mysteries Archives - Page 2 of 17

Rip-Off

Books, General Suggestions, Getting Away with Murder, Mike Ripley, Modern Masters, mysteries, mystery, Weblogs Comments Off

May 022013

"Rip-off" is actually meant to be a two part headline. To begin with the second part, I am off to the Malice Domestic conference, which runs from Friday through Sunday, featuring hundreds of authors and fans, not to mention the Agatha Awards, which will be presented Saturday night.

In my absence, let me recommend the column referenced in the first half of the headline: Mike Ripley's latest monthly Getting Away with Murder column for the Shots Crime and Thriller Ezine. As always, it is filled with news and opinions about assorted crime fiction matters based mostly in Europe. Among other points, there are several that should interest readers of classic mysteries, including word of a new book from Catherine Aird and a number of republications of vintage classics.

The Ripster, as he is known, also provides the usual insights into his philosophy, including this gem: "For those of us who are infirm, crippled by taxes or subject to a variety of Passport restrictions, crime fiction is a relatively painless way of touring the world without risking (yet again) a diplomatic incident." Point well taken. In any case, enjoy the latest column.

“Vultures in the Sky”

classic mysteries, Golden Age, Mexican mysteries, My Readers Block, mysteries, mystery, Reading Challenges, vintage mystery reading challenge Comments Off

Apr 292013

The Mexicans call them zopilotes; in English they are turkey vultures - giant birds that feast primarily on the dead flesh of other animals. Certainly, it cannot be a harbinger of anything good when they are seen flying over a train making its way from Monterrey to Mexico City. It is enough to make the passengers extremely nervous. And that was before the murders really began.

That's the situation we find in a marvelous, largely forgotten book called Vultures in the Sky, by Todd Downing. First published in 1935, at the heart of the American Golden Age of Detective Fiction, it features Downing's series detective, U. S. Customs Service agent Hugh Rennert, who finds himself on this nightmare of a train journey, trapped with a murderer who seems to be killing off the other first-class passengers pretty much at will. Vultures in the Sky is the subject of today's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the entire review by clicking here.

There is a great deal going on aboard - and around - the little train, making its way across Mexico. Hugh Rennert must try to determine why (and how) some of the passengers are being murdered. At the same time, there is an ominous sense that there is a much broader and deadlier danger looming. There is talk of a general strike by Pullman Company workers (the first-class passengers are all traveling in the Pullman cars of the train), possible sabotage and - as the train breaks down more than once along its journey - the possibility exists of some kind of assault against the train. There may also be a connection to a recent spectacular and deadly kidnapping case. And, all the time, above the train, the vultures are flying, perhaps attracted by the smell of death...

Downing juggles all these plot threads admirably, keeping the reader guessing - although it is most definitely a "fair-play" mystery, with clues that, when properly deciphered, can lead the reader to the correct solution.

Long out-of-print, Todd Downing's novels are back in trade paperback editions from Coachwhip Publications. These editions feature a new introduction by mystery scholar Curtis Evans, providing excellent and fascinating background information about Downing and his books, particularly his use of Mexico as the setting for the books, which Evans says "is his most significant contribution to the genre." In addition, Downing's fascinating characters and the brooding atmosphere which hovers over the book rather like the vultures themselves make Vultures in the Sky a book that should not be missed.

This book is my seventh entry in the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge at the My Reader's Block blog. I am entering it in the category, "World Traveler": one mystery set in any country except the US or Britain. If you haven't checked out some of the first-rate books showing up in this challenge, use the link in this paragraph to see what you're missing.

Here Comes Malice

General Suggestions, Malice Domestic, MD25, Modern Masters, mysteries, mystery Comments Off

Apr 242013

I'm getting ready for next week's visit to Bethesda, MD, and the 25th annual Malice Domestic conference. I see that the conference has sold out - registration has been closed, with something over 600 people set to attend. By my (probably inaccurate) count, about a quarter to a third of that number will be mystery authors, ready to meet with, entertain, instruct and sign books for their readers.

