The Chalk Circle Man: Review

The Chalk Circle Man (1996) by Fred Vargas introduces readers to a new character, the quirky and thoroughly unorthodox Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg who has just recently been appointed to his post in Paris. Adamsberg doesn't do so well with the routine of policework so he lets his associate, Adrien Danglard, take care of that. The Commissaire prefers to ask (what seems to Danglard) off-the-wall questions and take long walks. Not to think things over, because he doesn't really call what he does "thinking things over"--every time he tries do that, nothing happens. But somehow taking a walk helps everything to sort itself out and the picture of the crime with fall into place. Every time.

One of his first cases in Paris starts as a mere odd bit of sensational graffiti. Someone that the newspapers dub "The Chalk Circle Man" begins drawing large chalk circles surrounding a variety of objects--everything from empty beer cans to four trombones to a pigeon's foot to a doll's head. Appearing around the outside of the circles is the phrase "Victor, woe's in store, what are you out here for?" When a dead cat appears in the latest circle, Adamsberg, who has already sensed a cruel streak underlying the senseless oddities, predicts that the worst is yet to come. And he's right. The next circle contains the body of a murdered woman. That's just the beginning. But there are indications that the puzzle may be more complicated than it first appears. Is the Chalk Circle Man a serial killer? Or is someone else using his harmless mania to disguise their crimes?

I normally don't like mysteries where the detective just "knows" whodunnit and why, but Vargas paints such a vivid picture that she makes you believe in the way Adamsberg operates. It's perfectly natural for this Commissaire to work the way he does and have the successful endings to his investigations. The characters she introduces are memorable as well--from Adamsberg to an odd marine biologist to the blind man she befriends and brings to live in the flats she rents out to the Chalk Man himself. You leave this world feeling as though you have really met and followed these folks around for the duration of the case. Oh...and Vargas manages to plant plenty of clues so armchair detectives who don't just "know" the solution can work it out--if they're clever enough. I almost got there....but missed the final curveball. By the time I connected, Vargas was already showing me the solution through Adamsberg. ★★★★ for a terrific beginning to an acclaimed series.

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This counts for "white" (as in "chalk white") for the Color-Coded Challenge. And Fred Vargas is a woman, so this counts for the Women Challenge as well.

All Challenges Fulfilled:  100 Plus Challenge, A-Z Mystery Author Challenge, Around the World, Color Coded Challenge, European Reading Challenge, Mad Reviewer, Mount TBR Challenge, My Kind of Mystery, Outdo Yourself, Women Challenge, Spring Into Horror,52 in 52

One Foot in the Grave

One Foot in the Grave (1979) by Peter Dickinson is my first entry for the Spring Into Horror Read-a-Thon. Fortunately Michelle is allowing those of us who are horror weenies to count mysteries. I have a few ghost story collections hanging out on the TBR pile--so I may venture into those. But my first book is a straight mystery.

This is the sixth book in the series featuring Scotland Yard's Jimmy Pibble. The now retired ex-Superintendent  is in a fancy nursing home called Flycatchers where he is recovering from a stroke brought on by the death of his wife. He has determined that he doesn't have much left to live for and wants to end it all while he still has all his faculties and having recovered enough to have just enough strength. He waits for a wild and windy night and makes his way out to a tower on the property--with the intention of flinging himself from the top. But his plans are interrupted when he discovers a corpse shot through the back of the head, almost execution-style.

His old instincts kick in and he can't help but be interested, especially when his old friend Chief Superintendent Mike Crewe becomes involved. When he learns that the victim had been acting as added security for the mysterious Mr. X (whom Pibble recognizes as a rather important informer in the underworld), it begins to look like someone is making a move on Mr. X to eliminate him before he can provide major information to the police. But the case is complicated by an elderly woman who claims that someone has been killing off wealthy patients--ostensibly so their heirs won't have to wait so long for their inheritance. Crewe tends to trust Pibble's instincts, even if he's not quite up to his previous standard yet, but the local Superintendent is sure that the killer will be found among the victim's discarded conquests on the nursing staff. Could it be that the truth lies somewhere in the middle?

