White Orchids

 White Orchids (1935) by Grace Livingston Hill

Camilla Chrystie, in a mad rush to retrieve medicine vital for her ailing mother's recovery, manages to avoid serious injury when she becomes involved in an automobile accident. Her dilapidated "flivver"? Not so much

...a great truck came smashing down the crossroad, full power, striking the little flivver with a mighty impact, neatly removing a wheel, and sending the car spinning straight into the air in a series of somersaults. It landed in the opposite ditch with crumpled fenders, broken bumpers, a twisted axle, and a fatal injury to its internal organs.

Fortunately for Camilla, a handsome, pleasant young man in a big shining car comes to the rescue. He takes her to pick up the medicine (secretly arranging for full repairs to the broken car) and speeds her home in time to save her mother. The privileged Jeffrey Wainwright has never met anyone like Camilla--with her simple faith and her loving devotion to her mother. She and her mother don't have much of the world's goods, but they do have love for each other and a peace that he can't understand. Jeffrey's world is made up of fancy parties, glamorous women, and mother who may care for him, but who has remained distant from the time he was brought up by nannies. He doesn't quite understand what the Chrysties have, but he feels drawn to it...and to Camilla.

The night he rescued Camilla, he was supposed to be going to a dinner party hosted by his girlfriend--or the one he thinks is girlfriend (though she doesn't act too attached to him). He's been having misgivings and Camilla's accident gave him the excuse he needed to give Stephanie's party a miss and he gives Camilla's mother the white orchids he'd intended to take to Stephanie. Camilla is also drawn to this man and they have a dinner together--but she winds up telling him that they are from two different worlds. He thinks she's talking about social and financial standing, but she means something far deeper. And, if he can't find a way to bridge the gap, he'll lose this sweet woman forever. 

Stephanie, who hates to lose anything she considers hers, does everything she can to make sure he forgets Camilla....or at least can't find her. When Jeffrey has to accompany his mother to Florida, Stephanie trails along to remind Jeff of her charms and while they're there she arranges with her man of business (for she's wealthy too) for the Chrysties to be moved out of their house and the street itself to be bulldozed for a city works building. [Amazing what money can accomplish.] And she doesn't even mind footing the bill for moving expenses and dishing out a bonus (anonymously, of course) if they move quickly.

So...when Jeffrey discovers that faith will bring him into the same world as Camilla and rushes home to let her know that they now share the same values, he can't believe she's gone. And every person he thinks could help him find her is either MIA as well or has died in his absence. It's as if everything is conspiring to keep them apart. Amazingly enough, it's white orchids that will bring them together in the end.

This is another of GLH's sweet Christian romances. I read this before when I was on a Christian romance binge (back in the 80s) and don't remember it as a favorite. But I must say, I really like Jeffrey's integrity--even before he found his faith--and the way he jumps in to help Camilla and her mother early in the story. I also enjoyed the thread with Camilla and her coworker, a young woman who has had no loving influence (like Camilla's mother) to help her know how one should conduct themself in an office environment. Camilla takes the girl under her wing and helps her grow in confidence and character. Of course, it wouldn't be a GLH story without a happy ending and we get one here. A nice story with a good message. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: The light flashed Red and Camilla jammed on her brakes.

Last line: But the bridal bouquet was of white orchids!

The Six Iron Spiders

 The Six Iron Spiders (1942) by Phoebe Atwood Taylor

Asey Mayo has arrived at his Cape Cod home for two days of leave from his war work at the Porter tank plant. He's expecting a little rest and relaxation. What he gets is mass confusion from start to finish. He had sent a telegram to his cousin/housekeeper Jennie warning her of his arrival and requesting a ride home. No one meets him at the station and he has to hitchhike and walk home. When he gets to his house, it looks like a bunch of lunatics have taken over, with his cousin as the chief looney. Splints and bandages are being wielded on a dummy. Everybody is zipping in and out of the rooms on mysterious errands. His friend Doc Cummings stops him from going in--telling him that he'll only be recruited for First Aid treatment and other entertainments that he wants no part of. 

Before Asey can make up his mind about that, Jennie blows a whistle and the entire gang comes rushing out of the house--mounting bicycles, jumping into cars, and even starting up a horse-drawn wagon. They're off on a "Problem"--a mock accident at a surprise (to all but Jennie) location. And they all have to get there by whatever means they can as quickly as they can. Now that the coast is clear, Asey and Doc get into the house in search of supper for the weary traveler. But instead of dinner, they find Philemon Mundy, one of the First Aid group, dead in the buttery from a bash on the head. He's apparently been laid out by an iron "spider" (a cast iron skillet). And, of course, New England's answer to Sherlock Holmes, will have to find out who killed him and why the body was stashed in Asey's larder.

Winds up that there may be a few folks with reason to get Mundy out of the way. He'd recently come to the area and already had his fingers in several of the pies. Perhaps he stepped on one too many toes. Even Jennie had been known to have words with him. But were any of the toes crumpled hard enough to warrant murder? What follows is one of the most convoluted pieces of detection I've come across in a long time...and it's full of folks shouting at one another (generally not in anger) and not letting other folks get a word in edgewise (even as the shouter is demanding said other folks to answer them). Doc Cummings shouts at Asey--because he thinks Asey's not telling him everything. Lieutenant Hanson shouts at pretty much everybody. Asey even "shouts" (though in a much quieter way) at Doc and Hanson and a few of the other characters. The mystery might have been solved a bit quicker if people had just been allowed to talk...

I find with Taylor's books (more so in her Leonidas Witherall series) that there is a definite B movie feel to a great many of them. With all the rushing about and people talking at cross purposes and some of the over-the-top characters, like Tiny Hazard, the large, feminist woman in search of a man, I can picture this as movie in the line of an Abbott and Costello film. This makes for great fun and much confusion and it definitely makes it difficult for the reader to keep track of the players...or the clues...or the motives. If you're looking for a fast read with a lot of fun and don't mind not being able to solve the mystery before Asey tells you all about it, then you'll enjoy this one.

One side note--this is one of few mysteries written during the war years that makes a great deal of the home front war effort. It's played for laughs, but we do get to see what folks were doing--clothing drives, learning First Aid, organizing rescue parties, etc. 

 ★★★★

First line: Asey Mayo heard the thin ice coating of the puddles crack under his feet as he dashed along the lane in the fruitless pursuit of his best gray felt hat, which capered like a chamois just beyond the reach of his outstretched hand.

