Review: Octagon House by Phoebe Atwood Taylor

Quanomet was a forgotten hamlet on Cape Cod. While other towns on the Cape had flourished, Quanomet had gone down hill. Then Quanomet gained a brand new large post office, and in that post office was a mural which made every citizen either laugh or grow very angry because it was filled with caricatures of the leading citizens of the town. The mural had been painted by Jack Lorne, with the possible assistance of his wife Marina. Quite possibly it might have been the reason why Marina was found stabbed to death with a knife which belonged to her sister Pam Frye.

Enter Asey Mayo who had been called "The Hayseed Sherlock" and The "Homespun Sleuth" by the newspapers who had reported on crimes which he has solved. He was a good friend of Pam Frye who had just had come into a great piece of luck. She had found a very large piece of ambergris on the shore. This ambergris would bring in enough money to solve the financial problems of Pam and her father. Unfortunately, Marina, who was greedy and selfish, also knew about the ambergris and wanted a very large amount if not all of the money. Then the ambergris  disappeared. Pam had hidden it, and somebody else had found the hiding place and stolen it.

Asey uses his folksy ways and knowledge of the area to try to solve both the murder and to locate the ambergris. There will also be another murder, and some fires. This book is a cozy written in 1937. The characters are curious and the descriptions of the crimes is rather mild. Octagon houses were built in the United States starting in 1850, and there is still one existing in Barnstable on Cape Cod.

The book has been reissued by Foul Play Press, and is available at Amazon.

Review: The Four False Weapons by John Dickson Carr

A revolver, a razor, a stiletto, and poison were all found at the murder scene. The master of mystery John Dickson Carr combines  these elements into a mystery novel of great complexity.

Ralph Douglas had in the past a romantic relationship with Rose Klonec; they had their affair at the Villa Marbre near Paris. But the affair ended, and Ralph now wants to marry Magda Toller. Ralph has reasons to suspect that something strange is going on at the now deserted Villa. His London lawyer, Richard Curtis, come to Paris to help with the investigation. When Ralph and Richard go to the Villa Marbre, they find the villa has indeed been used lately, and they find the body of Rose Klonec who has been murdered.

There are too many weapons and too many clues. The master detective Bencolin comes out of retirement to take on the case. He was living on land that he owned near the Villa, and was devoting his retirement to reading mind-improving books. He says "I am at present in the midst of an epic poem which is devoted chiefly to repeating every line three times. It appears to concern a Red Indian family living near a place incredibly called Gitchee-Gumee" No wonder he was eager to undertake the solution of this mystery.

The list of suspects grows as it was found that Rosa Klonec had a secret occupation. The Paris newspapers print interesting solutions to the crime. Especially curious are the articles which are signed Auguste Dupin. Several alternate solutions are proposed, and the suspense builds up to a game of cards at the smoked filled  Corpses Club, a gambling establishment for the very wealthy.

This is book for the reader who like complicated puzzle mysteries. It also give an interesting look at the techniques of scientific investigation in 1937. The card player will find the rules of the card game of Basset which is called the game of kings because only the incredibly wealthy could afford to play it.

The book was published in 1937. A modern reprinting does not seem to available.

Review: The White Cottage Mystery by Margery Allingham

The White Cottage Mystery is Margery Allingham's first detective story. The story was written as a serial which appeared in the Daily Express. As a serial, each publication included a segment which recapitulated events in the story. Joyce Allingham, Margery's sister, edited the serial and removed these recapituations, and  The White Cottage Mystery was published in book form in 1928. The first Campion novel, The Crime at Black Dudley, was published in 1929.

The story has several elements which would make it a good serial in its day. The murder victim, Eric Crowther, the victim of a shotgun blast, is so obnoxious and evil that everybody is pleased with his death. As part of his personal psychological experiments, he had threatened and intimidated his employees and the Christensen family who live in the White Cottage which is the house next to Crowther's. There is mention of a group of wealthy people who are involved in stealing art, and a mysterious Italian who runs away at a critical moment. Much of the story takes place in France. The mystery is investigated by Detective Chief Inspector W. T. Challoner and his son Jerry. Challoner is challenged by the facts that everybody wanted Crowther dead, and that he cannot find any evidence that any of them actually did the crime. The solution of the crime is indeed unexpected.

