The Love Songs of Sappho: Mini Review

My delight is the exquisite.
    Yes, for me, 
Glitter and sunlight and love
    Are one society.
So I shall not go creeping away
    To die in the dark:
I shall go on living with you,
    Loving and loved.
[from #158]

The Love Songs of Sappho (translated by Paul Roche) is made of Six Books with 171 fragments and full poems. Few of Sappho's poems come to us in their entirety and that is unfortunate. It is unfortunate because what little remains shows Sappho to be a master of the lyric form--providing passionate passages full of the joy of life and loving as well as pain, sorrow, jealousy and regret associated with love unreciprocated or gone wrong. Her words are memorable even when they aren't all there. Roche provides a beautiful translation as well as a very informative essay which gives us as full a portrait of the classic poet as possible. ★★★★

 *********
And...as a side note...who knew that "damp as a dishcloth" had its origins in the fragments of of Sappho's poetry?

            #156
         I am as limp
as a wet worn-out dish cloth 

[Finished 5/23/18]

The Body in the Basket: Review

The Body in the Basket (1954) by George Bagby finds our author and narrator on holiday in Spain. He's waiting for his friend Inspector Schmidt to arrive when he has a couple of odd experiences. First, he watches a fellow American steal an oyster knife from their waiter's oyster cart and slip it into her handbag. When the waiter is disciplined by the outraged Maî·tre D', George can't help but stick his two cents in--leaning over and asking the girl if she hasn't had her bit of fun and shouldn't she hand over the knife and get the kid out of trouble. Her English escort comes charging to her defense and all but calls George out for a duel. Later he gets a young street boy out trouble and into a taxi only to be thanked by being slugged over the head and left in alley where people think he's drunk.

You wouldn't think that these incidents would lead to an unknown dead man in a large basket being delivered in George's name to his hotel--just in time for Inspector Schmidt to help him open it. But there you are. A large basket IS delivered to George at his hotel and it DOES contain an unknown man in a Guardia Civil uniform. It is only through the help of Schmidt (who just happens to be toting around a document from very high-ranking officials telling his Spanish counterparts to grant him every courtesy) that George is not dragged off to have the "truth" squeezed out of him by the Spanish military police force.

Schmitty and Baggy (what adorable nicknames...) work furiously to find out who the man in the uniform is, why he was sent to Baggy, and what Sally (she of the oyster knife) has to do with it all. Then Sally disappears, a ransom note appears, and Baggy & Schmitty are off on the trail of apparent kidnappers and...possibly spies. 

I'd not read anything by George Bagby (Aaron Marc Stein) before. This was really quite a lot of fun. Not much in the way of classic detection--though Schmitty does put in a bit of good fancy investigative footwork--and there's not much in the way of clues strewn about for the reader to pick up on. But there's quite a bit of action and an exciting finish. Bagby does well with the characters and gives us a good feel for Spain in the post-WWII years. Definitely good entertainment and I look forward to the two other Bagby books sitting on my TBR shelves.  ★★★★

[Finished 5/22/18]

Rear Window: Review

This Rear Window collection of stories (2001) by Cornell Woolrich contains stories from 1969 and earlier. In addition to the title story, there are an additional twelve stories, primarily from his best years when his stories appeared in Detective Fiction Weekly, Argosy, and Black Mask (among others). Overall, a fine collection of short stories with a mix that ranges from straight mystery to dramatic psychological suspense.
★★★★

"Rear Window": Originally titled "It Had to Be Murder" and the story the HItchcock movie was based on. If you've seen the movie, then you've got the basic plot. But there are definite differences in the original story. Jeffries has no girlfriend doing his running about for him. He has no nosy female housekeeper--he has a houseman--and he's the one who operates as Jeffries's legs. [I have to say that while the story is enjoyable--I much prefer the film. The characters are fleshed out and it's more interesting seeing everything from Jeffries's point of view out the window.]