"Hanson, in your vast an' varied experience, has it ever been the rule for bodies to disappear from the place where you found 'em? No, it ain't! It ain't been my experience either," Asey said. "The doc an' I figgered that if someone'd gone to all the trouble of leavin' Mundy in my buttery, then that was the place where they meant to leave him, an' the place where they meant him to be found. It never for a minute entered our heads that someone'd fly in through a keyhole an' whisk him away." (p. 84)

"I suppose she's been reading the back of the First Aid book again. I don't think it's sensible to read the back of any book till you come to it, do you? I mean, I think you should take things as they come. Father always reads the ends of mystery stories first, and I don't think it's fair." (Tiny Hazard; p.178)

Last line: "It's because I can't hardly wait to get back to the peace an' quiet of the Porter tank plant!"
*******************

Deaths = two hit on head

No Peace for the Wicked

 No Peace for the Wicked (1966) by E.X./Elizabeth Ferrars (E.X. on my 3-in-1 volume; Elizabeth when published on its own)

Synopsis (from the book): Antonia Winfield is just about ready to crack wide open! And who wouldn't be! Her vacation on a "quiet" little Greek island has become a nightmare of terror and DEATH. A ghoulish-looking character starts following her around. A black-robed figure leaps out and steals her belt--of all things! A Greek girl is STABBED TO DEATH! A madman holds Antonia at gunpoint...shoots one victim...then gets MURDERED himself! And that sinister figure keeps following Antonia--everywhere! Even you would be a little unnerved by this time. Wouldn't you?

Each year Antonia Winfield takes a holiday in the Greek isles. She loves the sun and the warmth of the Mediterranean. Her husband, not so much. He prefers fishing in Scotland...and fortunately his job takes him there while Antonia plans her latest holiday. She follows her usual pre-holiday plan--last minute shopping, a trip to the beauty parlor, a final fitting on a new outfit, and picking up the tickets and traveler's checks from her travel agent. Everything just as always...except for the man in the rumpled brown suit. Everywhere she goes, there he is. 

When her husband's niece appears on her doorstep having left her husband (to think things over), Antonia invites Tessa to come along with her to Greece. And when a train strike in France forces last-minute changes to their travel plans, she's sure that they've given the man in brown the slip. Until he shows up on the boat to the Greek island. She finally has had enough and confronts him. Of course, he denies following her about. And so it would be her word against his. Then a woman in black follows her to a local aquarium and steals her belt. Just when she decides that she and Tessa should leave the island, their husbands show up--Roger Winfield because there's been a burglary at their house and he wants to be sure she's okay and Alec Foley to try and mend things with Tessa. And then the murder happens. And another death. And Roger finally figures out what it's all about.

This stand-alone novel by Ferrars is more suspense and thriller than mystery. We spend a great deal of our time wondering why the man in the crumpled brown suit is following Antonia around--and wondering if anyone is ever going to take her seriously. Fortunately, her husband does and when he arrives things really start happening. I have to say that I wish there had been more of Roger and Antonia together in the book. It got way more interesting plot-wise and Antonia herself got more interesting as well. Overall, I enjoyed the fast-paced adventure and was pleased to be fooled. I had tagged another character entirely as the villain of the piece...even though I shouldn't have. So, the surprise at the end added the right amount of spice to the wrap-up. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: When the small gray-haired woman in the brightly flowered silk suit appeared in the doorway of the hairdresser and hesitated there in the warm sunshine, as if she were making up her mind whether or not to take a taxi, the man who had sat for the last hour in the coffee bar on the other side of the street got up and strolled out on to the pavement.

"Normal? Are conditions anywhere ever normal?" she demanded. "One always strikes the wettest, or the hottest, or the windiest season that's been heard of in that spot for years. This year, someone's probably going to tell us, we've just been unlucky and struck the most murderous." (Antonia Winfield; p. 169)

Last line: Next year was a long way off and there were hundreds of other beautiful islands in this shining sea.
*****************

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

Who Killed Alfred Snowe?

 Who Killed Alfred Snowe? (1933) by J. S. Fletcher

Mr. Alfred Snowe, a frail and elderly antiquarian, is found strangled at the foot of his stairs. He apparently interrupted an intruder in his home. But did the culprit find whatever he came for? Snowe's nephew, Dr. Aubrey Snowe, is acquainted with Ronald Camberwell, a partner in the well-known Chaney and Camberwell Detective Agency. Fortunately, Camberwell has been playing cricket nearby and is ready and willing to plunge into the fray. Though Inspector Bailiss seems sceptical of "amateurs" at first, he soon welcomes the help of the private detective. However, try as they might, they can find no clues to point them towards a solution to the mystery. Even a mysterious note Alfred Snowe sent to his solicitor mentioning "a most important discovery" that will have "an effect of the most serious sort upon the lives and fortunes of more than one person" leads nowhere since nothing among Snowe's effects seem to indicate what the discovery might be or who might be affected. Until...

Alfred Snowe's will is read. For the most part, it's very straightforward, leaving all he had to his family--life interest shares to his sister and sister-in-law and the remainder to his niece and nephew. And then there's the two codicils. The first instructs that a certain antiquarian bookseller will be offered his library of books--in total (not to be sold piecemeal). Except for one book, A History of Wrenchester by Septimus Flood, which is to be handed over to the Bodleian Library at Oxford. Nothing odd there, except...when they go to find the Flood book, it's not there. Nothing by a nice little empty space on the shelf where it should be. And the local clergyman Canon Revington, who is also an antiquarian, is absolutely certain that the book was on the shelf on the night of Snowe's death. Was that where the important discovery was? And was that the object of burglar? Canon Revington assures the sleuths that he's handled the book often over the years and can think of nothing "important" (other than to historians) therein. 

The inquest is held--murder by person or persons unknown. And then a series of events happen--a solicitor's (not Snowe's) clerk, Skrimshaw, goes missing with 2,000 pounds in one pound notes stashed in small case. A bank clerk seems to know too much about both Snowe's and Skrimshaw's business. There are odd goings-on in a couple of tents on the local squire's property. Skrimshaw's favorite walking stick is found abandoned in a small boat. The local squire's very proper butler isn't telling all he knows. The trail takes Chaney, Camberwell, and Bailiss to Paris and back to a lonely farmstead where the trail ends with a small fortune and nice, old-fashioned shoot-out.

Fletcher, it seems to me, loves a good whodunnit with a thriller ending. Our story begins with a classic whodunnit--murder of a fairly unoffensive man; detectives hunt for clues and track down and interview suspects. Then we move into thriller territory--a "superior" villain who seems untouchable (despite our heroes now knowing precisely who's behind everything); a dash to another country in pursuit of said villain; surreptitious surveillance of the bad guy/s at a creepy abandoned farmhouse; much shooting with one hero injured and one poor, unnamed supporting good guy killed; nice, tidy ending with main villain killed (along with supporting villain and one unnamed henchman)--no expense for a trial (yay!).