This book will mainly be enjoyed by fans of Margery Allingham who wish to read her very early work. It has been reissued and is available at Amazon in paperback and e-book formats.

Review: Murder within Murder by Francis and Richard Lockridge

"Miss Amelia Gipson presented a firm front to the world; she stood for no nonsense" Miss Gipson was a full-figured fifty two year old woman. She had firm moral opinions, and she had no hesitation in pointing out the moral failures of others. Indeed, she felt that it was her moral duty to point out the laxity of others

She had left her position as a professor of Latin at Ward College, a New England woman's college. She was now living in New York city, and was employed at North Books as a researcher. She was doing research for a book, My Favorite Murder, in which each chapter would deal with a well known murder, and would be written by a different author. Miss Gipson was doing research for three of the chapters.  It was the evening of Sept. 11th when she was poisoned in the New York Public Library while working on research for the Purdy poisoning case.

There were several possible suspects in the case. Miss Gipson managed the trust fund for her niece and nephew, both of whom had a reason to wish her dead. It could have been someone from the days when she taught at Ward College. It could be someone involved in one of
the old murder cases which she was researching who was afraid that she would unearth something incriminating.

Lieutenant Bill Weigand of the New York is assigned to the case, and Pam and Jerry North assist him. I found it difficult to believe that suspects would answer police questions with Pam and Jerry present,

This book was written in 1946, and the effects of the war still exist. Best of all is the efforts of Pam to make butter from whipping cream since it was so difficult butter at a store.

Review: Ride the Pink Horse by Dorothy B. Hughes

 

Sailor has come from Chicago to a small city (Santa Fe?) in New Mexico to get money from the Sen who is ex-senator Willis Douglas of Illinois. In the past, Sailor had worked for the Sen as his secretary.

Sailor arrives in the city and discovers that the Fiesta is going on. He cannot find a hotel room; they are all filled for the fiesta. Leaving his heavy suitcase at the desk at one of the hotels, he goes out to see the Fiesta and find the Sen. He walks into a world that he does not understand. There are Hispanics, Indians, and Gringos. They are speaking Spanish which he doesn't understand.

The descriptions are wonderful. The smell, the noise, the crowd pushing and shoving, the cheapness of everything, and the enjoyment the crowd seems to find in it all. Sailor comes to an old hand-operated Merry-Go-Round called Tio Vivo and meets the owner whom he calls Pancho. Pancho is an indian and will later in the book become a friend of Sailor.

Sailor also encounters McIntyre, a policeman from Chicago, who is here to watch the Sen. He is here to find out who murdered the senator's wife. McIntyre has gotten a fiesta costume of a red sash and a black hat with baubles. He seems to be everywhere and sees everything that Sailor does.

Sailor is isolated and afraid. He has no place to spend the night, he doesn't understand the people or the language. He is caught between his disdain of the poor people at the Fiesta, and his hatred of the rich people who have rooms at the best hotel in the city. He is afraid of both the Sen and McIntyre. He puts his faith in the revolver that he clutches in the right pocket of his jacket.

This is an excellent Noir novel. It was published in 1946. It has been reissued and is available at Amazon. It was made into a movie in 1947 which starred Robert Montgomery.

Review: Envious Casca by Georgette Heyer

Ah, Christmas - snow, mistletoe, bickering, fighting, dislike, distrust. This is the scene at Lexham Manor, the home of wealthy Nathaniel Herriard. His optimistic, cheerful brother Joseph has organized a Christmas party to bring together members of the family. There is his nephew Stephen who has brought his fiance Valerie. There is his niece Paula, an aspiring actress, who has brought Willoughby Royden, an aspiring writer of drama. Actually,  he has written only one play. Paula hopes to star in it, and also hopes Uncle Nathaniel will provide money to produce it. Added to this group is Mathilda Clare, a distant cousin, and Edgar Mottisfort, Nathaniel's business partner. And also, one of the most curious members of the group, Maud, Joseph's wife, who is bland, speaks very little, and is very, very fond of reading books about the life of royals.

