Monday, March 18, 2024

Q-Squared


 Q-Squared (1995) by Peter David

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

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


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

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

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

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


Saturday, March 16, 2024

Moonflower Murders


 Moonflower Murders (2020) by Anthony Horowitz

At the end of Magpie Murders, Susan Ryeland had retired from publishing and joined her partner Andreas in a venture to run a hotel on the island of Crete. The Polydorus has beautiful views and the weather is lovely and everything should be just marvelous. Except--it isn't. The help is not reliable. Deliveries are not reliable. And the tourists aren't filling the hotel the way they'd like. She and Andrus are so busy trying to make things work that they don't have the time for each other that they need. Susan is feeling restless.

That's when the Trehernes show up at the Polydorus. And they've come specifically to see Susan. About eight years ago, there was a horrible murder at the hotel they (the Trehernes) own back in England. It occurred on the day of their daughter's wedding and the result was that Stefan Cordescru, one of the hotel's employees, was convicted of the murder. Alan Conway, one of her former authors, had later visited the hotel, talked with various people who were around on the day of the murder, and wrote a mystery which featured characters loosely based on them. The Trehernes daughter Cecily recently read the book, Atticus Pund Takes the Case, and called her parents to say that she was right all along, Stefan didn't kill Frank Parrish and the answer was staring at her from the book. Cecily disappeared that very afternoon.

Now the Trehernes want Susan to come to their hotel, talk with the people involved, and reread Conway's book--and tell them what Cecily found out and what has happened to their daughter. They believe that since she worked with Conway she'll know how he would have hidden the answers. And they'll pay her 10,000 pounds to do it. Susan & Andreas could definitely use the money. So, despite Andreas's misgivings (when she looked into Alan Conway's death in Magpie Murders, she found herself in danger...), Susan agrees. But when she begins investigating she finds everyone, including the Trehernes, would prefer not to answer her questions. Why would the Trehernes ask her to do the job if they weren't going to support her efforts? The further she digs, the more motives she finds for Parrish's murder, but she still can't see what Cecily saw "on the very first page." And when she does see it, there isn't much in the way of proof. So, how about a nice, gathering of the suspects, point the finger of suspicion this way and that....and after all the build up the villain will confess--just like in Alan Conway and Agatha Christie novels.

Horowitz provides another unique mystery-within-a-mystery--a technique he seems to like. In some ways this was better than Magpie Murders. I completely missed all of the clues hidden the Atticus Pund story, both those that pointed to Pund's murderer and those that pointed to the killer Susan was trying to spot for the Trehernes. So, Horowitz did an excellent job of distraction. But I did spot the "real-life" murderer even thought I attributed a completely different motive to them. I found it difficult to like or root for any of the characters this time. Even Susan and, while her editor's eye gave her an investigative edge--spotting discrepancies in witness's statements, for instance--the pacing of her investigation seemed slow, almost plodding. It's been a while since I read the first book, but it seemed to me that the Pund story and the "real-life" framing story meshed better. The mysteries are still pretty absorbing and well-done, just not quite as strong as Magpie.

The best part of the book is the homage Horowitz pays to Agatha Christie and other Golden Age mystery writers. The gathering of the suspects at the end is very appropriate and in keeping with the Golden Age feel. I do wish that the Conway story had actually played a much bigger role in Susan's wrap-up.  ★★ and 1/2

First line: The Polydorus is a charming family-run hotel, located a short walk away from the lively town of Agios Nikolaos, one hour from Heraklion. 

Last lines: "Then let's go." And that's exactly what we did.
*****************

Deaths = 11 (one hit on head; five natural; one shot; two strangled; one stabbed; one hit by train)

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Mad About the Boy?


 Mad About the Boy? (2008) by Dolores Gordon-Smith

The second in the Jack Haldean mystery series finds Jack in the middle of another murder "in the family." This time, his aunt and uncle are celebrating 25th anniversary with a gala ball and fireworks--provided by Lord Lyvenden--who switched from arms for the Great War to pyrotechnics to keep the funds rolling in. The occasion comes with some built-in tension. Isabelle (Jack's cousin) has been keeping his best friend Arthur on a string (Arthur is head over heels in love with her), but has recently become engaged to dashing Malcolm Smith-Fennimore (merchant banker, aviator, racing driver...that is to say, a ready-made hero). Arthur is miserable, on top of suffering from the effects of shell-shock. There is also trouble between Lord Lyvenden and his secretary, Tim Preston, whom he [Lyvenden] treats as a general gopher instead of a confidential secretary. And then there's the weird Russian bloke who shows up looking for Alfred Charnook, brother of Isabelle's mother and the black sheep of the family.

