Tuesday Night Bloggers: A is for April...and the April Robin Murders

This month at the Tuesday Night Bloggers we decided to shake things up a bit. Rather than feature a specific topic or author, we chose the letter A for April...and Anything goes. As long as what you have to write about deals with mysteries and starts with the letter "A," it's fair game. Everything from Adultery to Arson AND Arsenic to Antimony. Give us your take on writers such as Agatha (Christie) and (Margery) Allingham or detectives like Inspector Alleyn or Arsène Lupin. Moira over at Clothes in Books is collection our posts this month, so stop by, pull up a chair, and tell us what's on your mind.

It's a bit hectic round my parts, so I'm not entirely certain that I'll be coming up with anything indepth such as you'll find Brad or Kate submitting. For my first submission, I'm going to give you the run-down on the book featured in this month's logo: The April Robin Murders by Craig Rice and Ed McBain. I read this last year and here's what I thought at the time. 

As he stared at her, the only thought that flashed through Bingo's mind was that only that afternoon he'd promised Handsome that they were never going to be involved in any more murders in the future!  

The April Robin Murders (1958) by Craig Rice [Georgiana Ann Randolph] & Ed McBain is a screwball mystery starring Rice's photographers with a penchant for landing in the middle of murder, Bingo Riggs and Handsome Kuzak. Bingo and Handsome, late of New York, have decided to head west to seek fortune and fame in Hollywood. Handsome has the added talent of being able to remember everything he has ever read (especially in newspapers). 

The first thing they do is buy a house. Bingo is determined to own a mansion previously owned by a movie star and they manage to luck into an option on the moldering, monstrous mansion which once belonged to the legendary silent screen star April Robin. Winds up that they get much more than they bargained for--all kinds of mystery surrounds the house and its owners. First, there's April. Everybody remembers her. Everybody says she was gorgeous. Nobody knows what happened to her. She just disappeared. Drove off in her car one day and was gone. And Handsome is worried that he's losing his memory because he can't remember anything about her. 

After April disappeared, the next owners were Julien and Lois Lattimer. They've both disappeared too--as well as a bundle of money. Everybody believes that Lois killed her husband and ran off with the dough. Except there's no body. The police have searched high and low--for the body, for the money, for Lois. Nothing. Then along come our boys from New York. A con man posing as a real estate agent sells them the house--with an apparently genuine Julien Lattimer signature on the paperwork.

 "According to our top handwriting expert, he did," Perroni [a police detective] said. "And when Clark Sellers says a signature is genuine, the signature is genuine." 

The night Handsome and Bingo move in a body is found. But not Julien's. The caretaker/housekeeper--who dies from inhaling the poisonous fumes of dry cleaning fluid. Perroni and his partner Hendenfleder kind of wonder about that. They wonder about a lot of things. Who is this guy Courtney Budlong who sold the house to the boys? Why are there so many guys running around with the initials C. B.? Why does one of them (Chester Baxter) wind up dead in an alley with his throat cut? And how much do Handsome and Bingo know about it all? 

But don't get me wrong. I don't disbelieve you. I don't disbelieve anybody. It don't pay. Especially here in Hollywood. 

This is a fun read. A definite screwball comedy/mystery that I could see as a movie starring Martin & Lewis or Abbott & Costello. You've got con men running in and out the picture, gorgeous dames, possibly shady lawyers, the good cop/bad cop pair, the nosy neighbor, and our slightly dim but likable protagonists who manage to bumble their way into a solution to all the mysteries as well as landing a motion picture deal that will make them that fortune they were seeking. Slow-moving for the first half or so, but it picks up speed as it hurtles to the finish. Not an incredibly clever solution, but it works and makes for an enjoyable and solid read.

A Grave Case of Murder: Review

A Grave Case of Murder (1951) by Roger Bax (Paul Winterton aka Andrew Garve) finds the Appleby family of Long Wicklen Village thrust into a murder investigation when they would much rather be celebrating the hundredth birthday of their patriarch William Appleby, known as The Ancient, or the upcoming marriage of The Ancient's great-granddaughter Barbara. But the festivities are interrupted when Barbara's intended is found shot to death in the freshly dug grave which was waiting its rightful inhabitant.