I hadn't run across Camberwell and Chaney before--but Fletcher indicates that this isn't our heroes' first adventure (and a quick check of the internet shows me at least ten more with Camberwell (and, I assume, Chaney). I enjoyed this combination, especially in harness with Bailiss (one he got over his condensation towards "amateurs"). Clever gentlemen who seem to know exactly how to handle their business. Depending on the type of suspect/witness to be interviewed, either Camberwell or Chaney will take the lead. And each has his own methods of deduction which are interesting to watch put into practice. I will say that Fletcher needed to work a bit harder on camoflaging his villains. While it was fun to watch the detectives pursue their investigations, once met, it wasn't difficult who the main villain and supporting villain was. A bit more mud in the waters would have been good. But--overall a good read. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: I was in bed, half awake, at the Mitre Hotel at Wrenchester, about half-past six o'clock one fine morning in the June of 1924, when the night-porter came thundering at my door and roused me to awareness of the fact that he was not only there himself, but was accompanied by somebody who was loudly calling my name.

Last line: Everything was very silent there, but somewhere overhead sea-birds were calling.
*****************

Deaths = 6 (one strangled; two poisoned; one fell from height; two shot) Could have had two more if Fletcher had been thoughtful enough to name the good guy and henchman.

Treasure of Hemlock Mountain

 Treasure of Hemlock Mountain (1961) by Virginia Frances Voight

Charlene Fairhill is hoping to break into singing showbiz. She's just made friends with local boy turned singing idol, Dan Harris, and she hopes his connections will help her launch her own singing career. But her family has other plans...her father needs to go away for a rest, so she and her father  are headed to the lonely Maine cabin that used to belong to her uncle (and now belongs to her father). She'll be gone the whole summer. And so much can happen in a summer. 

There's a rumor that a lost cave of amethysts is on the land that used Bill Fairhill. Maybe she'll find buried treasure. There's also various boys vying for her attention--reliable Peter--her constant escort; Dan the handsome singer; and Eric the new young man she meets on Hemlock mountain. Maybe she'll find true love. And, of course, there's Dan's band and the promise of an audition with his manager. Maybe she'll find her career. Or maybe she'll find out that there's even more on offer. Charlene has a summer of mystery and adventure ahead--all leading to a lonely night spent lost on the mountain and a surprise she could never have dreamed up.

This is the type of story I might have enjoyed more when I was a teenager myself. At this point in life, I would have liked the mystery side of things to have a bit more meat to it. It's a pretty straight-forward treasure hunt with a side of coming-of-age for Charlene. An easy, fast read that was enjoyable enough, but not one that I see myself ever revisiting. ★★★

First line: Charlene Fairhill's escort to the June younger members' dance at the country club was Peter Kenn, not an exciting datec for Peter and she had grown up together like close cousins.

Last line: Suddenly she felt she couldn't wait for the next door to open.
******************

Deaths = one accident

Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives

 Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives: Stories from the Trailblazers of Domestic Suspense (2013) by Sarah Weinman (ed)

A collection of 14 suspenseful tales by notable domestic suspense authors such as Shirley Jackson, Vera Caspary, Charlotte Armstrong, and Dorothy B. Hughes as well as others. In general, I'm not a huge fan of domestic suspense novels, but this is an excellent collection with just a couple stories that didn't strike me as all that suspenseful. But there are also a couple that are downright creepy. ★★★★

"The Heroine" by Patricia Highsmith: Lucille Smith has just found the perfect job in the country as nurse to two children. She loves her job and working for the family.But something within her tells her that it's not quite enough. [one natural]

"A Nice Place to Stay" by Nedra Tyre: Our protagonist grew up poor--never knowing if she'd have a roof over her head. She's a nice woman...but she'd kill for a nice little place of her own. (four natural; one stabbed)

"Louisa, Please Come Home" by Shirley Jackson: Three years ago Louisa Tether ran away from home. She's doing very well for herself--found a job and nice place to stay. But each year on the anniversary of her run, her mother's voice is on the radio begging her to come home. When she decides to do so, she finds that you just can't go home again.

"Lavender Lady" by Barbara Callahan: "Lavender Lady" is the title of our heroine's most famous (and most requested at concerts) song. The story reveals the dark history behind the lyrics and the anguish our heroine feels each time her fans demand to hear it. (one hit on head)

"Sugar & Spice" by Vera Caspary: Mike Jordan tells our narrator that he knows who murdered a famous actor and gives her a jolt--it seems well-bred, middle class girls can commit murder just as calmly as she might knit a sock. (one natural; one poisoned)

"Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree" by Helen Nielsen: Loren is the secretary to a married boss, who winds up being wife number two. She thinks she's made it in life...but then the anonymous phone calls start. 

"Everybody Needs a Mink" by Dorothy B. Hughes: And that's just what Meg, our heroine, gets. She's always dreamed of something a little bit fancier than her own life, but has been realistic enough to know she'll never see some of the luxuries she's dreamed of....until an unnamed benefactor suddenly gifts her with a beautiful mink coat..... [Not really a mystery--except for wondering who the man was and why he did it. Not, to my mind anyway, really suspenseful.]

"The Purple Shroud" by Joyce Harrington:  George Moon cheats on his wife once too often.  Don't be fooled by that placid smile, George.[one hit on head]

"The Stranger in the Car" by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding: Carrol Charleroy, wealthy businessman, is more like a neurotic housewife when it comes to his home and daughters. When Julia, his youngest--and the only one of his kids who still lives at home, gets into a bit of a jam, he gets things even more tangled by trying to keep everything from his wife. [one shot; one poisoned]

"The Splintered Monday" by Charlotte Armstrong: Sarah Brady is staying with her nephew and his wife aft er the funeral of his sister, a domineering hypochondriac. The family always tiptoed around the very trying matriarch and now Sarah feels like she's getting the same treatment. What is being hidden from her? [one poisoned]

"Lost Generation" by Dorothy Salisbury Davis: Very chilling story of town "justice" gone really wrong. [one shot]

"The People Across the Canyon" by Margaret Millar: More of a science fiction/fantasy story than a mystery. Marion Borton is worried when the family moves into the house across the canyon. She's afraid that their quiet home in the country will be ruined by loud music or cars or a huge number of children She's even more worried when she sees what effect the family has on her daughter....