The party is completely ruined, however, when Preston is found dead--apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Everything points to suicide. There's even a note beside the body that appears to support the theory. But Jack isn't convinced. And when Lord Lyvenden is stabbed to death and all evidence points to Arthur, Jack knows that something devilish is going on. Did someone have it in for both Lyvenden and his secretary? Could it have anything to do with the coded message Preston apparently saw by mistake? Is it a Russian plot? Or is it more complicated than that? And can Jack discover the true villain before Arthur is brought to trial and convicted?

Gordon-Smith evokes the spirit of Christie's thrillers in this one. It makes me think of The Secret of Chimneys and some of the Tommy & Tuppence adventures. There are Russian agents and secret meeting places and what seems like a code. There's Russian gold and Englishmen in tight places over money. There's even a little gun-running. Of course, the real question is what (if anything, this has to do with the murders). This is a grand adventure and lots of fun. I would love to rate it a bit higher--but this time the main culprit was fairly obvious even though their motive wasn't. Not quite as good as the debut of the series, but I am definitely eager to move on to Jack's next adventure. ★★ and 1/2

First line: Arthur Stanton stubbed out his cigarette, peering anxiously through the haze of smoke at his reflection in the mirror.

Last lines: "Try asking anyone else," he said with a grin. "I'll forbid the banns."
*********************

Deaths = 8 (five shot; one stabbed; one fell from height; one froze to death)

Monday, March 11, 2024

Dorothy & Jack: The Transforming Friendship of Dorothy L. Sayers & C. S. Lewis


 Dorothy & Jack: The Transforming Friendship of Dorothy L. Sayers & C. S. Lewis by Gina Dalfonzo (2020)

What happens when we push past the surface and allow real, grounded, mutually challenging, and edifying friendships to develop? This is the question posed by Gina Dalfonzo in her biographical examination of the friendship between Christian thinkers and apologists Dorothy L. Sayers and C. S. Lewis. The friendship had its beginning in a fan letter that Sayers, then celebrated for her mystery fiction and less known for her Christian work, wrote Lewis the first of what became a fifteen-year correspondence. They met on various occasions, but the friendship grew primarily through the written word--letters exploring their mutually held views, debating their differences, critiquing each others work, bolstering one another on points of perceived weakness, and praising & encouraging strengths. 

"Over the years they had helped, educated, guided, teased, critiqued, chastised, defended, consoled, and laughed with each other."

What more could two friends ask for?

One thing that I found frustrating about this book is that most of the letters which promised (in Dalfonzo's descriptions of them) to be very interesting were "apparently lost." She repeatedly employs references in letters--most often in Lewis's replies to Sayers (DLS appears to have kept nearly everything Lewis sent to her)--which indicate that a previous letter held some interesting or profound observations, but we don't get to see them. And, in fact, Dalfonzo quotes very little of the correspondence even though she quotes Lewis's admiration for Sayers' letter-writing abilities. Which reminds me that I really need to read the two collections of Sayers' letters that I have.

On the plus side, it was very refreshing to read about this amazing intellectual friendship--to watch how each influenced the other over the years and gave to the other something that was missing in their other friendships. Having enjoyed Sayers' translation of Dante, I especially appreciated Lewis's commentary and critiques of that work. A very strong literary biography of the friendship between two of my favorite authors. ★★★★

First line (Intro): They could not have been more alike.

Last line: "He is down on the thing like a rat, he is God's terrier, and I wouldn't be without him for the world." (Sayers about Lewis)


Thursday, March 7, 2024

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine Sept 1965


 Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine Sept 1965 by Ellery Queen, ed. 