Neville Hutton was a smooth, handsome man who had swept Barbara right off her feet. True to her Appleby blood, she refused to listen to the voices of reason who said that perhaps she should wait till they knew one another better. Then another young woman comes to Long Wicklen and claims that Neville had already married her...in another country and under another name. Before her claims can be investigated, the woman disappears and then Neville's body is found. Did Wanda Thornton shoot her alleged husband and run? Or did one of the Applebys shoot the man who seemed destined to ruin Barbara's life. Inspector James of Scotland Yard arrives in the village to discover the truth. It won't be easy though...the Applebys are stubborn and close ranks when outsiders come to investigate. But James is quick to read between the lines and discover what they aren't saying

A lively crime novel with an interesting family at its heart. Inspector James is a perceptive and sympathetic detective. Not exactly a fair play mystery (although anyone who can spot and figure out the meaning of the primary clue may figure it out before the final reveal), but definitely worth attention and time. It could easily be read in one sitting.  ★★★ and a half.

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This counts for "Other Building" on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt card as well as the next book in the Follow the Clues Challenge (connection = a "supposed" marriage is mixed up in each case).

The 1951 Club

The 1951 Club is the latest edition of a meme sponsored by Stuck in a Book which puts the spotlight on a particular year in publishing every April. I've been reading a few 1951 books in preparation and I've also got quite a list of previous reads and reviews to add to the mix.


Here are my previous reads:
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
The Stars Like Dust by Isaac Asimov 
Trixie Belden & the Gatehouse Mystery by Julie Campbell
Cocktails & the Killer by Peter Cheyney
Duplicate Death by Georgette Heyer
The Paper Thunderbolt by Michael Innes
Lament for the Bride by Helen Reilly
The Green Plaid Pants by Margaret Scherf
The Metropolitan Opera Murders by Helen Traubel
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

And just last week:
I Could Murder Her by E. C. R. Lorac 

Mount TBR Checkpoint Winner!

I just got the chance to haul out the random number generator and select our Mount TBR checkpoint winner. Let's feed in all the entries, listen to it clank and whir, and we have a winner!  Our lucky climber is Link #7.

A quick peek at the Checkpoint Post tells me that our winner is Link #7 Reese at Typings! Congratulations, Reese! 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!

Scavenger Hunt Check-in Winner!

Well, the first check-in post drew few contestants this time. The telephone, musical instrument, bottle of poison, flower/s, food, and moon just weren't popular items. I only found one of those myself--the telephone on Murder at Government House by Elspeth Huxley. So--with only three entries, the custom random number generator didn't have to think too long and hard to come up with a winner. 

Our first Vintage Scavenger Hunt winner for 2017 is link #2: Linda @ Philly Reader who found a piano on Elizabeth Daly's Somewhere in the House. Congratulations, Linda! I will be contacting you soon with the prize list. 

Thanks to everyone who is out there scavenging in the mystery fields with me. Another set of scavenger items is waiting in the wings for our next check-in post.

Deal Me In Challenge Catch-Up Post

I've gotten a bit behind with my reports on my participation in Jay's 7th annual Deal Me In Challenge for 2017. Here are the cards and stories that went by when we weren't looking...

Week #11: Nine of Hearts = "The Last Exploit of Harry the Actor" by Ernest Bramah (found in Murder by Experts by Ellery Queen, ed.). Bramah's story features his blind detective Max Carrados in a mystery featuring the robbery from several safe deposit boxes in a Lucas Street depository known colloquially as "The Safe." The contents of the boxes are held safe behind multiple barriers--both real locks and bars as well as secret passwords known only to the owners. And yet...a large number of the boxes are plundered. Carrodos, whose other faculties have become stronger to compensate for the loss of his sight, is able to "see" the solution to the mystery very quickly. Baynard Kendrick, a mystery writer in the 40s and 50s, has declared this to be "the best detective story I ever read."

