Challenge Complete: Pick Your Genre

2017 Pick Your Genre Challenge

This challenge is about diving into specific genres/sub genres you love or just want to check out in 2017. So, it was a design-it-yourself challenge. We had to read at least 12 books in our chosen genre. I decided to go for 12 books in the Golden Vintage Mystery genre (pre-1960).

Here's what I read:

1. Death at Swaythling Court by J. J. Connington [1926] (1/4/17)

2. Death of a Racehorse by John Creasey [1959] (1/7/17)

3. The Snake on 99 by Stewart Farrar [1958] (1/11/17)

4. The 24th Horse by Hugh Pentecost [1940](1/13/17)

5. The Unconcscious Witiness by R. Austin Freeman [1942] (1/28/17)

6. A Losing Game by Freeman Wills Crofts [1941] (1/31/17)

7. Death Takes a Bow by Frances & Richard Lockridge [1943] (2/5/17)

8. All for the Love of a Lady by Leslie Ford [1943/44] (2/9/17)

9. The Thursday Turkey Murders by Craig Rice [1943] (2/13/17)

10. Episode of the Wandering Knife by Mary Roberts Rinehart [1950] (2/17/17)

11. Search for a Scientist by Charles Leonard [1947] (2/24/17)

12. Death in the Wrong Room by Anthony Gilbert [1947] (2/27/17)

Commitment Completed on 2/27/17

Death in the Wrong Room: Review

AC: ...here we are with a murder on the premises, and the police, poor fish, barking up the wrong tree.
JA: Fish don't bark up trees.
AC: You'd be surprised what the police can do when they get on the track, even when it's the wrong track.
~Arthur Crook; Joseph Anstruther

Anthony Gilbert is a pseudonym for Lucy Beatrice Malleson. She was a prolific British mystery writer (over 70 novels written under this pseudonym alone--she had several others) whose most famous creation is Arthur G. Crook, lawyer-detective. Her novels are known for skillful plotting, entertaining dialogue and interesting action. Arthur G. Crook is known for the fact that his clients are always innocent. Always.

Death in the Wrong Room (1947) features a cold-blooded killing in the midst of post-World War II cut-backs. Years ago Colonel Anstruther's daughter, a beauty in the Botticelli style, had run away, married a too-handsome-for-his-own-good ne'er-do-well, and wound up in the gambling life of the French Riviera. While she was away, the Colonel had built The Downs where he and his right-hand man Jock had lived in seclusion. When Rose Anstruther (who has re-taken her maiden name) shows up one fine day with bags and baggage, her father welcomes her home with the admonition that her husband never darken the door. She tells him that won't be difficult--Captain Fleming has taken the coward gambler's way out and shot himself. His name is never mentioned again and they settle down to a quiet life together--expanding the household by one when the Colonel's brother Joseph shows up looking for bed and board. Then the war happens.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the family's reduced circumstances force them to take in paying guests. The Colonel absolutely insists that the boarders be kept away from the family and the family's area of the large home is made strictly out of bounds. Until Lady Bate and her young niece arrive. Lady Bate is an irascible old woman who has managed to wear out her welcome in hotels and boarding houses throughout the area. From the moment she arrives, she manages to bully the other paying guests, offend the servants, and thoroughly annoy the Anstruthers. 

Lady Bate considers herself above the other paying guests and can't understand why she cannot see the lady of the house and be on an equal footing with her (much more suitable than the loud, talkative Mrs. Hunter and the deaf, eccentric Miss Twiss). One afternoon, when everyone else is out, she steals her chance and finds Rose Anstruther in her sitting room. And, how extraordinary--they've met before. From that moment, Lady Bate manages to wheedle special favors--morning tea in her room, a separate table for her and her niece, and she's working on a sitting room of her own. 

Meanwhile, Caroline meets the personable Roger Carlton and begins to see a glimmer of happiness that brightens her existence as Lady Bate's gofer and dogsbody. But her aunt manages to ruin that as well--monopolizing Roger and, finally, deciding that he could be the son she never had--down to deciding she should change her will in his favor. Then--as in many a detective novel--Lady Bate dies before she can sign the new will. The police immediately fasten on the not-quite-disinherited niece as the obvious suspect. Enter Arthur Crook. 

He'd prided himself that he understood the murderer's mind, now he knew that it is only when he is, in fact, out of his mind that a man is prepared to slay.

Since he takes up Caroline's case, obviously someone else must be guilty and he sets about finding out who and why. Could it be that Uncle Joseph finally decided to indulge in a real-life version of his favorite hobby--murder mysteries? Or was it Miss Twiss--she had been caught with Lady Bate's missing diamond ring. Had she stepped deeper into crime? And what about the hold Lady Bate seemed to have over Rose Anstruther...was that worth murdering for? And did Rose do the deed or did the devoted Jock decide to get rid of the problem. Crook will (quite literally) risk his life to keep his perfect record of innocent clients.... 

Overall, this is another fine outing by Gilbert--not quite the surprise ending that I've experienced in other books, but the story-telling is excellent, the characters are quite distinct and fully fleshed out, and the detective work of Crook is definitely up to standard. My one complaint with Gilbert's books is that she brings Crook in quite late in the game and sometimes this just doesn't work well (The Innocent Bottle is an example), but, here, the chapters introducing the characters and setting the back ground are quite necessary and very interesting so his absence isn't as keenly felt.  Very entertaining. ★★★ and a half.