I have to say that I thought this collection one of the weakest of the EQMM's I've read so far. The best of the bunch are the Christie and the Queen...and I've read both of them before. "A Fine Winter Thirst" is good and pulls at the heart strings a bit with that ending. "The Mystery of the Fulton Documents" is a much better Dupin pastiche than the Goulart story's parody of hardboiled pulp (quite frankly it made no sense to me and I didn't find it funny at all). The Chandler story is a much rougher version of his novel The Big Sleep (which I read last year and enjoyed very much). I didn't get much out of "to Reach the Sea" or "Who Walks Behind" and the rest of the stories are okay. ★★ and 1/2

"Blood Brothers" by Christianna Brand: The Birdswell identical twins are said to be devoted to each other. And so they are...until they both get involved with the same woman. Then murder and competing alibis put them in Inspector Cockrill's sights and it's every man for himself. [2 hit by car]

"Unc Probes Pickle Plot" by John Jakes: A story chock full of slang that makes it a bit of a trudge to read through. And the big mystery--who switched a jar of about-to-be prize-winning pickles for a jar of beets at a town fair--is pretty ho-hum.

"The Mystery of the Fulton Documents" by Michael Harrison: An Auguste Dupin pastiche in which Dupin discovers how the top-secret weapon plans were smuggled out of a French official's safe.

"Bloehm's Wall" by George Emmett: Bloehm is slowly dying from a cancer eating away at him. He's always know that Emil will show up one day to settle old scores. But when Emil does things don't quite go as he anticipated. (one neck broken)

"A Fine Winter Thirst" by George Emmett: A mute itinerant worker finally finds love--only to have it snatched away from him by a cruel barkeeper. (one poisoned; one stabbed)

"All the Way Home" by Jaime Sandaval: Tommy has to listens to rumors about his dad and Miss Abby Hunter, the young teacher who taught school about a mile from their home. Tommy's dad had installed Miss Abby in the lighthouse near their property and Tommy's mom was none too pleased. Things come to a head one windy night when the lighthouse burns down and Tommy's Dad's boat is found adrift. (2 burned to death; one natural)

"The 'Supernatural' Murder" by Agatha Christie: Dr. Pender takes center stage next with a tale of a seemingly impossible murder cloaked with a bit of mysticism. The murder was committed on the night of a costume party near the grove of Astarte. The grove was on the estate of Sir Richard Haydon, a man who was rival of his cousin Eliot for the love of the beautiful Dianna Ashley. The grove contained a mysterious summer house which was rumored to have been a place where secret rites were held long ago. Diana decided to dress the part of Astarte--appearing in a mysterious glow in the summer house. The vision startled Sir Richard and he then stumbled to the ground. when the others reached him, he was dead from a knife wound...but there was no knife to be found. Miss Marple spots the answer. [one stabbed]

"The Needle's Eye" by Ellery Queen: A man suspects his new son-in-law and his father of having evil designs of one sort or another on either himself or his daughter (or both). He asks Ellery to investigate--and in the process Ellery solves a murder and the mystery of a pirate's hidden treasure. (one natural; one shot)

"To Reach the Sea" by Monica Dickens: An odd little story about a woman having an affair and a wig with hair that grows--oh, and one drowning. In a river. Nowhere near the sea...as far as I can tell. [one drowned]

"The Curtain" by Raymond Chandler: A rehearsal story for Chandler's The Big Sleep--all the bones are there--from the old General who wants to know what happened to his son-in-law to red herrings before Carmody (Marlowe's predecessor) figures out what really happened. The killer has changed--but not the motivating factor. [four shot]

"The Peppermint Striped Goodbye" by Ron Goulart: Seems to be a mash-up parody of Chandler's "The Curtain" and a Ross MacDonald Lew Archer story. Rumor has it this is funny. Don't attribute that rumor to me...[two fell from height]

"The Restorer of Balance" by Avram Davidson: In the matter of feeding tigers--who is the hunter and who the hunted? [one fed to tigers]

"Who Walks Behind?" by Holly Roth: George feels compelled to help a man who claims to be a refugee...but he's not sure if it's safe. If perhaps there's someone following after...

First line (1st story): "And devoted I hear?...David and Jonathan?" he said.

Last line (Last story): George was not wrong to be suspicious, and she must learn to live with the understanding that he might some day be right in his ceaseless doubts.

