Then There Were Three: Review

Then There Were Three (1938) by Geoffrey Homes was a bit of a surprise. The Bantam edition that I read had no synopsis and, being very familiar with Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, I was kind of expecting a large group of people to get knocked off--leaving only three suspects to choose from. Actually, three is the magic number of corpses that show up-- [spoiler hidden by light color--high-light the seemingly empty space if you want a peek] four, if you count the missing dog (which Homes, aka Daniel Mainwaring, apparently doesn't).  Two members of the Keenan family come to Los Pinos in the middle of nowhere to be killed...and they're quickly followed by one of the small town's inhabitants. It's up to detectives Humphrey Campbell and Robin Bishop to find out what happened.

Humphrey is a soft-boiled private eye who is employed by the Morgan Missing Persons Bureau in Los Angeles. He works for Oscar Morgan--65 years old, fat, lazy,and not above a little under the table dealing (all in the name of justice, of course). Humphrey is a little plump himself, loves to play the accordion, and, unlike most of his hard-boiled brethren, he never drinks anything stronger than milk. He is given the job of tracking down Miss Marjorie Keenan who jilted her fiance just days before the wedding bells were due to ring and has disappeared. Her trail leads to the Inn at Los Pinos on a Thursday in June. Her bags are there, unpacked, but she isn't. She walked out of the hotel the previous Saturday night and hasn't come back.

After a sniff around town and an unofficial glance through the things in her room, Humphrey gets concerned and approaches Robin Bishop--currently the editor of the Los Pinos newspaper and formerly a detective for the Morgan Missing Persons Bureau. They discover that not only has Marjorie disappeared, but so has a Great Dane belonging to a well-to-do couple living on the outskirts of town. When they also find out that a mystery man recently buried an unknown dog in the Los Pinos Memorial Pet Park, Humphrey and Robin are certain they've found the missing Great Dane. But when the plot is dug up and the casket is opened it is Marjorie Keenan who has been found. Her father comes to identify the body and he promptly disappears and gets himself killed as well. Who could possibly wish this family ill in a small town in the back of beyond? The discovery of the Great Dane's whereabouts and another death will be necessary before Humphrey and Robin wil be able to answer that question and bring the killer to justice.

This is a great private eye novel with just a hint of the screwball to it. Humphrey is a delightful detective and I like the way he and Robin Bishop work together (as well as with the local lawman Jackson). Not exactly laden with clues that would allow the reader to solve the mystery before the detectives, but it was fun to follow along with Humphrey and Robin and watch them work it all out. I would also mention that while clues might not be available to point to the killer, the small number of actual suspects does make the job easier--it's just a matter of finding the evidence to prove it. ★★★★

[Finished on 4/30/18]

Terror in the Town (Friday's Forgotten Books)

Terror in the Town (1947) by Edward Ronns [Edward Sydney Aarons] finds a coastal Massachusetts fishing town terrorized by the killings of three lonely spinsters. The women were known to live alone and were strangled by someone with powerfully big hands, possibly powered by a maniac's rage. Everyone is quick to blame Manuel, an unbalanced man who has recently escaped from the home where he's been stashed for everyone's safety--including his own. 

Verity Farland, recently married to the town's newspaperman, is new to the area and sees things from an outsider's perspective. She begins to wonder why the killer is targeting women who were at a certain bridge party--a party that she herself attended. The killer also leaves behind ransacked libraries and a trail of missing jewelry. A maniac might collect trophies from his victims, but would he be interested in searching the women's books? There is also the fact that all the women owned a share of the Morgan, an old whaling ship that is rumored to contain treasure and if it doesn't, is worth money to the owners if they can agree to sell it to a film company. 

Verity isn't sure that Manuel is the culprit, but she also doesn't know who it might be. There are so many people roaming around town in the night--from the Sheriff's deputy to her husband's drunken assistant to the doctor who seems to be on extra-friendly terms with some of the ladies in town to the town handyman...to her very own husband. No one is where they're supposed to be at night and her own husband won't stay put. And after all, they didn't know one another very long before they got married....and he was rumored to be a bit wild before he settled down with her. Can she trust him? And if not him is there anyone she can trust?

Ronns builds up the suspense quite nicely in this fairly short book. His writing is economical, but completely on-point. He doesn't really give the reader a chance to catch their breath, moving things along rapidly until the climax. He manages to provide several possible suspects and motives and draws enough of a cloud over them all to keep us guessing. Once a few clues fall into place, it's possible to spot the villain of the piece but it's not obvious. A thoroughly enjoyable suspense/thriller. ★★★ and 3/4.

I submit this for the Friday's Forgotten Books post found at pattinase's place.

