Never Look Back by Mignon G. Eberhart, 1950

 

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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:

• Margaret "Maggy" Brooke
• Fenwick "Fen" Brooke, her husband
• Charles Brooke, her father-in-law
• Laura Brooke, her New York cousin (by marriage)
• Willy, the cook
• Bill Sanderson
• Joan Greenfield, Fen's old flame
• Sloane Pickering
• Sylvia Hunter
• Russell Warner, attorney
• the mysterious "woman in black"
• Agnes Maclagen, Fen's childhood governess

Locale: New York City

Synopsis: Maggy Brooke is flying to the US from a visit to England. Her destination is the luxurious New York penthouse apartment of her cousin, Laura Brooke. She is anxious: will her estranged husband, Fenwick "Fen" Brooke, meet her at the airport or not? He is a no-show. Upon arrival she is met only by lifetime friend Bill Sanderson. Maggy goes to the penthouse, but strange things happen indicating she is not alone. She finds a cigarette still burning and other signs of recent occupancy. To ease her anxiety, she invites Sylvia Hunter to stay with her. A mysterious "woman in black" keeps reappearing on the scene.

The visit to Laura Brooke was the idea of her father-in-law, Charles Brooke. He has hopes that Maggy and Fen will reconcile. Fen cannot handle money, and has embezzled from his employer - so Charles wants Maggy to handle the couple's money. While Maggy and Fen discuss this, word comes that Charles has died and left everything to Maggy in his will. Suddently Maggy is wealthy and several people have their eyes on that wealth, especially Fen.

Review: Right away, we have the usual Eberhart triangle set up. Maggy is torn between two men: her no-good husband (Mr. Wrong) and longtime friend Bill Sanderson (Mr. Right). We get a glimpse of the super-rich life of a 5th Avenue penthouse - nothing to do but drink martinis, and go out clothes and jewelry shopping. The suspense of some mysterious person accessing the penthouse builds throughout the story (although no one seems to think of changing the lock). 

I had the "woman in black" figured out right away. Two things did fool me, however: I suspected Charles' death to be suspicious - but it wasn't. And when we finally do get a murder victim it was a relatively minor character I was not expecting.

Willy the cook is an enjoyable character and adds a lot to the story.  Overall, a good fast-paced suspenseful tale, perfect for a rainy night at the penthouse.

The Old Contemptibles by Martha Grimes, 1991

 

About the author: This is #11 of 25 books featuring Richard Jury. See this Wikipedia article for biography and list of the 25 Richard Jury books. Click this Martha Grimes label to see all my reviews of this series.

Major characters:

• Jane Holdsworth, Jury's short-lived flame
• Madeline Galloway, Jane's sister
• Alex Holdsworth, Jane's 16-year old son
• Genevieve Holdsworth, Jane's stepmother
• Crabbe Holdsworth, Jane's father
• George Holdworth, Jane's uncle (Crabbe's brother)
• Adam Holdsworth, Jane's grandfather
• Francis Fellows, Crabbe's cousin
• Graham Holdsworth, Jane's deceased husband
• Virginia Holdsworth, Crabbe's deceased first wife
• Millie Thale, 11-year old kitchen worker
• Annie Thale, Millie's deceased mother
• Mrs. Callow, the cook
• Hawkes, the butler
• Detective Inspector Hanif Kamir
• Inspector Richard Jury
• Marshall Trueblood, antiques dealer
• Melrose Plant

Locale: England (mostly) and Italy (a little)

Synopsis: Inspector Richard Jury encounters an attractive widow, Jane Holdsworth, while browsing the flea market. This begins a rather torrid affair. Jane has a 16-year old son, Alex Holdsworth, attending private school but more interested in horse racing schemes. 

Jury's friend, Melrose Plant, and antiques dealer Marshall Trueblood have journeyed to Italy with a plan: to delay Vivian Rivington's marriage to The Count as long as possible, with an eye to getting her back to England and hooked up with Jury instead. Distressing word comes about Jury's new affair, and even that he has purchased an engagement ring.

