Murder Every Monday: Stop, Children, What's That Sound?

 

Kate at Cross Examining Crime hosts a fun mystery cover game on Instagram called Murder Every Monday. Our assignment, should we choose to accept it, is to display book covers and titles from books you own that meet prompts which she posts well in advance (see link). 

 

Today's theme is books with sounds that humans make in the title.

The Chuckling Fingers ~Mabel Seeley

The Whispering Cat Mystery ~Josephine Kains

The Whispering Cup ~Mabel Seeley

The Mystery of the Whispering Mummy ~Robert Arthur

The Whisper in the Gloom ~Nicholas Blake

The Whispering Statue ~Carolyn Keene

Washington Whispers Murder ~Leslie Ford

He Who Whispers ~John Dickson Carr

The Singing Bone ~R. Austin Freeman

Why Mermaids Sing ~C. S. Harris

I'll Sing at Your Funeral ~Hugh Pentecost

The Case of the Singing Skirt ~Erle Stanley Gardner

The Singing Sands ~Josephine Tey

Singing in the Shrouds ~Ngaio Marsh

The Talk Show Murders ~Steve Allen

The Talking Sparrow Murders ~Darwin L. Teilhet

The Talking Bug ~The Gordons (Mildred & Gordon)

The Screaming Mimi ~Frederic Brown

The Cat Screams ~Todd Downing

Screaming Bones ~Pat Burden

A Scream in Soho ~John G. Brandon

Alive & Screaming ~as edited by Alfred Hitchcock

Blondes Don't Cry ~Merlda Mace

Cry Murder ~Nancy Rutledge

Cry Wolf ~Marjorie Carleton

The Crying Sisters ~Mabel Seeley

The Wailing Siren Mystery ~Franklin W. Dixon

The Mystery of the Coughing Dragon ~Nick West

Die Laughing ~Richard Lockridge

The Laughing Policeman ~Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö

You'll Die Laughing ~Marjorie J. Grove

No Laughing Matter ~Dorothy SImpson

You Can Die Laughing ~A. A. Fair

"The Alien Dies at Dawn" (short story review)

  "The Alien Dies at Dawn" (1956) by Alexander Blade (Randall Garrett & Robert Silverberg)

Kendall Stone must discover the truth about a murder in order to avert the annihilation of a human colony on Rastol III. Galth of Rastol is an alien who has been convicted of a murder that he didn't commit and his execution is scheduled for dawn. Stone discovers a conspiracy that wants Galth to take the blame so a few Earthmen can gain a monopoly on certain medications. Stone is determined to save Galith and thousands of other lives, but will he be able to deliver proof of the alien's innocence to the governor in time? Not if the men behind the conspiracy have anything to say about it.

This is an ultra-short short story. but Stone manages to cover all the bases in an investigation in, as Stone himself would say, "super-plus top-level hurry" fashion. He has to. His wife and children are in the colony doomed to die. Plenty of action in a short amount of time in this well-written short piece.* ★★★★

First line: There was a scream of tortured air over the Mojave Spaceport as a two-man starship dropped on its hot jets toward the wide cementalloy landing field.

Last lines: Outside the window, the first rays of dawn were breaking through the murky night. He thought of his family awakening light years away. The sun would be coming up too on Rastol....

*If only Garrett & Silverberg had bothered to give the victim a name so I could count this for the Medical Examiner's Challenge as well.

Lord Darcy: Murder & Magic; Too Many Magicians; Lord Darcy Investigates

 Lord Darcy (original 1983; revised 2002) by Randall Garrett

This omnibus volume contains two short story collections and one novel (all published previously as separate works) in addition to two stories not included in any of the collections--listed last, though the Lord Darcy collection organizes all of the detective works chronologically according to Darcy's timeline. The final story actually occurs the earliest in Darcy's career, but as our editor points out, it is a story of Darcy's war years and not truly a fantasy/detective story. I plan on reading these as if they were the separate volumes they once were (with the final stories as a bonus and counting for the Lord Darcy overall collection). 

Our editor also tells us about the detectives making appearances (albeit under different names) throughout. He especially challenges us to find three puns referring to The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in Too Many Magicians. I spotted two...but the third one has eluded me.

Murder & Magic (1979)  

"The Eyes Have It": Lord Darcy is called upon to investigate the murder of Count D'Evreaux, found shot in his bedroom. A gun is found in a hidden staircase (used by the count's lady friends for privacy) and it's distinctive nature seems to point towards a certain suspect. But there is more to the mystery than meets the eye... (one shot)

"A Case of Identity": Lord Darcy begins his investigation with a quest for the missing Marquis of  Cherbourg. When another man who looks enough like the Marquis to be a twin is found dead, Darcy suspects an even deeper plot. One that involves a plot by the Polish kingdom to disrupt the Anglo-French economy. Shades of Sherlock Holmes as well as espionage thriller in this one. (one natural; one hit on head; three stabbed; one shot)