[Finished on 4/26/18]

The French Powder Mystery: Review

The French Powder Mystery (1930) by Ellery Queen has a quite startling beginning. A crowd is gathered on the sidewalk outside of French's Department Store (a very Macy's-like place) eager to watch the daily demonstration of the latest in modern furnishings. The store employee steps into the model living room and bedroom and noon, precisely, begins showing the spectators the amenities of the suite. The focal point is the Murphy bed, hidden in the wall until the demonstrator pushes an ivory button and out pops a most modern bed complete with satin sheets...and the crumpled body of woman. 

It isn't long before the woman is identified as the wife of Cyrus French, owner of the store, and French's head of security wastes no time getting hold of the police. Inspector Richard Queen is called to the case and arrives with his son Ellery in tow. The police, including the inspector, tend to focus on the obvious clues, but Ellery's eyes are scanning everything and taking in all the minor details. Books on a desk, a glass-topped table, a setting for a card game, cigarette stubs in an ashtray, the dead woman's lipstick, the display of shoes in a closet and seemingly innocuous phrases in various witnesses' statements all catch his attention and add to the solution.

There are several suspects for the Queens to sift through--employees of the store, Winifred French's first husband, or perhaps even her missing daughter. Motives abound as well--the dead woman had headstrong ways and when she decided to interfere there was little to stop her. Perhaps she interfered just one too many times or perhaps she set her foot down on toes that had been trodden on more than enough? There are also hints that all is not as it should be at French's and maybe Mrs. French stumbled upon the secrets hidden underneath the oh-so-correct surface of the most proper department store. Leave it Ellery to sort through the clues and see through the lies and half-truths told by the suspects in order to hand his father the culprit on a silver platter (from French's kitchenware department, perhaps?).

An intricately plotted mystery with clues galore. I thoroughly enjoy the older Queen novels with cast of characters at the beginning, a few maps to help the reader get their bearings, and the challenge break where the reader is told they have all the information necessary to spot the culprit. I had my suspicions of the villain of the piece, but I can't say that I picked up (or understood) all of the clues Ellery displays at the end. A nicely done bit of sleight-of-hand on the part of Ellery Queen (Dannay & Lee). ★★★★

[Finished on 4/24/18]

SPOILER AHEAD--if you haven't read The French Powder Mystery or all of Dorothy L. Sayers's Wimsey novels, then you might want to steer clear.

So--one thing that struck me when reading this was the similarities between TFPM and Murder Must Advertise. Both concern a drug ring using a very proper establishment as a means to notify gang members and/or customers of the location for doling out drugs. The code used in MMA is a little less elaborate than the book system used here, but both plots are dependent upon the cooperation or involvement of at least one member of the establishment. It is also interesting that in both novels, something goes wrong with system (prior to the police catching on) and the eager buyers are disappointed.

Mrs. Malory & the Lilies that Fester: Review

In Mrs. Malory & the Lilies that Fester (2001), Hazel Holt dishes up a cozy British village mystery featuring that expert on 19th-Century novelist and sometime amateur detective Sheila Malory. Sheila finds herself most personally involved when the unsavory Gordon Masefield is murdered in his law office. Gordon was a womanizer and wasn't about putting the moves on any woman who came into his scope--whether she was attached elsewhere or not.

Thea Wyatt is also an attorney in the law office. She had recently returned to Taviscombe to take the job on offer and met Sheila's son Michael. Sheila can sense Cupid at work and is delighted when Michael and Thea announce their engagement. But not too long after this happy event, Thea comes rushing to Sheila's house, quite disturbed. It seems that Gordon Masefield had been particularly offensive in  his latest efforts to seduce the newest member of the law team and when Thea pushed him away, he stumbled off-balance and stunned himself himself against the desk.  

But when Sheila calls the office to let her friend Hugh know that Thea won't be returning for the day, she finds the police in possession of the office and Gordon Masefield dead from a blunt instrument to the head. Since Thea was observed fleeing the building, the police naturally suspect her of the deed even though she swears Gordon was still alive and nowhere near fatally injured when she ran from the building. Sheila obviously believes her future daughter-in-law to be innocent and sets out to discover the real culprit. There are many suspects to sift through--from all the other employees in the law office to Gordon's family. The man was a real charmer and attracted enmity the way light attracts moths. It would probably be simpler for Sheila to determine who didn't have a motive to kill the offensive womanizer.

It doesn't take Sheila and Michael long to dig up evidence that clears Thea, but after her ordeal at the hands of the police, Thea doesn't want to go ahead with the wedding plans until the real culprit is behind bars. Sheila is even more determined to investigate than ever and through chance conversations and planned encounters, she is able to discern the answer to the mystery. But bringing the killer to justice may not be as easy as she thought.