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

The Silent Speaker


 The Silent Speaker (Oct 1946) by Rex Stout

Cheney Boone, the Director of the Bureau of Price Regulation (hereafter BPR) is found beaten to death in his dressing room just before he's set to give a speech at a gathering of the National Industrial Association (NIA). The NIA is made up of a group of big business concerns and there isn't much love lost between the two agencies. Boone was repeatedly struck with a monkey wrench that was among his props for the speech. [Bev's first question: why on earth did the man have not one, but several monkey wrenches for his speech. This isn't really pertinent to the mystery...but inquiring minds want to know.] Given the antagonism which exists between the BPR and the NIA, the NIA has already been found guilty at the bar of public opinion. Public opinion doesn't really seem to care which NIA member did it--they're all guilty by association. 

Nero Wolfe, who has been goaded into figuring out a way to get paid--so Archie, Fritz, Theodore, and all those orchids won't be homeless, puts Archie to work on a scheme that manipulates the NIA into practically begging him to investigate and snatch their chestnuts out of the fire. The key to the case winds up being a leather satchel containing speech recorder cylinders that Boone's confidential assistant Miss Phoebe Gunther seems to have misplaced. Phoebe is next on the killer's hit list. And when the satchel is found, there are only nine cylinders when there should be ten. Whatever was on that last cylinder must be hot stuff and Wolfe pulls out all the stops...including doing a turn as a mental case...to find it.

In the meantime, Cramer is pulled off the case because he's given Wolfe too much latitude (and gotten no results). And he's replaced with Inspector Ash who is a horse's rear-end. Wolfe contrives to pull his rabbits out of hats with Cramer present so he will get the glory and be reinstated. I love the ending where Cramer wants to say thank you (with the gift of an orchid) but doesn't want to be all mushy about it. 

For about half to two-thirds of the book, I felt like this was the same old, same old. Archie goads Wolfe into working. Wolfe defies the police. Wolfe is threatened with jail time. Wolfe, for apparently inexplicable reasons, chooses to keep Archie out of part of the investigation--hiring a detective agency to do a bunch of leg work; using Saul Panzer and not letting Archie listen in on Saul's reports. The story is saved by the ending. Wolfe's theatrics as a man suffering from a nervous breakdown and his interactions with Archie during that period as well as the ending proper where he reveals all (plus Cramer with orchid in hand) makes it all worthwhile. ★★

First line: Seated in his giant's chair behind his desk in his office, leaning back with his eyes half closed, Nero Wolfe muttered at me.

The hurdles I had to make, you might have thought Hattie Harding was the goddess of a temple and this was it, instead of merely the Assistant Director of Public relations for the NIA, but I finally made the last jump and was taken in to her. (p. 8)

Last line: "If that was it, either primary or secondary, to hell with ethics."
*******************

Deaths: two hit on head


Fun for Monday...on Tuesday (aka Book Procrastination)

 

Not only do I not read books as quickly as I buy them...I run late on memes that talk about books that I don't read as quickly as I buy them.

I found this meme over at Bookforager and decided that I just needed to do it as well. It was originally created by Liesl Brunner at Quote, Unquote and the rules are as follows:

  • Link back to the original post at Quote, Unquote so the creator can read your answers
  • Link back to the post of the person who tagged you and thank them – thank you Bookforager!
  • You may use the included graphic anywhere in your post, but you don’t have to (see source post for graphic)
  • Fill all seven categories
  • You can either leave this tag open so anyone can do it or tag up to seven people [I'm leaving it open--if you see this post, then feel free to jump in!]

  A Classic Book You Have Been Meaning to Read Forever But Haven't Yet

 
The secret has been safe on my TBR shelves since 2013. One of these days, I may get around to uncovering what exactly old Wilkie is keeping from us. 

A Book On Your Shelf That You Haven't Read Yet
[Just one? According to Goodreads, there are 2,490 of them...]

For the books that I was a good girl and logged when I acquired them, it appears that Card's The Folk of the Fringe is one of those that have been languishing on the TBR mountain range for quite some time. (1990? Really? I'm sorry Paula [my BFF who gave this to me...]. I meant to read it sooner. Really.)