"Mortmain" by Miriam Allen Deford: The greedy Miss Hendricks decides to hurry her patient into the afterlife so she can enojy the money he's got stashed in his safe. She knows there's danger from his little pistol. But she doesn't see the danger in the other items stored with cuffs...at least not until it's too late. [one poisoned]

"A Case of Maximum Need" by Celia Fremlin: An elderly woman tries to refuse the phone the social worker insists she needs (in case anything should happen to the woman). She's tells the social work that "it's a danger" but she doesn't explain that the danger isn't to herself....

First line (1st story): The girl was so sure she would get the job, she had unabashedly come out to Westchester with her suitcase.

Last line (last story): "It's too dangerous"--for them.

What's In a Name Challenge 2026

 

Andrea at Carolina Book Nook is back with another round of the What's in a Name Challenge. I always look forward to the new version. This has always been a favorite of mine, so of course I'm back for another round as well. The format is the same--six categories and one book required for each one. The prompt must appear in the title of the book. For full details and suggestions for interpreting prompts, see the link above. Tentative book choices below.

1. 6/Six: The Six Iron Spiders by Phoebe Atwood Taylor (5/30/26)

2. Cold Weather: Who Killed Alfred Snowe? by J. S. Fletcher (5/8/26)

3. Peace: No Peace for the Wicked by E. X. Ferrars (5/18/26)

4. Pathways: Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives: Stories from the Trailblazers of Domestic Suspense by Sarah Weinman, ed. (2/18/26)

5. Terrain: Treasure of Hemlock Mountain by Virginia Frances Voight (4/11/26)

6. Flower: White Orchids by Grace Livingston Hill (5/31/26)

Murder, London-South Africa

 Murder, London-South Africa (1966) by John Creasey

When an important South African diamond merchant by the name of Van der Lunn goes missing just after landing in London, Superintendent Roger "Handsome" West is tapped to lead the investigation. Working with Lieutenant Jameson, a South African officer attached to the country's consulate in London, They track Van der Lunn to a seedy little hotel where he is being held incommunicado. But those who are holding him attempt to sneak him out a window and the diamond magnate is critically injured--and will be unable to answer questions for quite some time...if at all.

Meanwhile, a hotshot reporter with an uncanny nose for news has also disappeared--after calling his editor from the airport to say that he'd just seen a man he thought was Van der Lunn get off a plane. Coincidentally, Nightingale (our intrepid reporter) is on the trail of a diamond smuggling ring. Was Van der Lunn involved? Or was he a victim of the ring? West wants to find out what Nightingale knew, but he'll have to find him first. The case takes West from the East end of London all the way to South Africa as he hunts for the ringleaders who have injured the diamond merchant and smuggled millions in diamonds.But the object of the smuggling game may be a bit unexpected....

In a previous review (Inspector West Kicks Off, book #8) I ended with: "I'm also wondering how often West is going to get hurt in this series and what his secret is for recuperation--he seems to be up and rarin' to go awfully quick for a man who had a large chunk of building fall on him..." Well, here we are in book #34, and West, now a Superintendent and in his fifties, is still at it. This book ends with him trying to save Faith Soames, niece of Nightingale's editor, from the bad guys and he winds up in hospital for (probably) the 34th time. I haven't read all 33 previous books, but if he sticks to brand then I'd say the odds are good that he was at least injured in every one of them. He's not a hardboiled hero, but he seems to take the beatings as if he were.

But that aside, is this a good mystery? That depends on what you're here for. If you're looking for old-fashioned clues, red herrings, and loads of suspects to sift through, then you may want to look elsewhere. But if you want a good police procedural with interesting lead characters and new supporting cast (the newspaper crew and the South African officials), then this may be the book for you. I knew that a certain person was part of the ring (though not the ringleader) as soon as they strolled onto the page (and, as already indicated, there aren't exactly hoards of possibilities). But finding out who the baddies are isn't exactly the point. Watching how "Handsome" and company are going to rescue Nightingale and round up the baddies is. ★★★★

First line: "Handsome in?"

Last line: "And Faith Soames said that all you seemed to talk about, when she met you here, was me."

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

Deaths = one shot

The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle

 The Strange Case of the Eliza Doolittle (2021) by Timothy Miller

Synopsis (from the back of the book): Sherlock Holmes has retired to the Sussex countryside...that is, until a most formidable puzzle is dropped upon his doorstep by a certain Colonel Pickering.

One Miss Eliza Doolittle, once nothing more than a cockney guttersnipe, has been transformed into a proper lady of London--perhaps even a duchess?--as if overnight. When Colonel Pickering recovered from a bout of malaria, he was astounded by the woman before him. Is it possible this transformation is due to nothing more than elocution lessons and some splendid new hats? Or has Professor Henry Higgins surreptitiously traded one girl for another? And for God's sake, why?

As the case unfolds, Holmes and Watson find themselves in ever stranger territory. Who are the four identical "Freddies" pursuing Miss Doolittle? What part do the respected Dr. Jekyll and his malevolent associate, Mr. Hyde, long thought dead, have to play in this caper? And who the devil is the devilish Baron von Stettin?

So--why mess about with one author's characters when you can mess about with three? So, we have Holmes and Watson taking up a case that not only brings in characters from My Fair Lady but also shadows of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Oh, goody! How much damage can we do in 248 pages to other people's characters since we don't really want to develop main characters of our own? Well...quite a bit, actually.

First of all--Holmes and Watson. They aren't really. Holmes doesn't really sound like Holmes even if he does spout standard Holmes phrases (The game's afoot! Do you have your service revolver? Good old, Watson! etc.). And Watson has been turned into a sort of grown version of a Baker Street Irregular with Holmes ordering him to follow people and whatnot. If Holmes were truly Holmes, I can't imagine how the incoherent babblings of Pickering would have interested him so greatly that he would abandon his bees in Sussex and go back to London to investigate the mysterious transformation of Eliza Doolittle. Especially considering the list of cases he's turned down since retirement--according to Watson. Pickering's story makes very little sense as he tells it and not one phrase stands out to me as something that would pique Holmes' interest.

Then we have Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle. George Bernard Shaw through the lens of the 1964 film has been done a great disservice. Eliza bears little resemblance to the original in either form. The only time she's "delightful" (as she is often described) is when she is under the influence of Dr. Guest, which isn't necessarily a good thing. And, finally, there is the way we shoe-horn the Jekyll/Hyde story into the whole thing. I can't say more about that without spoiling the story--and, judging by the ratings on Goodreads--there's a possibility that some of you will enjoy this WAY more than me (lots of people did and apparently think the depictions herein are just dandy). So, I won't spoil it for you. As for me, not a huge fan.