No sooner has Jury obtained the ring and prepared to pop the question, when Jane is found dead by her son, Alex. The cause is apparently suicide by overdose of pills. Detective Inspector Hanif Kamir finds Jury a possible suspect and cautions him to not leave London.

Alex does not buy the suicide theory. He leaves the area and heads to the Holdsworth family home to seek his favorite relative, his great-grandfather Adam Holdsworth - who splits his time between the family home and a nearby retirement home.

Jury, unable to leave London, suspects family involvement. He gets Melrose Plant to travel to the Holdsworth home and take a position ostensibly cataloging the family library, but in reality spying on them. Melrose befriends 11-year old Millie Thale, a worker in the family kitchen.

Review: There is a big cast - and they are all related - but I have sorted them out for you in the list above, which took some effort - as the relationships are only revealed piecemeal. (Ones highlighted in grey were deceased prior to the story.) 

This was a most enjoyable title in the Jury series, even though Aunt Agatha does not make an appearance. Jury and Jane started out strong and I was surprised at her sudden demise.

Efforts by Melrose Plant and flamboyant Marshall Trueblood to derail Vivian's wedding and redirect her to a more appropriate partner (Jury) are quite amusing. It makes me wonder if they will ever get together later in the series. 

The only weak point was the oversize space allotted to attempts to interpret Alex's dream - it didn't move the story along and didn't add much.

The Saint Steps In by Leslie Charteris, 1942

 

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About the author: Leslie Charteris (1907 – 1993), was a British-Chinese author of adventure fiction, as well as a screenwriter. He was best known for his many books chronicling the adventures of his charming hero Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". Charteris spent 55 years – 1928 to 1983 – as either writer of or custodian of Simon Templar's literary adventures, one of the longest uninterrupted spans of a single author in the history of mystery fiction, equalling that of Agatha Christie (from Wikipedia). 

Major characters:

• Madeline Gray, who seeks out The Saint
• Calvin Gray, her inventor father
• Frank Imberline, WPB (War Production Board)
• Sylvester Angert, a funny little man
• Hobart Quennel, head of Quenco Chemical
• Andrea Quennel, his daughter; a.k.a. Diana Barry
• Walter Devan, personnel manager of Quenco Chemical
• Karl Morgen, a tough
• Simon Templar, The Saint
• Inspector John Fernack, of the police

Locale: Washington, New York, and Conneticut

Synopsis: World War II is in progress. Simon Templar is in Washington. A young Madeline Gray recognizes him and seeks his help. She is the daughter of chemist Calvin Gray, and is trying to interest the Washington bureaucrats in her father's invention: a synthetic rubber; which would be invaluable for the war effort.

She sets up an appointment with Frank Imberline of the War Production Board. Then she is warned off from seeing him. Simon visits to Imberline to find he was unaware of the appointment. Suddenly various actors start having an interest in Madeline: Walter Devan of Quenco Chemical, and Sylvester Angert, a funny little man who listens at her hotel room keyhole. Someone shoots through the window of Simon's hotel room.

Simon wants to check out Calvin's Gray's process. He and Madeline travel to her home in Connecticut, to find Calvin apparently missing. Madeline sees a man lurking in the lab, and recognizes him as Calvin's former employee, Karl Morgen. Simon challenges him. Morgen flees. Simon chases, and trips over the body of Sylvester Angert. 

Review: This, being one of the early Saint stories, is when he is in his early tough-guy persona, which may have played well in the movies, but is a bit too hard-boiled. (He even refers to the actor who plays him in the movies!) He tends to hit or shoot first, not the subtle Saint we like so much later on. Plus, this is set in the US which is not his best venue.

I really prefer those set in the UK when he has Patricia Holm at his side, and matches wits with Claude Eustace Teal. 

Other than that, we have the stock bad-guys-after-the-scientist plot, complete with the beautiful daughter in distress. Overall, quite predictable with a lot of World War II era paranoia stirred in. 

