasonal Golden Age short story collections put together by the British Library Crime Classics. Christmas in England in the Golden Age of mystery is a time to gather in country houses with family and friends, to have goose and plum pudding, to play games of charades, perform homespun theatricals, and perhaps perform a magic trick or two. The authors of the stories in this collection perform some tricks of their own--revealing the solutions to mysteries of missing jewels, purloined bank notes, and, of course, a murder or two. Readers will find familiar stories by Doyle and Sayers as well as a few stories never reprinted before. ★★★★

"The Blue Carbuncle" ~Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Doyle's Christmas classic featuring Holmes, a hat, a goose, and a most valuable gem.

"Parlour Tricks" ~Ralph Plummer: A simple but clever story of a retired policeman and a magician who made more than a glass of water disappear.

"A Happy Solution" ~Raymond Allen: A young man uses the solution to a chess problem to prove his fiancée innocent of theft.

"The Flying Stars" ~G. K. Chesterton: The Flying Stars are diamonds and they disappear during a Christmas pantomime. Father Brown is able to see exactly where the stars have flown.

"Stuffing" ~Edgar Wallace: Like Doyle before him, Wallace plays a trick with a Christmas bird. 

"The Unknown Murderer" ~H. C. Bailey: Reggie Fortune is looking forward the the holiday and his marriage, but becomes involved with a particularly nasty murderer who doesn't mind using children's parties as their killing field.

"The Absconding Treasurer" ~J. Jefferson Farjeon: When it's time to pay out the Christmas Club monies, the money is gone and so is the treasurer. It's natural for the club members to think that Mr. Parkins had run off with the cash. But Detective X. Crook knows well that things aren't always what they seem.

"The Necklace of Pearls" ~Dorothy L. Sayers: A valuable string of perfectly matched pearls goes missing at a classic country house Christmas party. It is up to Lord Peter Wimsey to see where they've gone before the culprit can make off with them permanently.

"The Case Is Altered" ~Margery Allingham: Campion finds himself in the middle of an espionage case when he spends Christmas at a friend's country estate and manages to save a young man from getting in over his head.

"Waxworks" ~Ethel Lina White: A visit to the waxwork hall of horrors at Christmas time. Various murders have happened in the local waxworks and Sonia, a young reporter looking for a story, decides to spend the night and investigate...this is perhaps not the best idea for a Merry Christmas.

"Cambric Tea" ~Marjorie Bowen: Christmas with a dose of jeaolousy, treachery, distrust, and maybe a dollop of arsenic in the cambric tea.

"The Chinese Apple" ~Joseph Shearing: Isabelle Crosland returns to England after living in Italy for many years to meet her niece for the first time. Her niece is all alone in the world now and the solicitors ask her to take the girl back to Florence. The niece isn't exactly what she expects... [Contains one of the most bizarre conversations I've read in a short story.]

"A Problem in White" ~Nicholas Blake: A train becomes stuck in the snow and the odd assortment of people in one of the compartments discuss a recent train robbery to pass the time. One of their number takes offense to something said and goes to another compartment. He winds up murdered and the reader is challenged to solve the crime. Solution at the back of the book.

"The Name on the Window" ~Edmund Crispin: An impossible crime--a man if found stabbed to death in an 18th C pavilion. There's heaps of dust on the floor, only set of footprints (the victim's), and only one way into the building (windows all locked). The dead man managed to write what appears to be the name of his murderer in the grime on the window...but appearances can be deceiving...

"Beef for Christmas" ~Leo Bruce: A rich man tells Sergeant Beef that he has been receiving threatening notes (apparently from one of his family members) telling him to stop spending his money so recklessly or be prepared to die. Beef is invited to the family festivities at Christmas and a corpse is in the offing...but it isn't Merton Watlow and it looks like a suicide...

First line (1st story): I had called upon my friend Sherlock Holmes upon the second morning after Christmas, with the intention of wishing him the compliments of the season.