This is a comfortable murder mystery in a very comfortable cozy series. The plots are not intricate and it doesn't require a lot of heavy deductions on the part of the reader. Placid village life is interrupted by murder; everyone is suitably appalled; Sheila Malory makes her way through the gossip of the town; and, eventually, the crime is unraveled. Little fuss and no muss...and sometimes that just what the doctor ordered.  I appreciate having series like Mrs. Malory to go to when I want a simple murder mystery in a pleasant setting with friendly, uncomplicated characters. Fine reading for a lazy evening.  ★★★

[Finished on 4/13/18]

Death of a Hoosier Schoolmaster: Review

Death of a Hoosier Schoolmaster (2002) by Marlis Day is one of those books that I picked up because of my affinity for academic mysteries. This one is full of academic connections. The protagonist of the Day series is Margo Brown, a modern day Indiana schoolteacher who manages to get involved in mysteries in the Midwest the way Jessica Fletcher does in Cabot Cove. This particular installment finds Margo researching the murder of Gus Steiner 55 years ago. Steiner was also a Hoosier teacher who was once the owner of the Margo's property.

The mystery comes to her attention when she discovers an old gun buried in her garden plot. She learns about Steiner--a man who was a stern disciplinarian and who no one in the community seemed to have mourned once he was dead. There was a brief trial that saw the man's sons accused and acquitted of the deed and no follow-up afterward to find the actual culprit. 

What begins as curiosity about the history behind her property soon turns into a full-fledged investigation, but Margo discovers that few people with memories long enough to reach back 55 years really want to talk about the incident. The tidbits she gleans make her even more curious and the reluctance of the townspeople to dig up the past takes a darker turn. Somebody really doesn't want the truth to come out and may be willing to create mayhem to keep their family secrets buried in the past where they belong.

******Possible Spoiler/s Ahead*******

This is truly a cozy mystery. No blood. No gore. No explicit violence. The only murder is long in the past and while Margo does fall into a bit of danger, there really isn't a sense that her life is at risk. The motive for the murder isn't too hard to guess, but there is a bit of a twist at the end to add interest. Not really a true whodunnit murder mystery, but a charming read and especially interesting for those, like me, who are from Southern Indiana. Day reflects small town Indiana accurately and provides witty dialogue in her comfortably cozy mystery. ★★★

[Finished on 4/10/18]

The Wrong Box: Review

 Body, body--Who's got the body?!

The Wrong Box (1889) is a hilarious mystery spoof by Robert Louis Stevenson and his stepson Lloyd Osbourne. It revolves around Masterson and Joseph Finsbury, two brothers who are the last surviving beneficiaries of a tontine. A tontine is a rather diabolical "investment" scheme--subscribers pay into a fund that is then invested for the lifetime of the participants. It is a winner-take-all scheme meaning that the only one to benefit is the last man or woman standing. This, of course, puts all sorts of temptation in the way of the participants (and/or their heirs)--especially once the numbers start to dwindle naturally. I, mean, after all if you have to live to be 100 in order to outlive the competition just how much are you going to be able to enjoy the spoils? And one's sons or nephews might also think it a good idea to shuffle the competition (and you--last, of course) off the playing field so they have an opportunity to enjoy it for you.

Michael Finsbury is Masterson's son. He is a successful lawyer who isn't afraid to skate a little close to the wind if necessary to get a client off and win a case. Morris and John Finsbury are nephews (and wards) of Joseph. Because Joseph was not the best of businessmen and managed to fritter away what little money he held in trust for his nephews, Morris has gotten the old man to sign over his winnings from the tontine (should he outlast Masterson). So--more than ever, Morris spends his days watching over dear Uncle Joseph just to be sure that he doesn't catch a cold that turns into pneumonia and leads to death before tontine. 

He also has a vague feeling that his Uncle Masterson is really dead and Michael is just pretending the old boy is still alive and kicking while he waits for Joseph to keel over. Once that happens, he [Michael] will produce a "tame doctor" who will verify Masterson's death (after Joseph's) and Michael will scoop the pot. This must be avoided at all costs.

Morris decides that the best plan would be to head to the country with Uncle Joseph and keep him all cozy at the seaside where he can breathe the lovely country air and be just as healthy as can be. Plans go awry when there is a train smash-up and an elderly dead body is found in the rubble--with bruised face and wearing what seems to be Uncle Joseph's coat. Morris and John are in despair--there goes their inheritance! So they decide to stash the body in an out-of-the-way cottage until Morris comes up with a plan to ship uncle's body to himself in a huge barrel. The barrel gets mislabeled and the body winds up going on an unexpected journey--from barrel to packing crate to piano and back again. Who has the body? And is Uncle Joseph really dead? Is Uncle Masterson really dead? Who is going to inherit all that money?