So...anyone else heading that way? If so...I hope to see you there. I've been to several past Malice Domestic conferences and enjoyed them thoroughly. This one is shaping up to be another great weekend.

“Make No Bones”

Aaron Elkins, classic mysteries, Funny Mysteries, Malice Domestic, MD25, Modern Masters, mysteries, mystery, Police procedurals Comments Off

Apr 152013

With the annual Malice Domestic conference coming up in less than three weeks, I thought it was high time that I made the acquaintance of some of the fine authors of traditional mysteries who will be honored at the event. One of the honorees this year will be Aaron Elkins, who will be receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, and I thought it would be good to start by reading one of the books in his primary series featuring the "Skeleton Detective," Dr. Gideon Oliver. Have I been missing a lot?

Well...frankly...yes. I may be late to the party, but I found Dr. Oliver a most enjoyable companion, as he led me through a rudimentary appreciation of forensic anthropology, the scientific study of human remains, in an often funny, if sometimes grisly, mystery.

I found a good example of what that means - and how Gideon Oliver puts together the fragments of a mysterious death to reveal a pretty shocking crime - in "Make No Bones," originally published in 1991, and the seventh book in Elkins' continuing series. It's the subject of this week's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the full review by clicking here.

In "Make No Bones," members of the Western Association of Forensic Anthropologists are gathering for their biennial get-together - what the organizer calls the group’s "eagerly anticipated bone bash and weenie roast." It’s a combination of a scientific business conference, with academic discussions of forensic science and anthropology, together with a social gathering. The problem, this year, is that the organizer has chosen to hold it at Whitebark Lodge, in Oregon, where the association was formed, ten years earlier. That original ill-fated conference had ended in tragedy, as Albert Evan Jasper, called the “dean of American forensic anthropologists,” died in a fiery bus crash. As the scientists gather again a decade later at Whitebark Lodge, there will be unpleasant surprises in store – not to mention murders, old and new to be solved. It will be up to Gideon Oliver, working with his wife, Julie, and their friend, FBI Agent John Lau, to unravel a grisly set of clues to reveal a deadly secret.

There's a fair amount of police procedure here, and some insight into how these forensic scientists go about finding clues in a handful of bones or bone fragments. But it's also a traditional mystery, with considerable fair play and some very nicely hidden clues. And there's a lot of humor - sometimes very dark, to be sure, but also quite funny. I thoroughly enjoyed "Make No Bones," and I'm looking forward to meeting Aaron Elkins and hearing him speak at Malice Domestic.

Unlocking the Locked Room

classic mysteries, impossible crimes, John Pugmire, Locked Room International, locked room mysteries, Locked Rooms/Impossible Crimes, LRI, mysteries, mystery, Paul Halter, Web/Tech, Weblogs Comments Off

Apr 102013

One of the genres I most enjoy is the locked room mystery and its broader implementation as the "impossible crime" story. All of Clyde B. Clason's works fall into that sphere. So do most of the works of John Dickson Carr, the acknowledged master of the field. Many other mystery authors, from the Golden Age and beyond, have written in the genre, with varying degrees of success.

So it's important, I think, to recognize that there are still authors writing today who specialize in locked room detective stories. Many of them, unfortunately, do not write in English, and translations are not always easy to find.

Enter translator John Pugmire, whom I mentioned earlier on this blog for his terrific work translating the contemporary French locked-room mystery author, Paul Halter. Pugmire now has begun a website devoted to the genre, called Locked Room International. I like the way he defines the genre:

"What is a locked room mystery? It is ideally a mystery which follows Golden Age Rules about providing fair clues to the reader and also poses the question: how was it done? A "locked room" is a special case of the more general "impossible crime," in which one or more victims are discovered dead in what appear to be impossible circumstances (hermetically sealed room, no footprints in the snow, inaccessible site, etc.) It makes no pretense to be probable, no attempt to analyze the human condition, and no effort to probe the detective's foibles. Its purpose is purely and simply to baffle while entertaining. It challenges the mind, not the heart or the spirit."

