The Double Traitor by E. Phillips Oppenheim, 1915

 

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About the author: Edward Phillips Oppenheim (1866 – 1946) was an English novelist, a prolific writer of best-selling genre fiction, featuring glamorous characters, international intrigue and fast action. Notably easy to read, they were viewed as popular entertainments. He was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1927. (wikipedia)

Major characters:

• Francis Norgate, the "double traitor"
• Baroness Anna Von Haase, his Austrian girlfriend
• Herr Selingman, a German spy
• John Hebblethwaite, British M.P.
• Captain Fred Baring, British Admiralty, friend of Anna

Locale: Germany and England

Synopsis: It is the volatile period in the runup to World War I. Diplomat Francis Norgate is dining in Berlin with Austrian baroness Anna Von Haase. She is known to be the liaison between the German Kaiser and Vienna. German Prince Karl enters and demands Norgate give up his seat that he may entertain the Baroness instead. Norgate refuses, and leaves with the Baroness.

Word of this incident gets back to embassy, and Norgate is sent home to England as he did not defer to the prince, a diplomatic error. On his trip home, he encounters Herr Selingman, a German crockery manufacturer with many agents around Europe and England. Norgate finds Seligman is actually a spy gathering information on military facilities; and manages to steal Seligman's list of agents. 

Back in England, Norgate tries to provide the list to authorities, but is rebuffed as no one seems to think war is imminent. Norgate resents this further embarassment, and takes up Seligman's offer to work for him (Germany) instead. Norgate meets Anna in England, and tells her he is now a double agent, but his sympathies lie with England. Anna, now suspected herself of duplicity by the Germans, is enlisted by Seligman to spy on Norgate; now her fiancé.

Review: It is fascinating to realize this spy novel must have been written in real time - published in 1915, it includes the real-life 1914 assassination of the Austrian archduke which started World War I. It is historical fiction (names of prominent people have been changed) but is closely based on fact. After comparing this book with the Wikipedia account of World War I (they agree right down the line) I came away with a greater understanding of the causes of the war. If I were teaching a history course, I would suggest this book!

The characters are lively and fully developed, especially the "spy triangle" formed of Norgate, Anna, and Selingman. Spies spying on spies abound.

The only critique I have is that a lot of text is spent as the characters discuss various what-if scenarios among the various countries involved. 

The only other spy/mysteries of this period I have read are those by Valentine Williams (my reviews), which are all fascinating as well - although they are set in the period between World Wars are are completely fictional. 

Wheels Within Wheels by Carolyn Wells, 1923

 

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This is Pennington Wise #8. The title is taken from Ezekiel's vision, as recorded in Ezekiel 1:16 of the Old Testament; in which he saw a wheel turning inside another wheel. This expression has come to describe a complex, many-layered mechanism or situation.

About the author: Carolyn Wells (1862-1942) was married to Hadwin Houghton, the heir of the Houghton-Mifflin publishing empire. Like Mary Roberts Rinehart, being in a publishing family created an easy pipeline for getting her works into print. She wrote a total of more than 170 books. See this Wikipedia article.

Major characters:

• Ralph Howland, millionaire businessman
• Mary Howland, his fragile wife
• Leonard Swift, his cousin and heir
• Ida Holmes Campbell, or is she the missing Angela Howland?
• Rob and Sally Peters, house guests
• Conrad Stryker, the village "half-wit" and peeping tom
• John Stryker, Conrad's father, the undertaker

The Howlands's staff:

• Edith Mills, the short-skirted silk-stockinged blonde stenographer
• Austin Magee, the secretary and business manager
• Amy Lane, a no-nonsense nurse
• Etta, Mary's maid
• Martin, the butler
• Charles, the second man (assistant butler)

The officials:

• Dr. Avery, G.P.
• Dr. Mason, medical examiner
• Police Chief Weldon
• Detective O'Brien
• Detective Green
• James Esterbrook, attorney

Locale: Connecticut

Synopsis:  Millionaire Ralph Howland and his wife Mary have a summer home in Connecticut (in addition to their winter home in New York City, a mountain retreat, and a seaside cottage). Sixteen years ago their only child, Angela, then five years old, died from sleeping sickness (encephalitis lethargica) and Mary has never been quite herself again. Also living there: Ralph's cousin and heir Leonard Swift, and house guests Rob and Sally Peters who are trying to get Ralph to buy into a mining scheme. 