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This fulfills the "Blue Object" category on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt card.

Search for a Scientist: Review

Search for a Scientist (1947) by Charles L. Leonard. Leonard was a pseudonym for M. (Mary) V. (Violet) Heberden who was also one of the few women mentioned in mystery critic James Sandoe's oft-reprinted and anthologized personal checklist of favorite hardboiled authors. Heberden's protagonist under the Leonard name is Paul Kerrigan, a private eye who spends a fair amount of work operating as a spy for the government. She was responsible for two other private eyes, Rick Vanner and Desmond Shannon. She was born in England and besides writing was known as a world traveler; office manager and timber importer.*

"Every time you lose a scientist do you have to send me chasing after him?" 

Search for a Scientist is the seventh in the Paul Kilgerrin series. The U.S. Army once again needs his particular brand of tough-guy spying--this time he is in search of a German scientist who has gone hiding in France. Dr. Fanz Neubrunn was one of three German scientists working on nuclear fission during the war. The Americans had managed to smuggle out two of them, but "lost" Neubrunn and it was rumored that he was dead. Now intelligence has suggested that Neubrunn is alive and well and hiding in Marseille. The Americans aren't the only ones after the scientists. Russian agents have been spotted in France as well and now the body of the government man who was on the job has just been pulled out of the Marseille harbor. Colonel Mathewson wants to send Paul in as an unknown.  

Another American agent--hard on the track of a counterfeiting ring passing particularly good fake U.S. bills--goes missing just shortly after making contact with Paul (to let him know what his colleague had shared on progress) and Paul will have to follow a convoluted trail through night-clubs, black marketeering, and a deserted house on the coast before he can find the answer to what has become of the American agent and the German scientist. But he'll have to use all his wits to escape the watery fate of his predecessor. As with all good spies, Paul has an eye for the ladies and makes a conquest or two along the way. 

Kilgerrin is a particularly personable private eye/spy. He has wry sense of humor and, even though he's in a ruthless and rather amoral game, he has some very human moments with those he comes in contact with. He sometimes questions the game he's participating, but never backs down from his commitment to the government. Not a true mystery--it's quite obvious who is behind the counterfeiting and how it connects to Kilgerrin's scientist. It's also fairly obvious who the scientist is once you meet all the characters--but there's plenty of action/adventure and it's definitely worth the read for the scenes where Kilgerrin hooks up with a master burglar for bit of late-night breaking and entering. At the end of the escapade, the expert expresses dismay that Kilgerring will not be staying much longer in France: "A pity. With training, I could make Monsieur into a really first-class professional." Good entertainment. ★★★ and a half.

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This was one novel in a three-in-one Detective Book Club edition. It had no cover photo--so I have used the cover above to claim the "Shadowy Figure" (dead) category on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt card.


*Biographical information courtesy of Kevin Burton Smith posted at The Thrilling Detective Web Site. 

Episode of the Wandering Knife

Episode of the Wandering Knife (1950) contains three stories--two novellas and a short story--by Mary Roberts Rinehart--the titular "Episode of the Wandering Knife" (1943), "The Man Who Hid His Breakfast" (1949), and "The Secret" (1950). Even though the last two were published later, they both have a war-era feel to them and, in fact, Nurse Adams is turned down in her effort to join the nursing staff for the armed forces at the beginning of "The Secret"--leading many to believe that the story was written earlier, but Rinehart was unable to place it for publication.

In the "Episode of the Wandering Knife" Mrs. Shepard throws one final champagne party before handing her palatial home over to the Government as a convalescent home. Over two hundred people are wandering round the grounds, but, since the Mayor has been invited, there are also policemen at every gate and doorway so no one can get in or out without being seen. When the party comes to an end, her son Larry goes home to the smaller house on the grounds to find his wife (who had pleaded illnesses to avoid the party) stabbed to death. Of course, Mrs. Shepard flies to his side and, not believing her son capable of murder, hides the distinctive hunting knife (his) which has been used to do the deed. As the title might suggest, the knife then plays a merry game of hide and seek--disappearing from Mrs. Shepard's hiding place and popping up here and there until its final appearance in the back of victim number four. Larry's sister Judy and a reporter by the name of Tony try their hand at amateur detecting in an effort to clear him of his wife's murder.

"The Man Who Hid His Breakfast" features Inspector Tom Brent who is looking forward to retirement, but who is assigned to one last case before hanging up his badge--he must solve the case quickly or face demotion. On the face of it, it should be pretty easy. A woman has been found strangled in her own home where the doors and windows were all locked up tight. The only other person in the house is her daughter. It seems it was mighty convenient that mother has died since Joy wanted to marry a man that her mother didn't approve of. But Brent is convinced that the girl and beau are innocent. But how can he prove it and who else could have wanted the women dead? When he hears about the odd action of the man who hid his breakfast before checking out of his hotel room, he plays a hunch and finds the answer.