Oh--and lest I forget--suddenly, at the end of the story, our logical Mr. Holmes seems ready to follow in his creator's footsteps (Doyle) and wants Watson to join him in investigating the supernatural and what lies "behind the veil." Seriously? 🙄 Not my favorite Holmes pastiche by a long shot. ★ and 1/2

First line: I have perhaps left the impression among my readers (such stalwarts as remain) that when Sherlock Holmes retired to his villa in Sussex to pursue his avocation as a beekeeper, his extraordinary career as the world's first consulting detective came to a lamentable end.

Last line: There is only one mystery left to explore, and as always, Holmes is one step ahead of me.
*******************

Deaths = 4 (three hanged; one beaten)

No Vacation from Murder

  No Vacation from Murder (1973) by Elizabeth Lemarchand

Life is busier than usual at St. Julitta's School in Kittitoe during the summer holidays. Normally, they lease the grounds for just one session, but this year the board of governors have been convinced to let the school to Horner's Holidays for one of the company's Horner Discovery Fortnights. Previous visits to the area had found the Discovery retreat at a hotel in nearby Biddle Bay, but a fire had caused enough damage to the hotel to prevent its use. The board was unsure at first, but the fee that Horner's was willing to pay was definitely a deciding factor. The naysayers were afraid that there might be unwanted publicity associated with the venture. After all, Horner's is "so commercial." But the educational aspects of the Discovery Fortnights also helped win the day. The retreat provides an opportunity for adults to engage in outdoor and recreational interests, such as amateur archaeology, botanical exploration, and British architecture.

So, late summer finds 80-90 visitors descending upon St. Julitta's. Marcia Makepeace, Domestic Bursar for the school, is fully prepared--accommodations ready, meals planned, staff on duty (extra pay packets!). Horner's guiding lights and instructors arrive first: Michael Jay, Paul and Janice King, Susan Crump, and Geoffrey Boothby. Nearby, is Eddy Horner, founder and owner of the firm. He has recently become a grandfather and his daughter Penny Townsend and new grandson are staying with him in "Uncharted Seas," his bungalow on the coast. His son-in-law works in London and comes down on weekends and a relation of his first wife's Wendy Shaw, is on hand to provide nursing support for Penny and the baby. Wendy is training to be a nursery nurse and is a quiet and serious girl.

On the first evening of the Fortnight Horner invites the Discovery staff and Marcia to his bungalow for a small reception. Everyone gets a tour of the made-to-order bungalow and the women are all invited to admire the new grandson. The Discovery Fortnight is off to a swinging start. Everything goes well until the last evening. There is a massive rainstorm. There is a huge glitch in the timing of the final bus tour which puts the entire farewell program behind. After a lavish final dinner, there is a showing of the Discovery Fortnight film. Paul King always takes video of all of the lectures and outings during the Fortnight and shows an edited final version that is a big hit. Due to the late return from the bus tour, he's not sure he'll get the final edits made in time...but after filling in with a previously-made film on birds in the area, the big show is ready. 

As things are wrapping up, Marcia is called to the phone. Eddy Horner is a bit upset. He and his daughter had gone to the train station to meet his son-in-law leaving Wendy in charge of the baby at home. The train was late (what a day for lateness!) and when they got back to the bungalow, there was no sign of Wendy. Her coat and purse are gone as well and Eddy wants to know, "Was young Wendy Shaw at your place this evening?" Even though both Eddy and Marcia (who talked with the quiet young girl that evening at the bungalow) don't believe she would have abandoned the baby, the police believe she must have taken off with a man. But then...her strangled body is found at the seaside end of a blowhole near the school and Superintendent Tom Pollard and Sergeant Toye arrive from Scotland Yard to take up the investigation. The more they learn about Wendy, the more they realize that Eddy and Marcia were right--the young woman wouldn't normally have abandoned a baby in her charge. So, what could have happened to cause her to do so? And why would anyone have needed to kill her? Motives are pretty thin on the ground, but Pollard doesn't believe this was a random killing or a theft gone wrong. Proving that and finding the evidence to convict is going to be pretty tricky, though.

The Pollard and Toye books are good, solid police procedurals with fully realized characters. Even those characters, like Wendy's mother, who appear briefly come to life during their short appearance. Pollard and Toye have a nice dynamic and work well together and Pollard is an intuitive investigator who adapts his questioning style to fit the person he's interviewing. He's able to handle the neurotic Mrs. Shaw and the intense, in-charge Eddy Horner with equal ease. 

I did spot the culprit, though I didn't pick up on the various instances of emphasis that should have told me the motive. That's all I lacked to complete the case. I was very suspicious of the apparent alibi and was not surprised when Pollard saw how to get round it. Those who are swifter on the uptake than me might figure out what the culprit was really after and why Wendy had to die. ★★★★

*I do have one random question though. What on earth does the cover have to do with anything? I mean, considering that a high percentage of British mysteries take place in England and having tea is kind of a big thing in England, this could, quite honestly, be a scene from any British mystery ever. It certainly doesn't represent this book in any meaningful way.

First lines: "Those in favour?" From the Chair Philip Cary ran a practised eye round the library table.

Last line: "Really," Marcia said, "aren't our policemen wonderful?"
****************

Deaths = 2 (one car accident; one strangled)

Ambush for Anatol

 Ambush for Anatol (1952) by John Sherwood

In an opening that might remind GAD readers of their introduction to Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, we are introduced to Philip and Diana Abinger. Like the Beresfords, they are a young couple who are in need of funds and Philip, at least, isn't adverse to a bit of risk if it will help the cash flow. A chance meeting with a former RAF man just may be the ticket. Count Jan Piatovsky and his friend Miss Lena Watson invite Philip and Diana for a drink. Piatovsky tells Philip that he may be able to set him up with a man named Anatol who can use men like Philip and the Count. They make an appointment to meet on Hampstead Heath where Piatovsky will make the introduction. But unknown to the Abingers...

The man known only as Anatol uses blackmail to pressure his associates into handling shady currency deals for him in the years following World War II. Even if he has to manufacture the blackmail evidence. Everyone from Polish refugees to members of the British aristocracy are fair game. He knows everything about them all and they know nothing about him. But when one of his band of fraudsters stumbles across some unsavory information about Anatol, the consequences are dire and Scotland Yard finds themselves with a pair of corpses in the middle of Hampstead Heath during the Bank Holiday. Inspector Lunt is sure it's going to be a long and fruitless search...