This is an absolutely delightful story--the black comedy is a little unexpected from Stevenson, but it is hilarious. Watching Morris drive himself quietly crazy as he tries to outsmart Michael and track down his missing uncle is great fun. Who would have thought that the most prominent and interesting character in a book would be a dead man who won't sit still long enough for you to get a really good look at him? Not that the other characters aren't interesting, they are. Stevenson always provides great characters and those in The Wrong Box meet his standards. Highly recommended. ★★★★

[Finished on 4/3/18]

Book Scavenger: Review

Book Scavenger (2015) by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman is a book that I would have LOVED as a young reader. It has a premise that I could wish as an adult were true. What if there were a secret online world of book scavengers? Book lovers who who hunt for books and win points and prizes for finding them? Who can hide books and leave clues for others to find. How awesome would that be? I mean, hunting for long-desired books in used book stores is great fun. It's one reason why I don't like to do my book-shopping online. I like the the thrill of the hunt. It would be an added bonus if that hunt could be part of a shared book-scavenging community.

In the book, that's exactly what we've got. Garrison Griswold has created the online scavenger hunt for readers called Book Scavenger. There's the usual hiding and finding of books by participants, but every once in a while Griswold does something big, something spectacular and special for his friends in the Book Scavenger world. He has been putting the finishing touches on his latest game and is preparing to do a big announcement when he is mugged at the BART (subway) station. He has just time enough to hide his special edition of Poe's The Gold Bug which was to be part of the promo.

Enter twelve-year-old Emily who has just moved to San Francisco (her parents have this weird goal to live in every single one of the 50 states and uproot the family all the freaking time to do this....). Emily has just made her first friend--James--who shares her passion for word games and reading and who has never heard of Book Scavenger. She gets to introduce him big-time when they accidentally find the hidden Gold Bug. With Emily's Book Scavenger savvy and James's cipher-smarts, the two are able to plunge full-throttle into the ultimate scavenger hunt--one that Griswold himself designed and No One Else in the Book Scavenger world knows about yet.

Or do they? Somebody is stalking them online and following their every move. Could Griswold's prize be that fabulous? 

This is a fantastic adventure book for middle graders. Shoot, it's a pretty fantastic for those of us far, far beyond the middle grade years who still crave a chance for a great bookish adventure. I liked the way Emily's older brother chose to help her and James when they needed it most--instead of treating them like little kids. I also enjoyed watching Emily start to learn what it means to have a friend and be a friend. Some have labeled her selfish--but, honestly, it's her parents who have been selfish, uprooting the kids whenever the whim to head to a new state hits them. How on earth was Emily supposed to learn how to connect and think about others when she hasn't been allowed to connect with anyone outside her family for any length time? 

A really fun read. ★★★★


[Finished on  3/34/18]

Scotland Yard Photo Crimes: Review

The Scotland Yard Photo Crimes from the Files of Inspector Black (1983) are published as if they come directly from the "famous" Inspector Henry Black. This first volume contains twenty cases of murder, theft, kidnapping, and fraud. The reader is invited to take on the role of inspector and, using the photo clues provided as well as descriptions of the case, evidence discovered, and interviews conducted by Black, to try and solve the crimes. Points are awarded based on how astute would-be detectives are. Can you solve the crime given just the details as they were presented to Black? Or will you need bonus clues--also provided if necessary? The object is to accumulate the maximum points possible to rank as an equal to the famous detective. Points are deducted for each mistake as well as for any extra clues consulted. 

These are fairly amusing mini-mysteries done in the style of classic detective novels of the Golden Age. I did pretty well--though not always picking up on the clues that Inspector Black insisted were the primary pointers. There were a few cases where the pictures needed to be much bigger (or a magnifying glass needed to be employed) because it just wasn't possible to see the supposed clue clearly. And one of the stories claims a clue that just doesn't hold up. It claims that of two women, one of them clearly doesn't have a permanent wave--but the dear Inspector obviously doesn't know what that means in all circumstances. I still got the right answer--but not because of a curly clue. The few mysteries that I had difficulty with turned on clues such as this, so I don't feel too badly about not scoring perfectly. Overall, a diverting afternoon's read. ★★★

[Finished on 3/24/18]

About the Murder of Geraldine Foster: Review

About the Murder of Geraldine Foster (1930) is the first of the Thatcher Colt detective stories written by Charles Fulton Oursler under the name of Anthony Abbott. Colt is a New York Police Commissioner who can't stay out of the thick of things and leave the detective work to his officers--especially when the niece of one his oldest friends comes to his office for help. Betty Canfield is concerned because her roommate, Geraldine Foster has disappeared over the Christmas holidays. Of course, having seen the title of this book, you don't have to be a genius police commissioner to figure out that Geraldine Foster isn't coming back....

Colt's investigation introduces him to the various people in Geraldine's life--from her on-again, off-again fiance to her rather staid parents who can only keep repeating, "No matter what, Geraldine was a good girl" to her brother who runs off mysteriously to search for her to her employer Doctor Maskell, a seemingly cold man to whom Betty has taken an instant dislike. Colt is able, finally, to trace the movements of the missing girl, following her trail to a deserted house on Peddler's Road. The house has been the scene of a particularly gruesome murder--evidenced by an axe coated with blood and the bodies of dead pigeons. It doesn't take long to find the nude body of the missing girl, buried on the property with a pillowcase over her head.