"The Secret" is the last of five stories featuring Rinehart's recurring character, Nurse Hilda Adams. The story begins with Nurse Adams being turned down by the armed services for having an irregular heartbeat. When Inspector Brent learns that his favorite amateur sleuth will be staying on the homefront, he calls upon her to take up the case of Tony Rowland--a beautiful young woman who has been behaving erratically and...somewhat dangerously. She broke off her engagement--to a man she was obviously in love with and has since tried to shoot her mother and was behind the wheel when she and her mother had an automobile accident. Then her aunt, with whom the two are staying, tumbles down the stairs. The inquisitive nurse soon finds that Tony won't speak to anyone except a mysterious man she meets outside after dark, the mother is kept locked in her bedroom, and she (Nurse Adams) is not allowed to tend to anyone but the aunt. But the aunt apparently knows too much because she is killed--right under the nurse's nose. Nurse Adams finally unearths the secret hanging over the household and saves Tony from an uncertain fate. 

My previous experience with Rinehart has been with full novels. So it was interesting to see what she could do in the abbreviated format. Rinehart does a great job of setting the stage, creating suspense, and giving attention to character in the shortened space of the novella and short story. The titular story is especially good--providing a fair number of twists and turns given the format. Very enjoyable.  ★★★ and 1/2

Just as an aside...I did wonder if the toilet tank was the binding theme of these stories. Mrs. Shepherd hides the knife in the tank of her bathroom toilet. The breakfast was hidden in the toilet tank of a hotel room. So, I kind of expected the "secret" to be found hidden in the toilet tank in the last story. I'm afraid not...no thematic connections of that sort.

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This counts for "Knife" on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt card.

All Challenges Fulfilled: Cloak & Dagger, Follow the Clues, How Many Books, Mount TBR Challenge, My Kind of Mystery, Pick Your Genre, Vintage Mystery Challenge, What's in a Name, A-Z Reading Challenge, 52 Books in 52 Weeks, Mystery Reporter, Where Are You Reading, 

The Thursday Turkey Murders: Review

The Thursday Turkey Murders (1943) is the second in a trio of books by Craig Rice (with help on the third by Ed McBain). These are screwball mysteries starring Rice's photographers with a penchant for landing in the middle of murder, Bingo Riggs and Handsome Kuzak. Bingo and Handsome, late of New York, have decided to head west to seek fortune and fame in Hollywood. Handsome has the added talent of being able to remember everything he has ever read (especially in newspapers) which tends to help the duo get themselves out of more than one jam. 

On their journey west, they get sidetracked in the town of Thursday, Iowa when they accidentally run over a prize turkey. Bingo hops out the car to haggle with the farmer over how much the bird was worth and before you know it, he and Handsome seem to be the proud owners of 500 turkeys with hopes of turning their $1,200 investment into $5,000 with just a few weeks of work. The fact that he and Handsome are city boys who don't know one end of turkey from the other doesn't really bother him. 

But the boys really don't seem to have much time for tending turkeys what with being accused of murdering Gus (the fellow they bought the turkeys from) as well as there being five escaped convicts, a disappearance, a second murder, links to a 15-year-old bank robbery--with the money rumored to be hidden somewhere in Thursday, and a lovely dark-haired beauty who keeps popping in and out when you least expect it. Even though Bingo and Handsome don't know what's going on half the time, they still manage to help the local sheriff round up the bad guy and dig up the missing dough. Which results in the boys coming out about a thousand dollars ahead (even if those turkeys weren't Gus's to sell).

It's quite possible that I just wasn't prepared for Bingo and Handsome's particular brand of screwball this time around. Last February (almost exactly a year ago), I found these two unlikely detectives to be a lot more entertaining in The April Robin Murders. [Yes, I know I'm reading these in reverse order--I take 'em as I can get 'em.] It's also possible that Ed McBain's assistance with the unfinished work made Robin more appealing. Regardless of the reason, I wasn't quite as interested in the shenanigans going on in Thursday. The boys seem to be up to their usual tricks and innocently getting themselves in the middle of crime and murder. The sheriff is a pleasant fellow and makes and interesting foil for our two photographers. It's even clever how the turkeys get worked into everything...but all the turkey feathers in the plot just couldn't tickle my fancy quite enough. ★★ and 1/2. 

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This counts for the "Brunette" category on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt card as well as another entry in Rich's 1943 edition of Crimes of the Century. If you've got a mystery from 1943 to share, come join us!

All For the Love of a Lady: Review

All for the Love of a Lady (1943/44) by Leslie Ford. My particular editions each list 1943 as the original publication date. My good friend John over at Pretty Sinister Books [who reviewed this on back in July] has let me know that the 1943 comes from the story being serialized in The Saturday Evening Post beginning in December 1943, but was first published in book form in 1944. Once again I will be throwing myself on the mercy of Rich's court over at Past Offences to see if he will allow me to sneak this one in for his 1943 Crimes of the Century meme. Since I've already been given an honorable mention for one entry this year (and John used Ford's book for the 1944 round of the meme), I may be pushing my luck.

The original publication date isn't the only confusing thing about my editions--most particularly, the Popular Library edition (right). The back cover gives the following synopsis:

Something Old,
Something New,
Something Borrowed--
Something Dead

It was the wedding of the season. The bride was society's most beautiful darling. The groom was one of the richest men on the Eastern seaboard. To be invited was an honor; to be overlooked was social death. A few eager status seekers tried to sneak in--but there were all sent away in disgrace. Except for one uninvited guest, with a vital function to perform: MURDER.

