Some very good news today from Open Road Media, a company which has been making a significant number of Golden Age mysteries, both from the US and from England, available in electronic editions. The latest author to benefit from this treatment is Stuart Palmer, whose series detective, Hildegarde Withers, is one of my perennial favorites. Palmer frequently referred to her more-or-less affectionately as "that meddlesome old battleaxe," but Hildy Withers is nobody's fool, and she makes an interesting team with New York City Inspector Oscar Piper, with whom she maintains a rather prickly friendship.
Palmer created the character of Hildegarde Withers with actress Edna May Oliver in mind, In fact, Oliver did star as Hildy in several popular movies in the mid-1930s, opposite James Gleason as Inspector Piper.
As a general rule, the stories are well-plotted and told with some nice humorous touches. I've already reviewed nine of Palmer's books on this blog, and you can find a full list on the backlist page - just scroll down (the authors are listed alphabetically). I'll be reviewing more books from the series, now that Open Road is making them available. If you haven't met Hildegarde Withers...now is the time! I should mention that Open Road is also publishing some additional Stuart Palmer titles that do not have Hildy - I'll be looking forward to trying them as well.
," by Melville Davisson Post. Brilliant short stories, first appearing in 1918, about Uncle Abner, a nineteenth century pioneer living in the hard mountain country of Western Virginia. Clever plots, memorable characters, beautiful settings. 
," by J. J. Connington. A marvelously nightmarish "English country house" story, with murder taking place inside a giant hedge maze - and the killer apparently on the loose inside the maze with you. 
," by Earl Derr Biggers. The second of six novels written by Biggers to feature Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan., in pursuit of thieves and murderers in the American southwest. 
," by Robert van Gulik.Set in seventh century China, it features Judge Dee, one of my favorite detective characters, as he solves a very tricky murder case. 
," by Paul Halter, a contemporary French author whose work is being compared - quite justifiably - to John Dickson Carr at his best. This one is a marvelous locked room/impossible crime situation, with plenty of unexpected twists. 
," by Arthur Upfield. This author is, I think, shamefully under-appreciated for his Australian mysteries, written during the first half of the 20th century, featuring Detective-Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte, whose inherited brilliance from his Aborigine mother and his Caucasian father make him one of the ablest detectives at solving cases where other police officers have failed. 
," by Elizabeth Daly. She was said to be Agatha Christie's favorite American author, and this book may help you understand why. Her detective, Henry Gamadge, is on hand for a murder at an American country estate, and the sudden twists and turns of the story may leave you breathless. 
," by Patricia Moyes. Inspector Tibbett is on the scene when a man who was certainly alive when he got on the ski lift at the top arrives at the bottom dead from a gunshot wound. I hope this is the first of many Moyes novels to be re-issued. 
," by Stuart Palmer. A strong entry in the series featuring schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers. An impossible crime, great characters (including a foul-mouthed parrot), even an entire rodeo. Lots of fun. 
," by Rex Stout. One of the strongest plots of any book featuring Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin, and the characters are particularly well done, especially a couple of the victims. Read about a book so dangerous that anybody who might have read it is murdered. 
for just $2.99. That includes ALL of the original Sherlock Holmes stories - the four novels and the 56 short stories. It has Hercule Poirot's debut appearance in Agatha Christie's "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" and also her first book about Tommy and Tuppence, "The Secret Adversary." Two of Chesterton's books of Father Brown short stories are here, along with "The Man Who Was Thursday." Ever read E. C. Bentley's "Trent's Last Case"? It's here. And a whole lot more. Sure, there's a lot of "stuff" you may not like - or you may discover some new authors whose works demand exploration. It's worth a shot.
, originally published in the U. S. as "The Three Coffins," now newly re-released as a Kindle book. if you have never read this one, you are in for a treat. What is it about? In the very first paragraph, Carr sets out this challenge to the reader:
," with one of the nicest locked room explanations you'll ever encounter. As Sir Henry reminds you throughout, the solution was simply that the murderer used a "Judas Window" to carry out the crime in a locked and bolted room. What's that, you may ask? Why almost every room has one...if you know where to look...
, by Dorothy L. Sayers, my favorite Lord Peter Wimsey book;
, by Earl Derr Biggers, the book that introduced the great Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan;
, starring Ellery Queen, the detective, and written by Ellery Queen, the writer (Frederick Dannay and Manfred B. Lee), featuring a murder in a crowded Broadway theater.
as well as in electronic formats. I think it makes a great stocking stuffer for any young readers on your gift list - and I hope that they will become as fascinated as we are with this kind of mystery.
," originally published in 1946 and one of the last books in the series. I also did an audio review of the book for the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the full review by clicking here.