"The Muddle of the Woad": When the Duke of Kent dies after an illness, his master woodworker prepares to bring his coffin for the burial. What a surprise to find that the coffin already has an occupant--the Duke's chief investigator who had disappeared while on a mission to Scotland. Lord Darcy is called upon to get to the bottom of the mystery. This has a definite air of tribute to Lord Peter Wimsey--The Nine Tailors in particular. Instead of bell-ringing, we have a focus on woodworking. But a great many of the character names used by Sayers in the bell-ringing scenes may be found here--Masters Gotobed, Lavender, Wilderspin and Venable all tip their hats to the Sayers work. And Master Gotobed is every bit as particular about his woodworking as Harry Lavender ever was about bell-ringing. There is even evidence given by the young woman of the piece--just as Hilary Thorpe provides a vital clue to Lord Peter. (one natural; one stabbed; one drowned; one shot)

"A Stretch of the Imagination": When a publisher is found dead, it appears to be suicide. But since a member of the aristocracy is involved Lord Darcy is asked to investigate. Interesting locked room mystery where Lord Darcy must figure out how a man could be hanged (other than suicide) in a room where no one entered and the window was shellacked so it could not have been opened far enough to admit anyone. (one hanged)

Overall, Randall Garrett has given us a fine look at what the world might have been like in such an alternate history. And he mixes the best of fantasy and detective fiction to produce a very interesting collection of fantasy-driven mystery short stories. The mysteries are fairly straight-forward and most are fairly clued. The final (and shortest), "A Stretch of the Imagination," is the most Holmes-like with Lord Darcy appearing very much as the detective genius with admiring audience and few clues given to the reader, but it is the exception. A very entertaining book--coming in at ★★★★ (up from a previous reading of the stand-alone edition)

First line (1st stor): Sir Pierre Morlaix, Chevalier of the Angevin Empire, Knight of the Golden Leopard, and secretary-in-private to my lord, the Count D'Evreux, pushed back the lace at his cuff for a glance at his wrist watch--three minutes of seven.

Now, come, my lord. You have that touch of the Talent that all the really great detectives of history have had--the ability to leap from an unwarranted assumption to a foregone conclusion without covering the distance between the two. You then know where to look for the clues that will justify your conclusion. You knew it was murder two hours ago and you knew who did it. (Master Sean in "A Stretch of the Imagination"; p. 437 in Lord Darcy edition)

Last lines (last story): "Come, Master Sean. We have an appointment for dinner, and the hour grows late."

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

 Too Many Magicians (1966): Lord Darcy is asked to investigate a murder in Cherbourg, but before he can get very far his assistant Master Magician Sean O'Lochlainn is arrested in London for murder of a very important master magician at a magician's conference. Sir James Zwinge, a Master Magician as well as spymaster for London's branch of intelligence for the Empire, has been killed behind a locked door. A door locked not just in the conventional sense, but with a level of magic that few could tamper with. But with a hotel full of magicians is a locked room ever really just a locked room? And since Master Sean was the last one near the room...and was known to have had a "loud discussion" with Sir James...he's the prime suspect.

The Marquis de London (and, incidentally, Lord Darcy's cousin) knows full well that Master Sean didn't do it, but he also knows the arrest will bring Darcy to London and he wants Darcy to investigate without having been asked directly. Because that would involve a fee and the Marquis is not only lazy (though brilliant), he hates spending money on anything other than himself...and his hobby, rare plants. As soon as we meet the Marquis, we recognize the detective Garrett has modeled this story after...Nero Wolfe. The Marquis is a hefty fellow, brilliant, lazy, and uses ten-dollar words. He says, "pfui" and "flummery." He has a side-kick who does his legwork and who appreciates the female form as much as Archie Goodwin. (The Marquis doesn't.) He has a red leather chair for important guests. Lord Bontriomphe (a lovely French nom de plume for the Archie character) doesn't quite have the smart-aleck commentary style down, but it's definitely there. And when Lord Darcy first enters Wol--er, the Marquis's rooms, he seems to have taken on a Cramer-liker attitude towards his cousin, though only briefly.

Garrett gives us not only a very fine Nero Wolfe pastiche, while sneaking in some references to The Man from U.N.C.L.E., he also gives us a very clevery locked room mystery. It's evident throughout Garrett's magical detective works that he is well-steeped in both detective literature and popular media and he employs references to both in ways that will delight mystery connoisseurs of all types. ★★★★★

Deaths= 6 (two stabbed; one fell from horse; two natural; one strangled)

First line: Commander Lord Ashley, Special Agent for His Majesty's Imperial Naval Intelligence Corps, stood in the doorway of a cheap, rented room in a lower middle-class section of town near the Imperial Naval Docks in Cherbourg.

"That's what I said: Smollett is holding out on us. You want to hold him while I poke him in the eye, or the other way around?" (Lord Bontriomphe; p. 293 [Lord Darcy edition])

Last line: In the golden tracery work surrounding the shield were the lions of England and the lilies of France.