"I Won't Take a Minute" is one of Woolrich's variations on the-lady-vanishes story. Our narrator is Kenny, engaged to the beautiful Stephanie. She's just given her boss her notice and one of her tasks during her final week is to drop off a package after work when they're supposed to be heading out for a night on the town. Kenny doesn't like it much (he thinks they take advantage of her good nature), but she convinces him that it "won't take a minute" for her to pop into the apartment building and hand over the package. Then they'll be on their way. But the minute turns into several and then some more and Kenny realizes that something has gone very wrong. 

"Speak to Me of Death": Ann Bridges, niece of the wealthy John T. Bridges, comes police headquarters seeking help for a rather bizarre situation. Her uncle has become convinced, after consulting a man who supposedly has second sight, that he will die on a certain day through Death at the jaws of a lion. Now the Bridges live in the middle of civilization--nowhere near lions of any sort--but her uncle is convinced and the closer the day comes, the more nerve-wracked he grows. She wants the detectives to keep her uncle alive until after midnight on the chosen day--then, when her uncle sees that he has survived, life can return to normal. But sometimes you just can't escape fate no matter what strange shape it might take.

"The Dancing Detective": Apparently this is one of Woolrich's more frequently printed stories because I have read it in a few collections. In this, Ginger, a dance hall girl, loses her best friend when a killer makes a habit of killing girls from the dancing halls. Nick, the policeman on the case, takes a fancy to Ginger and when the killer sets his sights on Ginger, she has to hope that Nick will get the messages and clues she's left behind--before she becomes another "Poor Butterfly" in the killer's collection.

"The Light in the Window": A soldier, having just returned highly disturbed from the war, decides to surprise his girl by showing up at her apartment unannounced. He arrives when he thinks she should have just gotten home from work, but the apartment is dark. Thinking she's just running a bit late, he waits outside for her. Then, suddenly, her light comes on and he meets an old friend coming out of the building who boasts suggestively of the "time he's had". The soldier is convinced his girl has been unfaithful and he goes to her apartment on the alert for proof of her guilt. And if she's guilty...she's going to have to be punished.

"The Corpse Next Door": An irritable man slugs the man in the next apartment when he discovers him stealing his milk from outside the apartment door. Horrified that he's killed the man, he drags him through the open door (the neighbor's) and stashes him in the Murphy bed. But as time goes by and no one has discovered the corpse, he becomes a bit unhinged--especially when a new couple moves in next door.

"You'll Never See Me Again": Another variation on the-lady-vanishes. This time newlyweds Ed & Teresa ("Smiles") Bliss have one of those silly arguments that turn into an "I'm going home to mother!" moment. "Smiles" walks out on him, promising that he'll never see her again. When he goes, shamefaced and hat in hand, to apologize to her, he finds that she's not there and she's apparently disappeared off the face of the earth. It looks like she might have been right....

"The Screaming Laugh": A man who was known as a very disgruntled fellow who never cracked a smile, let alone laughed at a joke has died--apparently from laughing too hard. The local doctor can find nothing to suggest anything but natural causes, but he reports the unexpected death to the local sheriff, as required by law. But when Deputy Traynor arrives at the scene, he just can't accept that Eleazar Hunt died after reading the book of really bad jokes dropped by the side of his chair.

"Dead on Her Feet": A policeman is sent to breakup a dance marathon because the sponsors are suspected of being flim-flam artists. When he gets there, he discovers that one of the contestants is, quite literally, dead on her feet. It looks like the only one who could have done it is her partner....but the cop has other ideas.

"Waltz": (a very short story, not to be confused with Waltz Into Darkness): A young society girl is all set to elope with her young man. They plan to take off in the middle of the dance hosted by her parents. Bu Wes gets just a trifle agitated when she starts babbling to him about the detective who has crashed the party because there's a crook running loose in the neighborhood. Maybe a thief--maybe a murderer. But why should they worry? No one will interfere with them--after all they're not murderers. 