Week # 12: Nine of Diamonds = "Evermore" by Sean Williams (found in The Year's Best Science Fiction 17th Annual Collection by Gardner Dozois, ed). "We must all hang together," Benjamin Franklin is reported to have said to his revolutionary peers, "or we will assuredly all hang separately." An appropriate sentiment for a crew of a crippled ship which has long since lost contact with Earth. An earth that has apparently abandoned them--at least they have responded to any of the distress signals sent over the thousands of years that have passed. It doesn't help that you and your shipmates really aren't talking to each other...and none of you exist in physical form. When one of the crew finds an unorthodox solution to the problem...will the rest be brave enough to do it?



Week #13: Six of Diamonds = "Exchange Rate" by Hal Clement (found in The Year's Best Science Fiction 17th Annual Collection by Gardner Dozois, ed). Clement is a legend in the science fiction field. This story finds human explorers under pressure in more ways than one who must figure out and interpret the motivations of an alien species on an incredibly strange planet before their time runs out. [I just have to say that I did not get this one at all. It may be because Clement's hard science was over my head and there was so much of it that it was a bit mind-numbing.]

  And most recently for Week #14: Two of Spades =  "Dapple: A Hwarhath Historical Romance" by Eleanor Arnason (found in The Year's Best Science Fiction 17th Annual Collection by Gardner Dozois, ed). In which we find that females across the universe face similar restrictions--even when they are supposedly the wise ones and in charge. A young girl decides she wants to balk tradition and go into a profession traditionally held by males--but she will have make a perilous journey before she can claim her right to be what she wants to be.


Up next for Week #15: Eight of Clubs = "The Mystery of the Steel Room" by Thomas W. Hanshew from The World's Best One Hundred Detective Stories Vol. 7 by Eugene Thwing.

I Could Murder Her: Review

Muriel Farrington is an updated, 1951 version of Cinderella's nasty stepmother. Except she doesn't limit her nasty behavior to her stepdaughter, Madge. While she does expect Madge to toil in true Cinderella fashion--cooking, cleaning, and general housekeeping drudgery, she also dominates her own children and behaves in a thoroughly selfish manner. In fact, her behavior has practically the whole household muttering I Could Murder Her. The only person in E. C. R. Lorac's mystery novel (originally published as Murder of a Martinet in Britain) who doesn't seem to want her dead is her mild-mannered, thoroughly devoted husband. And only one person actually makes the action suit the muttering.

After a particularly tiring morning of exerting her will over Madge, Muriel takes to her bed with "heart palpitations," demands attention from the elderly doctor who dances attendance whenever she has a "turn," and winds up under the influence of a sleeping pill. The next morning finds her dead. It's a bit of shock--no one but her husband actually believed she actually had trouble with her heart--but everyone is now prepared to accept that she did and succumbed to it.

Unfortunately for the murderer, Dr. Baring had a motoring accident on the way home from the Farrington's and is in no condition to examine the deceased and provide the anticipated no-questions-asked death certificate. Baring's young colleague, Dr. Scott, who had examined Muriel once, also did not believe there was a thing wrong with her heart. He doesn't accept that as a cause of death--particularly when he spots a fresh hypodermic puncture in the dead woman's arm. He refuses to sign the certificate and that calls for a postmortem which reveals that the deceased fell victim to a dose of insulin (and she wasn't diabetic).

Enter Inspector MacDonald of the Yard. MacDonald is a quiet, normal detective who sets to work smoothly and efficiently. None of the eccentricities of some Golden Age detectives and none of the angst and personal issues of many modern policemen. Just an intelligent man doing his job. He quickly discovers that everyone had a motive--from the overworked Madge to Muriel's own children who all resented their mother's interference in and domination over their own lives to Mrs. Pinks, the daily help. Madge, who has been employed as a nurse in the past, is an obvious suspect since she would know the effects of insulin upon a non-diabetic. But most of the suspects seem to be just as well-informed. Even Mrs. Pinks--whose husband is a diabetic.

This is a very interesting study of post-War Britain. It focuses on the reduced circumstances that followed and shows how families who formerly would have had several servants were forced to make do with daily women and sometimes had to do for themselves (or guilted their less fortunate relations into slaving away...). It also spotlights the tensions found when family members who don't care for one another are forced to live in close proximity due to those reduced circumstances. Life would have been much healthier for the Farringtons if all of the adult children (and spouses) could have afforded homes of their own. But then we wouldn't have a murder to solve, would we? 