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

Lord Darcy Investigates (1981) 

The last collection of Lord Darcy short stories printed during Garrett's lifetime. Another enjoyable quartet of mysteries. ★★★ and 1/2

"A Matter of Gravity": Another locked room mystery. This time we have an aristocrat who has apparently flung himself out of closed tower window. The only clue is a bright flash of light that seemed to bounce around the room (and observed by guardsmen below) before he fell. Garrett's story, like many of his others, pays homage to various Golden Age detectives/authors. John Dickson Carr was the master of locked room mysteries and both he and Michael Innes have stories which feature a death involving a tower. But the murder itself most resembles a Sayers story featuring Lord Peter Wimsey.  But to speak plainly about it would reveal all to anyone who has read the story. So ROT13 coding for the rest: Gur zrgubq bs zheqre va Ohfzna'f Ubarlzbba vf zbfg qrsvavgyrl ng cynl urer. V pna nyzbfg urne Jvzfrl fcrnxvat gb Ohagre nobhg gur zrpunavfz sbe gur pnpghf nf Ybeq Qnepl rkcynvaf ubj gur Pbhag jnf cebcryyrq bhg gur jvaqbj. (two fell from height; one shot)

"The Ipswich Phial": More cloak and dagger with Polish agents. The body of one of His Majesty's secret agents is found shot to death on the unbroken sand of a Normandy beach. A visiting gentlewoman out for a walk discovers him and the only footprints are her own. The agent had been on the trail of a Polish spy who had stolen a new secret weapon--the Ipswich Phial. Darcy not only solves the apparently impossible murder, but retrieves the missing weapon. No direct references to other authors/detectives that I caught, but the plot has the feel and humor of a Steed & Peel Avengers episode. (one shot)

"The Sixteen Keys": Lord Sefton is found dead in a locked room in his locked summer cottage. He had gone to retrieve an important packet containing a top-secret naval treaty for the Duke of Normandy. Now he's dead and the packet is nowhere to be found. Lord Darcy & Master Sean are on the case! This one returns to the very Holmesian feel of some of the others--Lord Darcy keeps things very much in the dark till the very end. There is also a connection to Oscar Wilde--though the maintenance of youth isn't as much due to the dark arts. (one rapid old age)

"The Napoli Express": Lord Darcy and Master Sean are travelling incognito to deliver the naval treaty rescued in the previous story. While aboard the Napoli Express, the murder of a naval officer occurs and the two simply must get the crime solved quickly so they don't miss their appointment with foreign dignitaries. But how can they do so without breaking their cover--especially Lord Darcy's? Garrett has given us a Murder on the Orient Express pastiche with both very familiar scenes and dialogue: "They are lying," Praefect Cesare said flatly, three hours later. Each and severally, every single one of the bastards are lying." after interviewing the passengers one-by-one in the dining car. And they all know each other, though they are trying (unsuccessfully) to pretend otherwise. But Garrett also gives circumstances and scenes a twist allowing for a different solution. (one hit on head; one poisoned)

First line (1st story): The death of My lord Jillbert, Count de la Vexin was nothing if not spectacular.

This, Lord Darcy thought, is what comes of assuming that others, even one's closest associates, have the same interests as oneself. ("A Matter of Gravity"; p. 454 [Lord Darcy edition]

Last line (last story): The train moved on toward Napoli.

***************Bonus Stories***********

"The Bitter End": An unknown man is poisoned in a bar in Paris at the same time that an entire family of some importance is killed by gas. Master Sean is on the spot--a patron in the bar as he waits for a connecting train to take him back to Rouen--and gives assistance to the local investigating team--although the sergeant in charge of the case views him with grave suspicion and insists he can't leave the city. Lord Darcy arrives from Rouen to clear up the case; mostly because he's in need of evidence that Master Sean was bringing back with him. Here Master Sean gives us a bit of Dr. McCoy from Star Trek: "I'm a thaumaturgist, not a miracle worker." [despite being a magician which seems to me to be very similar....]. I don't this time see an obvious connection to any particular classic mystery, however. (one poisoned; four gassed) Not quite as good as previous stories, but still very enjoyable. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: Master Sean O'Lochlainn was not overly fond of the city of Paris.

Last line: Lord Darcy said nothing, he had the Zellerman-Blair case to worry about, and he had no wish to meddle in the affairs of wizards.

"The Spell of War": The last story about Lord Darcy written by Garrett, but it takes the reader back to the first meeting between Lord Darcy and the magician Sean O'Lochlainn. Not strictly a mystery in line with the other stories, but Lieutenant Darcy (as he was then) does have to figure out how the Polish Army is stealing such a march on his company of soldiers. He solves the puzzle neatly and manages to pull of a nifty bit of counter-strategy as well The meeting of the two men makes me think of what it might have been when Lord Peter and Bunter met in World War I. (three shot--named; many more not named)  Interesting backstory episode and it shows the early stages of Darcy's abilities as an investigator. ★★★

First line: The lieutenant lay on his belly in the middle of a broad clearing in the Bavarian Forest, on the eastern side of the Danau, in a hell of a warfare, on the eastern side of Dagendorf.