"Why do you believe what people tell you about people? They're always lying--by accident if not on purpose." (Reggie Fortune; "The Unknown Murderer")

She looked at the black cavity, recognizing the first test of her nerves. Later on, there would be others. She realized the fact that, within her cool, practical self, she carried hysterical, neurotic passenger, who would doubtless give her a lot of trouble through officious suggestions and uncomfortable reminders. ("Waxworks")

[Wimsey] shepherded them to their places and began a circuit of the two rooms, exploring every surface, gazing up to the polished brazen ceiling and crawling on hands and knees in the approved fashion across the black and shining desert of floors. Sir Septimus followed, staring when Wimsey stared, bending with his hands upon knees when Wimsey crawled, and puffing at intervals with astonishment and chagrin. Their progress rather resembled that of a man taking out a very inquisitive puppy for a very leisurely constitutional. ("The Necklace of Pearls")

Last line (last story): "What? A drink, of course."

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

Deaths = 10 [one fell from height; two stabbed; one shot; one accident (fell and hit head); one natural (heart failure); one poisoned; one hit on head; two suffocated]

Murder under the Mistletoe

 Murder under the Mistletoe by Jennifer Jordan

Barry and Dee Vaughan take a holiday in Italy where they get their first glimpse of Miranda Travers. A fashion model with even more good looks than your usual runway beauties and with men swarming like bees round a bee hive. She's got two men on a string as potential husbands and a few others who'd love to shove the top contenders out of the way--including Morgan Grant who, oddly enough, she's gives little encouragement to. Even Barry feels the effects of her charm.

The Vaughans return home and forget about Miranda Travers...until she shows up later that year at the same country hotel where Barry and Dee have decided to spend the Christmas holidays. Once again she has all the men dancing attendance and it looks like she's going to add another feather to her cap by luring young Gabriel Field away from Joyce Bradley (if only temporarily). She even creates a stir between the two young men in the antique business. Major Henry Gardner seems to have her measure, but even he isn't immune to a beautiful young woman. When her Italian beau (possible husband #2) sends her a rare statue as a Christmas gift, she longs to show it to someone. But when she's found dead on Boxing Day and the statue has disappeared, one has to wonder if she showed it to the wrong person. Was she killed for the art piece or for the way she toyed with men's hearts?

I feel like I should have liked this more than I did. After all, it's got an academic-type--Barry is a History teacher who writes mysteries on the side. Barry and Dee are likeable people with a nice little dog named Bella. And the country hotel at Christmas setting is a nice backdrop for a bit of murder and mayhem. There's a decent sprinkling of culprits...though not quite enough with strong enough motives. But it just doesn't click. I don't buy into Barry and Dee as amateur sleuths. Even the fact that Barry writes murder mysteries and this supposedly gives him insights into motives and whatnot doesn't really help. It takes for-ev-er to get to the murder. As the first line below indicates, we have to start off with a detour to Italy first. And, sure, it gives us a bit of background on our victim, but not anything that we couldn't have picked up one way or another at the hotel. I get the feeling that Jordan wasn't real keen on her amateur detectives either, after all, she published this one in 1989 and apparently abandoned the murder ship. The set up with Barry and Dee and their pet Inspector Ken Graves, makes one think that a series was intended. But I think it just as well that it didn't happen. ★★

First lines: It all started in Spring. In Italy--Florence, to be precise.

Always tell women what they want to hear, when there is no fear of them taking you up on it. (Barry Vaughan; p. 101)

Last line: "Woof," agreed Bella.

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

Deaths = one poisoned

Spence & the Holiday Murders

 Spence & the Holiday Murders (1977) by Michael Allen

This is the first book of three which Allen wrote about Superintendent Ben Spence and it's the last of the three that I was able to get my hands on. In fact, I believe I read the trilogy in reverse order. 

Spence's debut is made at Christmas time. Just three days prior to the holiday, Roger Parnell, a local businessman and playboy, is killed in his driveway. Someone caught him from behind with the proverbial blunt instrument before he could find the right key to unlock his front door. When the milkman first spotted him laid out in the drive, he thought Parnell had been celebrating a little early and a little too hard. But the blood beneath his head told a different story. 