Though there are several suspects, Colt and the D.A. quickly focus on one in particular. There is plenty of circumstantial evidence pointing his way and Colt decides to use third-degree to sweat a confession out of him. But the man is unbreakable. So Colt breaks out more unconventional methods--the brand-new lie detector and a dose of truth serum. Even these can't prove that they have the right suspect in custody and while the D.A. remains convinced of the man's guilt, convinced enough to take it to the Grand Jury, Colt begins to have his doubts and decides to go over the ground one more time. He discovers a plot even more diabolical than the grisly murder's initial details indicate.

This is an impressive first novel by an author I'd never read before. Thanks to John over at Pretty Sinister Books who sent me this novel as a prize from his blog I was able to get my first taste of Thatcher Colt. (Sorry it took me so long, John--but you know how that TBR stack keeps growing and pushing things further and further back...) It is comprised of a fairly complicated plot which seems to hinge on times--when exactly did Geraldine Foster die? Where were the suspects at the important times? But there is more here than meets the eye. An important clue is given fairly early, but it is hidden among what seems to be far more important issues and could easily be missed by even the most observant reader. I was lucky enough to be intrigued by something completely different in connection to the culprit and that is what led me to consider the actual clue. Of course, Thatcher Colt has long maintained that luck plays its part in good detective work, so I can still maintain my claim of detective prowess. ;-) The ending is quite good. The only thing that keeps this from being a five-star book is Colt's reliance on third-degree methods and there is a bit of him just "happening" to recognize certain clues that the ordinary person wouldn't--like the difference between two seemingly identical inks, for instance. He doesn't need to send that for analysis--he just knows they're different. Otherwise, a terrific whodunnit. ★★★★

Both TomCat at Beneath the Stains of Time and dfordoom at Vintage Pop Fictions have also reviewed this novel. Please visit to see their views on Thatcher Colt's debut.

[Finished on 3/22/18]

Payoff for the Banker: Review

Pam and Jerry North find themselves plunged into their eighth murder mystery in Payoff for the Banker (1945) and this time there really isn't a good reason. Pam is at home minding her own business--finishing a bath--when the phone rings, rather insistently she thinks. She quite sure it must be Jerry, but when she reaches the phone it is the high and strained voice of Mary Hunter--a war widow that the Norths met briefly at a party just a week ago.

Mary had just walked into her new apartment after a long day at work to find a dead body sitting and waiting for her. Upon closer examination, it is the body of the George Merle, big-time banker and father of a man that Mary once thought she'd marry. The George Merle who once made her feel small and worthless and drove her away from his son because he thought she was a fortune hunter. And now he's been shot to death in her apartment and she's scared. She immediately thinks of the Norths and their penchant for getting involved with murder and she knows they know a policeman...and maybe, somehow, that will help her.

But their policeman, Bill Weigand, can't help but suspect her. After all, it's her apartment. And she knew the dead man. And Bill knows that she's not telling all she knows. But Pamela North hears something and sees something in Mary's face and immediately takes her under her wing. So, Bill also knows that Pam will be doing her darnedest to find a different suspect and will, in the words of Sergeant Mullins, make things screwy again. Besides, Bill Weigand is a good cop and it doesn't take him long to realize that there are others who might have wanted George Merle out of the way--from the son who may have discovered dear old dad's meddling in his love life or who may have just wanted to speed up his inheritance to the woman Merle has been playing around with and who claims to be having his child to his secretary who covered his boss's tracks and played husband to Merle's bit of skirt (and who may not have been just playing after all). 

Pam and Jerry aren't the only amateurs dabbling in detective work, Mr. Wickersham Potts, organist at the local church, has a way of seeing through people and he knows the leading suspects better than most. But the murderer isn't going to let the insightful Potts set the police on his/her trail and Potts joins an ever-growing list of victims. Bill must work fast to prevent a final corpse from being added to the tally.

This is a nicely plotted mystery and, much as I love Pam & Jerry, it was definitely nice to see Bill Weigand get the solution before Pam. She thinks she knows who did it, but forgets that her clue could point in another direction. Lots of good fun in a well-loved series. I enjoy looking back at New York in the 1940s and 50s with the Lockridges. The atmosphere is well-done and the stories are told with a light touch.
★★★★

[Finished on 3/15/18]
*******************************
Quotes
For a girl of twenty-three there had been plenty that was not restful. Even before Rick; back when she was nineteen and had hated a man because of what he had done to her through another man. And that, of course, should have shown her that things do not last forever, even including hate and love. Because now it was absurd that she had ever hated the old boy and thought that he had destroyed her....It appeared now that healthy your women were not "destroyed" at nineteen, or even at twenty-three. (p. 9)

Jerry North and Bill [Weigand] looked at each other, Pam had, not for the first time, extended asylum to the frightened. Pam had become an advocate. (p. 29.)

