The Ringer Returns by Edgar Wallace, 1931

 

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About the author: Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1875-1932) was a prolific British crime writer, journalist and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and countless articles in newspapers and journals (Goodreads). In terms of production, by cranking out one novel per month, he was the British equivalent of Erle Stanley Gardner. See this Wikipedia article.

Major characters:

• Henry Arthur Milton, "The Ringer"
• Superintendent Bliss, Scotland Yard
• Detective Inspector Mander, Bliss' "incompetent assistant"

Locale: England

Synopsis: This is a collection of 17 short stories featuring "The Ringer", a master-of-disguise character who operates outside the law to bring his own brand of justice to evildoers; while constantly pursued by Superintendent Bliss of Scotland Yard. Some criminals The Ringer chases are murderers, but there are also scam artists and thieves. The stories are standalone, but some refer to characters in the preceding ones, so reading in order is recommended.

Review: The Ringer is from the same mold as Leslie Charteris' The Saint. He operates outside the law, sometimes with a wink-wink from Scotland Yard; with a goal of restoring fortune to those who have lost it. He is always pursued by the authorities, but always manages to fool them. One aspect which sets him apart from The Saint is that The Ringer is a master of disguise, and this figures in most of the stories as he uses impersonation frequently.

With This Ring by Mignon G. Eberhart, 1941

 

About the author: Mignon Good (1899-1996) was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1929 her first crime novel was published featuring 'Sarah Keate', a nurse and 'Lance O'Leary', a police detective. This couple appeared in another four novels. Over the next forty years she wrote a novel nearly every year. In 1971 she won the Grand Master award from the Mystery Writers of America. (from Goodreads)

Major characters:

• Sophronia "Rony" Chatonier, 23, our protagonist
• Eric Chatonier, her invalid newlywed husband
• Blanche Radoczi, Eric's sister
• Turo Radoczi, Blanche's husband, a musician
• Mimi Chantonier, Eric's sister
• Buford "Buff" Scott, Mimi's boyfriend, a lawyer
• Judge Henry Yarrow, friend of the family
• Stuart Westover, Eric's friend, to whom Rony is attracted
• Catherine Sedley, the femme fatale in the cottage
• Lewis Sedley, Catherine's ex-con husband
• Magnolia, the maid/housekeeper/nurse

Locale: Louisiana bayou country

Synopsis: Sophronia "Rony" Brace went through a hurried marriage with Eric Chatonier, of Louisana's bayou country. Eric has a heart condition and is quite delicate. At the wedding Rony takes an immediate crush on the best man, Stuart Westover; but tries to put him out of her mind. Eric takes her to Louisiana where she meets the rest of the clan at Belle Fleur:

Eric has two sisters - Blanche (married to musician Turo Radoczi) and Mimi (with boyfriend lawyer Buff Scott). Blonde femme fatale Catherine Sedley lives in a cottage on the property, awaiting the release of ex-con husband Lewis; with divorce in her plans. Family friend Judge Henry Yarrow lives on a small yacht anchored in the bayou. 

Eric makes a new will, leaving everything to Rony; and cutting out his sisters. Judge Yarrow plans to oppose it. Eric gives Rony a note to deliver to the judge on the yacht, and when she gets there she finds him dead. She is immediately suspected of the murder, in order to stop his opposition to the will; so she will inherit the full estate and marry Stuart Westover.

Review:

An enjoyable mystery, albeit with a lot of MGE formula:

• Exotic locale
• Square 2-story house with balcony all the way around
• Love triangle of woman (protagonist), stuck with bad man, in love with unattainable good man
• Femme fatale on the sidelines
• Protagonist wrongly accused of murder
• Big storm, power failure

A good several night's read, placing me in the Louisiana bayou country!