"The Book That Squealed": [adapted for radio on Suspense in 1945 as "Library Book" with Myrna Loy!--found HERE on youtube.] A rather uptight librarian finds herself in the middle of a mysterious adventure when a best-seller (please hear that with all of Prudence's disapproval) is returned to the library with pages missing. Though she disapproves of trashy best-sellers, she disapproves of book vandalism even more. Her determination to hunt down the culprit leads her into much bigger things.

"Death Escapes the Eye": An editor for a magazine falls for the slush-pile author she and her co-editor chose to fill a hole in their latest issue. But she has competition from the man's on-again, off-again first wife. Even when she disappears.

"For the Rest of Her Life": A very dark story about a woman who falls for and marries a sadistic wife-beater. She finds what looks to be an escape with a young, loving man--but what she expects for the rest of her life may not be what she gets.

[Finished 5/16/18]

******************
Some of the stories in this collection have been adapted for film or television--most notably the title story "Rear Window" as well as "The Dancing Detective," "I Won't Take a Minute" (as "Finger of Doom"), and "For the Rest of Her Life."

Challenge Complete: Craving for Cozies

As with the Cruisin' Thru the Cozies challenge, I chose to go with the lowest level on Dollycas's Craving for Cozies Challenge--I was just feeling a little peckish. I've completed my 10 and as I read more mysteries this year, I will add any more cozies that come along.

Peckish – 1 – 10 Cozy Mysteries 

My List:

1. Lament for a Lady Laird by Margot Arnold (2/3/18)

2. Another Woman's House by Mignon G. Eberhart (2/10/18)

3. Beverly Gray's Secret by Clair Blank (2/13/18)

4. With Blood & Kisses by Richard Shattuck (2/23/18)

5. Payoff for the Banker by Frances & Richard Lockridge (3/15/18)

6. Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman (3/24/18)

7. Murder Out of Turn by Frances & Richard Lockridge (3/27/18)

8. Death of a Hoosier Schoolmaster by Marlis Day (4/10/18)

9. A Vow of Penance by Veronica Black (4/11/18)

10. Mrs. Malory & the Lilies That Fester by Hazel Holt (4/13/18)

Challenge Complete! (still reading)

Challenge Compete: Crusin' Thru the Cozies

I somehow missed logging that I had completed this year's version of Yvonne at Socrates’ Book Reviews'  Cruisin’ Thru the Cozies Challenge. We were allowed to choose either the cozy categories (as she designed the challenge last year) or we could read any cozies of our choice. I prefer redto leave things open and went with the cozies of choice version with a commitment to the first level--Snoop.

Level one (Snoop) - Read a total of 10 books

Here are the Books Read for the Challenge:

1. Lament for a Lady Laird by Margot Arnold (2/3/18)

2. Another Woman's House by Mignon G. Eberhart (2/10/18)

3. Beverly Gray's Secret by Clair Blank (2/13/18)

4. With Blood & Kisses by Richard Shattuck (2/23/18)

5. Payoff for the Banker by Frances & Richard Lockridge (3/15/18)

6. Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman (3/24/18)

7. Murder Out of Turn by Frances & Richard Lockridge (3/27/18)

8. Death of a Hoosier Schoolmaster by Marlis Day (4/10/18)

9. A Vow of Penance by Veronica Black (4/11/18)

10. Mrs. Malory & the Lilies That Fester by Hazel Holt (4/13/18)

Snoop Complete! (4/13/18)

I will still be reading mysteries this year, so any cozies that come along will be added to the list as well. We'll see how high I get.

Untidy Murder: Review

In Untidy Murder (1947) by Frances & Richard Lockridge, Pam and Jerry North must use all their intuition and sometimes goofy logic to help their friend Lt. Bill Weigand solve the murder of art director Paul Wilming and find Bill's wife--who has been snatched by two sinister yet hopelessly misguided thugs.