His expressions and movements were plain enough now; they represented a loyal employee, and possibly a friend, who was bewildered and grieved by sudden death. His attitude was correct, which did not prove that the small gestures and muscular movements, the look in the eyes, the hand touching the forehead--that all these did not grow out of emotions sincerely felt. Mr. Murdock appeared a man who did things in order, which did not prove insincerity. (p. 45)

Weigand wished it were quite clear, really. He wished he knew how he was going to keep Murdock from getting in touch with Laurel Burke--how he was going to find out if Murdock did. There was just a chance that Murdock might credit him with clairvoyance and be afraid to risk it. (p. 48)

Under a case, until it was solved, there was always something moving--something in the dark, with purposes of its own; something that slipped away from under the hand; something with purposes as clear to it, and as mysterious to others, as the burrowings of a mole, as the twisting and turning of a mole's tunnel through the earth. If you knew the direction a mole was going and put your hand down to the path, the soil pressed up against your hand. Signifying mole at work. In an investigation such a movement as surely signified murderer at work. (p. 55)

He wondered what had happened to them--physically and more than physically. Eventually, no doubt, he would find out. You found out so much when you were investigating murders. Particularly so much that did you no good. (p. 59.)

O'Malley's rumble gained in volume, but did not grow more articulate. It was distant thunder on the telephone. Bill waited, making soothing sounds. The rumble subsided somewhat; the voice became almost plaintive. (p. 59)

Weigand grinned into the telephone, but kept the grin out of his voice. He did know Hardy, and that Inspector O'Malley was not really a match for him. Hardy was a good man at his business, which was finding things out whether O'Malley wanted them found out or wanted them kept in or didn't--as was often the case--know precisely what they were. (p. 60)

Weigand listened, dutifully, while the thunder rolled [again]. After some time he was permitted to hang up, on the understanding that he had to solve the murder of George Merle within minutes--fifteen at the outside--get Mary Hunter away from Mr. and Mrs. North and Mr. and Mrs. North out of the case, and send Sergeant Mullins immediately downtown with a report of progress for the press. (p. 61)

You see, Mrs. Hunter, you're not out of it. I don't know how to explain--you shouldn't have brought us in, perhaps. We're not detectives and--I hardly know how to say this--we--we aren't casual about murder. People can't be, and drop it. And walk away. If you hadn't called Pam--if you hadn't brought us into it at all--that would be different. we wouldn't have any responsibility. ~Jerry North (p. 66)

PN: If you;re going to tell us any more, you'll end by telling us everything more. And not here--perhaps not anywhere. What we know, Bill knows. At least--
JN: Unless Pam decides it would confuse him. Which has happened. But if Pam means that we're not on anybody's side, as she does, she's right. If she means we're not protecting anybody.
PN: Except if they didn't do it. And then, of course we would be. Unless we were wrong, of course.
~Pam North; Jerry North (p. 68)

Inspector O'Malley looked at them all [the newspapermen], and his gaze grew slightly baleful. He looked hard at Sergeant Mullins, present as an emissary from Lieutenant Weigand, and Mullins, who seldom shrank, shrank perceptibly. Mullins was glad at the moment that he was not Lieutenant Weigand; he would have been reasonably contented not to be Sergeant Mullins. He felt like a buffer state. (p. 77)

[on the phone]
Yeah, I know. Sure, Mr. North. All I can say is, you oughta of heard the inspector. I tell you how it is, Mr. North. The inspector knows who did it, like he always does. The loot don't know so easy, like he usually don't. The inspector thinks that's because of you and Mrs. North. And all I can say is, you oughta of heard him. ~Sgt. Mullins (p. 87)

[still on the phone, now with Pam]
SM: Listen, I can't do that, Mrs. North. The inspector wouldn't like it. If the loot's going to see this guy Murdock at the Hotel Main on account of maybe he shot the old boy, the inspector don't want you in on it. That's what the inspector says. He says you make it screwy.
PN: Main? M-A-I-N?
****
SM: Absolutely. Like I was telling the inspector's secretary, who just came in. I can't tell you where Weigand is. And wouldn't if I could, Mrs. North.
~Sgt. Mullins; Pam North (p. 88)

PN: Look, Bill. You make it sound awful. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--to--what does Mullins say? Make it screwy. I just happened to notice.
BW: Oh, the truth above everything, Pam. Even if inconvenient. Only I wish you'd happened to notice before I called Art--Inspector O'Malley.
~Pam North; Bill Weigand (p. 94)

Pam North deeply believed, not without evidence, that there was no telling what married people would say to each other when they thought they were alone. (p. 97)