The site is still pretty basic, and we are promised additions and improvements as it is developed. It's not primarily a blog. Locked Room International is involved in publishing (as print-on-demand and/or e-book editions) good, English-language translations of locked-room masterpieces by Paul Halter and others; there are hints that we may eventually see translated versions from a modern Japanese master of the form.

The site is well worth a visit from anyone interested in the genre. I have more Halter books in my ever-massive "To Be Read" pile, and I'm looking forward to them and other LRI books.

Hat tip to the Golden Age of Detective Fiction mail group on Yahoo, which alerted me to the existence of this new LRI website.

“Blind Drifts”

classic mysteries, GAD, Golden Age, Golden Age of Detective Fiction, ILAM, ILoveAMystery Newsletter; locked rooms, impossible crimes, Locked Rooms/Impossible Crimes, mysteries, mystery, Reading Challenges Comments Off

Apr 082013

When one of the directors of the Virgin Queen Gold Mine was shot, deep inside the mine, it happened in front of seven witnesses. Unfortunately, none of them apparently saw the shot fired, nor did they have any idea who might have fired it. And there was no sign of a gun. It was, to be blunt, an impossible situation. So it was probably a good thing that one of the witnesses on hand was a professor of Roman history and amateur detective named Theocritus Lucius Westborough, a man who had earned something of a reputation for solving impossible crime puzzles. He does so again in "Blind Drifts," a 1937 "impossible crime" novel by Clyde B. Clason which is the subject of today's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast. You can listen to the full review by clicking here.

Professor Westborough, having inherited a large amount of stock in the Virgin Queen mine from his brother, finds himself at the mine in Baddington, Colorado and caught in the middle of a power struggle between two groups of directors seeking control of the mine. The more he investigates, the more he finds himself caught up in the remarkable violence that seems to befall some of the key players in the power struggle. Another of the mine’s directors has vanished, and may be the victim of foul play. That director’s daughter has also vanished, last having been seen walking onto the campus of the local university – and apparently vanishing. As the situation grows more complicated and dangerous, the local sheriff is more than happy to have assistance from Professor Westborough.

In the 1930s, writing during America's Golden Age of Detective Fiction, Clyde B. Clason made a reputation for himself as an author with a knack for coming up with ingenious locked room/impossible crime situations. Although I find his stories are less exciting than those of John Dickson Carr, whose gift for creating eerie atmospheres was unequalled, I think Clason's books about Professor Westborough are clever and quite enjoyable. "Blind Drifts" takes the reader into a very unusual world - a world of gold mining, drifts, adits, crosscuts, stopes, vugs, strikes and more. The action is fairly slow to start, but once it picks up and the bodies start falling, and believe me they do, it moves to a good, tight conclusion.

"Blind Drifts" is another book read for the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge under way at Bev's Reader's Block blog. I'm putting it in the category called Amateur Night: a book with a "detective" who is not a P.I., police officer, official.

It's also another book which I have reviewed for the I Love a Mystery newsletter, edited by Sally Powers, who has graciously given me her permission to use portions of that review here and on my podcast. She also provided me with a copy of the new Rue Morgue Press edition of "Blind Drifts" for my review.

“Three at Wolfe’s Door”

classic mysteries, mysteries, mystery, Nero Wolfe, Private Eyes, Rex Stout, Short Stories Comments Off

Apr 012013

Who's that knocking at my door?

Why it's three nasty little murder cases!

First, there's the problem of the gourmet who found that the arsenic sprinkled on his appetizer really didn't agree with him at all.

Then there was the female cab driver who pulled up outside the door...with a dead body in the back seat.

And finally, there was a party for some visiting rodeo stars where a visitor died rather suddenly when somebody decided to practice a fancy rope toss that wound up around the guest's neck.