Last line: The Hell with it, he thought. And knocked the dottle from his pipe.

Murder Every Monday: It Can't Be Over

 

Kate at Cross Examining Crime hosts a fun mystery cover game on Instagram called Murder Every Monday. Our assignment, should we choose to accept it, is to display book covers and titles from books you own that meet prompts which she posts well in advance (see link). 

 

Today's theme is the covers of the final novel in a series. Here is a small selection. I could have included so many more.

Busman's Honeymoon ~Dorothy L Sayers

The Lake Frome Monster ~Arthur W. Upfield

Curtain ~Agatha Christie [final Hercule Poirot]

(Please note that I do not count the continuation stories of Wimsey by Jill Paton Walsh and of Poirot by Sophie Hannah.)

Murder by the Book ~Frances & Richard Lockridge [final Mr. & Mrs. North]

The Tenth Life ~Richard Lockridge [final Inspector Heimrich]

The Old Die Young ~Richard Lockridge [final Lt. Shapiro]

The Edge of Doom ~Amanda Cross

Beverly Gray's Surprise ~Clair Blank

His Last Bow ~Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

[Again, I am ignoring the many Holmes pastiches, etc.]

The Girl in the Cellar ~Patricia Wentworth

The Morning After Death ~Nicholas Blake

The Glimpses of the Moon ~Edmund Crispin

Cold Blood ~Leo Bruce

Dishonour Among Thieves ~E. C, R,. Lorac

Behold a Fair Woman ~Francis Duncan

The Bells of Old Bailey ~Dorothy Bowers

India Black & the Gentleman Thief ~Carol K. Carr

The Four False Weapons ~John Dickson Carr [final Henri Bencolin]

Bodies from the Library 5

 Bodies from the Library 5: Forgotten Stories of Mystery & Suspense from the Golden Age of Detection (2022; all stories pre-1989) by Tony Medawar (ed)

Tony Medawar has done it again. He's gone searching the highways and byways of Golden Age Detection fiction and authors to bring us another collection of little-known or never-before-seen mystery stories. In previous collections there have, actually, been more that I had read before (thanks, in part to some of the obscure little anthologies I've been able to get my hands on). But this time, there are only two that I vaguely feel like I've read before and I can't nail down where I would have gotten hold of them. This is a strong selection and almost all by authors I had already read. ★★★★

"The Predestined" by Q. Patrick (Richard Webb): Jasper, an orphan with a doting grandma, is sure he's meant for great things. But periodically an odd red weal appears around his neck, inhibits his breathing, and manages to to put him out of sorts in very important situations. We learn that he is predestined...but perhaps not quite in the way he anticipates. (one drowned; one hanged)

"Villa for Sale" by Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter): A wealthy widow offers a fabulous villa to a young couple for a mere pittance. There must be a catch somewhere and there is...but who is going to be caught? (one natural)

"The Ginger King" by A. E. W. Mason: An insurance representative calls on M. Hanaud, who is visiting in England, because he's not quite satisfied over an insurance claim. A fire that cleaned out the stock of a furrier has been investigated every which way and no one can see anything but an accident. But John Middleton will feel much better about paying the claim if Hanaud would take a look at the case as well. It could save his company 25,000 pounds.

"Sugar-Plum Killer" by Michael Gilbert": Probationary Detective Walkinshaw is determined to make the grade as a detective on the force. He gets his chance when D.I. Chapman is killed in a hit & run and the perpetrator winds up being someone Chapman had sent to prison. (one hit & run)

"Vacancy with Corpse" by Anthony Boucher (William Anthony Parker White): Lt. Ben Latimer is asked by his fiancee, Liz (Felicity) Cain if he could arrange for protection for her grandfather, Judge Cain. Someone has been sending the elderly judge threatening notes. Soon there's murder done in the Cain house...but has the wrong man died? (one poisoned; one shot; one natural) [The whole time I was reading this one, I felt like I'd read it before. Like déjà vu--not enough that I knew the solution. But I have no idea where I would have read it.]