Which would naturally lead the reader to expect the murder mystery to revolve around a murderous wedding. Nope. All the weddings even remotely connected to the story have taken place quite a while ago. And...that cover. I'll give you the black cat. That's important (not that any women are wearing a black cats as a chapeau...) but don't ask me where the spider and the mouse fit in because I have no clue (other than I'm totally claiming the spider for my scavenger hunt item).

So...you might very well ask...what is the story about? Well...you have Cass Crane who has been traveling all over the Far East looking for sources for rubber and other necessities for the American war effort. Cass seems to know a little too much about some things...and not enough about others. D. J. Durbin is a wealthy business man whose business may be a little on the shady side. He thinks he's going to get Cass to help him with his shady dealings. But death comes calling for him before he can really find out. Durbin's wife Courtney married the businessman for his money and a little short-term security. But she still holds a burning torch for her old flame Cass and will do just about anything to get him back--even though they're both married. To other people. Molly Crane, Cass's wife, is lonely and miserable and afraid. But is her only fear that she'll lose her husband to the wiles of the beautifil Courtney? Then there's Randy Fleming, a man who has always loved Molly and who may be counting on all the turmoil as his chance to swoop in and save her from her erring husband. And there's Horace Blodgett and his wife who host an all-too convenient dinner party at just the right time....And finally, there are the two mysterious business associates of Durbin's...who travel under assumed names and the equally mysterious Duleep Singh, who some call a mystic and who openly admits to Grace that he is a charlatan.

Cass comes home from abroad--but the only person who seems to know is the lovely Courtney. He didn't bother to call his wife. Molly is understandably hurt--but she still cares for her fellow and leaves him a bottle of his favorite alcoholic beverage as a "welcome home" present...then promptly goes to spend the night at Grace Latham's house (Grace is one of our recurring protagonists--widow and wanna-be amateur sleuth). Next day we find out that Durbin's chauffeur has been found dead in the house next door to the Crane's--from nicotine poisoning. Nicotine from a bottle of Scotch. Just like what was left for Cass. 

Initially, Colonel Primrose and the police believe that the chauffeur intercepted poison meant for Cass--possibly put there by a jealous Durbin who has seen Cass hanging about his beautiful wife once too often. But when Durbin is next on the list, they have to rethink their position. Were man and master killed by the same hand or is there more than one murderer at large? Colonel Primrose, despite Grace Latham's best interfering intentions, will ultimately get to the bottom of it once he determines who "had to murder All for the Love of a Lady."

The least misleading part of the book pictured above and the edition to the left is, indeed, the title. Because once you figure out which lady it refers to you can piece together who killed Durbin...and possibly his chauffeur. Is the lady Courtney? Did Cass Crane murder Durbin to free Courtney, and incidentally a large amount of cash, for another marriage? Did Randy Fleming set Cass up as chief murderer to pave the way to Molly's heart? Or are there other ladies who might be worth murdering for? Leslie Ford designs a plot that keeps the reader guessing and provides a fairly solid mystery to enjoy. ★★★

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This counts for the "Spider" category on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt card and--if Rich is lenient--for the 1943 Crimes of the Century.

Death Takes a Bow: Review

Death Takes a Bow (1943) by Frances & Richard Lockridge is the sixth book in their Mr. & Mrs. North series. This one opens with Jerry in a panic because he has to give a short speech introducing one his publishing company's latest stars, Victor Leeds Sproul. He's quite sure he's going to mess it up...even though, as Pam points out, he's quite a good speaker and he always does fine. Little does he know that his audience isn't going to care one way or the other. Not after Sproul declines to come to the lectern when introduced...or rather is incapable of coming to the lectern because he's dead. 

Of course, since the man died while Jerry was introducing him, Pam naturally thinks that this murder is one of theirs. Oh sure, Lieutenant Weigand and Sergeant Mullins will come along and take charge officially, but they won't really get anywhere if she and Jerry don't give them a little help...and a few martinis here and there. And it soon becomes apparent that help might be appreciated because Sproul wasn't exactly a popular fellow--no matter what his book sales might indicate. He was good at stealing other fellows' wives, holding secrets over his "friends'" heads, gloating about his success to those less fortunate, and generally making himself unloved. But who hated him enough to slip him a deadly dose of morphine before his speech? That's what Weigand, Mullins, and the Norths will have to find out. Muddying the waters even more is the presence of a "little dark man" who Jerry sees slipping away from the stage and who may have taken a few vital clues with him.

Pam has her style cramped a bit by the arrival of her nieces. She thinks she's going to be meeting two little girls at the train, but instead she is saddled with two pre-teen/young teenagers (who look and act a bit older than their years) who seem to be magnets for eligible young servicemen. Keeping the girls occupied and away from the sailors and the marines prevents Pam from getting into as much trouble as usual (no tense moments with the killer holding her hostage this time around), but she does manage to spot the murderer based on one key phrase--just before Bill Weigand does. 

This is another fun and light adventure with the Norths. The Lockridges are really very good with dialogue and it's very entertaining to "listen" to the interactions of Jerry and Pam (and her nieces...Pam's way of thinking/talking seems to run in the family ) as well as Weigand and Mullins. I can't say that the mysteries are ever very taxing to the seasoned crime fiction reader, but they are always interesting and entertaining snapshots of New York during the time period. A great escape read. ★★★★

And if you're looking for evidence of 1943...there are several references to the war. Everything from mentioning Jerry's service in "the other war" and the fact that they wouldn't take him this time "because of his eyes" to the nieces' penchant for picking up sailors and marines on leave. But never army men. As the book ends:

Beth and Margie both looked radiant as they came in. They both had sailors.
"Those girls," Pam said, "are unfair to the army. They ought to be--they ought to be picketed."