Wolf in Man's Clothing by Mignon G. Eberhart, 1942

 

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The Nurse Sarah Keate series:

1. The Patient in Room 18

2. The Mystery of Hunting's End

3. While the Patient Slept 

4. From This Dark Stairway

5. Murder by an Aristocrat (a.p.a. Murder of My Patient)

6. Wolf in Mans Clothing

7. Man Missing

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:

• Nurse Sarah Keate
• Nurse Drue Cable
• Craig Brent, shooting victim, Drue Cable's ex
• Conrad Brent, father of Craig
• Alexia Senour Brent, wife of Conrad
• Nicky Senour, Alexia's twin brother
• Peter Huber, a house guest
• Dr. Claud Chivery
• Maud Chivery, his wife
• Anna Haub, maid
• William Beevens, the butler
• Lt. Nugent of the police

Locale: The Berkshire mountains in western Massachusetts

Synopsis: World War II is in progress. Nurses Drue Cable and Sarah Keate are assigned a private duty case at the Brent mansion in western Massachusetts. Upon arrival, Sarah is startled to find that Drue already knows everyone in the household - and most of them are hostile to her. They are taken to the patient, Craig Brent, recovering from a minor bullet wound to the shoulder; and Sarah is again startled to find that Craig and Drue not only know each other, but were once married.

Craig's father, Conrad Brent, insists that Drue leave immediately, but she convinces them to allow her to spend the night with their patient. The next shock is that Conrad's wife turns out to be the former Alexia Senour, who was once engaged to Craig - only to have that engagement broken when he took up with Drue. It seems Alexia was enacting her revenge by taking hold of Craig's father - and likely his vast estate.

Conrad takes ill during the night. He has a heart condition which requires digitalis, and as it cannot be readily found, Drue administers some from her supply by hypodermic. Conrad collapses and dies instantly, and it appears Drue had intentionally murdered him to remove an obstacle to her getting back together with Craig.

The backstory is they had a spontaneous marriage, and when Craig found he could not take military  pilot training as a married man, got divorced so he could get the training; intended to remarry after the war. 

Review:

This was written while WWII was still ramping up, and it shows. We have lots of talk of German submarines, escaped sailors, and even references to the real-life Nazi saboteurs who landed on Long Island, NY.

The romantic escapades are a bit much, with everyone involved with someone else, and the particularly nasty revenge-marriage of Alexia.

The health care system during the 1940's is some different from today. One character gets a broken arm and was admitted to the hospital for five weeks. Meanwhile, Craig Brent gets shot, never goes to the hospital, has the bullet removed in his bedroom by the local G.P. and gets two private duty nurses all the way from New York.

The wrap-up scenes in the Chivery cottage are a bit melodramatic with lots of running up and down stairs, and Nurse Keate even engaging in some gunplay.

The logistics of the Craig murder are pretty clever but a stretch to believe - they reminded me of some of the weird solutions in Agatha Christie.

This book contains an actual MacGuffin: The Frederic Miller checks, which we never get a look at.

The book title contains a spoiler in itself, and gives away one of the murderers.

Not I, Said the Sparrow by Richard Lockridge, 1973

 

About the author: Richard Orson Lockridge (1898 –1982) was an American writer of detective fiction. He began the Captain Heimrich series with his wife Frances (1896-1963), and continued the series following her death.

Major characters:

• Arthur Jameson, wealthy master of The Tor
• Ursula Jameson, his spinster sister
• Rebecca Jameson, his first wife (dead prior to story)
• Ronald Jameson, son of Arthur and Rebecca
• Janet, Arthur's second wife (dead prior to story)
• Estelle Tennant, daughter of Arthur and Janet
• Dr. James Tennant, Estelle's husband
• Dorothy "Dot" Selby, Arthur's secretary, soon to be Arthur's wife #3
• Geoffrey Rankin, Dorothy's distant cousin
• Florence Selby, real estate agent, Dorothy's mother
• Barnes, the Jameson's valet/butler
• Captain Merton L. Heimrich, NY State Police
• Lieutenant Charlie Forniss, NY State Police