Meanwhile, Mr. Charles Blessington, a civil servant with the Ministry of the Treasury, is waiting for a man to show up for an appointment. An appointment that was made with Blessington's secretary after he had left for the long holiday and with a man about whom he knows nothing. When Count Jan Piatovsky is half an hour late, Blessington realizes that the name does sound familiar and goes back to the morning's paper. Count Piatovsky was one of the pair killed on Hampstead Heath. Soon our mild mannered civil servant is mixed up in a dangerous hunt for a very dangerous man as well as helping Diana search for her husband who has unaccountably disappeared. The trail leads from London to Paris (with murder and mayhem on the famed Blue Train) to the French Riviera. Blessington may look mild as milquetoast but he's on hand to help Scotland Yard and the Surete get their man. But he doesn't consider himself skilled (other than in financial matters. As he says in response to a compliment from Lunt on a previous investigation (after the inspector realizes who he is):

"Neat? My dear Inspector, it was far from neat. I have always reproached myself bitterly for strangling that poor fellow in the railway yard. If I had not bungled matters it would not have been necessary."

There is very little mystery here--we know who the bad guy is from the beginning and we know who has killed whom. The fun is in the adventure and watching Blessington work in his quiet way to unravel the whole of Anatol's plot. I also enjoyed the Philip and Diana subpot once it really got going. The first half is a bit iffy, but there are definite shades of the Beresfords in the second half--particularly as played by Francesca Annis and James Warwick. ★★★★

First line: Philip and Diana Abinger stood on a street corner in the West End of London.

In my next existence, if I have one, I shall take jolly good care to be a scarlet adventuress. (Julia Barclay; p. 69)

[the Surete's response to Mr. Blessington's despair over his inexpert shadowing attempt]
My dear fellow, you set yourself an impossible task. For really thorough work we like to use twelve men to one suspect. We sometimes manage with eight when we're feeling economical, but one--no. (Commissaire Special, Monsieur Lebon; p. 93)

The chauffeur joined in on a basis of easy conversational equality. He spoke the rich, garlic-flavoured southern French in which mute e's are not mut at all, and wonderful things are done with the letter r. Mr. Blessington soon gave up trying to understand. Instead he fell to admiring the easy and dramatic eloquence with which even the least educated Frenchman can tell a story. (pp. 171-2)

Last line: It was a relief to get back to humdrum work, in the orderly world he really understood.
*******************

Deaths = 4 (three shot; one stabbed)

Thief Is an Ugly Word

 Thief Is an Ugly Word (1944) by Paul Gallico

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

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

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

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

What's in a Name? 2025

 

Andrea at Carolina Book Nook is back with another round of the What's in a Name Challenge. I always look forward to the new version. This has always been a favorite of mine, so of course I'm back for another round as well. The format is the same--six categories and one book required for each one. The prompt must appear in the title of the book. For full details and suggestions for interpreting prompts, see the link above. Tentative book choices below.

1. Cardinal Direction: Murder, London-South Africa by John Creasey (7/23/25)

2. Wanderlust: No Vacation from Murder by Elizabeth Lemarchand (3/18/25)

3. First & Last Name: The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle by Timothy Miller (4/11/25)

4. Alliteration: Ambus for Anatole by John Sherwood (3/17/25)

5. Deity: The Feathered Serpent* by Edgar Wallace (7/26/25) *refers to Aztec Creator (known as Quetzalcoatl & represented by a feathered serpent)

6. Crime: Thief Is an Ugly Word by Paul Gallico (2/17/25)

Pieces of Justice

 Pieces of Justice (1994) by Margaret Yorke

Lots of bossy women and domineering men who get their just desserts. Lots of couple on cruises and holidays who aren't really enjoying each other's company. A theme of unhappy and childless marriages. Lots of relationships that aren't as good as they should be or as good as they appear. There are those who receive sweet relief and those who don't quite get the relief they expected. This collection is billed as "short stories of suspense" and while there are many suspenseful tales and some murderous stories there are several here that don't really fill the bill as far as I'm concerned. No mystery, no suspense--just stories of people who don't really like each other. Margaret Yorke doesn't seem to have thought much of the institution of marriage--whether longstanding arrangements or an impending ceremony. 

A great number of these stories are morally ambiguous and there are a few where I disagree heartily with the outcomes. But one thing Yorke does do is make you think. Her themes here are on justice and cause & effect. What may seem like justice to you or me, isn't necessarily the justice she metes out in her stories. But who decides, in the end, what justice is? The best of the bunch "Means to Murder" and the finale, "Greek Tragedy." The rest are variable. ★★ and 1/2.

"The Liberator": An older woman on holiday decides to become an avenging angel, dispatching men and women who have become too big a burden on others...until someone turns the tables.[one stabbed; one motor accident; one poisoned]

"It's Never Too Late": Sometimes revenge doesn't have to be violent.

"Always Rather a Prig": After a reunion of her old girls, a schoolmistress is disappointed in the way a few of them have turned out. She does what she can to set things right. [one in war; one drowned]

"I Don't Believe in Santa Claus": Neither Timmy nor Janet want to go the the Christmas party, but Santa has a surprise in store for them.

"The Reckoning": Ellen has had enough of Maurice's over-bearing ways and decides to kill him off on the day he reaches his allotted "three score and ten." [one natural one gassed; one wasp sting reaction]; 

"Such a Gentleman": Phyllis's godson had always been such a gentleman. Could such a gentleman kill?[3 natural; one war; one strangled]

"A Time for Indulgence": What should a meek woman do if she discovers her husband is a predatory killer? Our narrator knows and says she's going to do it.... 

"Fair & Square": Mrs. Ford can't stand to see her old flame's daughter being "managed" by the overbearing woman who stole Michael away from her. [2 natural; one fell from height]

"The Fig Tree": Thirty years ago our narrator schemed her way into marriage with Bernard--cutting out Teresa. When they meet up with Teresa while on holiday, one of them isn't coming back... 

"A Woman of Taste":  A woman on a cruise with her domineering husband is shown what she really is by a sketch artist.

"Mountain Fever": After years of bowing to his wife's wishes to go to the beach on holiday, things finally fall in place for Bob to go to the mountains. [one heart attack; one hit on head; one snake bite]

"The Wrath of Zeus": A man with a keen interest in Greek mythology is on holiday with his less-than-beloved wife. When an angry sea comes up while they are both swimming, he believes that the god of the sea is going to answer his prayer for relief. [one drowned; one heart attack]

"A Sort of Pride": While on a trip to Greece, Dolly finds out that her husband has secret in his past. [one drowned]

"Gifts from the Bridegroom": A man decides to forego the planned wedding ceremony and head for parts unknown. His plan affects an equally unhappy married man...