There is also Jerry's "little dark man" who turns out to be a rather clumsy, third-rate spy and his contact Heinrich. "Heinrich was a bona-fide enemy agent, like you read about. About Grade C, but genuine. The F.B.I. followed him about and snaffled  off people he spoke to. Heinrich was being very useful, but not to the Reich. The F.B.I. was enjoying Heinrich very much." But even with all the allusions to servicemen and Jerry's desire to serve being thwarted and the wandering in and out of Nazi spies, there aren't very many clear markers within the story that this is 1943 rather than any other year in the late 30s or 40s. The New York world of the Norths is pretty insulated from the historical events happening off-stage. 

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This counts for the "Red Object" on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt card as well as the "set in a state that begins with an 'N'" category on the Mystery Reporter challenge. It is also my first entry for Rich's 1943 edition of Crimes of the Century. If you've got a mystery from 1943 to share, come join us!

A Losing Game: Review

In A Losing Game (1941) by Freeman Wills Crofts the game is blackmail and the stakes are high. Albert Reeve has been running a lucrative blackmail business to supplement his already somewhat shady income from money-lending. But there comes a day when he pushes the pawns on his game board just a little too hard a little too often and one of his victims change the rules to fit the game of murder with Reeve as the loser. 

There is a card catalog in his expensive safe with 39 suspects--those in debt to him and those whom he had been blackmailing. But the local police focus their interest on Tony Meadowes, a detective novelist whose penchant for complicated fictional murder methods make them wonder if he's finally tried out the real thing. Because somebody killed Reeve, then set up the murder scene to make it appear that he tumbled down the stairs with a lit candle and then set his house on fire. The fire, which was set up on a time delay, was meant to give the murderer an alibi and to cover up the fact that he was dead long before the blaze ever started. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out as planned. 

When Tony admits to the police that he was actually at the cottage near the time Reeve was believed to be killed, things look very black indeed and he believes that for once British justice will let him down and an innocent man will be hanged. Fortunately for Tony, his girlfriend believes him to be innocent and is determined to prove it. She met Inspector French while on holiday and decides to ask him for unofficial advice--after all the murder isn't his case and, being part of Scotland Yard, he can't interfere unless the local officials request help. He manages, through a previous acquaintance with one of the local men, to get his toe in the door...which is all the clever Scotland Yard man needs. It isn't long until he's hot on the trail of an iron-clad alibi that's just begging to be broken and he's just the man to do it.

Now, I realize full well that I just got done complaining that Dr. Thorndyke didn't show up until late in the story in my previous read. And that this fact detracted from my enjoyment. So, why, you may ask, am I rating this story more highly when Inspector French isn't part of the proceedings until about half-way through? Well, Crofts does a much better job using the first half of the book acquainting the reader with Reeves--building up what a thoroughly nasty fellow he is (we certainly don't mind too much when he does get knocked off)--and introducing us to all the potential suspects. Unlike the Thorndyke novel, I didn't feel like the time was wasted. And, honestly, this is just a much more interesting mystery. Despite the fact that Reeves is a despicable blackmailer, we wind up despising his murderer just as much when we realize that s/he nearly let an innocent man pay the penalty for their crime. 

One blatant error, which Curtis Evans points out as well in his Masters of the "Humdrum" Mystery, is having Reeves send a blackmailing note to one of his victims where he signs his name and gives his address! The victim could have trotted right along to the police with that little gem. This is a particular problem because Crofts stresses earlier in story that Reeves was very careful in his blackmail dealings. Other than that, the story is highly entertaining and it was great fun watching French manage to insinuate himself into the investigation without stepping on any of his colleague's toes. ★★★ and a half.

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This counts for the "Staircase" category on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt card.

Unconscious Witness: Review

Unconscious Witness (1942) by R. Austin Freeman is the 28th entry in the Dr. Thorndyke series. It involves an artist who is out sketching and manages to see the beginnings of a rather involved crime. Little does Tom Pedley know when two men walk past his hidden sketching spot (he can see them, but they can't see him) and a woman comes sneaking along behind them that his impressions and a quick sketch drawn afterward will help Dr. Thorndyke unravel two murders and solve the disappearance of a woman by the name of Mrs. Schiller. Of the two men, one is Charles Montagu and he will not return from the walk in the woods.

When Montagu is found dead, authorities know that there was an artist in the vicinity, but are unable to trace him immediately. Pedley doesn't own a wireless and rarely looks at a newspaper, so he finds out about the murder just before the police track him down. Since he's known to Mr. Polton, an associate of Dr. Thorndyke's, the police are more willing to accept his reasons for not coming forward than they might otherwise be--but his detailed description of the events of that day and even his sketch of the people involved give the police little help in unraveling the mystery.

It isn't until another artist, Lotta Schiller, takes up residence in a house nearby, makes his acquaintance and then disappears that his evidence proves more useful. And when the body of woman who has gone under the name Emma Robey is found in Mrs. Schiller's abandoned rooms things get really complicated--found most providentially by Mr. Polton which brings Dr. Thorndyke into the case. Dr. Thorndyke's sharp eye sees what the police and even Pedley with his artist's eye for detail have missed.