I thoroughly enjoy Lorac's character studies and descriptions of the post-War era. MacDonald may not be a charismatic detective, but he is a thorough one who misses nothing and keeps no clues to himself. The reader can easily follow the thread that leads to culprit (and may, in fact, spot the killer before all is revealed). It is more interesting to watch MacDonald gather up all the loose ends and explain them all. Quite good vintage mystery. ★★★★

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Fulfills the "Broken Object" category on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt card. For the record...I don't recall any broken object in the story line that ought to be appearing on the cover.

Nero Wolfe of West Thirty-Fifth Street: Review

I remember reading William S. Baring-Gould's Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street long ago and far away and being very impressed with it. So, when I came across a similar book purporting to give all the details on Nero Wolfe, his home, members of his household, and his cases, I naturally expected to be similarly impressed. Of course, it's 30-some years later and I'm a different person from the teenager who read the first book. That might explain my disappointment. It's also possible that Baring-Gould, who was known as a noted Holmes scholar, may not have been quite so invested in the story of America's largest private eye. Either way--I wasn't nearly as interested in this book as I remember being in the Holmes "biography."

I was not particularly convinced by his "evidence" explaining Wolfe's parentage. I was even less convinced at the connections he tried to make between Archie Goodwin and Wolfe. The first section of the book which gives the details on Wolfe's background (separate from the parentage speculations) and the description of life in the brownstone home and its inhabitants as well as recurring characters in the stories was quite good and informative. Though all the information is readily available in the novels, it's nice to have it summed up all in one place. The chronology at the back which lists all novels and stories up to 1969 is also helpful. Less so are the flights of fancy about parentage and the synopses of books. While you can't accuse Baring-Gould of spoiling any of the stories by revealing too much, there are numerous synopses which tell barely anything about the story at all. 

This is a decent reference book for those interested in the Nero Wolfe stories. But not quite as interesting or impressive as I expected from Baring-Gould. ★★★

March Wrap-Up & P.O.M. Award

I'm ready for another year of tracking reading progress and statistics for all things bookish on the Block. I will also be contributing to Kerrie's Crime Fiction Pick of the Month and handing out the coveted P.O.M. Award for the best mystery. So, here we go--let's take a look at March....


Total Books Read: 11
Total Pages: 2,073
Average Rating: 3.55 stars  
Top Rating: 4.5 stars 
Percentage by Female Authors: 18%
Percentage by US Authors: 55%
Percentage by non-US/non-British Authors:  0%
Percentage Mystery:  91% 
Percentage Fiction: 91%
Percentage written 2000+: 18%
Percentage of Rereads: 18%
Percentage Read for Challenges: 100% {It's easy to have every book count for a challenge when you sign up for as many as I do.}    
Number of Challenges fulfilled so far: 6  (19%)


AND, as mentioned above, Kerrie had us all set up for another year of Crime Fiction Favorites. What she was looking for is our Top Mystery Read for each month. March found me with ten mysteries out of a total eleven books. Here are the mysteries read:

The Body Missed the Boat by Jack Iams (3.5 stars) 
Thrilling Stories of the Railway by Victor L. Whitechurch (3.5 stars)
Murder at Government House by Elspeth Huxley (3 stars) 
Miss Christie Regrets by Guy Fraser-Sampson (4.5 stars) 
Dread & Water by Douglas Clark (4 stars)
Trixie Belden & the Gatehouse Mystery by Julie Campbell (4 stars)  
The Green Turtle Mystery by Ellery Queen, Jr. (4 stars) 
Fit to Kill by Hans C. Owen (3 stars) 
Silence Observed by Michael Innes (3.5 stars) 
Nun Plussed by Monica Quill (3 stars)  

I had another successful mystery-reading month with ten of my eleven logged as straight mystery fare. Our over-all winner as far as star quality is Guy Fraser-Sampson's Miss Christie Regrets with 4.5 stars. He not only invokes the Queen of Crime with his title and a thread of investigation, but he manages an adroit bit of sleight-of-hand with a vital piece of cluing that would make Dame Agatha very proud indeed. This is the second novel in the Hampstead Murders series which makes great use of Golden Age detection--tropes as well as character and author references--but incorporates it all into contemporary settings and modern detection. It was an all-around winner. Unfortunately, just about this time last year, I awarded Guy's first book, Death in Profile, with a P.O.M. award--so, we need to look for another strong mystery.  