I have had an on-again, off-again relationship with Peter Dickinson's work. My very first taste (back in the 80s and I don't even remember the book) did not go down at all well. For a long time, his name was on my TBF list (To Be Found) with no titles and simply the comment "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" --to keep me from bringing more of them home. But then in 2011 I decided to give him another try when I needed another book with a "Y" as the first letter of a title (not counting "The, A, or An" and brought The Yellow Room Conspiracy home with fear and trepidation. As I note in the review (linked), the book did not wow me as mystery but it did have excellent characters and was a good historical period piece. It gave me hope that I might like Dickinson after all.

After reading One Foot in the Grave, I have decided that Dickinson's strength is his characters. It's not his plots or his ability to mystify--the culprit is, quite frankly, glaringly obvious in this one and I don't think that was planned. But it is definitely worth the price of admission to watch Pibble work his way back from a stroke and his interactions with the nurses, previous colleagues on the force, and, most particularly his fellow residents. Lady Treadgold is a hoot--don't get anywhere near her and her walker if you are a nefarious evil-doer, trust me. Two things keep this from being a five- or even a full four-star outing. The first is the aforementioned weakness in the mystery itself. The second is that while the general outline of Pibble's return to strength is good, especially in his interactions with others, the long internal monologues are a bit taxing. The first chapter where he is making his way to the tower is especially so. It is only 32 pages long, but it reads like it is much longer. Overall, a strong showing and good reason to try the other Dickinson books sitting on my TBR pile. ★★★ and a half


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This also counts for the "Blood Stains" category on the Silver Vintage Scavenger Hunt card.

The Limehouse Text

In The Limehouse Text (2006), the third installment of Will Thomas's historical mystery series set during the Victorian era, it has been over a year since Cyrus Barker's first assistant Quong was murdered and still no clue has been found by either Scotland Yard or Barker to lead them to his killer. But then Inspector Bainbridge, the man originally assigned to the case, decides to go through the man's effects one more time to see if he can glean anything new and he finds a pawn ticket stub tucked into the sleeve of the Chinese man's tunic.

That pawn ticket, when redeemed by Barker produces a rare and secret text stolen from a Nanking monastery. The book contains instructions pertaining to a lethal form of martial arts forbidden to the West. And, when Bainbridge is killed in a manner similar to Quong, it becomes apparent that someone is willing to kill to get their hands on that text. Added to the urgency surrounding the matter is the uneasy political situation between the British Empire and Imperial China and the case draws the attention of the Foreign Office. Barker and his current assistant Llewelyn must track down the killer and also keep the book safe from a host of suspects--all of whom have an interest in the text. Their quest will take them through opium dens, to illegal boxing matches, and nearly end when Barker must prove himself through mortal combat at the behest of the district's warlord, Mr. K'ing. It will take more than fancy footwork and martial art skill to finally bring the crime home to the correct villain and see the text delivered safely to the rightful owners, but Barker comes through.

Thomas continues to expand on this new look at the Holmes and Watson/Wolfe and Goodwin detective team.  Lots more action than most of the Holmes stories and Barker is far more mobile and physically involved than Nero Wolfe generally is.  And I continue to enjoy the characters.  They are very  interesting and I particularly like the interaction between Barker and Llewelyn.  They have the chemistry necessary to create a duo to follow in such auspicious footsteps.  In the first book, we learned a lot about Llewelyn's background, but even with the bits and pieces we've been given along the way and a quite substantial chunk revealed in this latest outing, there is still plenty to be revealed about his employer.  The other members of Barker's staff from Mac the butler and general factotum to Dummolard, his French chef, are also well-drawn.   

Each of Thomas's books tends to focus on a particular group or historical moment from the era. This time we are immersed in the area of Limehouse and the Chinese population that lives there. I enjoyed the historical information that Thomas works into the narrative.  I appreciate learning something when I pick up a historical novel without being beaten over the head with scholarship.  Thomas weaves knowledge about the Chinese in England into the story without overburdening it and also teaches us a bit about the illegal boxing matches and martial arts without treating the material as info dumps. A very detailed and entertaining historical series that is well worth your time. ★★★ and a half.

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This fulfills the "historical mystery" for the Mystery Reporter Challenge.

The 1938 Club

I just found out about The 1938 Club from the lovely Kate over at crossexaminingcrime and decided I needed to join in.