[on the phone to O'Malley]
But here's what I'd like to do, with things the way they are. Let the killer think he's fooled us. Let him think he's pinned it on Murdock. Let him have his little laugh. Maybe he'll be lauging so hard he won't see us coming. And then we tell the newspaper boys sure, we planned it that way right along--a sp--a trap to catch woodcocks.
[after some back and forth]
Right. I think you've got something there, Inspector. We'll let it ride along as is for a while, anyway. And meantime I'll keep on it. Right?
[puts phone down--turns to his wife and the Norths]
"The inspector thinks we'd better not tell the press it wasn't suicide," he reported gravely. "The inspector's got an idea there's no use telling the killer how much we know." He barely smiled. "He also thinks woodcocks are woodchucks. They've been eating his broccoli."
~Bill Weigand (p. 98)

Because it comes down to guesswork--to guessing what we would do if we were in the position some one else is in. We think he would do a certain thing, for a certain reason--meaning that we think we would do that thing for that reason in his place but we're not even sure, most of the time, what we would do. And our guesses about other people--even people we know very well--well, they aren't good enough. ~Bill Weigand (p. 103)

But he added that motives were, at best, odd things--what was a motive for one person wasn't a motive for another. What would hardly irritate one person would lead another to murder--and murder the hard way. (pp. 105-6)

WP: Conscience is a strange thing, don't you think, Lieutenant?
BW: How strange?
WP: I was thinking of conscience as a compulsion. A compulsion to repay--to discharge an obligation. An obligation we may so easily overestimate.
BW: Not the conscience of a murderer. That isn't what you're thinking of?
WP: Not entirely. that would be interesting too, I should suppose.
~Wickersham Potts; Bill Weigand (p. 137)

WP: Personally, I have never committed a murder.
BW: No. A great many people haven't, Mr. Potts. A surprising number of people haven't.
WP: Well, a surprising number of people have. It depends on what surprises you.
BW: Yes. What surprises you, Mr. Potts.
WP: Very little. Very little indeed, Lieutenant. I am sometimes surprised at how many things do not surprise me.
~Wickersham Potts; Bill Weigand (pp. 137-8)

You see, Merle, your father hated Mrs. Hunter's father. He had cheated Mr. Thorgson out of quite a sum of money, I suspect. And often we hate those we wrong--it is a form of self-justification. Your father wasn't going to let Thorgson have the satisfaction of seeing his daughter married to you. ~Weigand (pp. 152-3)

Life on the Mississippi: Review

Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi (1883) is a book of two parts. The first third or so is devoted to describing the years he spent on the river learning the trade of a riverboat pilot. We follow the young Samuel Clemens as he works his way up from a cub to steersman. He describes the "prodigious" amount of memory it took to be a riverboat pilot in those days--to memorize the landmarks and the various depths of the water along the way and "shape of the river" (how the river really runs in contrast to how it may appear to the casual eye). Each time the young Clemens thinks he's stuffed his head as full as can be and learned everything there is to learn, his mentor starts in on a whole new set of things that every pilot ought to know. He has just managed to get comfortable with his knowledge when the Civil War breaks out and changes riverboat life forever--forcing Clemens into other lines of work before finally beginning his career as Mark Twain the writer.

The remaining two-thirds of the book finds Clemens returning to the river after twenty-one years. He wants to see what riverboat life is like now and he plans to travel under an assumed name and gather stories for future writing endeavors. That doesn't last--a man who knew him on the river recognizes him pretty quick and it isn't long before Clemens tries his hand at piloting the great ship. He does a pretty good job considering that the shape of the river has changed greatly in many sections and various landmarks from his day are gone altogether. 

The first third of the book is highly entertaining. His stories of learning the ways of the river are interesting and told in true Twain fashion. We also learn a great deal about life before the war. The remainder of the book is so-so. He spends a great deal of time describing the changes that have overtaken the river and he intersperses these descriptions with various anecdotes and, quite frankly, tall tales. This portion is choppy and uneven and also contains commentary on everything from the mercenary tactics of undertakers (squeezing the most out everyone for the most expensive funerals) to the unscrupulous ways of businessmen pawning off oleomargarine as butter and cotton seed oil as olive oil. Not that this commentary couldn't be interesting and telling of the times, but it interrupts the travelogue in the most distracting way. I much preferred Twain's tales of the river and life that connected more directly to it. ★★★


Quotes
A random remark, connecting Irishmen and beer, brought this nugget of information out of him: 
  They don't drink it, sir. They can't drink it, sir. An Irishman is lined with copper, and the beer corrodes it. But whiskey polishes the copper and is the saving of him, sir. (p. 171)

Partialities often make people  see more than really exists. (p. 181)

But you decided and agreed to stick to this boat," etc.; as if, having determined to do an unwise thing, one is thereby bound to go ahead and make two unwise things out of it, by carrying out that determination. (p. 226)

Dog Will Have His Day: Review

Dog Will Have His Day (1996) by Fred Vargas is the second in her Three Evangelist books. Readers were introduced to Marc, Mathias, and Lucien, dubbed The Three Evangelists after St. Mark, St. Matthew, and St. Luke by Marc's godfather/uncle, in the book of the same name. In that story, the three historians help Armand Vandoosler (the godfather/uncle and an ex-cop) solve the mystery of a missing neighbor. This story features Marc and Mathias in supporting roles to one Louis Kehlweiler.