Douglas Clark always deliver an entertaining story and Dread & Water is no different. I haven't tired of the Masters and Green team and it doesn't seem to matter that I'm reading this series in an absolutely random manner (using them wherever they fit in the zillion challenges I do). For those who enjoy a good British police procedural and can manage to get their hands on any of the series, these come highly recommended.  But, again, Douglas Clark has taken home P.O.M. honors in the past...so let's move on to the next contestants. 

The two remaining four-star books are Trixie Belden & the Gatehouse Mystery by Julie Campbell and The Green Turtle Mystery by Ellery Queen, Jr. I read each of these books when I was young and just wading out in the mystery waters.  Trixie's story was just as much fun to read as when I was young. It's really a pretty sophisticated mystery for young people--there's real danger for both Trixie and Jim and, although Trixie does jump to a few conclusions here and there, on the whole she makes deductions based on her observations and the clues at hand. The Green Turtle Mystery is much more character-driven. The mystery is pretty obvious--once all the elements are introduced--but all of the main characters from Djuna and Ben to Socker & his managing editor and the Secret Service Agent Sandy MacHatchet are engaging and well-drawn. Even Champ, Djuna's dog, who arrives mid-way through the story to help our heroes, has a distinct personality of his own. There is a great deal of gentle humor and a good atmosphere of thrilling adventure just right for young readers. Each of these books are charming and entirely appropriate for young readers looking for entry into crime fiction--as well as being a lot of fun for older readers looking to revisit their youth. So....

 













This month, I'm going to let the young people have it and hand out P.O.M. Awards to both Trixie and Djuna.


 

Nun Plussed: Review

Nun Plussed (1983) is the eight book in the Sister Mary Teresa Dempsey mystery series by Monica Quill (aka Ralph McInerny). Sister Emtee (as she is more familiarly known) is one of three nuns left in Chicago's Order of Martha and Mary and was also, at one time, a history instructor at the Order's college. She has a way of getting mixed up in police affairs that involve her former students. This time it is the murder of Margaret Doyle.

Margaret was one of Sister Emtee's more troublesome students. Never satisfied and her daughter considers her someone who never grew up--permanently stuck in that age where one is sure something better is around the corner. Her dissatisfaction pushes her to divorce her husband, despite the Catholic church's view on such matters. The elderly nun is already disappointed by the divorce and is even more distressed when a wedding invitation arrives announce Margaret's upcoming marriage to Philip Chesney Cord, a member of a prominent local family. 

But the very morning that the invitation arrives sees Margaret's death, apparently at the hands of an intruder when she interrupted a search. Since no one has been living with her, it's difficult to determine if the intruder found what they were looking for--or what they might have been looking for if they didn't. The plot thickens when, after a reporter hinged her story on the impending marriage, Cord's lawyers deny that any nuptials were planned. Then Margaret's ex-husband, Gregory--who is a used book dealer and book-binder, confesses to the murder. The police are all ready to accept that their case is closed, especially when they find that Gregory has a pair of boots that match the footprints of the killer...but then one of that pesky nun Sister Emtee's former students provides proof that Gregory's boots were bought after the murder. It's up to Sister Emtee to get to the bottom of the real reason for Margaret's death.

This is a very middle-of-the-road cozy mystery. It was a quick read and fairly entertaining. The mystery was competent with a plausible culprit, if not my first choice for a satisfying solution. But none of the characters are really impressive. I find ex-nun Christine Bennett (of the Lee Harris series) and Sister Mary Helen (of the Sister Carol Anne O'Marie series) to be much more engaging religious sleuths. The constant references to Sister Emtee's head gear and the way she clings to the old ways are intrusive rather than endearing or even instructive about why she behaves the way she does as a detective. Mentioning it once for those who are just being introduced to the character would be sufficient. Also serving as a distraction was the abrupt changes in scene and characters. We would just get settled in with Sister Emtee and those in the House when suddenly we would be whisked off to the Country Club where Margaret's daughter (who found her mother's body, incidentally) worked in the golf shop where her husband was a golf pro.