The Howlands have quite a retinue: Slinky stenographer Edith Mills, secretary/business manager Austin Magee, nurse Amy Lane, as well as the usual maids and butlers.

Ralph's will has an unusual clause. Leonard Swift is his residual legatee, unless daughter Angela can be found, in which case she inherits instead. But Angela is dead and buried.

One morning there is a knock at the servant's entrance. It is Conrad Stryker, the village "half-wit". He reports he can see through the library window that Ralph Howland is dead. The staff investigate, and sure enough, he is. Conrad is anxious they call his father, undertaker John Stryker, right away.

Doctors and police arrive, and are stymied that there is no apparent cause of death evident. In the midst of this, a young lady appears at the door looking for Ralph. It is Ida Holmes Campbell, and she claims she is really his long-thought-dead daughter Angela - who would now be 21. The cemetery reveals Angela's coffin was exhumed and found to be empty. Now if this is really Angela, she inherits; not Leonard Swift. Leonard is not too happy.

Review: This would be a great Halloween read, with empty coffins being moved around, buried, and exhumed, and lots of creepy funeral home skulduggery.

There are two parallel mysteries here: who murdered Ralph Howland (if indeed, it was murder), and is Ida Campbell the long-lost Angela? Both solutions are withheld until the very end.

Things are at an impasse until, true to formula, Pennington Wise arrives with his muse Zizi, who flits around like a wraith, extracting valuable clues. Zizi is always enjoyable, especially her saucy repartée with "Penny". 

I had expected the mining deal to be part of the motive of all this, but that story line was dropped early on and not mentioned again.

Another odd aspect was the detailed description of the house layout given at the beginning. I expected this to be important somehow, but it wasn't. I had sketched it out anyway. No idea where all those servants live, perhaps on an unmentioned third floor.

The Case of the Green-eyed Sister by Erle Stanley Gardner, 1953

 

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Major characters:

• Sylvia Atwood, the green-eyed sister; a widow
• Hattie Bain, her sister
•      Edison Levering Doyle, Hattie's boyfriend; an architect
• Jarrett Bain, Sylvia's brother
•      Phoebe Bain, Jarrett's wife
• Ned Bain, father of Sylvia, Hattie, and Jarrett; a widower
• Jeremiam Josiah "J.J." Fritch, a.k.a. Frank Reedy, Ned's former partner
  
• George Brogan, a shifty private investigator

Locale: Los Angeles

Synopsis: Chronically ill widower Ned Bain has three children: Sexy, flashy Sylvia Atwood, plain stay-at-home Hattie Bain, and archeologist Jarrett Bain. 

Sylvia approaches Perry Mason and asks him to represent the family in a thorny matter: Ned Bain's former partner, J. J. Fritch, has always been suspected as being one of a long-ago bank robbery gang. Now Fritch has hired unsavory private investigator George Brogan to act as an intermediary - he claims to have a tape recording proving that Ned Bain was a part of the bank robbery gang also. He wants to sell the tape to the family so they can destroy it, and avoid the notoriety. Fritch and Brogan have arranged matters so it barely does not rise to blackmail.

Sylvia and Mason have Brogan play the tape for them in his apartment, and it is obviously a splice-up job made to make Ned look guilty. Mason sneaks a magnet in and manages to erase the tape. In true blackmail fashion, Brogan comes up with another copy; and when Sylvia and Mason return to hear this one, Sylvia finds Fritch stabbed to death. The police suspect Mason immediately, and while Fritch's body is still warm, word comes of Ned's passing from a heart condition. Now suspicion is that Ned snuck out and killed Fritch, then returned to his bed. It could be a neat closure if true, but is it?

Review: One thing I especially liked about this is the small cast of characters, mostly limited to one family; unusual for a Perry Mason. There are no red herring people popping in and out. 

There is none of Mason's usual evidence-manipulating. This is a straight-forward story, and the courtroom scene is lengthy and quite amusing. As far as the reader is concerned, the killer is not revealed until the usual Mason-Street-Drake  tête á tête wrap-up afterwards.