Hostilities among the members of the group grow as Christmas Eve progresses culminating in the reading of Royden's play in the evening. Nathaniel hates the play and angrily goes off to his room where he is found dead the next morning. He had been stabbed in a room with all of the doors locked and the windows closed and difficult to reach. Scotland Yard is contacted, and Inspector Hemingway and Sargent Ware arrive to find the murderer.

This book is a gem. This book is worth reading just for the witty dialogue. Clues to who did it and how it was done are there, and the diligent reader may figure this out before Inspector Hemingway does.

This book was published in 1941. It has been reissued and is available on Amazon.

Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge: 2013

The Challenge is to read from 8 or more vintage mystery novels during the year 2013. These books must be from the Scattergories which have been defined by the clever person who issued this challenge. All books must be vintage as defined as having published before 1960.

More information may be found at the My Reader's Block Blog

Vintage Scattergories:

1. Colorful Crime: a book with a color or reference to color in the title
2. Murder by the Numbers: a book with a number, quantity in the title
3. Amateur Night: a book with a "detective" who is not a P.I.; Police Officer; Official Investigator (Nurse Keate, Father Brown, Miss Marple, etc.)
4. Leave It to the Professionals: a book featuring cops, private eyes, secret service, professional spies, etc.
5. Jolly Old England: one mystery set in Britain
6. Yankee Doodle Dandy: one mystery set in the United States
7. World Traveler: one mystery set in any country except the US or Britain
8. Dangerous Beasts: a book with an animal in the title (The Case of the Grinning Gorilla; The Canary Murder Case; etc.)
9. A Calendar of Crime: a mystery with a date/holiday/year/month/etc. in the title (Hercule Poirot's Christmas, Holiday Homicide, etc.)
10. Wicked Women: a book with a woman in the title--either by name (Mrs. McGinty's Dead) or by reference (The Case of the Vagabound Virgin)
11. Malicious Men: a book with a man in the title--either by name (Maigret & the Yellow Dog) or by reference (The Case of the Haunted Husband)
12. Murderous Methods : a book with a means of death in the title (The Noose, 5 Bullets, Deadly Nightshade, etc).
13. Staging the Crime: a mystery set in the entertainment world (the theater, musical event, a pageant, Hollywood, featuring a magician, etc)
14. Scene of the Crime: a book with the location of the crime in the title (The Body in the Library, Murder at the Vicarage, etc.)
15. Cops & Robbers: a book that features a theft rather than murder
16. Locked Rooms: a locked-room mystery
17. Country House Criminals: a standard (or not-so-standard) Golden Age country house murder
18. Murder on the High Seas: a mystery involving water
19. Planes, Trains & Automobiles: a mystery that involves a mode of transportation in a vital way--explicitly in the title (Murder on the Orient Express) or by implication (Death in the Air; Death Under Sail) or perhaps the victim was shoved under a bus....
20. Murder Is Academic: a mystery involving a scholar, teacher, librarian, etc.  OR set at a school, university, library, etc.
21. Things That Go Bump in the Night: a mystery with something spooky, creepy, gothic in the title (The Skeleton in the Clock, Haunted Lady, The Bat, etc.)
22. Repeat Offenders: a mystery featuring your favorite series detective or by your favorite author (the books/authors you'd read over and over again) OR reread an old favorite
23. The Butler Did It...Or Not: a mystery where the butler is the victim, the sleuth....(gasp) the criminal....or is just downright memorable for whatever reason.
24. A Mystery By Any Other Name: any book that has been published under more than one title (Murder Is Easy--aka Easy to Kill [Christie]; Fog of Doubt--aka London Particular [Christianna Brand], etc.)
25. Dynamic Duos: a mystery featuring a detective team--Holmes & Watson, Pam & Jerry North, Wolfe & Goodwin, or....a little-known team that you introduce to us.
26. Size Matters: a book with a size or measurement in the title (Death Has a Small Voice, The Big Four, The Weight of the Evidence, etc.)
27. Psychic Phenomena: a mystery featuring a seance, medium, hypnotism, or other psychic or "supernatural" characters/events
28. Book to Movie: one vintage mystery that has appeared on screen (feature film or TV movie).
29. The Old Bailey: a courtroom drama mystery (Perry Mason, anyone? Witness for the Prosecution...etc.) OR a mystery featuring a judge, lawyer, barrister, D.A., etc.