"Where Do We Go from Here?" by Dorothy L. Sayers: George is in a hurry to get his wife Laura out of the house. Why? Because he's expecting a blackmailer. Lucky for him, Laura sneaks in the back way and hears all about it. Or is it really that lucky? (two dead)

"Benefit of the Doubt" Anthony Berkeley: A young doctor is called out in the middle of the night to attend a man who has supposedly been in severe gastric distress. He can find little wrong with the man, so it is quite a shock when the man is dead by the next morning. (one poisoned)

"Scandal of the Louvre" by S. S. Van Dine (Willard Huntington Wright): A gang of thieves (who specialize in getting the "ungettable" for collectors arrive at the Louvre in the guise of holidaymakers. They manage to steal the Mona Lisa, collect a hefty reward for the deed, and.... (well, that's the twist and I'd hate to spoil it)

"The Pressure of Circumstance" by J. J. Connington (Alfred Walter Stewart): The Lessingham family holds a promise as a sacred trust. So when Jack Lessingham leaves for an expedition to Brazil, he asks his father to see that "Claire [his wife] comes to no harm" while he's away, his father tells him, "Of course. That's a promise." And not even the man who's dangling after the lonely little wife will keep him from keeping his promise. (one poisoned; one from the "bends")

"The Riddle of the Cabin Cruiser" by John Dickson Carr: George Randolph, wealthy stockbroker, is found stabbed to death in his drifting cabin cruiser--found by his wife and Mr. Huntley Hurst. There have been rumors about Mrs. Randolph's "friendship" with Hurst. Was Randolph's death suicide as has been posited by Hurst and Mrs. Randolph? There's one telling sentence in this radio play that will give you the answer--if you catch it. [I didn't.] (one stabbed)

"Skeleton in the Cupboard" by Ianthe Jerrold: Corney Dew was sure he'd found the perfect spot to dispose of his brother-in-law's body when he buried him in the ancient mound on his property. But then the local Antiquities Club gets interested in digging the place up...and the club's sponsor doesn't seem to want to take no for an answer. (one natural; one hit on head) [Another déjà vu story...I'm sure I've read this one before, but not sure where.]

"The Year & the Day" by Edmund Crispin (Robert Bruce Montgomery): Two old school fellows meet at their club and one (a doctor) reminds our narrator (a barrister) of another school fellow who has recently died. The barrister begins to wonder why "X" (as he calls him) has brought the subject up. [And, quite frankly, so did I. Was there a point to implying that something nasty had happened when apparently no one suspected it? (one natural; one hit on head)

"Murder in Montparnasse" by John Bude (Ernest Carpenter Elmore): The disappearance of an artist coincides with the death of a paralyzed, drunken old man. Inspector Moreau must find the connection, (one drowned; one poisoned) [*I agree with Kate at Cross Examining Crime that this is much longer than it needed to be. A short story would have been sufficient. As a novella, it seems to have a lot of padding.]

"The Thistle Down" by H. C. Bailey: Reggie Fortune is asked (nay, commanded) to investigate the death of Sir Max Tollis's secretary. It's being put down as suicide, but Sir Max insists it isn't. (one shot)

"The Magnifying Glass" by Cyril Hare (Alfred Alexander Gordon Clark): A meeting between two men to settle up over a couple of cases of forged bank notes ends in death and tragedy. (one shot; one in fire)

"The 'What's My Line?' Murder" by Julian Symons: One of the panelists on the famed British version of the game show is poisoned in the studio. But it's soon proved that he poured his own drink and nobody went near it between the pouring and his drinking. So who poisoned him and how? (two poisoned) [Once again, I'm in agreement with Kate--I don't always get on with Symons' work. But I think I'm discovering that I prefer him in short form to his novels. This is quite good--not least because of its connection to "What's My Line?" (though I'm more familiar with the US version started in 1950).]

First line (1st story): It was Jasper's tenth birthday.

Last line (last story): "What a pity that [they were a murderer] too." (some or part has been changed to prevent a spoiler)

March Reading by the Numbers Reviews

 

March Virtual Mount TBR Reviews

 

March Mount TBR Reviews

 

March Vintage Scavenger Hunt Reviews

 

Behold a Fair Woman

 Behold a Fair Woman (1954) by Francis Duncan (William Underhill)

Mordecai Tremaine, whose hobby is amateur detecting under the guise of people watching, decides that he needs a little break from bodies he seems to stumble over. His friends Mark and Janet Belmore had invited him to come stay with them at their cottage on the quiet little island of Moulin d'Or. Nothing much ever happens there on the sun-warmed beaches. Well...until Mordecai shows up. 

He makes the acquaintance of other holiday-seekers--those in cottages near the Belmores as well as those staying at the island's Rohane Hotel. What seems at first to be a nice group of young people (well--younger than Mordecai, anyway, who describes himself as elderly) soon prove to be otherwise. There are tensions running underneath the surface and Mordecai's curiosity is aroused by the interactions between hotel owner Hedley Latinam, his sister Ruth, and their guests, Nicola Paston, Geoffrey Bendall, Ivan Holt, Major Ayres, and Mrs. Burres. Every sentence seems to have a double-meaning, but he's got his work cut out to discover what those meanings are. And, although cottage-dwellers Alan and Valerie Creed claim not to know the Latinams, Mordecai chances to see a furtive meeting between Alan and Hedley. The only one who seems well out of it (besides the Belmores) is Ralph Exenley. 