Dorian Hunt (aka Mrs. Bill Weigand) is invited to the snazzy offices of Esprit magazine to deliver examples of her fashion drawings. She has high hopes of selling her work to the art director, Paul Wilming, once he has a chance to see what she can do. He never gets that chance. Just moments before Dorian is shown to his office, he is on his way out the very high window of his office. The first policemen on the scene assume he jumped--though why he'd choose to do so right before an important appointment is anybody's guess--and they handle the case as a suicide, soon sending Dorian on her way home.

But when Lt. Bill Weigand arrives home, she's not there. He immediately back tracks over her day...landing at the offices of Esprit magazine and the tail-end of the "suicide" investigation. As soon as Pam North hears about it, she's certain that Dorian must have seen or heard something and the murderer has grabbed Dorian to prevent her from sharing her knowledge with the police. The rest of the story is race against time as Bill gathers evidence that points to murder in the hopes that it will lead him to his wife. The point of view moves back and forth between Bill & the Norths and Dorian & her captors until it leads to a surprising climax which explains exactly who did what with what and to whom.

The vast portions of shifted point of view are a departure for the Lockridges. Other stories find brief passages (usually when Pam finds herself in danger because she's jumped without looking), but this book follows Dorian vs. her captors for much longer periods of time. It really was very nice to get more of her point of view since she so often plays a very minor supporting role to her husband and the Norths.

The Lockridge books--not only the North series, but Heimrich and the others as well--are some of my comfort reading. I pick them up when I want light entertainment and an enjoyable read. Sometimes a very clever twist or plot point is included, but that's definitely not the point of these books for me. If I want clever plots that might mystify me, I'll turn to Christie or Carr...or others. But the Lockridges provide me with comfortable reads with old friends. ★★★ and 1/2.

[Finished on 5/9/18]

Murder by the Book: Mini-Review

 
When I had a brief break in the action around the Hankins homestead early last month, I sat down and listened the audio of the radio play version of Murder by the Book (2005) by Stepehen Sheridan. This cozy little story with a timeless feel features two librarians at the small village library in Langston who fill their slow hours by reading their favorite detective stories. They're particularly fond of Agatha Christie and are quick to don their Miss Marple personas when the unlikeable owner of the town's only bookshop is found murdered in their stacks.

True to the world of cozy mysteries, they find the police haring off on the wrong track and rush in to question their friends and neighbors in an effort to clear the nephew of the dead man. They're not nearly as expert at the amateur detective game as their idol, however, and they manage to (comically) ruffle a few feathers along the way--but in the end they are able to set a trap and help the police capture the right villain.

This was an entertaining bit of fluff that provided a pleasant afternoon of listening. The actors giving voice to the characters were excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed following along with the ladies as they tried their hand at solving crime.  ★★★

[Finished on 5/8/18]

June Follow the Clues Reviews

June Mount TBR Reviews

June Monthly Key Word Reviews

Please note that you may also post any catch-up reviews here as well--just be clear when you name your link up which Month and Key Word you are posting.

June Just the Facts Reviews

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Vintage Murder: Review

Vintage Murder (1937) by Ngaio Marsh finds Inspector Roderick Alleyn on a rest cure holiday in the large island country of New Zealand. He's recovering from some unnamed injury acquired in the line of duty and he's hoping for a trip full of nothing but peace and quiet. However, while traveling cross-country by train he encounters a touring acting company which includes one familiar face (found in the earlier story Enter a Murderer) and he makes friends with others. This results in an invitation to a performance and the company's after-party--which will also honor the leading lady's birthday.

He should have known that he was in for a very different sort of drama when said leading lady Carolyn Dacres's husband is nearly shoved off the train and a large sum of money is stolen from another cast member. It definitely doesn't surprise the reader that murder strikes during the birthday party and Alfred Meyer, the husband, is the victim. One might be surprised that the murder weapon is huge jeroboam of champagne that drops unceremoniously upon his head during what is supposed to be a pleasant surprise for the birthday girl.