 Karen and Simon (host blog) started with The 1924 Club and asked bloggers to read books from that year during a specific week. They had such a grand time that they've decided to make it a twice-yearly event and are now asking bloggers and blog readers to read a book published in 1938, and to write about it during one week. They welcome novels, stories, non-fiction, poetry, absolutely anything from anywhere in the world – and together we can build up a much broader sense of the year than could be achieved by an individual reader. There won’t be a single ethos for 1938, of course, but there will hopefully be a fantastic cross-section. They will take old reviews of 1938 offerings as well as new blog posts.

Since I just found out about it. I'm going to just look through my previous reviews and see what I have to offer up:

Murder for Christmas (aka Hercule Poirot's Christmas OR A Holiday for Murder) by Agatha Christie
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier 
The Bigger They Come by A. A. Fair (Erle Stanley Gardner)
Brighton Rock by Graham Greene

A Blunt Instrument by Georgette Heyer

Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis

The Black-Headed Pins by Constance & Gwenyth Little

Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout 
 The Bone Is Pointed by Arthur W. Upfield

The Case of the Black-Eyed Blonde: Review

Diana Regis was a beautiful blonde who showed up at Perry Mason's office wearing nothing but a coat, a negligee, and a shining black eye. Her employer's cad of a stepson made one too many advances to her and she resisted one too many times and he, believing that if you socked a female good and hard she'd fall into your arms, had done just that. But she didn't. She went back to her rooms at Jason Bartsler's home, ran into more trouble, and ran out of the house in barely enough to be respectable. All she wants Perry to do is get her owed salary and all of her things. But things get far more interesting fast.

Perry reaches a settlement with Bartsler, but the ink's barely dry on the deal before Perry and Della discover a dead body. And then it isn't long until they get involved will all sort of people who are, unfortunately, also of interest to Lieutenant Tragg and Sergeant Holcomb. Like Jason Bartsler, a mining tycoon who wants Perry to help him dig up his past. And Frank Glenmore, Jason's friend and right hand man, who prefers digging up the present. And Carl Fretch, the caddish step-son, who's main object in life is to make every dame bend to his will and who comes as baggage with Jason's second wife. And Jason's second wife whose primary interest is digging gold--enough for her and her darling boy. And then there's all the blondes--the one with the black eye, the one with the missing Barstler grandson, and the one who winds up shot and killed.

Holcomb doesn't care much for Perry Mason. In fact, he goes out of his way to make things as difficult as possible--even going to the lengths of arresting Perry and Della. But leave it to Perry to get to the bottom of things with the help of Della and Paul Drake. Poor Paul. Perry gives him so many assignments that he doesn't have time for a decent meal until the end of the story. 

Not the best Perry Mason story I've read, but the not the worst either. The back story about Jason Bartsler's missing grandson is interesting and I did enjoy the scenes where all Paul Drake wants is a good meal and Perry keeps telling him to munch on chocolate bars. But the obstructive nature of Holcomb is annoying and the clues are a little sparse on the ground. ★★★

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This fulfills (big surprise!) the "Blonde" category on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt Card.

The Indigo Necklace Murders: Review

Well, I'll bet I'm the only girl who ever got blacked out by a medical book on mental trouble. That's special. Usually it's a poker. Or a bottle.

Pat and Jean Abbott find themselves in an old mansion in French New Orleans in The Indigo Necklace Murders* (1945) by Frances Crane. Pat is now a Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps and has been stationed in New Orleans after serving overseas in Intelligence. The city is teeming with people and there is a shortage of housing, so Pat becomes a paying guest at the home of his friend Major Roger Clary, scion of a proud Creole family. Due to Pat's work, Jean is often alone in their rooms at night and she regularly hears the sound of a clicking latch and "whispering" footsteps along their balcony and even through their front room. She isn't too worried until the night she finds a white-robed body at the bottom of the balcony's stairway. And gets slugged over the head when she tries to go for help.

Things don't look so good for Major Clary when the body is discovered to be that of his mentally incompetent wife. And they look even worse when it's revealed that Mrs. Clary was a rich woman and the Major had fallen in love with someone else. It's impossible to divorce an insane wife and Captain Jonas, the local representative of the law, is convinced that Clary took the easiest way out of his marriage by giving his wife a nice shove down the stairs. But Pat and Jean are convinced that Captain Jonas's one-track mind is making him blind to the real killer--there are others in the household who have a motive or may have been involved. There's the nurse who may have tried to dose her mistress with herbs to ill effect and has pulled a disappearing act. Also in the mix are Uncle George and Aunt Dollie who might have counted on a piece of the financial pie once the Major was free of his wife. There's Ava Graham, a hanger-on, who is definitely hiding secrets and her beau, Toby Wick, who has a murky past under a much different name. And there's Aunt Rita (Marguerite Clary), matriarch of the family, who dotes on Roger and may have wished her favorite to be free to marry the girl he loves. 