I have to say that thist was a pretty disappointing entry into the adventures of Dr. Thorndyke. The doctor doesn't show up until well past the half-way mark and then most of his investigations and deductions are made off-page. And the build-up with Pedley in the first half was unnecessarily long and pretty boring. A good editing might make a this into a much more enjoyable novella. My other quibble--Thorndyke doesn't really explain the motive behind the first murder. I realize that motive isn't everything--but I'd really like to know why Montagu had to die. ★★ and a half

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This counts for the "Hand Holding Weapon" category on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt card. And...just so you know, that scene on the cover of my Avon edition pictured above never happened in the book.

The 24th Horse: Review

If you don't know anything at all about jumping, we take you through a series of twenty-four lessons....The idea is we put you on the gentlest horse we've got first...You go from that to horse number two and so on. When you've ridden the twenty-fourth horse, sir, you know all the answers. 
~Peter Shea (The 24th Horse (1940) by Hugh Pentecost)

Inspector Bradley of the New York Police Department certainly hopes that he won't have to go through the equivalent of twenty-four horses to find out all the answers to who who killed Gloria Prayne and stuffed her in the rumble seat of her sister's car.

He's not terribly pleased when Johnny Curtin, at the instigation of Bradley's friend Mr. Julius, drives the car and the body to his apartment but can't help being interested. Mr. Julius wants to be sure that Bradley is the one to be assigned the case--he's gotten used to him after working with the Inspector in a previous case (Cancelled in Red, the first Bradley book by Pentecost). Mr. Julius is also friends of the Prayne family and wants the case solved as quickly as possible with as little publicity as possible. He knows Bradley will get to the truth without creating too much scandal.

Gloria had been missing for a few days, but nobody thought much of it. The young beauty had been a bit of a wild one, running off for days at a time but always coming back home. Johnny, who was initially interested in Gloria's sister Pat, had fallen briefly under her spell and just come to his senses on the last night she was seen. In fact, when he told her he wouldn't be going around with her anymore, she got a bit miffed, walked out on him, and was never seen again. At least that's his story...and nobody else who knows her will admit seeing her after that. Not her father or her sister or her aunt. Not the man she was engaged to or their two friends. Gloria simply disappeared into thin air and then made her startling reappearance in the rumble seat.

Bradley investigates and discovers the faint smell of blackmail. But it's difficult to decide who was the blackmailer and who the victim was  (or victims were). Gloria left a sealed envelope (sealed with her particular sealing wax) with her friend Linda Marsh--telling her to take it to the police if anything happened to her. But then when something does happen and Linda turns it over to Bradley, they discover nothing but blank pages. 

Another murder takes place and Bradley finds clues that leads him to the story of another woman's disappearance--Dorothy Pelham, the wife of another friend of the Praynes. The more he investigates, the more certain he becomes that the first disappearance is important to the recent murders. But what really happened to Dorothy? Is the secret that she's started another life somewhere? Or was she murdered. And who most wants that secret kept hidden? Until Bradley rides the horse with that answer (and it may take twenty-four after all), he won't be able to solve the current deaths. 

The horse metaphors are all tied in to the opening--which takes place at the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden where Pat Payne is taking part in the show jumping event. Pat and Douglas Pelham (the missing Dorothy's husband) also run a horse riding school. And the final show-down takes place at the school--though don't think I'm giving anything away. There's no reason why it had to take place there...other than a good metaphorical tie-in.

I seem to be on a good run of good books. Either that or I'm just in a generous four-star-giving mood lately. This is a fast-paced mystery that is tightly plotted and works well in the short Popular Library digest length. A hundred and fifty-eight pages may not seem like a lot for a full-length novel, but Pentecost works in a good handful of suspects and plenty of detective spade-work to keep armchair detectives guessing. I quite enjoyed meeting Inspector Bradley and appreciated the mix of excellent investigator with a man with a heart and scruples (when it comes to protecting the innocent). Previous to this, I had read only the mysteries starring Pierre Chambrun, hotel manager (which are also quite good). I will definitely be looking for the other Bradley stories. ★★★★

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 This counts for the "Skeletal Hand or Skull" category on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt card.

The Snake on 99: Review

You know, catching a criminal's rather like playing snakes and ladders. You plod ahead, square by square; sometimes you get a bit of luck, and a ladder takes you up a row or tow. Sometimes things go wrong and you slide down a snake. It's the same for the criminal, but he has more snakes and fewer ladders than you do, in the end. And when he things he's nearly  through, there's always the final pitfall, the dirty great snake on 99, waiting to drop him right into our arms. ~Inspector Morgan

It took me about half the book to find out what the title, The Snake on 99, had to do with Stewart Farrar's detective novel. When I first spotted the cover at Half Price books last year, I almost passed it up--it kindof screamed Western at me for some reason. And then I saw the little "Chantecler Mystery Novel" logo on the spine and thought, "Hmm, what's this?" The synopsis on the dust jacket intrigued me enough to make me add it to the pile to take home with me. Then Rich over at Past Offences announced that January would 1959 for his Crimes of the Century feature and I was all set. Because my edition says "first published 1959." But...when doing a little sleuthing on the internet for any tidbits I could find on Stewart Farrar I discovered that 1959 is the first American printing but it was first printed in Britain in 1958 and I don't know if Rich will let me sneak it in...Ah well. It was a good read and let's get on with details.