The local police assume it is an accident--a slight miscalculation of the angle of descent. But Alleyn is forced to gently lead them to the clues he's already spotted which point to a more sinister explanation. He then treads a narrow path--trying not to step on official toes--on a busman's holiday to help discover who had the opportunity to tamper with the champagne surprise package as well as a motive to kill the inoffensive company producer. They wind their way through suspect interviews looking for anyone who lacks an alibi for the critical time period and find themselves with several motives, but apparently no one with opportunity. It will take a careful review of the time table and looking at the scene of action from another point of view before Alleyn finally spots the culprit.

I really enjoy the Marsh books set in the theater world. As I mentioned in my review of Enter a Murderer, her interest in and love of the acting world really shows in the detail she provides and the treatment of the characters. Favorite bits are the journey on the train and Alleyn's interactions with Dr. Rangi Te Pokiha, a Maori doctor. The plot style is a bit repetitive (from the earlier theater book)--relying again on who was where during the critical period and who had access to the equipment--but still interesting and well-done. The critical draw-back for me was the lack of Inspector Fox--though Alleyn does consult him by telegram and address him in letters. The Alleyn/Fox duo is a partnership I enjoy seeing in action.  ★★★ and a half stars.

[Finished on 5/7/18. I am WAY behind on my reviews.]

Book Challenge by Erin 9.0

Because I don't have enough to do with myself as far as reading goes...I'm joining up for the summer edition of the Book Challenge by Erin 9.0!

A few of the General Rules
• First and foremost, have fun. Don't stress. No one is being judged, graded, or penalized. Even if you finish only one book the entire challenge, if you enjoy it and it's an accomplishment for you, then that's awesome.
• The challenge will run from JULY 1, 2018 to OCTOBER 31, 2018. No books that are started before 12 a.m. on July 1 or finished after 11:59 p.m. on October 31 will count. (We live in different time zones – follow this according to your own time zone.)
• Each book must be at least 200 pages long. Audio books are fine too.



For more of the rules, see Erin's Facebook Page for the challenge (click on the link).


Book Challenge by Erin 9.0 - Categories
• 5 points: Freebie – Read a book that is at least 200 pages:
Babes in the Woods by Ruth Rendell (336 pages) [7/22/18]
• 10 points: Read a book that starts with the letter “N”
Nothing Venture by Patricia Wentworth (256 pages) [7/19/18]
• 10 points: Read a book that has a (mostly) orange cover
Angels in the Gloom by Anne Perry (337 pages) [8/28/18]
• 15 points: Read a book with an unlikeable character
The Trouble in Hunter Ward by Josephine Bell (201 pages) [7/18/18]
 • 20 points: Read a book from the list of 100 books that PBS calls “The Great American Read” (although, they aren’t all by American authors); helpful link: http://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/books/#/
 Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (this is my reread choice) [9/18/18]
• 20 points: Read a book with something related to water in the title; i.e. ocean, sea, lake, river, waves, etc.
The Boy in the Pool by Camilla R. Bittle (218 pages) [9/16/18]
• 25 points: Read a book you’ve owned the longest but haven’t read yet (or that has been on your goodreads “to read” list the longest, or has been sitting in your kindle the longest)...basically, read a book you’ve been meaning to read the longest but haven’t got to it yet.
The Grub & Stakers Pinch a Poke by Alisa Craig (208 pages)--has been on my TBR stack since at least the late 80s/early 90s [didn't log the purchase date on that one] (9/10/18)
• 30 points: Read a book with an emotion word in the title; i.e. joy, sadness, grief, love, anger, etc. (submitted by Megan)
Time of Terror by Hugh Pentecost (218 pages) [7/20/18]
• 30 points: Read a book (must be at least 2 words in the title) where each word in the title of the book begins with the same letter (submitted by Vinay); examples: Magpie Murders, Gone Girl, Peter Pan, Love’s Labor Lost:
The Terrorists by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö (324 pages) [8/30/18]
• 35 points: Read a book featuring a character who shares your profession or similar one [I'm going for someone who works in an English Department--because MA/PhD Administrative Assistants aren't exactly thick on the ground....]:
The Charles Dickens Murders by Edith Skom (295 pages) [9/15/18]