There are suggestions of voodoo--thus the indigo necklace...somehow these blue beads mean voodoo and/or witchcraft to the locals, murmurs of jealousy among the servants, a hint of blackmail, a secret room that proves to be not-so-secret after all. Pat will help lead Captain Jonas in the right direction, but it will be Jean's brush with the killer that will bring the crime home to the proper quarter.

This is not, in my opinion, Crane's best effort--at least as far as the mystery goes. Clues are sparse, the wrap-up is rushed and too easily settled, and I don't quite agree with the motivations and identity of the villain. Perhaps with a bit more groundwork it would be more believable. What does work in this book is the representation of the times. I had said that my previous review (The Jade Venus) was the most representative of the books I'd read for Rich's Crimes of Century. This one is perhaps even more so. Abbott and Clary are both very involved with war work. Carol Graham, Clary's love interest, has a "defense job" and also works as a nurse's aide. And everything's crowded and in short supply because of the war effort. As Pat Abbott notes, "You waited for anything and everything these days in crowded New Orleans, so it was perfectly logical to wait for a hospital room."  

Unfortunately, the treatment of the servants (who are all African American) by some of the characters is also of the time. The worst of it is the assumption that they all believe in voodoo, witchcraft, and superstition and aren't smart enough to know any better. Racism and the privilege of the white classes is evident--but I will say that one of those who treat the servants badly, Captain Jonas, is all for equal opportunity prejudice. He is just as likely to pigeon hole the Creoles as clannish, snobbish, and unlikely to tell the truth--especially about anything that might affect their money and their social standing.

★★ and a half.


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With fellow lurking behind the curtain, this fulfills the "More Than Two People" category on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt card. It is also my second entry in  Rich's Crimes of the Century post for April. 
 
*Originally published as The Indigo Necklace

Mount TBR Checkpoint Winner!

It's been a busy day, but I finally have a chance to haul out the random number generator and select a checkpoint winner. Let's feed in all the entries, listen to it clank and whir, and we have a winner!  Our lucky climber is #6

A quick peek at the Checkpoint Post tells me that our winner is Link #6 Freda at Freda's Voice! Congratulations, Freda! I'll be contacting you with the prize list very soon.

Thanks again to all of you who checked in...and to all who are busy climbing with us! See you at the next checkpoint!

Vintage Scavenger Hunt Check-in Winner

At the end of March, I posted a list of randomly selected items from the Scavenger Hunt cards and made it possible for our hunters to claim a spot in a prize drawing. All items were selected back in November and my middle-aged memory is such that even I was surprised by the categories which were Ghostly Figure; Jewelry of Any Sort; Any Other Animal; Red Object; Dead Body; and Policeman. 

Kate and Joel were the leaders in sheer number of items found with four apiece. But now it's time to warm up the Custom Random Number Generator and see who our lucky winner is.....

And our winner is Link #9. A peek back at the Check-in Post tells me that Cath is our winner with her entry--"Dead Body" on Whose Body? by Dorothy L Sayers. Congratulations, Cath! And thanks to Kate, Joel, and Linda for your check-in posts and to all the hunters who were off on other trails finding other objects. Don't worry, another prize opportunity will be along before you know it. I can't tell you what the categories will be--but I can guarantee that they won't be the same as this round. Happy Hunting!

Cath, I will be contacting you soon with the prize list. 
 

Spring into Horror Read-a-Thon

Spring into Horror

Read-a-Thon

April  18 - 24

Hosted by Michelle at Seasons of Reading
For more information and to sign up, click here

#SpringHorrorRAT
Seasons of Reading Facebook group here

Official dates are April 18 through 24, starting at 12am CDT Sunday and ending at 11:59pm CDT the following Sunday. I probably won't start reading until much later on Sunday. 