Ralph is another neighbor of the Belmores and Mordecai gets on well with the tomato grower. He takes great interest in Ralph's gardening methods and the amateur detective finds it soothing to have a place where he can just talk about things (while he thinks over what he's observed in his people-watching). But his interest in Ralph's tomato production leads him to the discovery of yet another body. Ralph has an interesting water tank set-up to keep his plants watered and one morning Mordecai asks if he may climb the ladder and check things out. When he does, he discovers Hedley Latinam floating in the tank. 

Ralph knows of Mordecai's reputation as an amateur sleuth and mentions him to Inspector Colinet when he arrives to investigate the case. Soon Mordecai and the Inspector are discovering motives aplenty. And added to the mix is an escaped prisoner who has vowed revenge on the man whose testimony helped put him behind bars. The prisoner has made a beeline for the island...could that have anything to do with Latinam's death? And why do people keep milling about the old, abandoned mill...and then pretending that they weren't really interested in it?  

So...I started at the end of the series. Maybe not the best idea, but at least it doesn't spoil the plot for earlier ones, Generally speaking, I like Duncan's way with characters. Mordecai Tremaine is charming. I love that he secretly loves to read romantic, sentimental stories. He's a people person; genuinely interested in the people around him and his romantic soul would love to see them all happy. But his curiosity also makes him wonder what they're really up to. I have to say, though, he's not much of a detective. He stumbles into things. He overhears conversations. He just happens to be in the right place at the right time to see certain people together. He just happens to hear an odd sound late one night. And that's another thing...lots of coincidences and "just happens." The local church lesson "just happens" to be the very one that will explain a certain phrase to Mordecai just in time for him to figure out a key piece to the puzzle. It's all rather contrived and the wrap-up falls a bit short. 

On the whole, pluses in characterization and the setting balance out the minuses in plot and detection. ★★★

First line: The ship's passage through the water had transformed a light breeze into a chilling wind.

But it wasn't his fault that he seemed to have a remarkable propensity for discovering corpses. He didn't go around looking for the bodies of people who'd been murdered; they just happened, and there wasn't anything he could do about it. (p. 144)

When you were faced with such a tangle of problems you needed solitude and a place in which to think. Maybe, in the air and the sunshine, the solution would be easier to find. (p. 230)

Sometimes, though, things you thought were loose ends turn out to be very important indeed. (pp. 285-6)

Last line: Maybe he did know after all.
****************

Deaths = 3 (one hit on head; one shot; one fell from height)

Death in Shallow Water

 Death in Shallow Water (1948) by Miles Burton (Cecil Street)

Synopsis (from the book blurb): Three deaths by drowning within the space of a few weeks in one small English parish where nothing untoward has happened for many years are bound to set tongues wagging. One drowned body could have been an accident; two drowned bodies might have been coincidence; but when it comes to a third corpse found in shallow water, even the cautious village policeman began to think it was a bit of a rum go. Soon the experts are call in, and we meet again Inspector Arnold of Scotland Yard and, inevitably, Desmond Merrion, his complement and friend, in an investigation that gets "curiouser and curiouser" as accident begins to look more and more like Murder.

Our first death is Sir William Watkyn, wealthy ex-shipowner. He was out fishing and, presumably, fell off the bank into the shallow water where he was found. He had a weak heart and it's argued that the shock of the fall made it impossible for him to get up. Next, his unpleasant wife Lady Watkyn is found drowned in her bath basin (no--not bath tub, a sink) while she was apparently washing her hair. And it's argued that the fumes from the chloroform included (for who knows what reason) in the hair lotion was enough to make her woozy enough to fall headfirst in the basin and drown. Next up is the handyman who did jobs for both Sir William and his former captain, Captain Barnham.Two more drownings follow (whoever composed the synopsis above evidently couldn't count) and even though they all could have been accidents, it certainly does look funny that so many in the area are drowning in so little water.

So far I've read three mysteries under the Miles Burton pseudonym and this is the weakest outing yet. The villain of the piece is obvious from the moment they saunter onto the page. The "investigations" by various policemen up to and including Inspector Arnold of the Yard are lacklustre at best. There certainly aren't heaps of clues stacked about for the investigators (or the readers) to pick up. And Desmond Merrion, Arnold's amateur detective sidekick, whips up the solution out of nowhere. It's lucky the culprit thinks that Merrion must have evidence to back up his assertive declarations and decides to confess, because I don't know how they'd get a conviction otherwise. And--I'm not entirely sure that the possible collaborator in the plot is really as innocent as they (Merrion and Arnold) make it seem. The wrap-up is pretty messy (it certainly wouldn't meet Poirot's standard for order and method).

I lost interest in the plot by the half-way mark and only kept plodding along so I could count this for the various challenges that I'd lined it up for. I've got two more of the Burton books on my TBR pile and I hope that they each provide a more entertaining mystery. ★★

In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel, Do You Write Under Your Own Name and the Grandest Game in the World have all reviewed this as well. Please check out their take on Burton's late entry in the annals of Arnold & Merrion. 

First line: The man was evidently no stranger to Winderport, for he found his way by the shortest route from the Central Station to Watergate Street without inquiry.