Louis Kehlweiler is quite a detective. The former French Ministry Agent is currently out of a job--but he can't help keeping his hand in and has set himself up at various locations around Paris, keeping an eye on suspicious characters he knows are up to no good. Lately, he's been keeping an eye on a certain politician's nephew. One morning as he's loitering on a bench, doing his best vagrant impression while watching the nephew's windows, he notices something odd in a bit of dog poo--somewhere, somehow a dog has come across a joint from a human toe, wolfed it down, and deposited under the tree beside his bench. Closer examination (ewwwww) reveals to Kehlweiler's expert eye that this toe belongs to a human who has been murdered. He takes his find to be thoroughly examined and discovers that it belonged to an elderly woman.

Somewhere in Paris--or possibly elsewhere in France--an elderly woman has been murdered and Kehlweiler determines to find out who she was and who murdered her. A daunting task. But he recruits Marc, one of The Three Evangelists to help him trace the dog. The dog leads them to Port-Nichols, a tiny fishing village, and, eventually, to Marie, an elderly busybody who knew too much about one too many people and was killed. The finger (or is it toe) of suspicion points to various villagers, but Kehlweiler is able to identify the culprit with the help of Marc and Mathias (a second Evangelist). He will also find the answer to another mystery that has haunted his family since the Second World War.

As my synopsis above would indicate, this is really Louis Kehlweiler's book. He does the detecting with the able assistance of the two historians. And Kehlweiler is a very odd fellow--he is waltzing around with a toad named Bufo in his pocket, for crying out loud. And talks to it. And introduces Marc to it like they're going to be best buds. I spent most of the book feeling just slightly off-balance. Kehlweiler and his toad can do that to you. But the final third of the book makes the read worthwhile. I didn't mind our detective's bizarre way of talking (as if you'd come into a conversation half-way and he expected you to know what was going on) so much once he got down to cases and started following up clues in earnest.

I do wish that there had been more hints about his personal mystery. It was quite satisfying to watch him get the upper hand on a man who had been on the wrong side of the French Resistance in the war, but it would have been even more so if the confrontation hadn't come out of the blue. We were aware of the WWII connection to Kehlweiler--but there were no hints of his private quest.

Overall, an absorbing book. But one that demands a bit of patience from the reader. Fortunately, the conclusion of the story more than compensates for the demand. ★★★ and 1/4.
[Finished 3/4/18]

Quotes
Marc smiled back. He wasn't going to be thrown by the sight of a toad. What would you look like if you were scared of a toad? A total idiot, that's what. Marc was scared stiff of touching a toad, yes, but he was also scared stiff of looking like a total idiot. (p. 68)

Perhaps that's the secret if you want to get elected. The best thing to do, if you want to be able to turn in any direction without seeming to, is to be smooth-edged, don't you agree? Well, Chevalier is like something round, slippery and glossy, like a conger eel, a masterpiece in some ways. He'll very rarely give you a straight answer, even if they seem straight to you. ~Darnas (p. 104)

Very noble to make promises, easily done, then you have to keep them, which is a pain in the backside. (p. 195)

The Cuckoo's Calling

The Cuckoo's Calling (2013) is the private eye mystery that J. K. Rowling tried to sneak past her fans--and the rest of the world--under the name of Robert Galbraith. That secret didn't stay under wraps long.... 

Here is where I make my confession--I have not read all of the Harry Potter books. I've read the first one--just to see what all the fuss was about and to acquaint myself with the writer and her world because my son was interested. I'm absolutely certain that I would have loved the books had they come out when I was young. But as a mother of a five year old (when the first book was published), I wasn't reading that genre at the time and it didn't grab hold of me as it has so many thousands (millions...) of readers.

Rowling does an exceptional job with the characters in The Cuckoo's Calling. I think characterization is one of her strongest points as an author. Despite only reading one of the HP books, the characters were so strong and individually interesting that they have stuck with me for twenty years. Her characters here are equally strong and interesting. Cormoran Strike is the usual damaged modern detective--Afghan war veteran, wounded, disastrous love life, and financial woes. But he is made interesting through his interactions with the people in the case and his new secretary.

As a long-time mystery reader, I have to say that the final twist is a well-worn one and isn't really a surprise. It was telegraphed quite obviously. I'd hoped for something more original from the author of the Harry Potter series. As a mystery, it doesn't earn high marks, though the way Strike and Robin investigate it does capture the interest. The best part of the book for me (and the biggest reason I've rated it 3 out of 5 stars) is the relationship between Strike and his secretary Robin. I liked how Robin--who's only supposed to be a temp--plunges herself into the investigation and makes herself more of a sidekick than a secretary.
★★★

[Finished 2/28/18]