There is a whole page of guidelines so check that out but the main goal for this read-a-thon is to read at least one scary-to-you book. Fortunately, for those who are weenies when it comes to horror (like me!), that can include a thriller, mystery, Gothic novel, or something similar. So--I'm in for at least one scary-to-me book and whatever else I can cram into a week's worth of reading. Come join us!

I'll list my books below:
1. One Foot in the Grave by Peter Dickinson (4/18/16)
2 The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas (4/21/16) 
3. Death in Cyprus by M. M. Kaye (4/22/16)
4.The Pocket Book of Ghost Stories edited by Philip Van Doren Stern (4/24/16)
 

The Jade Venus: Review

There were patriotic posters and banner everywhere now, late in 1943, and the lines before the ticket windows were longer, but otherwise it was the same.

The Jade Venus (1945 per my copy) by George Harmon Coxe is a book that is the most tied to its period of any that I've read so far for any of Rich's Crimes of the Century posts. It's set in 1943 and Kent Murdock, Coxe's camera-wielding newspaper photographer who often finds himself in the midst of murder investigations, is now a Captain in the Army. Most interestingly, he is a Monuments Man--in that corps of men recently made famous in film who saved many of Europe's treasures from the ravages of war. He has come back to the States to make sure that a priceless collection of Italian artwork has reached its rightful owner, Professor Albert Andrada. He is also interested in a less valuable painting sent along with the collection called The Jade Venus. This rather ugly piece of modern artwork features a green lady (thus the name), but it also hides an important secret. But before Murdock can get to the Professor's house, he is intercepted by two strong-armed goons who kidnap him, steal his papers and official insignia, and who visit the Professor in his stead. It soon becomes apparent that the secrets of the green lady are known to far more people than Murdock anticipated. And someone doesn't mind killing...repeatedly...to get their hands on the secrets. 

Murdock was well-mannered, intelligent, and well educated, he could talk the language of cops and bookies and gamblers and circulation hustlers as though he understood them. He could go anywhere and hold his own, whether it was a dowager's drawing-room or a South Boston bar, and thought he got mussed up sometimes--and most photographers did--it never seemed to bother him.

Kent Murdock finds himself not only trying to track down the missing painting, but also hunting a killer. Two people will die and two more will be threatened before the final show-down in a painter's studio. Murdock's photographer's eye and sharp mind pick up on the visual and verbal clues that help him bring the crimes home to the proper villain.

As I mentioned above, this book is very much tied to the era in which it was written. Our hero is a military man who has been using his photographer's skills and knowledge of art to assist in the efforts of the Monuments Men to preserve and rescue pieces of European artwork. When he arrives home, he is greeted by the patriotic banners and posters. One of his fellow newspaper men has been sent home after capture and a stint in a concentration camp in Italy. The Professor's brothers have been working feverishly back in war-torn Italy to hide artwork from the Nazis. Everywhere you look there are mentions of the war-time era.

The book itself is a very interesting--made all the more so by its mention of the Monuments Men considering that the story of this branch of the military has just become prominent in recent years. I enjoyed reading about it from the time period rather than through the lens of history and Hollywood. The mystery is fairly well clued. I didn't pick out the culprit, but I do think a sharper eye than mine could spot the clues to do so. Several suspects and false trails give the reader plenty to think about and work through to find the solution and the cast of characters are interesting as well.  ★★★ and a half.

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With the picture on the back cover, this counts for the "Boat" category on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt card. It is also, as already noted, my first entry in the Crimes of the Century post for April.

New (to me anyway) Books: January to March

The New (to me anyway) Meme is sponsored by Kerrie over at Mysteries in Paradise. Here's what she's looking for....

Just write a post about the best new-to-you crime fiction authors (or all) you've read in the period of January to March 2016, put a link to her meme in your post (click above), and even use the logo if you like. The books don't necessarily need to be newly published. After writing your post, then link up over at Kerrie's place and visit the links posted by other participants in the meme to discover even more books to read. 'Cause there are never enough books to hunt down and read.