Last line: It was rumoured that he was to be married intended to settle with his wife and her child in New Zealand.
******************

Deaths = 6 (one natural; four drowned; one hanged)

Murder on the Orient Express: The Graphic Novel

 Murder on the Orient Express: The Graphic Novel story by Agatha Christie (1934)
~adaptation by Bob Al-Greene (2023)

If you would like an in-depth look at Agatha Christie's mystery novel, then please see my previous reviews: HERE and HERE.

This review is devoted to the graphic novel. I'm not generally the target audience for a graphic novel, but when I find one devoted to the mystery field I definitely cannot resist. So, when I discovered that this was out in the world, I immediately put it on my Christmas list for 2023 and one of my personal Santas delivered.

Al-Greene gives us a beautiful book. The artwork is stunning and, for the most part, I appreciated his rendering of the story. I'm not sure that he got Poirot's mustache quite right and I think that he was influenced by Kenneth Branagh's choice for the character. I also thought there was a bit of influence from the interpretation of the final scenes of Branagh's movie--though we have a reversal with Poirot seated at the table and all the suspects standing before him. And we have a slightly more diverse cast (again, as with the film) Just a couple of passing thoughts as I read. But, overall, I absolutely enjoyed Al-Greene's vision of the novel. Given the format, he couldn't give us all of the dialogue word-for-word, but he managed to capture the essence of Christie's work in fewer words without losing anything important. And, unlike screen versions, he also managed to work in all of the essential clues. The few cuts made are handled in such a way that those who have read the story before may notice them, but they certainly won't miss them. This would be an ideal way to introduce more modern readers to one of Christie's more iconic mysteries. ★★★★★

Kate at Cross Examining Crime has done a marvelous, in-depth review of the graphic novel and you couldn't do better than check it out.

First line: Well...today is Sunday.

Last lines: Then...having placed my solution before you...I have the honor of retiring from the case. Adieu.
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Deaths = 4 (one shot; one fell from height; one stabbed; one in childbirth)

Deadly Is the Diamond

 Deadly Is the Diamond (1942) by Mignon G. Eberhart

The Chabot family are diamond importers. Henry Chabot brings home a fabulous gem dubbed the "Chabot Diamond" and in a joint deal with his sister, Hermione; nephew, Charles; and partner, Pieter Van der Hof, he plans to have the huge stone cut into gems worth two and a half million dollars. Hermione is opposed to having the stone cut. She just "feels" that the stone is cursed and if it is split then even more bad luck will follow it. Henry scoffs and says that the only reason she's fear-mongering is that she wants to wear the large diamond as is. 

But it seems that Hermione may have had a true premonition, for as soon as the expert stone cutter Albert de Burghe finishes splitting the diamond, he drops over dead...apparently poisoned. Was the poison in the milk brought to him by his own niece? Or perhaps in the coffee given to him by Van der Hof? Or the gum he chewed just before his task? When all three are given a clean bill of health it becomes quite a puzzle for the police. How was the man poisoned in front of eight witnesses in a locked room? When two more men in the building die by poisoning as well, the police must decide what the motive must be. They also need to find out what the mysterious dark man who has been shadowing the Chabot family has to do with it.

Another fun novella in the Dell 10 cent series. Eberhart likes to give us female narrators with varying degrees of amateur detective skills. Our narrator here is a writer (not entirely sure what type--journalist, novelist, poet [nah, most likely not a poet]--but I have to say she's not the most observant of women. However, she has an absolutely marvelous butler who loves playing amateur detective and seems to know everything about everything. Mr. Bland is, I believe, my second favorite mystery-related butler. Bunter, Lord Peter's manservant (butler, valet, chauffeur rolled into one), is, of course, number one. But Bland gives Bunter a run for his money. He notices little tidbits that escape his mistress. He follows villains with the best of them. And...he effects the rescue of the damsel in distress--just in the nick of time. Top marks to Eberhart for characterization and atmosphere and for creating a rather nifty impossible crime. ★★★★

First line: Hermione looked out the window, shrugged, and said quite unexpectedly, "It's the little black man that really worries me," and then refused to tell me what little black man; yet that was not really the beginning of the story.

...there's no getting around the fact that murder demands a certain intimacy between the murderer and, so to speak, the murderee. (p. 16)

It was, of course, physically impossible for [Bland, the butler] to put the car away, waft himself up the service elevator (besides almost certainly pausing to inform Mrs. Bland of the stirring events of the day), and appear in the library, tray in hand, in the few moments that had elapsed since I entered the apartment house, leaving him and the car at the door. But there he was, however, large as life. (p.21)

Last line: "I believe dinner is served."