So...Joe Archer arrives in London to start a new engineering position with his company. He takes up residence at a hotel cum boarding house. He quickly learns the ins and outs of his fellow residents. There's Geraldine Graham, a bit of drama queen who likes to play the '20s vamp; Frank Branson, a good-looking brilliant young City Editor who has his eye on...; Jane White, a lovely young lady of eighteen who always sees the best in everyone. But Frank can make little inroads with Jane because there's also her father Anthony White who is ultra-possessive and jealous of any attentions paid to his only child as well as a rival in the person of Peter Knapp, a photographer with a sardonic sense of humor. Also in the mix is Gerald Hardy, lead reporter at Branson's newspaper. 

It isn't long before Archer joins Branson and Knapp in seeking Miss White's company (whenever "Daddy" isn't looking). Branson has the habit of watching for Jane to come home from her art classes and waving at her from his rooftop garden. Archer decides to steal a march on the handsome journalist and meets her at the corner bus stop. They decide to play a joke on Branson--sneaking round the long way and Jane only calls up to him at the last minute. Branson seems to take the joke well--Jane turns to share her glee with Archer and then the journalist jerks with apparent surprise and topples from the rooftop. 

Jane is devastated; she believes their joke must have caught Branson off-guard and caused an accident, but Archer is certain it was no slip and he makes certain to tell Inspector Morgan so when the police arrive. Morgan has a long history of summing people up quickly and he realizes that Archer is no fool and certainly has no reason to sensationalize. He and Sergeant Pitt soon find more motives for murder than you'd expect at your average boarding house--everything from drugs to blackmail. And yet Farrar makes it all fit together.

This was a delightful surprise. Farrar has a way with characterization that make this a great read. The interactions between Morgan and Pitt are fun and realistic--you can tell that the two have worked together for some time and know how to pull each other's leg without stepping on anybody's toes. They make a good investigative team. And the boarding house inmates are also well-drawn and given a fairly good chance at the spot-light, especially when you consider how short the book is at 191 pages. The plot is interesting, though I will admit that old hands at the mystery game will probably spot most of the solution before the wrap-up--I certainly did. But I was interested enough in the characters and finding out the fine details that I didn't mind. ★★★★

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This counts for the "Any Other Animal" on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt card and maybe (if Rich is lenient) for the Crimes of the Century feature.

Death of a Racehorse: Review

Death of a Racehorse (1959) is the 25th entry in John Creasey's police procedural series starring Inspector Roger West [and, later, Superintendent] of Scotland Yard. It's not ideal to jump into a series mid-stream, but from what I can tell the stories stand well alone. I had no sense of missing vital information about any of the characters. In this particular outing, West has just recently been promoted to Superintendent and is still getting used to the idea. 

When Lady Foley declares in front of witnesses that she will kill her son's racehorse, Shoestring, and Silver Monarch, a horse that looks remarkably like Shoestring, is killed instead--along with a stableman who was charged with guarding the valuable horses, Superintendent West is called upon to sort things out. Having a member of the gentry suspected has made the case a bit of a hot potato for the local police force. Villagers are quite sure that if Lady Foley had done the deed herself then she would never have gotten the wrong horse and she certainly wouldn't have murdered a man in the process. But they're not convinced she didn't hire someone who bungled the job. And then when witnesses come forward to say they saw her at the wheel of her car when the stableman's son was kidnapped and her own son wrecks the car in an effort to hide evidence, things look very black for Lady Foley, indeed. But West believes the evidence may point in other directions and further murders show that the killer is more cold-blooded than Lady Foley appears to be. And the murderer doesn't seem to care who s/he frames for the murder as long as they aren't caught. Was the wrong horse killed? Is there an element of revenge behind the killings? And who is framing whom? These are all questions that West will have to answer before he identifies the culprit.

Despite the fact that I jumped into the middle of the series, this was an excellent introduction to Roger West and his method of criminal investigation. Creasey creates a good balance between descriptive, classic mystery scenes and the standard police procedural. He provides enough twists to keep the reader guessing and still manages to display the clues necessary to solve the puzzle. I did balk a bit at the brutal killings and the total tally is a bit high--but, overall a very satisfying read. Now I just need to go hunt up the previous twenty-four in the series. ★★★★


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This counts for the "Dead Body" category on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt card and for the "Framed for Murder" category on the Mystery Reporter Challenge. there are, in fact, efforts to frame more than one person for the crimes. It is also my first entry in Rich's 1959 edition of the Crimes of the Century meme. If you have any 1959 mystery stories on tap for January, please join us with reviews and discussion.

Death at Swaythling Court: Review

I am a little late to the Tuesday Night Blogger's party, but I do have a post to offer up for our New Year's theme. January is hosted by Kate over at Cross Examining Crime and as she says:

It is the start of a new year and with January being the first month, we at the Tuesday Night Bloggers (a group of eccentric eclectic crime fiction bloggers) decided to have firsts as this month’s theme. Such a theme is wide open to interpretation so over this month posts may be touching on first books by authors and first appearances of our favourite sleuths, as well as a host of other crime fiction firsts.