 

Here are the books by authors I hadn't tried before:

 

Puzzle in Petticoats by Samuel M. Kootz (1944)

Four Against the Bank of England by Ann Huxley (1969) [non-fiction]

The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont by Robert Barr (1906)

The Clock Ticks On by Valentine Williams (1933)

The Doberman Wore Black by Barbara Moore (1983)

The Fifth Passenger by Edward Young (1963)

The Bridal Bed Murders by A. E. Martin (1954)

The Day He Died by Lewis Padgett (1947)

House of Darkness by Allan MacKinnon (1947)

The Philomel Foundation by James Gollin (1980)

Dead Against My Principles by Kenneth Hopkins (1960)

Death in Profile by Guy Fraser-Sampson (2016)

 

Overall, the experiments with new authors were very successful with most earning at least three stars, several with four, and one run-away winner with five stars. The two most disappointing were The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont and The Bridal Bed Murders with two stars apiece. The first lacked the promised humor and the second fell down on the job severely in the mystery department. The best of the bunch were Death in Profile and House of Darkness. 

 

Death in Profile wins for new-to-me, new releases. Guy Fraser-Sampson has created a company of very interesting characters. Characters who are at once likeable and compelling with imperfections that we can all understand and relate to. He has also, as noted on the novel's back cover, put together a "love letter to the detective novel." A notation that should come as no surprise to those of us who love the Golden Age Detective novel and who are fellow members of a GAD group online, because I would add that it is a love letter to the classic detective novel. The references to various writers from the Golden Age and their creations as well as the most obvious tribute to Dorothy L. Sayers and Lord Peter Wimsey are quite delightful. Fraser-Sampson pulled me into the story from the outset and I enjoyed the investigation quite a lot. I also enjoyed the various tensions developed in the story--from the tensions between older and newer methods of police work to the tensions between various members of the team to the tensions involved with bringing in the profiler. 

 

But the overall winner is House of Darkness. This, quite honestly, was the most fun I've had reading a mad-dash, mystery thriller in a long time. Even though I had never heard of Allan MacKinnon before, I snatched it right up when I saw this near-fine Dell Mapback edition sitting at my favorite used bookstore--just waiting for me. What a delight to find such a cracking good yarn with engaging characters, apt descriptions, and humorous dialogue. I have a feeling MacKinnon had a great deal of fun putting this story together and it translates to plenty of enjoyment for the reader. A definite surprise favorite--and it may just turn out to be the overall favorite for the year.  

The Tuesday Night Bloggers: Phoebe Atwood Taylor's The Hollow Chest

The Tuesday Night Bloggers have been meeting now for several months with a group of us who are interested in golden age detective writers. We started with Agatha Christie back in late September and October and have now found ourselves looking forward to April and Phoebe Atwood Taylor--or Alice Tilton, as she sometimes liked to call herself. Curtis over at the Passing Tramp will be collecting our efforts month. I mistakenly thought that I had read far more of her work since starting the blog than I have. It looks like I need to get busy and read a few before next week's meeting. In the meantime, I have gone back to my only indepth review and have this to offer from 2013:


Long ago and far away, when I started this blog in April of 2010 (ooh my blogiversary is coming up....mustn't forget to celebrate!)--I kicked things off with a review of Alice Tilton's (aka Phoebe Atwood Taylor) Beginning With a Bash.  I had picked up several of her Leonidas Witherall books because I have this little weakness for academic mysteries and Witherall is a sometime instructor/owner/what-have-you of the Meredith Academy who looks a lot like William Shakespeare.  I read two of these light, madcap mysteries and began today's selection, The Hollow Chest, when I suddenly realized that there was such a thing as too much of a good thing.  As I said at the time:
"Well, I've finished the second of the Tilton series and made an attempt at the third. I've decided to give myself a rest from the madcap mysteries for a bit. I'm afraid that she seems to be stuck in a bit of rut. It's a bit much to swallow all the fortuitous circumstances that bring about the happy ending. Given all the bodies he stumbles over, young ladies bound and gagged in his house, his belongings that wind up in unfortunate proximity to the aforementioned bodies--it's a wonder "Bill Shakespeare" doesn't spend his life in jail. It's unfortunate that the charm has faded so fast because I really do like the character of Leonidas Witherall. I'm just having trouble believing more than six impossible things after breakfast."
I gave it up after only twenty-five pages.  And my previous self wasn't kidding--dead bodies, young ladies bound and gagged, incriminating evidence planted by dead bodies.  And that's just for openers.  Witherall returns home after escorting the Fifth Form on their annual outing--a day informally known as "Egg Day." While the point is to have a field trip that involves a rousing game of Fox and Hounds (with one boy playing the fox), every good fifth former knows to conceal eggs about his person because somebody, somewhere along the way is going to need a good egging.  When a General who is directing practice maneuvers comes into their sights--in a tank, no less--they know they have found their target.  Witherall has to lead the boys in a strategic retreat and finally winds up back at the school with all the boys intact....or so he thinks. He later learns that at some point they picked up a stray boy and lost the fox, Sandy Threewit--who just happens to be the ward of a very rich, very prominent lady who just might have money to donate to the Academy.  If their staff hasn't been careless enough to permanently lose her ward....
But...back to what I was saying...after returning home from these adventures, Witherall finds his home ransacked and a beautiful girl (who he doesn't know) bound, blindfolded, and gagged on his bed upstairs.  He starts to untie her bonds when the police arrive.  He manages to convince them that nothing strange is going on (he doesn't want to much attention from the police lest they discover that he's the man who was shepherding the boys who egged the general) and when he goes back upstairs he finds that the girl has disappeared.  Next up is a phone call from Mrs. Vandercook (guardian to the lost Threewit), she's not calling to inquire about the boy (thankfully), but she wants him to dress up in formal wear, go the corner of Eighth and Oak Streets, collect George and go to the Corner of Elm and Oak.  
Witherall attempts to do this and winds up finding people (and horses) who answer to the name George, a dead body in a car, an empty chest, and a mystery surrounding some missing bonds.  Instead of collecting "George," he collects a couple of young women, a soldier named Goldie, and the General who his boys had egged and together they get to the bottom of who killed the man in the car, who stole the missing bonds, and what happened to young Threewit.  All in a few hours one evening.  It makes me tired just writing about it.
I'm glad I waited a while to read this one.  I enjoyed it more than I seemed to be in 2010.  But I have to say that it didn't do as much for me as that very first installment did.  I do think that Tilton (Taylor) got stuck in a rut with these in a way that she didn't with her Asey Mayo books--I've read many of those and never got tired of Asey and his ways.  This is a fun read, fast-paced and very silly--definitely not a deep-thinking, intricate mystery kind of book.  Read it to escape for an evening....

Death in Profile: Review

A serial killer has been stalking London. Inspector Tom Allen and his team have been investigating for over 15 months without a single break in the case. The killer has been very clever and left very few clues to his/her identity. When Kathy Barker becomes the fifth victim to be chloroformed, killed with a hammer, and raped by her murderer, Allen is pulled from the case and replaced by Detective Superintendent Collison. Collison has the team start from the beginning and the new approach results in a consultation with a psychological profiler. Things begin to fall in place quickly--a suspect is found and the team builds their case. But will new techniques ultimately trump tried and true police procedure? Will a legal education and fast-track detective techniques serve better than a regular copper's experience and his "copper's nose" for the truth?

Guy Fraser-Sampson has created a company of very interesting characters. Characters who are at once likeable and compelling with imperfections that we can all understand and relate to. He has also, as noted on the novel's back cover, put together a "love letter to the detective novel." A notation that should come as no surprise to those of us who love the Golden Age Detective novel and who are fellow members of a GAD group online, because I would add that it is a love letter to the classic detective novel. The references to various writers from the Golden Age and their creations as well as the most obvious tribute to Dorothy L. Sayers and Lord Peter Wimsey are quite delightful. Fraser-Sampson pulled me into the story from the outset and I enjoyed the investigation quite a lot. I also enjoyed the various tensions developed in the story--from the tensions between older and newer methods of police work to the tensions between various members of the team to the tensions involved with bringing in the profiler.

My only misgivings are over some obvious matters of routine that never seem to occur to the investigating officers--going thoroughly into the background of a few of their vital witnesses and checking out the husband of one the victims, if only to be sure that this was, indeed, one of the serial killings and not a copy-cat killing to take advantage of the hunt for the "condom killer," to mention a few. There are a number of instances of "forehead-slapping" where the senior officers say "Why didn't I/we think of that?!" And, I have to admit to thinking, "Well, yes, why didn't you?" Overall, a very solid, entertaining beginning to a new series and I look forward with great anticipation to future installments. ★★★★

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Thanks to Guy Fraser-Sampson for arranging the delivery of this review copy. My review policy is posted on my blog, but just to reiterate....The book was offered to me for impartial review  and I have received no payment of any kind. All comments in this review are entirely my own honest opinion.
 