Still Life by Louise Penny, 2005

 

Series: Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #1

About the author: Louise Penny is the author of the #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling series of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels. She has won numerous awards, including a CWA Dagger and the Agatha Award (seven times), and was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. In 2017, she received the Order of Canada for her contributions to Canadian culture. Louise lives in a small village south of Montréal. (Goodreads)

Major characters:

• Jane Neal, artist, the victim
• Clara and Peter Morrow, starving artists
• Gabriel Dubeau and Olivier Brulé, bistro proprietors
• Myrna Landers, bookshop owner
• Ben Hadley
• Timmer Hadley, Ben's mother (dead prior to story)
• Matthew and Suzanne Croft, and son Philippe
• Yolande Fontaine, Jane's niece; and André Malenfont
• Chief Inspector Armand Gamache
• Inspector Jean Guy Beauvoir
• Agent Yvette Nichol

Locale: (fictional) Three Pines, Québec

Synopsis: Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is called to the village of Three Pines to investigate the Thanksgiving morning death of artist Jane Neal. She has been killed by an arrow, and it is unclear if it is a hunting accident or intentional murder. Gamache is accompanied by his second in command, Jean Guy Beauvoir, and rookie agent Yvette Nichol; who struggles to get on the good side of Gamache.

In trying to find a motive for her death, Gamache uncovers secrets among the locals. The body was found by Ben Hadley, whose mother Timmer died years before; and her death is somehow connected to this one. Jane had been secretive about her house, never allowing anyone inside. Jane's best friend, Clara Morrow, tries to find a hidden message in Jane's last painting, Fair Day. 

Review: This is my first reading in this series and I like it. There is no gore or sex, which are turnoffs for me in mysteries (which I why I concentrate on Golden Age for the most part). The action takes place in an isolated village in southern Québec, not far from the Vermont(?) border. 

Armand Gamarche reminds me of Richard Jury in the Martha Grimes series. He can get terse and testy at times, and treats rookie Yvette Nichol with cringy tough love at times. An unresolved question for me is what happened to Nichol? She got sent back to Montréal on a bus near the end, but will she return in future titles? I hope she gets her act together and returns. 

 

Old Lover's Ghost by Leslie Ford, 1939

 

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Series: Colonel Primrose #7

About the author: Leslie Ford is a pseudonym of Zenith Jones Brown, 1898-1984. She also wrote as David Frome and Brenda Conrad. Also see this Book Scribbles blog: Leslie Ford's Fall From Grace. 

Major characters:

• Grace Latham, our narrator and protagonist
• Bill Latham, 17, her son
• Joe Anders, wrangler/guide
• Cecily Chapman, 23
• George Pelham, 33, has his eyes on Cecily
• Steven Grant, a.k.a. Sam Graham, Cecily's former fiancé - is he dead or alive?
• Mrs. --- Chapman, Cecily's grandmother
• Colonel John Primrose
• Sergeant Phineas T. Buck

Locale: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Synopsis: Cecily Chapman was engaged to Steven Grant. He contracted infantile paralysis (e.g., polio) and as a result, apparantly commited suicide in a car crash. Her grandmother, Mrs. --- Chapman, organizes a horse pack trip through Yellowstone National Park to help Cecily forget. The trip includes her friend, Grace Latham, and her son Bill Latham; George Pelham, and guide Joe Anders. Pelham was a co-worker of Grant, and pressures Cecily to marry him, which she doesn't want at all.

In the park they encounter a ranger by the name of Sam Graham, who turns out to be Steven Grant - believed dead for three years. Cecily is torn between her love for him and anger at his deception. She then comes to a terrible realization: If this is Steven, then whose body was in the car wreck three years ago?

Review:  Thoroughly enjoyed this one, and it serves as a virtual travelogue of Yellowstone as well. Some portions of the writing I didn't understand too well, such as the episode of "discovering" Steven Grant in the ranger cabin - after I reread it carefully I was able to follow the action.  

If you enjoy mysteries set in national parks, murder on a pack trip through a national park is also the theme of Eleven Came Back by Mabel Seeley (1943). 