"Anniversary": Mavis endured three years with a wealthy old man...looking forward to the day when she would inherit and be ready to travel and do all the things she always wanted to do. After a seemly year of mourning, her bags are packed and she'll be ready to leave in the morning. Or will she? [one poisoned]

"The Mouse Will Play": Mrs. Bellew has come down in the world--moving from a large home to a small house in a commuter village. Her supposedly prosperous husband having left behind nothing but debts upon his death. To fill the time that once was taken up playing hostess to his business associates and maintaining their spacious home, she begins to take notes on her neighbor's activities... and sending appropriate anonymous notes... [one heart attack]

"The Breasts of Aphrodite": Lionel wants nothing more than to destroy all evidence of his wife's wanton behavior while on holiday. [one feel from height]

"The Luck of the Draw": Carmen can't believe her luck when she wins a drawing for a free cruise. But her luck isn't quite the same when the boat returns to England. [one in the war]

"Means to Murder": It isn't until years later that our narrator discovers what really happened to his mother that New Year's Eve of long ago. But it's never too late for justice. [2 natural; one thrown from horse; one natural; one poisoned]

"A Small Excitement": About one's man's effort at justice for the woman he harmed through their affair. [one suffocated; one fell from height]

"Widow's Might": Another self-appointed assassin taking out people deemed worthy of execution. These widows are pretty dangerous.... [one heart attack; 2 more natural; one fell from height]

"The Last Resort": Lois makes plans to escape her abusive husband...little knowing he has plans of his own. [two blown up; one natural; one hit on head]

"Greek Tragedy": Patrick Grant, Yorke's recurring sleuth, takes a cruise and finds that murder can travel a long way. [2 shot; one drowned]

First line (1st story): My mercy mission began in Italy.

Last lines (Last story): ...but she had made a statement. She had made another now. And in Sevenoaks.

The Golden Eagle Mystery (spoilerish)

 The Golden Eagle Mystery (1942) by Ellery Queen, Jr.

Djuna and his Scottie dog Champ are all set to spend a quiet summer on the coast with "Aunt Patty" (everyone calls her that). He's looking forward to swimming and sailing and making new friends...and finding out what's bothering Aunt Patty. Miss Annie Ellery (with whom he lived) had sent him to Aunt Patty with instructions: 

Go and find out what the trouble is at Aunt Patty's house. There's trouble of some sort. She may even be in great danger. But, if you ask her, she will probably say there's nothing wrong at all. Just go there and keep your ears open....Listen to what her neighbors say there in Stony Harbor, and find out for yourself what is worrying her. No one need ever guess that a boy like you is a real detective.

So, he follows instructions. He makes friends with a boy named Billy. He meets the neighbors. He begins to suspect that Aunt Patty's worries are money-related. And up in Aunt Patty's attic, he and Aunt Patty finds a bunch of letters from her great-grandfather with clues to a missing treasure. He also finds some slips of paper that refer to a golden eagle as well as a nest egg being "put  where it be." When egg-shaped items begin disappearing from Aunt Patty's house, he's sure that there is something valuable to be found and he enlists Billy's help in tracking it down.

***********Possible Spoiler Ahead!************

As with most of these Ellery Queen, Jr. stories, the mystery is pretty straight-forward and doesn't take much guesswork. To be quite honest, all I needed was the title and I knew what it was all about. But also as is generally the case, the characters are engaging and there is adventure and mystery enough for the young readers who are the target audience for these books. Djuna and Champ are great leads and the friends they make along the way in their adventures are well-drawn. A good solid mystery. ★★★

First line: The new boy closed the door behind him and looked up and down the unfamiliar street.

Last line: "Gee," he said, "Alberto's going to miss Champ a lot!"
****************
Deaths= one drowned

The New Shoe

 The New Shoe (1951) by Arthur W. Upfield

When the lighthouse inspector makes an unexpected second trip to now automated Split Point Lighthouse on Australia's southeast coast, he discovers the naked body of a man hidden in a little-used storage closet in the wall. There is nothing to identify the body and advertisements of his description yields no help. So, Inspector Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte is dispatched to help the local police. Bony has yet to leave a case unsolved and he's confident he'll crack this one. But even with his disguise as a holiday-making sheep farmer, the local inhabitants are reluctant to tell more than they've already shared with the police. But Bony knows that they know something. The only one who will really talk with him is old Ed Penwarden, an expert wood craftsman who specializes in coffins.

Bony wonders why a certain coffin is moved in the night, why the girl was seen struggling with Dick Lake on the cliff top, why Elred Wessex never came home from the war, and what the Bully Buccaneers have to do with it all. It isn't until his new friend, the dog Stug, brings him a shiny new shoe at the cliff's edge that he finds the clues that will lead him onto the correct path and when someone tries to brain him with a rock he knows he's getting close. And if he's not careful, he'll find himself resting permanently in one of Penwarden's beautiful coffins...

Although Upfield employs some of the standard Bony tropes (going undercover, ignoring his chief's urgings to hurry up, etc), this is a slightly different take than most of the detective's cases. Here he finds himself in a more centralized rural area--with far more people around, rather than using his tracking skills in the outback. I really enjoyed his interactions with Penwarden and the empathy he showed to various characters he met during the course of his investigation. And, as always, it's fun to see him melt into another persona as seamlessly as Holmes donning a disguise. ★★★★

First line: The evening sky was a true prophet.

"People don't hink about next week, tomorrow....No pride these days...get through work as quickly as possible for as much as possible...and refuse to do any thinkin' because thinkin' hurts." (Mr. Penwarden;p. 30)

"Putting the dead man in that locker don't make no sense to me, and I allus say that what don't make sense ain't worth worryin about. (Penwarden p. 64)

Last line: He walked on, and Mr. Penwarden tarried at the gate to watch him until he reached the main road.
*****************

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

Q-Squared

 Q-Squared (1995) by Peter David

Take Q and make him even more annoying and arbitrary and you get....Trelane. The infamous Squire of Gothos with whom Captain Kirk had a run-in over a hundred years ago. Wound up he was just a kid Q who got loose from his parents and wanted to interact with humans for "fun and games." Well...a century has passed and Trelane hasn't grown up much. But now Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the Enterprise D crew must deal with a Trelane who has tapped into the universal power source and has delusions of godhood. He messes with the powers that keep all alternate mutliverses separate and with the plan this teen-aged Q filled with teen-age angst has for "life, the universe and everything" it seems more like devilhood. Because if Trelane has his way all possible alternate timelines will be gone--but only after the Enterprise crew (and everyone else in the universe) and their alternate selves fight it out to the death to see which one will remain. According to Q, Picard is the only one who can save the universe...and all of its alternates. But how can a mere mortal take on a god...or a devil?