Locale: New York state

Synopsis: Merton and Susan Heimrich are invited to a birthday party for elderly Arthur Jameson, a Van Brunt local living in a castle-like mansion named "The Tor". They feel a bit out of place, but attend anyway. Arthur shocks the guests with a surprise announcement that he is going to marry his young secretary, Dorothy Selby. Everyone assumed Dorothy was the girlfriend of Geoffrey Rankin, although they describe themselves as distant cousins. 

The next morning Heimrich gets a call: Jameson has been found dead on a rowboat on a small lake on his estate, shot with an arrow. Heimrich goes to the Selby home and finds Dorothy unaware her fiancé is dead, as she had been hustled home early from the party by her overbearing mother Florence Selby. Florence did not want any appearance that Dorothy was spending the night with her (73 year old!) fiancé. But Heimrich walks into an awkward scene: Florence and Dorothy are in their back yard shooting arrows at targets.

The plot thickens when it is revealed Jameson had made a new will the night before, making Dorothy his residual legatee which gives her a pile of money, whether or not the marriage is ever made.

While the murder is being investigated, another incident occurs. Jameson's son-in-law, Dr. James Tennant, apparently falls down the steep lakeside steps and lands on his head; severely injuring him. This is a bit too much for coincidence, which causes Heimrich to think about a previous tragedy: Jameson's second wife, Janet Jameson, had been killed on the grounds after apparently being thrown from her horse.

Review: I particularly enjoyed how the opening cocktail party at The Tor was used by the author to give the reader the backstory on some of the characters. The various introductions which occur at the party not only introduce the characters to each other, but to the reader as well. Very seamless and elegant.

I also was fascinated how the author describes the layers of social strata, for example:

• When Susan explains her background as "the Upton girl" to Ursula, we see there is a distinct society difference between people from the two sides of town.
• The author describes how Capt. Heimrich, Forniss, and the other police act and speak differently just among themselves, then when there are civilians present.
• Frans Frankel, the yardman, makes a definite statement that he and his wife, while employees of the Jameson estate, are definitely not of the same class as the servants.

As for the murders - I was surprised at the identity of the killer. I had someone else pegged. The killer was responsible for the two deaths (Janet and Arthur) as well as the attempt on Dr. Tennant. I was puzzled by the last, as I could not see any motive for that one.

Also see this review by Bev Hankins on My Reader's Block.

The Horla by Guy de Maupassant, 1887

 

About the author: Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (1850 – 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destinies and social forces in disillusioned and often pessimistic terms. (Wikipedia)

Synopsis: Our narrator has written a daily journal, beginning with his pleasant daily life in France. One day while resting by the Seine, he admires a Brazilian sailing ship pass by. Soon his journal reflects an increasing sense of foreboding, various physical ailments, and anxiety.

He becomes aware of a presence in his home, and finds mysterious things happening. His water bottle is repeatedly empty, and his milk disappears as well. He sees a flower picked from his garden, and hover in midair. He sees one of his books on the table, open, with the pages turning by themselves. He questions whether he is going mad, but discounts it as he is fully aware of his situation. He begins to believe there is an invisible, physical being in his house. This is confirmed when he looks in a mirror and fails to see his own reflection - and realizes the being is standing between him and the mirror, blocking his reflection.

He reads a newspaper account of Brazilians fleeing from a similar situation, and realizes the being - now called The Horla - must have jumped off the Brazilian sailing ship and followed him home.

He manages to trap The Horla in one room, and frantically sets the house on fire in an effort to kill him.

Review: This Edgar Allan Poe-like short story is certainly creepy and has an unsatisfying ending (which I won't reveal). The journal format is quite effective, slowly transitioning from his pleasant day-to-day life to increasing anxiety over the strange happenings. 

His method of detecting the invisible being using the mirror is quite clever and effective.