If you haven't already done so, you'll want to head over to Kate's and see what other "firsts" have been offered up in this first week of January.

My selection for this first week's session of the TNB hits the "firsts" category on a number of levels. It is my first book finished in 2017. It is my first Golden Age novel of the year. And Death at Swaythling Court (1926) is the first detective novel by J. J. Connington after he began his writing career with a science fiction novel. The novel features some interesting elements for a detective story. First of all we have Jimmy Leigh, an inventor who has developed a Lethal Ray device (straight out of that science fiction world from which Connington had come). He's looking for a backer for his project and approaches William Hubbard as a likely candidate.

Hubbard is a piece of work. He's a collector of beautiful and rare butterfly specimens, but butterflies aren't the only things he likes catch in his net. He's also a thoroughly despicable blackmailer--always on the lookout for a juicy bit of news that will allow him to add another payment to his collection. He hasn't been Leigh's neighborhood long, but he's already gotten his hooks into several in the village and has his sights set on Leigh and his sister (who is trying to settle evidence for a divorce proceeding against her brute of a husband). 

But before Hubbard can either agree to back the Lethal Ray or indulge himself in blackmail at Leigh's expense, he is found dead in his stifling hot study--the apparent victim of a stabbing. Colonel Sanderstead, the local Justice of the Peace, the village constable, and Sanderstead's nephew Cyril Norton go calling on Hubbard to serve a warrant for his arrest for blackmail (the charge to be sworn by the nephew). But Hubbard won't be answering any more summons. The surprise of the inquest is when the doctor testifies that the letter opener didn't kill Hubbard...a good solid dose of cyanide did the job before he could be stabbed. The jury brings in a verdict of suicide.

Sanderstead is an amateur detective at heart and, dissatisfied with the verdict,decides to keep his hand in--noting such clues as a small revolver left in the hallway, the broken butterfly case--with a specimen missing, the candle melted onto the top of the desk, the sharp letter opener in the fireplace ashes, the evidence of a regular bonfire of papers being burnt, and the victim's pet parrot who seems prone to spouting obscenities whenever his cage is uncovered. Other curious aspects involve motor vehicles--there are three motorcyclists in the case, including the victim's butler, and a mysterious car (with a tire which had lost a steel stud). 

Connington's first venture into the detective genre gives the reader an entertaining story filled with humor and a solid murder plot. The Colonel is a grand old fellow--determined to detect on his own and show his nephew that he can put two and two together. He often jumps to conclusions, but he does get to the bottom of several parts of the mystery. He doesn't however quite see the whole picture and the story winds up being "solved" through a confession of sorts. Throughout the story much is made of the evil nature of blackmail and how Hubbard had it coming and so it's no surprise that the suicide verdict is ultimately left to stand and the murder is brushed solemnly under the carpet. This left me slightly dissatisfied, even though I do sympathize with the blackmail victims and the "avenging angel" who released them from their misery. It reminded me a bit of the Holmes story where Charles August Milverton gets his just desserts and Holmes has his sympathies with the criminal and will not investigate the murder when Lestrade asks him for help. Overall, a fun start to the New Year. ★★★★


Winner of the Most Overused Word Award for "Rum." As in:

"We seem to have blundered into the first chapter of a dime novel. Very rum, as you say, uncle. Damned rum, if you ask me. I don't half like it." (~Cyril Norton)

 Norton and his uncle, Colonoel Sanderstead use that word to describe the dastardly doings at Swaythling Court at least six times in as many pages and a few times more later in the story.

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Thanks to John at Pretty Sinister Books for this lovely edition (sans dust jacket). It was part of a prize package for a Mystery Challenge he set for his blog readers back in 2012. If you would like to see his take on the novel, please click the link to his blog.

Reporter's Challenge: Set in England
Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt Card: Revolver

Pick Your Genre Challenge

2017 Pick Your Genre Challenge

This challenge is about diving into specific genres/sub genres you love or just want to check out in 2017

You get to pick your genre. For example...

Sue might pick contemporary romance, Joan might pick urban fantasy, etc.

The book just needs to fit your chosen genre.

Any book over 80 pages

Any format is fine.

Re-reads count!

You pick the number of books above that you'd like to read. 12 book minimum.

I will be starting at 12 books (possibly leveling up later) in the Golden Vintage Mystery genre (pre-1960).

1. Death at Swaythling Court by J. J. Connington [1926] (1/4/17)

2. Death of a Racehorse by John Creasey [1959] (1/7/17)

3. The Snake on 99 by Stewart Farrar [1958] (1/11/17)

4. The 24th Horse by Hugh Pentecost [1940](1/13/17)

5. The Unconcscious Witiness by R. Austin Freeman [1942] (1/28/17)

6. A Losing Game by Freeman Wills Crofts [1941] (1/31/17)

7. Death Takes a Bow by Frances & Richard Lockridge [1943] (2/5/17)

8. All for the Love of a Lady by Leslie Ford [1943/44] (2/9/17)

9. The Thursday Turkey Murders by Craig Rice [1943] (2/13/17)

10. Episode of the Wandering Knife by Mary Roberts Rinehart [1950] (2/17/17)

11. Search for a Scientist by Charles Leonard [1947] (2/24/17)

12. Death in the Wrong Room by Anthony Gilbert [1947] (2/27/17)

Commitment Complete!