A Book Seven Eight Books That You Got Recently That You Haven't Read
[I upped the number from Bookforager's seven, so it would be even]
 
 
As mentioned above, I accumulate books at a far greater rate than I am able to read them. Here are just eight of the most recent to join the Hankins Library. Bookforager talks about promising to be "good" and not buy anymore books. I know that to be an empty promise before even making it...so...I don't bother. These three Detective Book Club 3-in-1 volumes; The Mystery of Nancy Drew; Blotto, Twinks & the Dead Dowager Duchess; Mycroft & Sherlock: The Empty Birdcage; Deadly Image; and The Country-House Burglar have all been added within the last three weeks...

 A Book You've Had Forever But Haven't Read


I don't know if 2006 counts as "forever," but Death Is Relative is a mystery that seems to have been hanging out at my house for the longest. 

A Book A Friend Recommended To You That You Haven't Read 



John @ Pretty Sinister Books thought I'd like this one so much that he even sent me a copy back in 2013. I haven't read it yet, John. But it's on the (ever-growing) list...
 
A Book You're Procrastinating On
[Um...that would be all 2,490 of them...wouldn't it?]
 
 
This is one of those books that I've always felt that, as an English major, I ought to read. But I'm not really an American Lit kind of girl. I much prefer British Literature. But maybe...just maybe I'll actually read the thing one of these days.

 So...how about you? What books have you been keeping on your TBR stack a little longer than intended?

Monday, March 4, 2024

Death of a Fool


 Death of a Fool (Off With His Head; 1957) by Ngaio Marsh; read by Nadia May

Marsh gives us a tricky little murder committed in the middle of  "Sword Wednesday"--the village of South Maridan's celebration of the Winter Solstice. On the day of the dance all goes well until the Fool (the father figure in the "Dance of the Five Sons") is supposed to rise up from behind the rock where he has fallen after a mock beheading at the hands of his sons. When he doesn't get up on cue, the sons investigate only to find that William Anderson has actually been beheaded in truth. The local Superintendent and Sergeant of police were among those in the audience and everyone (including them) present--dancers and audience alike--are positive that no one came near the Guiser once he fell down, perfectly alive, behind the stone. So, how could he have been killed? Superintendent Carey and his Chief Constable have the good sense to realize that they need the help of the Yard...and the Yard has the good sense to send Inspector Roderick Alleyn to figure out the mystery of the impossible beheading. 

This review is of the audio novel performance--for a full review, including a more detailed examination of the plot and background, please see my previous review: HERE.

This was very entertaining to listen to. May does an excellent job with the various characters--especially when you consider that the vast majority are male. Her rendition of Marsh's prose makes the dance come alive (both the original, opening festival and the reconstruction of the event at the end). We also get a good feel for the relationships between Alleyn and his men and the interactions between the villagers. A terrific performance of a very strong Marsh mystery.

First line: Over that part of England the winter solstice came down with a bitter antiphony of snow and frost.

Last line: "She's been saying what a long time seems to next Sword Wednesday."
******************
Deaths = one beheaded


Sunday, March 3, 2024

The Blue Geranium


 The Blue Geranium (1941) by Dolan Birkley (Dolores Hitchens)

Janet Cooper, diving instructor at the Hotel Quillan discovers the wealthy Nina Arkwright hacked to death in one of the women's dressing rooms at poolside. She doesn't immediately raise the alarm because she's afraid that the police will hone in on her beloved Joel Markham as prime suspect--especially since he said that Mrs. Arkwright deserved killing not two days before she wound up dead. [I'm not clear on what good she thought a delay would do....] When the janitor goes into the women's rooms to clean up, he finds Nina as well as a cheap green hat that the woman would never have worn a collection of newspaper clippings about an aviator who was lost as sea making a publicity flight in Arkwright's interests, and a broken flowerpot with the blue geranium that it housed--but no weapon. The ax that the killer wielded has disappeared. Only two people were seen leaving the pool area during the crucial period and neither of them could have concealed an ax about their person.

Janet's fears are realized after all those who knew Nina have been interviewed and there are indications--in addition to Joel's incriminating exclamation--that Joel might be the guilty party. It seems that it was likely that Nina was going to kick the scientist off her payroll at a plant where he had made some terrific discoveries. Captain Loring immediately arrests Joel on suspicion of homicide. But Joel doesn't seem worried.

"You'll want a lawyer, I suppose?" Loring said wryly. 

Joel shrugged. "Not right away. You wouldn't let me out anyhow. Take a day or two to find out you've made a mistake."