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Deaths = 4 (one natural; three poisoned)

Inquest

 Inquest (1933) by Henrietta Clandon (Vernon Loder)

In Clandon's debut mystery we find ourselves at a county house part at Hebble Chace. Hebble Chace is home to Marie Hoe-Luss who is now the widow of a wealthy English businessman. About six months ago, the Hoe-Lusses held a house-warming party at their French chateau. The unfortunate ending to that party was the death of William Hoe-Luss, apparently from the accidental ingestion of poisonous mushrooms. As Mr. Hoe-Luss had gathered the mushrooms himself, there was no real investigatio made by the French authorities for foul play--despite the fact that the man also had a broken neck from tumbling down stairs and whispers by certain members of the party that Marie Hoe-Luss made out rather well after her husband's death.

The house party at Hebble Chace is made up entirely of members of that house-warming party in France. Well, except for our narrator, Dr. Soames. Marie has added him to the mix at what seems to be an informal inquest after the fact. And--since Soames obviously wasn't directly involved in the events six months ago, everyone decides to confide in him their thoughts about the death of Hoe-Luss. One of the guests, is a devoted botanist and he tells Soames that none of the poisonous fungi mentioned in the doctor's report were to be found on the chateau grounds. Not long after sharing this information, Simcox, falls to his death from an upstairs window. Another apparent accident. But the clues don't add up and soon the Chief Constable has called in Inspector Mattock of the Yard to unravel the case.

Now...perhaps I should step back a moment and post a disclaimer before going with my review. With life as it is in the Hankins household, I am a bit sleep-deprived and it's possible I'm a little grumpier than usual about these things. So, please take my review with a grain of salt. But--please also let me say that the intro by Curtis Evans is wonderful and gives lots of interesting information about Clandon (aka Vernon Loder) and background information on this debut mystery for the Clandon name.

First, I want to get a couple of minor things off  my chest. This isn't a long book--editions range from 193 to 209 pages yet it took me six days to read what would normally take one-two days. And it seemed much longer than that. I felt like I'd been reading it for about a month. Second, can anyone tell me what the yarn ball, knitting needles, and the hands making a rabbit shadow image have to do with anything, let alone the story inside??? It would make some sort of sense if we had a Miss Marple or Miss Silver character knitting away in the corner and playing detective. But nope. So, I have no clue. But befuddlement seems to be a running theme...

Color me baffled. I am at a loss to understand Dorothy L. Sayers' enthusiasm for this mystery. Sayers, who writes elegantly and with great care, doesn't seem to notice great swathes of dialogue that seem to make no sense. Sayers' Lord Peter piffles, it's true--but always with a point. And I never get lost in his speeches. Even when Sayers throws in Latin or French that I may not understand. The groundwork is so well-laid that I don't have to know the Latin or French to figure out what's going on. There are places in this novel where Dr. Soames (our narrator--more about him in a moment) has conversations with his fellow house guests that make little to no sense. I felt very much as I did when my husband had his most recent "brain event" last October. It's like two separate conversations are happening at once.

And..having mentioned Dr. Soames--for about half the novel he's about as swift as a dammed up river. He doesn't give us the best commentary on his fellow guests.  He doesn't really question any of the medical details until facts are waved under his nose repeatedly. He thinks everything said is just "gossip" and mean-spirited gossip at that. When he finally wakes up to the fact that murder has been done, he then starts roaming among the suspects letting out little bits of information that maybe the police didn't want communicated. "Oopsie." [Not a direct quote. But my interpretation of his realization.] He waffles terribly between thinking each of the men have done the dirty deeds and that they haven't--and, of course, none of the women did. Two of the women, he only thinks about in relation to the men they're attached to...how awful for the little ladies if their betrothed is found to be a murderer. 

Now, Inspector Mattock and Tobey, the Chief Constable, have more on the ball. Quite frankly, I think I would have enjoyed the mystery a lot more if we had followed Mattock about instead of Soames. Soames is meant to be our inside view into the country house party, but he just annoyed me for about half to two-thirds of the book. But--if we take out Soames and just follow the plot, it is fairly good. There is a nice bit of misdirection with a few of the clues and while the motive did strike me as a bit obvious (once I threw out the biggest red herring) the follow-up by Mattock on the trail was quite good.

My final quibble--and this is a bit of a SPOILER, even though I don't name the villain--

I don't like it (especially in older mysteries) when the culprit gets off completely. If the police manage to lock them up and send them forth for trial, then, by golly, I want the jury to do their duty and find the villain of the piece guilty. Yes, juries in real life can be iffy propositions and may let an obviously guilty person off for silly reasons. But don't do that in books, please. I'd like some justice in the world somewhere. And...the final quote (below) is an observation by the good doctor. Given how wrong he is about a great many things throughout the book, I wouldn't bet on our villain not trying their hand on more if the situation arose. ★★

First: During the last ten years of his life, I was medical adviser to Mr. Hoe-Luss.

It is amazing how suspicious people can become when their financial interests are threatened. (p. 17)

Last: But I am quite sure that [their*] two successful murders will not have inclined [them*] to try the charm of the third.  [*pronouns changed to prevent spoilers.]
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Deaths = two fell from height