Spence is breaking in a new Detective Inspector and as they begin the investigation Inspector Laurel learns that Spence isn't a man to hurry things along and he's definitely not going to jump to any conclusions. Interviews always take place twice--because you never know what a witness/suspect might remember or let drop in a second round of questioning. They soon learn that while Parnell was an attractive, smooth single man with wads of money at his disposal, he was also a bit of conman....staying just barely on the right side of the law. Not to mention a bit of a cad and a peeping tom too boot. He made plays for the young women at the nearby school (but only those of legal age...) and was the love 'em and leave 'em type. He also managed a second mortgage scheme that put his clients in deep trouble over late payments as well as an iffy bathroom remodel business. There are plenty of people who might have taken offense at the way he handled women and business. But was anyone upset enough to kill?

This was an interesting police procedural which is a window on the past. There are a lot reminders of behaviors that were perhaps not acceptable then, but blinked at. The plot and narration reminded me a great deal of Dragnet at its best. It is bare bones detection ("Just the facts, Ma'am") and yet the characters are interesting. I particularly enjoyed watching the way Spence worked with the new man and the way he carried out his interviews. Allen did a fine job spreading the suspicion around so we had plenty of potential suspects in the mix. What keeps this from being a full four star book was the explanation of the motive and the actions of the killer that night. I realize that people kill for all kinds of motives that may seem inadequate to others, but generally speaking the motive at least seems to fit the character of the culprit (if the author gives adequate information on said character). I certainly can imagine the guilty party killing and I can even imagine them killing Parnell...just not for the reason given and not carrying it out as explained. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: If Roger Parnell had known that he was going to be murdered in two and a half hours time he would undoubtedly have paid more attention to the stripper who was featured in the ten o'clock cabaret at Big Fat Nelly's nightclub.

Last line: "Well," she said. "Perhaps you're right."

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

Deaths = 2 (one hit on head; one overdose)

Murder at Feathers & Flair

 Murder at Feathers & Flair (2018) by Lee Strauss

Lady Ginger Gold has opened a new dress shop in Regent Street called Feathers & Flair and plans to kick things off with a gala event. She'll have designer dresses for the well-to-do as well as well-made clothing in the off-the-rack section for those who can't afford a frock from Paris. She's also arranged for a well-known Parisian designer to give a debut viewing of some of his latest models. Everything is set for a breath-taking evening. 

There is a terrific turnout with everyone from a former German princess to a Russian duchess attending--along with the elite of British society. The event goes well, several purchases and orders are processed, the guests leave for home, and Ginger is breathing a sigh of relief when her shop manager discovers the Grand Duchess Olga Pavlova Orlova lying dead behind the curtain leading to the backrooms. Not only has the Grand Duchess been murdered, but the fantastic blue diamond necklace which had been on display around her neck is gone. Was the lady killed for the Blue Desire, a jewel which carries (as so many of these fabulous gems do) a history of bad luck for its owners? Or is there something else behind the Russian's demise? When a coded message is found hidden in the Grand Duchess's shawl, it begins to look like the lady has been playing in the spying game.

Ginger dives into sleuthing once again--this time with two investigations vying for her attention. Her sister-in-law, Felicia has asked her to look into the disappearance of Angus Green, an actor in the repertory theater group which Felicia has joined. Felicia and Angus were in the middle of a play run with two more performances left. Others think that Angus was just a flighty young man and took off for his own purposes, but Felicity does not believe that he would let his fellow actors down. She's convinced something awful has happened to him. When another actor in the group disappears as well, it begins to look like something is rotten in the acting circle. Ginger is going to have her hands full and a lot to think about...and then, of course, there is the complications in her personal life.

Her previous investigations put her in close contact with the very personable and handsome Inspector Reed. Reed has been separated from his wife (due to her romantic indiscretions) and has given Ginger to understand that a divorce is in the offing. So...why did he show up at the dress shop gala with his wife? It seems that Emelia Reed has begged forgiveness and asked for a second chance. Reed is torn and Ginger is faced with the fact that she loves a man who still very much belongs to another. It puts a strain on their detective co-op. But the duo do find a way to work together and eventually bring the culprit to justice.