We're talking about three interesting cases for Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin in "Three at Wolfe's Door," by Rex Stout. The 1960 collection of three novellas is the subject of today's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the full review by clicking here.

It's worth pointing out that none of these cases which landed at Wolfe's door made Nero Wolfe particularly happy - but he wound up having to solve all of them, for a variety of reasons. After all, that deadly gourmet dinner was prepared by his own personal chef, Fritz Brenner. That cab driver showed up just as Archie had walked off the job, so Wolfe really had to get involved as well. And that deadly little party for the rodeo stars took place in the apartment of Archie's close friend, Lily Rowan, who promptly hired Wolfe to find out who had abused her hospitality.

I would argue that many of Rex Stout's novella-length mysteries are better than many of his full-length books, and I think that's the case with these three novellas. Yes, there are some better ones in other collections, but this is a thoroughly enjoyable collection displaying the talents of Nero Wolfe, Archie Goodwin and Rex Stout quite nicely. It seems to be available both in paper and as an e-book, and you should add it to your To Be Read pile.

Vintage Mystery Challenge: Crispin’s “Case of the Gilded Fly”

classic mysteries, Funny Mysteries, Locked Rooms/Impossible Crimes, mysteries, mystery, Reading Challenges, vintage mystery reading challenge Comments Off

Mar 272013

Here's another book, reviewed here earlier this year, that should be noted as part of the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge over on the Bev's Readers' Block blog.

First published in 1944, "The Case of the Gilded Fly," by Edmund Crispin, was the first mystery to feature the sleuthing talents of Oxford University Professor Gervase Fen. It is the story of murder among a theatrical troupe - an apparently impossible murder, in a locked room. The victim apparently was shot at point-blank range...but witnesses are prepared to swear that nobody but the victim was in the room. Yet suicide was equally impossible, not least because there's no gun in the room. As one of the police officers observes, rather gloomily, Fen proves pretty clearly that it couldn't have been suicide, while other witnesses prove that it couldn't have been murder, so the only obvious solution must be that it never happened in the first place.

As with all of Crispin's novels, "The Case of the Gilded Fly" has some first-rate touches of humor, as well as some truly horrifying scenes. The writing is wonderful, the characters are entertaining and distinctive, and Professor Fen is in his glory.

I am entering this in the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge in category 16, Locked Rooms. I do recommend checking out some of the other books that are being read and reviewed by other participants in the challenge - or, perhaps, you'd like to join in the challenge yourself? You'll find details at the link.

“A Hearse on May-Day”

classic mysteries, GAD, General Suggestions, Golden Age, Golden Age of Detective Fiction, mrs. bradley, mysteries, mystery Comments Off

Mar 252013

“No maiden be safe, except under lock and key, at the Mayering of Seven Wells.”

That extremely odd, and rather ominous, warning is given to a young woman named Fenella Lestrange. Her car having broken down in the tiny English village of Seven Wells on the afternoon before May Day - the festival the locals call "Mayering" - she has no choice but to spend the night at the local pub. But the locals warn her to stay locked in her room, for her own safety.

Fenella, not being one to pay attention to efforts to restrict her freedom, rather naturally refuses to stay locked up. That, in turn, leads to a number of very bizarre adventures which, eventually, will involve Fenella's great-aunt, Dame Beatrice Bradley, in an investigation of a local murder. And that's really just the beginning of "A Hearse on May-Day," by Gladys Mitchell, featuring one of England's more eccentric detective characters, Mrs. Bradley, a woman of amazingly keen intellect, reptilian appearance and a truly appalling sense of fashion. "A Hearse on May-Day" is the subject of today's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the entire review by clicking here.