Dare Complete: Triple Dog Dare

The TBR Triple Dog Dare

January 1 - April 1, 2016

I managed to jump on board for James's last round of the Triple Dog Dare. Except for one Review Request, I have read entirely from my own stacks since January 1. This has resulted in the 38 book reduction in the stacks (39, if you count the TBR book that I did not finish....). I'm glad I joined in for the final year.

1. The Purple Cloud by M. P. Shiel [on TBR since 4/13/13] (1/2/16)
2. Hunt with the Hounds by Mignon G. Eberhart [on TBR since 9/20/13] (1/3/16)
3. Murder at Arroways by Helen Reilly [on TBR since 10/17/15] (1/7/15)
4. The Girl in the Cellar by Patricia Wentworth [on TBR since 9/28/12] (1/9/16)
5. Red for Murder by Harold Kemp [on TBR since 5/4/15]
6. Hardly a Man Is Now Alive by Herbert Brean [on TBR since 12/25/14] (1/16/16)
7. Imagination Unlimited edited by Everett F. Bleiler & T. E. Dikty [on TBR since 5/26/15] (1/18/16)
8. Puzzle in Petticoats by Samuel M. Kootz [on TBR since 10/17/15] (1/20/16)
9. The Platypus of Doom & Other Nihilists by Arthur Byron Cover [on TBR since 2011] (1/23/16)
10. Oh Myyy! by George Takei [on TBR since 12/15/14] (1/24/16)
11. Four Against the Bank of England by Ann Huxley [on TBR since 5/24/14] (1/25/16)
12. Which Doctor by Edward Candy [on TBR since 4/13/13] (1/28/16)
13. The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont by Robert Barr [on TBR since 10/9/15] (1/30/16)
14. Who's Calling? by Helen McCoy [on TBR since 10/17/15] (1/31/16)
15. The Clock Ticks On by Valentine Williams [on TBR since 1/5/13] (2/3/16)
16. The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham [on TBR since 5/27/15] (2/5/16)
17. The Clue of the Judas Tree by Leslie Ford [on TBR since 12/25/15] (2/6/16)
18. The Doberman Wore Black by Barbara Moore [on TBR since 3/28/15] (2/9/16)
19. The Fifth Passenger by Edward Young [on TBR since 12/5/15] (2/10/16)
20. The Bridal Bed Murders by A. E. Martin [on TBR since 10/13/12] (2/13/16)
21. The April Robin Murders by Craig Rice & Ed McBain [on TBR since 12/26/14] (2/17/16)
22. The Silver Anniversary Murder by Lee Harris [on TBR since 6/4/14] (2/17/16)
23. Poacher's Bag by Douglas Clark [on TBR since 12/31/11] (2/19/16)
24. The Spiral Staircase by Ethel Lina White [on TBR since 10/9/15] (2/20/16)
25. The Black Rustle by Constance & Gwenyth Little [on TBR since 12/25/14] (2/22/16)
26. The Bachelors of Broken Hill by Arthur W. Upfield [on TBR since 10/4/14] (2/24/16)
27. Gently with the Painters by Alan Hunter [on TBR since 9/28/12] (2/27/16]
28. The Calcutta Affair by George S. Elrick [on TBR since 3/1/14] (2/28/16)
29. The Avengers: A Celebration by Marcus Hearn [on TBR since 5/11/16] (2/29/16)
30. Make Death Love Me by Ruth Rendell [on TBR since 12/21/11] (3/1/16)
31. The Day He Died by Lewis Padgett [on TBR since 10/17/15] (3/3/16)
32. House of Darkness by Allan MacKinnon [on TBR since 10/17/15] (3/7/16)
33. The Philomel Foundation by James Gollin [on TBR since 10/9/15] (3/11/16)
34. A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear [on TBR since 9/17/11] (3/13/16)
35. Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear [on TBR since 8/1/13] (3/15/16)
36. The Old Battle Axe/The Obstinate Murderer by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding [on TBR since 12/25/15] (3/17/16)
37. The Big Smoke by Adrian Matejka [on TBR since 5/27/14] (3/20/16)
38. Dead Against My Principles by Kenneth Hopkins [on TBR since 2/12/15] (3/29/16)