The books which I have read so far:

The White Cottage Mystery  by Margery Allingham, 1928. Category 1, Colorful Crime.

Four False Weapons  by John Dickson Carr, 1937. Category 2, Murder by the Numbers.

The Long Divorce  by Edmund Crispen, 1951. Category 4, Jolly Old England.

The 12:30 from Croydon  by Freeman Wills Crofts, 1934. Category 5, Leave it to the Professionals. Inspector French investigates.

Octagon House  by Phoebe Atwood Taylor,  1937. Category 6, Yankee Doodle Dandy.

Appointment with Death  by Agatha Christie, 1937. Category 7, World Traveler. This book is set in Palestine and Jordan.

Ride the Pink Horse by Dorothy B. Hughes, 1946. Category 8,  Dangerous Beasts.

Spinsters in Jeopardy  by Ngaio Marsh, 1953. Category 10, Wicked Women.

Behold, Here's Poison  by Georgette Heyer, 1936. Category 12, Murderous Method.

The Night at the Vulcan  by Ngaio Marsh, 1951. Category 13, Staging the Crime. The action takes place at the Vulcan Theatre.

Envious Casca  by Georgette Heyer, 1941. Category 16, Locked Room.

The White Priory Murders  by Carter Dickson, 1934. Category 17, Country House Criminals.

The Mystery of the Hansom Cab  by Fergus Hume, 1886. Category 19, Planes, Trains and Automobiles. This book involves a mode of transportation in a very important way.

Holy Disorders by Edmund Crispin, 1945. The mystery is solved by Oxford professor Gervaise Fen. Category 20. Murder is Academic.

Murder within Murder  by Francis and Richard Lockridge, 1946. Category 25, Dynamic Duos.

Seeing is Believing by Carter Dickson, 1941. Category 27, Psychic Phenomena. There is hypnotism involved in the crime.

Review: Behold, Here's Poison by Georgette Heyer

Georgette Heyer is best know for her romances set in the regency period. She also wrote 12 mystery novels which are in the style of the English country house mystery. These books are witty and well plotted.

In Behold, Here's Poison, Gregory Matthews, wealthy head of the Matthews family, dies from a dose of poison. He leaves behind a group of relatives who do not seem to be grieving because of his death. His sister, Miss Matthews, continues in her very economical running of the house. His sister, Mrs. Lupton continues to lord it over the rest of the family. His sister-in-law, Mrs. Matthews, continues to do very little. His niece Stella still plans to marry Dr. Fielding; Gregory Matthews was much opposed to this alliance. His nephew, Guy, is much relieved because Gregory was planning to send him to work in the family business in Brazil, and Guy did not want to go. And then there is Randall Matthews who is cynical, insulting, but well dressed, and despised by the rest of the family. Randall stands to inherit most of Gregory's money, but Randall could not have done the murder.

Into this family setting come Superintendent Hannasyde and Sargent Hemmingway. They find the family to be very unhelpful, and rather unwilling to find the murderer. The nature of the poison and the method of administering it also present difficult problems. In the end, the case is cleared up in some unexpected ways.

If you enjoy country house mysteries, this book is your cup of tea. The book was originally published in 1936. It is still available at Amazon.