Fenella is a strong-willed young woman, and she is determined to find out what is going on in Seven Wells. What she discovers, among other things, is some distinctly odd fertility rites, an odd gathering of people wearing face masks and costumes based on the signs of the zodiac, and a number of local residents who are muttering ominously about a decided shortage of skeletons. She also hears about the murder of the local squire, who is to be buried on May Day. When Fenella leaves the village the next morning, she travels to nearby relatives and gets a visit from her great-aunt, Mrs. Bradley, who has been asked to investigate that murder. Among the many questions to be answered: Why would anyone kill the popular squire? Who are the people hiding behind those Zodiac masks? Why did the original hosts and servants at the pub in Seven Wells disappear suddenly, to be replaced by an entirely new staff? What is the real story behind some newly-uncovered skeletons? And are the very odd activities observed by Fenella on Mayering Eve connected in some way with the murder?

Gladys Mitchell is not as well known in the US as the other "crime queens" of the English "Golden Age," but her mysteries can be thoroughly enjoyable, filled as they are with eccentric (and occasionally downright insane) characters, odd situations, a great deal of very dry and, sometimes, very dark humor and the wonderful personality of Mrs. Bradley. "A Hearse on May-Day" is one of Mitchell's later books, first published in 1972; this edition, from the invaluable Rue Morgue Press, is the book's first American publication. I think it's one of the most accessible (to an American audience) of Mrs. Bradley's appearances. By all means, give it a try.

My thanks again to Sally Powers, of the "I Love a Mystery" newsletter, for letting me use portions of the review which I originally wrote for that publication and for providing me with a copy of the book for review.

“The Chinese Orange Mystery”

classic mysteries, ellery queen, Golden Age, mysteries, mystery, Reading Challenges Comments Off

Mar 182013

The murder which is the centerpiece of "The Chinese Orange Mystery," by Ellery Queen, isn't - technically speaking - an impossible crime, I suppose - even though one door to the room where it happened was bolted and locked while the other one was constantly under observation. But it is most certainly an unusual, apparently inexplicable crime. As the author notes in the foreword to the book, "it might well have been subtitled: The Crime That Was Backwards."

Consider the situation: an unknown man walks into a suite of offices. He is told to wait in the next room. When last seen, he is settling down to read a magazine in that room, all by himself.

When the man is next seen, he is dead. All of his clothes apparently have been removed and then replaced front-to-back on his body. All the furniture in that waiting room has been reversed as well. The pictures in the room have been re-hung to face the walls. Oh, and somebody – presumably the murderer – has taken a couple of giant spears down from their positions hanging on the wall, and has jammed them into the victim’s clothing, so that the spear points look like a couple of gigantic horns growing out of the victim’s head.

And the reader - along with the detectives in the novel - must try to explain why all this has happened. Why has everything been reversed? Who is the dead man - for there are absolutely no identifying marks or labels on the man's clothes or on his body?

"The Chinese Orange Mystery" is the subject of today's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the entire review by clicking here.

"Ellery Queen" was the pen name used by Frederick Dannay and Manfred Lee for their mysteries, as well as the name of their primary detective. This was the eighth of their earliest novels. While a lot of readers and critics prefer some of the author's later books with darker plots, which are less about puzzles and more about character and psychology, I love the early puzzle books, such as "The Chinese Orange Mystery," which originally appeared in 1934. Can you think of a good reason for that most peculiar setting, in which everything has been turned around? It's up to Ellery Queen, the character, to figure it out here - although the reader will be given all the clues as well and challenged to come up with the solution before reading the truth in the last few pages.

"The Chinese Orange Mystery" has been out of print, but the Mysterious Press, through Open Road Media, has brought it back as an e-book in popular formats. The publishers provided me with a copy for my review. Ellery Queen (the author) was one of the most influential American crime writers of traditional, fair-play mysteries. "The Chinese Orange Mystery" is a great example.

This book is another entry in the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge under way at the Reader's Block blog. I'm putting in in category 35, "Genuine Fakes: Authors who wrote under a pseudonym." That would be Dannay and Lee as Ellery Queen. Take a look at some of the many vintage books people are reading for this challenge - you may find some strong temptations there for your own reading pleasure!

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