In his introduction, Peter David says that he generally writes two types of Star Trek novels. One is simply problem-oriented--the crew, whether Kirk & company or Next Gen, get involved in events with alien races or whatnot and they have to resolve it. The other takes a look at Trek as a whole and tries to stitch together threads from various iterations of the Trek universe to make a tapestry of sorts. This is the latter type of story. And, overall, I like it very much. I enjoyed the way he brought Trelane into the Q Continuum and made his interactions bridge the time period between Kirk and Picard. I'm also really interested in the multiverse (alternate timeline) trope in science fiction and enjoyed David's take on that concept. The one thing that kept this from a full four-star review was the chaos at the end--I realize that was the point of Trelane's little "experiment," but with all of the various Picards and Rikers and Crushers (both Beverly and Jack [!]), etc. running in and out of each other's timelines it was very difficult to keep everybody straight. And (slight SPOILER ahead)...

even though we're meant to believe that we're back to the "real" universe (that is the one from the TV show) at the end. I'm still a little unsure. A great concept, pretty nicely realized. ★★★ and 1/2.

First line: The child looked up at the adult eagerly, wonderingly in that way that children had.

And which of these multiverses is the real one? (LaForge; p. 126)

Last line: She turned back to ask him why he sounded so strange when he said that...but he was already gone.

What's in a Name Challenge

 

Andrea at Carolina Book Nook is back with another round of the What's in a Name Challenge. And I'm so glad--I've been anxiously awaiting the new version. This has always been a favorite of mine, so of course I'm back for another round as well. The format is the same--six categories and one book required for each one. The prompt must appear in the title of the book. For full details, see the link above.

My Tentative List:

1. Double Letters: The Emperor's SnuFF Box by John Dickson Carr (1/3/24)

2. An NFL Team: The Golden Eagle Mystery by Ellery Queen Jr. (6/14/24)

3. A Natural Disaster: Taken at the Flood  (aka There Is a Tide) by Agatha Christie (1/14/24) 

4.  A Virtue: Pieces of Justice by Margaret Yorke (9/2/24)

5. Shape: Q-Squared by Peter David (3/17/24)

6. Footwear: The New Shoe by Arthur W. Upfield (5/25/24)

I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay

 I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay (2004) by Harlan Ellison based on short stories by Isaac Asimov

Synopsis (from the back of the book): The Greatest Science Fiction Movie Never Made! For more than 25 years numerous attempts were made to adapt Isaac Asimov's classic story-cycle, I, Robot, to the motion picture medium. all efforts failed. The magical, memorable tales of mechanized servitors with positronic brains, and the ways in which such amazing creations would forever alter human society through the justly famous Three Laws of Robotics, defied the most cunning efforts of scenarists and filmmakers. In 1977, producers approached multiple-award-winning author Harlan Ellison to take a crack at this "impossible" project. He accepted the challenge, and produced an astonishing screenplay that Asimov felt would be "The first really adult, complex, worthwhile science fiction movie ever made."

But it wasn't...made that is. Due to creative differences...or, as Ellison tells it, because he told a producer at Warner Brothers that he had "the intellectual capacity of an artichoke" after said producer proved he hadn't even read the screenplay he was attempting to make "suggestions" about...the plan was scrapped. The result? This incredible screenplay moldered for a while, then was published in Asimov's SF Magazine, and, finally, was brought to the public in this edition. The movie Ellison envisioned and Asimov approved is what science fiction fans deserved to see...not the movie we got with Will Smith.

Ellison frames the collection of separate stories with a story of Robert Bratenahl, a reporter, seeking the truth behind the connection between Dr. Susan Calvin, a famous robopsychologist, and Stephen Byerly, the recently deceased first President of the Galactic Federation. In doing so, he brings Calvin and her story very much to forefront--something not apparent in the Asimov stories, but which the author approved. We follow Bratenahl on his journey as seeks an interview with the reclusive Calvin...a journey that ends in an ancient structure in the Amazon jungle.

The book itself is beautiful with lavish illustrations by Mark Zug. It had been awhile since I had read a screenplay, so it took me a bit to get into the rhythm of reading work that was meant to filmed. But once I settled in, I thoroughly enjoyed Ellison's vision of Asimov's world. Now I have a sudden urge to reread all of Asimov's robot stories and novels again....  ★★★★

6 X H: Six Stories

 6 X H: Six Stories (aka The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag; 1959) by Robert H. Heinlein

Heinlein is an author that I have read only in novel-length works prior to this. His abilities in world-building, stage-setting, and characterization translate well into the shorter form. From the novella-length titular story to the shortest of the short stories, he pulls the reader in and we believe in the time, place, and characters even if we find the story itself a little unbelievable. He gives us a little of everything from straight fantasy to hard science fiction. And, like most collections, he gives us a mix of good stories and not-so-good.  ★★★

"The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag": Jonathan Hoag becomes convinced that he must do something terrible during the day. The trouble is, he can't remember anything at all about what it is. He hires Ted and Cynthia Randall, private detectives, to follow him and find out. But what seems like a simple "tail" job turns into a nightmare for the team when their memories of what happens during the investigation don't match.

"The Man Who Traveled in Elephants": John Watts used to be a traveling salesman and his wife, Martha who loved to travel and see new things, would go with him on the road. They loved visiting all the carnivals and festivals and country fairs that they found along the way. Even after John retired, they still traveled, claiming (to those whose curiosity was such that they just had to know why they traveled so much) that now John "traveled in elephants." And now--now Martha is gone and John is keeping the tradition alive by traveling on his own. But then the bus he's on has an accident and he finds himself at the most fantastic festival he's ever seen.

"--All You Zombies--" A time travel story full of all kinds of paradoxes. Most aptly, a jukebox in the bar which features in the story is playing "I'm My Own Granpaw" on what seems like endless repeat....

"They": Our unnamed protagonist is an inmate in a mental hospital. He is sure that he is one of the few "real" entities in the universe and that those around him are trying keep him from others like him and from finding out the truth. Is he just paranoid? Or is there some truth to his apparent delusions?

"Our Fair City": When a corrupt local government takes on a reporter, a newspaper photographer, and an old parking attendant with an unusual pet, they reap the whirlwind--quite literally.

"And He Built a Crooked House": When Quintus Teal, architect, thinks up a new way to build houses--based on the fourth dimension and the idea of tesseracts, he believes it will revolutionize home-building. It will allow large houses to be built on much smaller plots of land and save on building costs overall. He builds his first model--but a couple of earthquakes thoroughly shake up the process.

First line (1st story): "Is it blood, Doctor?" Jonathan Hoag moistened his lips with his tongue and leaned forward in the chair. trying to see what was written on the slip of paper the medico held.

Last lines (last story): Teal ducked in time. He always was a man of action.