 

Death on the Last Train by George Bellairs, 1949

 

Series: Inspector Thomas Littlejohn #12

About the author: George Bellairs is the pseudonym of Harold Blundell (1902-1982), a British crime writer and bank manager. He wrote more than 50 books, most featuring the detective Inspector Thomas Littlejohn. He also wrote four novels under the pseudonym Hilary Landon. (wikipedia)

Major characters:

• Detective-Inspector Thomas Littlejohn, Scotland Yard
• Detective-Sergeant Robert Cromwell, Scotland Yard
• Timothy Bellis
• Bessie Emmott, Bellis' lady friend
• Harold Claypott, a drunkard
• Dr. Henry Cooper, police surgeon
• Leah and Constance Claypott, sisters of Harold
• Lambert Hiss, railway ticket collector
• Humphrey Godwin, a witness

Locale: England

Synopsis: Detective-Inspector Thomas Littlejohn is on a country branch line to Ellinborne (the last stop). The train makes an unexpected stop due to a red signal, and during the stop, passenger Timothy Bellis is shot dead. Suicide is suspected, as Bellis had been the recipient of a series of poison pen letters, promising revenge on a financial collapse he had caused. His girlfriend, Bessie Emmott, believes it was murder.

Review: How did I ever miss this author? This was the first I had read of his. The story is fast packed and full of humorous incidents and outrageous calamities; in the manner of Manning Coles. Especially enjoyable is the chapter-long account of a concert, having little to do with the plot but a lot of fun as one of the characters, Lambert Hiss, solos on the trombone. 

I set out to locate more of his stories - found a nice collection for the Kindle in the 99 cent bin on Amazon!

 

Four Frightened Women by George Harmon Coxe, 1939

Series: Kent Murdock #4

About the author: George Harmon Coxe (1902-1984) began writing in the nickel and dime pulps for pennies a word. He was a particularly prolific author, writing a total of 63 novels, his last published in 1975. The Mystery Writers of America named him a Grand Master in 1964. (condensed from fantastic fiction)

 (no review)

Ellery Queen, Master Detective by Ellery Queen, 1941

 

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This title was also pubished as The Vanishing Corpse (Pyramid Books, 1968).

About the author: According to Francis M. Nevins,  this title (based on the screenplay) was ghost written by Laurence Dwight Smith (1895-1952). (from Ellery Queen, A Website on Deduction by Kurt Sercu)

 

Major characters:

• John Braun, health promoter
• Lydia Braun, his wife
• Barbara Braun, their estranged daughter
• Cornelia Mullins, Braun's assistant
• Rocky Taylor, Cornelia's husband
• Claude L. Zachary, Braun's lawyer and manager
• Dr. Jim Rogers, Braun's health article ghost writer
• Dr. Garten and Dr. Henderson, cancer specialists
•  Amos, Braun's gardener; and Joseph, his pet raven
• Nikki Porter, Barbara's roommate, a mystery writer
• Ellery Queen, Private Investigator
• Richard Queen, his father
• Dr. Samuel Prouty, medical examiner

Locale: New York City

Synopsis: Famous New York City health farm owner John Braun calls his employees in to tell them he has camcer, and perhaps six weeks to live. He is closing the health farm. He is also changing his will to leave his estate - exclusively - to his wife Lydia Braun. He is cutting out their daughter, Barbara Braun due to a disagreement over her marriage plans. She wants to marry Dr. Jim Rogers, who Braun employs as a ghost writer of his health articles; but Braun disapproves. 

With death imminent, the family tries to locate Barbara with the help of the police. She is staying - well, hiding - with mystery writer Nikki Porter, who resembles her. Ellery Queen tries to help out, and goes to the apartment to find her. Nikki Porter pretends to be Barbara, and is taken to the Braun home.

Nikki, thinking this a swell plot for a mystery, finds her way into Braun's suite. She observes him lock the door from the inside, then retreat to his bedroom. Later, trying to find her way out, she discovers his body - with its throat cut. 

Review: This story introduces Nikki Porter, who will become EQ's girlfriend throughout the series. This story also plugs several other EQ books along the way, Hardy Boys style. The health farm fad seems reminded me of Jack LaLanne and his fitness empire, which flourished a few years after this story. 

The story moves right along. I had to reread some to get a handle on how the Braun suite was laid out, as that is pertinent to the plot; and to understand how Nikki got herself locked inside.

The body gets lost - twice - in a couple of amusing episodes, and the reactions of the indignant medical examiner are enjoyable.

The hook behind the disappearing murder weapon is a stunt recycled in later EQ books as well.

It's hard to see, but the illustration on the cover is Claud Zachary kneeling on the floor as he throws the books of the business into the furnace. 

You may also enjoy this review by Bev Hankins on My Reader's Block.