Janet isn't as confident as Joel and spends the rest of the book playing amateur detective. She blindly goes off to meet mysterious telegram-senders, eavesdrops on conversations, and devises a plan to trap the killer--all without getting herself bumped off in the process. Quite a feat, considering that the killer has no problem killing a second hotel guest with the missing ax when she discovers the secret of the blue geranium. But there are other mysteries to solve before the killer can be pinpointed--why did Nina arrange to have a dinner party with all black decorations--as if for funeral baked meats? Why did she come home late the previous night looking like she'd been in a brawl--with a black eye and bruises? Why did she insist on wearing a cheap green hat which wasn't her style and didn't match what she was wearing? 

This was a fun little mystery--not too difficult to spot the killer, though it took a bit more effort to figure out the exact motive. Janet did get a bit on my nerves towards the end--even after Joel was proved innocent (he was still cooling his heels in jail when the second murder occurred), she was going off on her own and keeping back information from the police. Captain Loring made it clear to her that he was on her side and she still didn't share things. She's fortunate that her meddling didn't get her into bigger trouble than it did. Pretty fairly clued. I didn't pick up on a crucial piece that would have helped with the motive. Very enjoyable.  ★★ and 1/2

First line: Janet felt the wind freshen as she mounted the ladder to the diving platform, but she was warmer because the sun reached her here.

I see I'm going to have to warn you against meddling. Don't think I'm sore on my own account. Amateurs usually play right into the hands of the police, as you did tonight. What I'm thinking of is your own safety. Suppose that telegram had been sent by someone who decided it shouldn't be known at any cost? [Captain Loring; pp. 69-70]

If you're thinking of blackmailing this person you suspect of killing Nina, you'd better give up the idea. Murderers don't blackmail well, from what I've read. [Janet Cooper; p. 73]

Only God understands a woman's mind, Miss Cooper. Begging your pardon for saying it. [Loring; p. 124]

I'm beginning to think that the people in this thing wouldn't know the truth if they met it out walking. [Loring; p. 145]

Last line: It was then, and at last, that she knew the fearful part was over.
***********************

Deaths = 4 (two hit with axe; one airplane accident; one fell from height)

Saturday, March 2, 2024

One by One They Disappeared


 One by One They Disappeared (1929) by Moray Dalton (Katherine Dalton Renoir)

Inspector Collier goes to a hotel for dinner with friends a few days before taking off on a holiday to Rapallo in Italy. By chance, he strikes up a conversation with Elbert J. Pakenham, a New York millionaire who is also waiting for dinner companions. Pakenham is one of nine survivors of the Coptic, a vessel sunk during the first World War. Each year he hosts a dinner for his fellow survivors and gives them a small gift--a token of his appreciation for their taking such good care of an old man while they waited rescue. Last year, he made an even bigger gesture--telling them all that since his nephew died he has made them joint beneficiaries of his will. The inspector happens to see the first of the men to arrive, a blind man named Raymond and a Mr. Freyne.

The morning Collier is preparing to leave for Italy, he reads a story in the newspaper with the headline "FATAL ACCIDENT TO BLIND PIANO TUNER." that makes him change his plans. He recognizes the name of the blind man as that of the man on his way to the anniversary dinner with Pakenham. All of his alarm bells are going off and he decides to take a busman's holiday rather than a trip to Italy (though Italy will play its part in the drama to come). His unofficial investigation reveals that several of the Coptic's survivors have met with fatal "accidents" in the past year and he begins to suspect that someone wants to make sure that the lion's share of Pakenham's estate will come to them. And when his bet friend, Inspector Trask, who has been assisting him with his investigation is nearly killed by an accident clearly intended for Collier, he's sure he's right.

Then Mr. Pakenham goes missing--on a trip of his own to Italy where he just might meet with one of those fatal accidents...will the wily old American and the British inspector be able to beat a clever killer at his own game?