I think this was Strauss's best effort at mystifying me. Even though she plainly displayed two clues that should have told me who was responsible, I managed to disregard them. Well, not entirely, I did pay attention to one clue...for about two seconds. It didn't seem to lead anywhere so I promptly forgot about it. I could blame it on listening to an audio version (I don't seem to take things in quite so well if I don't actually read the words), but I don't think that's the reason. I just didn't hang on to it and put it together with the other clue. One interesting note on this installment...it's a cliffhanger. The missing actor storyline doesn't get resolved and we're left with a tantalizing episode at the end that leads into the next book. ★★★★

First line: "You're a thief!"

Last line: Ginger grabbed at the string of beads around her neck. "Oh, mercy."

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

Deaths = two neck broken

Death in High Heels

 Death in High Heels (1941) by Christianna Brand

Brand's debut mystery takes place in a posh dress shop where Mr. Frank Bevan, proprietor and manager, is getting ready to shake things up. Everyone is sure that he is going to send Miss Doon (his especial favorite) off to manage the sales floor of a new branch in Deauville. But at the last minute, those honors go to Miss Gregory, Bevan's secretary and right-hand girl. Miss Doon was set to go to lunch with Bevan to celebrate her promotion--but winds up having lunch in the staff room instead. Hours later, Miss Doon is dead from oxalic poisoning--some crystals were apparently sprinkled on her portion of curried rabbit.

Where did the oxalic acid come from, you might ask. Well, Mrs. Rachel Gay and Mrs. Victoria David had gone to the chemist's to get a small quantity to use to clean straw hats. The stuff gets spilled twice and a number of the staff have an opportunity to get their hands on some of it. When Inspector Charlesworth comes to investigate the suspicious death, he finds that some had opportunity to get the poison, but no opportunity to use it on the food. And some had plenty of opportunity to use it, but no opportunity to get hold of it. And among those who had both there are few motives for doing away with Miss Doon. Then another near-poisoning happens and Charlesworth is baffled. Another inspector is brought in to help clear the muddle and then....Charlesworth has a flash of insight while interviewing one of the suspects. Has he finally solved it? 

Honestly, I found this quite exasperating. Throughout 90-some percent of the book Inspector Charlesworth is a most unpromising detective. There are points of interest that absolutely escape him and I can't believe it took 162 pages (and another inspector pointing it out) for him to confront the idea that maybe the intended victim wasn't really the person that died. I'm not saying that's the solution--maybe it is and maybe it isn't--but it was an obvious thing to consider as soon as everyone had told the story of that last fatal luncheon. It also never occurred to him to go talk to the chemist who supplied the oxalic acid. And, then, of course, there's his weakness for lovely young women and the fact that he "just knows" that Victoria David couldn't have murdered and attempted to murder anybody. Fingerprints on a glass? Pooh-pooh. There must be an explanation. Or maybe we can just pretend they aren't there. Again, I'm not saying she really is guilty (or that she really isn't), but I don't care for watching the detective tie himself into pretzels to avoid considering her a legitimate suspect.

And then there's the pacing. This thing dragged...and dragged.We went through the evidence several times and went through convoluted discussions of who might have and who didn't and who could have and who possibly couldn't have and it twisted my thoughts into pretzel shapes. The best of the book was when Charlesworth was interacting with Sergeant Bedd (and Bedd is able to one-up him on a few points) and the scenes in the dress shop environment. I could tell that Brand had worked in a dress shop--the attention to detail really gives the reader a sense of the atmosphere of a high-class shop. I was also surprised by the ending--I had considered the culprit, but then got so sidetracked by the various solutions Charlesworth proposed and his mental gymnastics in avoiding fitting Victoria up as the villain of the piece that I lost sight of that particular solution. ★★ and 3/4--not quite a three-star read.

First line: Irene was always the first to arrive.

Last lines: "I beg your pardon, sir. The racing yacht?"

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Deaths = one poisoned