A decent read, though not the best in nun-related mysteries. ★★★

[Finisehd on 3/30/17]

April Follow the Clues Reviews

April Mount TBR Reviews

Mount TBR Checkpoint #1

Wow!  Three months into the year already. Well, you know what that means...Your mountaineering guide is calling for the first quarterly check-in post. Let's see how our challengers are doing. Made it a couple of miles? Camping out in a cave 1/3 of the way up the mountain face? Taking refuge in a mountain hut along the way? Let us know how you're doing. For those who would like to participate in this checkpoint post, I'd like you to do two things:
 

1. Tell us how many miles you've made it up your mountain (# of books read).  If you're really ambitious, you can do some intricate math and figure out how the number of books you've read correlates to actual miles up Pike's Peak, Mt. Ararat, etc. And feel free to tell us about any particularly exciting adventures you've had along the way.

~I have read 33 of my pledged 150 books for Mt. Olympus...which means I'm slightly off-track to plant that flag on Mars. [And I was feeling so good about my pace....]

 

2. Complete ONE (or more if you like) of the following:

 A. Post a picture of your favorite cover so far.  

Here's mine (one of the few science fiction books I've read this year.)

 B. Who has been your favorite character so far? And tell us why, if you like.

 

Mine: Inspector Morgan & Sergeant Pitt in The Snake on 99. Two new-to-me police detectives who make a good team and were enjoyable to read about.

 

 C. Have any of the books you read surprised you--if so, in what way (not as good as anticipated? unexpected ending? Best thing you've read ever? Etc.)

 

 D. Title Scrabble: See if you can spell a word using the first letter of the first word in the titles of some/all of the books you have read so far. Feel free to consider "A," "An," or "The" as the first word or not as it helps you with your word hunt.

 

My word: Dazed

 

Death at Swaythling Court by J. J. Connington

All for the Love of a Lady by Leslie Ford

Zadok's Treasure by Margo Arnold

Episode of the Wandering Knife by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Death Takes a Bow by Frances & Richard Lockridge

And what do you get for all that hard work (and distraction from the actual climb)? The link will close at 11:59 pm on Saturday, April 8.  On Sunday, April 9,  I will crank up the Custom Random Number Generator and pick a winning climber. He or she will have the chance to add to their TBR stack via my gently-used book vault (prize list will be sent). Just think, if you win a book you can start up a pile for next year's Mount TBR Challenge. 

Even if you're not in the mood for a prize or if you've only got one leg of the journey under your belt, I'd love to have you check in and tell us how your climb is going!

***Please note--the linky is for Checkpoint posts only.  The link must be to a specific Checkpoint post (not your blog's home page in general). Links that are not Checkpoint-specific will be removed--to make it easier for me to track a winner.

Sign in below with your Checkpoint post.

April Vintage Scavenger Hunt Reviews

Vintage Scavenger Hunt Check-in Post (aka Prize Opportunity!)

Calling all scavenger hunters! March is already over and we've completed three months in our vintage mystery cover scavenger hunt. Back in November 2016 when I launched this year's version of the reading challenge, I randomly picked categories for various check point along the way. Here are the categories for this round:

Telephone; Musical Instrument; Bottle of Poison; Flower/s; Food of Some Sort; Moon

You may enter once for every object already found and claimed prior to this post going live. Objects count from both Gold and Silver cards. Links may point to relevant reviews OR you may create Check-in Specific posts. Please use the following for the link title for the Check-in:

Name (Object) Card   [example: Bev (telephone) Gold]

If you do not blog (or have a way to link up through Goodreads, etc), please enter in the comments and point me to the cover of the edition you read. I will add one entry for every object found.

The linky will be available until Saturday, April 8th. On Sunday, I will use the magic random number generator to draw a winner who may choose a prize from my prize vault.