******Warning--a bit of a spoiler ahead. Read at your own risk.******

This is the first of Dalton's Inspector Collier mysteries and as a first in series, it's pretty good. Collier is not your super detective. He makes lots of mistakes along the way and, honestly, Pakenham seems a bit quicker on the uptake in a few of the situations. But Collier is a likeable detective and one hopes that he will get better at the detecting game as the series goes along. The plot is (now) a well-worn one--a tontine-style will where the portions get bigger as the number of potential heirs decreases. But Dalton does well with it and creates some memorable moments along the way. The two things which would have made this better: a stronger detective and a less obvious suspect. The only thing I couldn't quite figure out was how the motive worked for the culprit. The connection isn't nearly as obvious and I don't see how the reader could have figured it out before being told at the end. All that said--an entertaining beginning in a book that was a quick read. I plan to read more by Dalton.

Curtis Evans provides a great introduction to this reprint edition which contains much background information on Dalton. He says: "Only now coming back into print, Moray Dalton (really Katherine Mary Dalton Renoir) resembles the Crime Queens in many ways, having a decided knack for narrative and characterization. Yet for me she is a bit less “posh” (there’s that word again) of a writer than Sayers, Allingham and Marsh and explores sexual and class dynamics in Thirties and Forties Britain in more original ways.  See, for example, Death in the Cup and The Strange Case of Harriet Hall, which have some truly striking and refreshing situations. I think that Dalton, who seems to have lived life as something of a privileged outsider, may have been more of a forerunner of the modern crime novel than these other, more famous women, estimable as they are.  Her primary sleuth, Hugh Collier, is an appealing young police detective." 

 ★★ and 1/2.

First line: As Inspector Collier entered the hotel lounge he glanced in a mildly inquiring manner at the three men who were sitting together at one of the little tables on his left.

Men expected one to take their advice without question, and they did not like one to be nervous and full of fancies. (p. 17)

Last line: And then, hurriedly, as if ashamed of his lapse, God bless her!
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Deaths =  9 (three natural; one enemy action; one fell from height; one hit by car; one blood poisoning; one suffocated; one stabbed)

Friday, March 1, 2024

Thursday, February 29, 2024

The Moneypenny Diaries


 The Moneypenny Diaries (2005) by Kate Westbrook

Synopsis [from the book]: Miss Moneypenny's experience with mystery stretches all the way back to her childhood in Africa, when her father inexplicably disappeared in action during World War II. Now, as a young woman in 1960s London, Miss Moneypenny unknowingly stumbles upon her father's trail. In a position like hers, there's no file she can't access, and no document she can't read. Yet Miss Moneypenny is forced to decide whether it's worth risking everything--her job, her safety, and even international security--for the possibility of finding her father alive.

A life of espionage has personal as well as political ramifications. For Jane Moneypenny, the price is high. Romantic relationships with outsiders are necessarily built on lies, and she automatically questions the motives of every man she grows close to. For as her diary quickly reveals, Miss Moneypenny is involved in far more than office politics.

Guarding so many secrets and with no one to confide in, she finds herself breaking the first rule of espionage. Unbeknownst to anyone, she keeps a diary charting her innermost thoughts and state secrets.
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Billed as "the explosive, true, private diaries of Miss Jane Moneypenny, personal secretary to Secret Service Chief M and colleague and confidante of James Bond," this is pretty disappointing. There's not a whole lot of Bond--except for during the far more exciting last few chapters where he and Moneypenny share a spy adventure. Most of the time he's off getting drunk and drowning his sorrows over losing his beloved Tracy. I'm not blaming him for being upset, mind you, I just don't think it's fair to make it sound like you're going to get all the inside dope on Bond when he's so conspicuous in his absence. In fact, for an espionage-adjacent book, there's not a whole lot of action going on--again, until the very end. If the entire book had been that exciting..then it would have come closer to meeting my expectations.

This is meant to read like nonfiction--with Jane's niece supposedly going to all kinds of trouble to cross-reference and prove the validity of all these incidents. Which makes this read like a dry-as-dust historical account for about 90% of the book. It would be a heck of a lot more interesting if the story had just been told through Moneypenny's diaries and without all the footnotes and editorializing by Jane Moneypenny's niece. It has a great hook--with Moneypenny wanting to investigate what really happened to her father--but really poor execution. ★★

First line (Intro): The first entry I read was dated 6 July 1962, and began. "007 leaves for the Caribbean today."

Last line: And if he doesn't, I'm going out to look for him too.
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Deaths =  9 (one shot; one natural; three blown up; two suicide; one suffocated; one executed)