The Case of the Golddigger's Purse by Erle Stanley Gardner, 1945

 

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Major characters:

• Harrington Faulkner, real estate agent and goldfish hobbyist
• Jane Faulker, his second wife
• Genevieve Faulkner, his first wife
• Elmer Carson, real estate agent, Harrington's partner
• David Rawlins, pet shop owner
• Tom Gridley, pet shop employee, boyfriend of Sally Madison
• Sally Madison, the elegant golddigger, and Mason's client
• James L. Staunton, insurance agent
• Adele Fairbanks, friend of Jane Faulkner
• Alberta Stanley, stenographer for the real estate office
• Wilfred Dixon, financial advisor for Genevieve Faulkner

Locale: Los Angeles

Synopsis: Real estate agent and goldfish fancier Harrington Faulkner approaches Perry Mason in a restaurant. He wants to Mason to deal with a lawsuit against him by his partner Elmer Carson. Faulkner has two problems: Carson is suing him for defamation, and Faulkner's dinner companion, sexy Sally Madison (the golddigger) is charging him more and more money for the services of her boyfriend, Tom Gridley. Gridley, a pet shop employee, has developed a secret cure for the gill disease which Falukner's exotic fish have contracted.

The defamation suit stems from Faulkner's accusal of Carson having entered their joint office and making off with a pair of his precious Veiltail Moor Telescope fish. Ownership of this fish is a bit ambiguous: while the tank is a fixure of the office (therefore jointly owned), Faulkner had placed his personal fish in it. 

Their office is one half of a duplex. The other half is Faulkner's residence. Mason initially declines getting involved, but reconsiders after a call from Sally Madison. They find the fish in the possession of James L. Staunton, an insurance agent who writes policies for the Faulkner-Carson agency. They go to tell Faulkner and arrive the same time as his (second) wife, Jane Faulkner. They all go inside and find Faulkner shot to death in the bathroom. Next, Mason finds the murder gun in Sally's purse. The gun winds up with the police, and they find Della Street's fingerprints on it!

Review: My notes show I read this years ago, but I did not remember anything about this plot, certainly the most absurd I have found in the Perry Mason series. It is hard to believe, on the face of it, that so much to-do and murder occurs over two goldfish. 

Some authors I like to take my time with - particularly Manning Coles (my reviews) and Leslie Charteris (my reviews) - as I enjoy their use of language so much and like to savor them slowly. But Gardner's works don't emphasize language so much as action, and once you start one you have to keep gulping it down as fast as you can until it's done. 

The Case of the Borrowed Brunette by Erle Stanley Gardner, 1946

 

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Major characters:

Cora Felton, a street brunette

Eva Martell, a street brunette, Cora's roommate

"Aunt" Adelle Winters, their chaperone

Robert Dover Hines, employer of the street brunettes

Helen Reedley, who the brunette impersonates

Arthur Clovis, Helen's man on the side

Orville Reedley, Helen's powerful husband

Daphne Gridley, Orville's girl on the side

Carlotta Tipton, Hines' fiancée

Mae Bagley, rooming house operator

Perry Mason, attorney

Della Street, secretary

Paul Drake, private investigator

Harry Gulling, Assistant District Attorney

Locale: Los Angeles

Synopsis: Attorney Perry Mason is driving along Adams Street and is intrigued by a series of similarly-dressed brunettes, one at each intersection. He stops to inquire of one, Cora Felton, who explains they are applying for a position advertised by a Mr. Robert Hines requiring a brunette of certain appearance. Apparently Hines was doing a drive-by to pick one. Her roommate, Eva Martell, is on another corner, and she is the one selected.

Hines suggests Eva choose a chaperone to ensure this is on the up-and-up, and she selects her long time friend "Aunt" Adelle Winters. Hines sets Eva up in an obviously-occupied apartment, and instructs her on how to - without saying so - "impersonate" a Helen Reedley. A worried Eva consults Mason to learn that posing as another person is not illegal unless it is with intent to defraud.

Mason is still pondering the setup when Eva and Cora find Hines shot in the apartment. Investigation shows that the real Helen Reedley has a domineering high-powered husband, Orville Reedley, and a secret boyfriend, Arthur Clovis. Orville is playing the game, too, with a girl on the side - Daphne Gridley. 

The police trace the murder gun to Adelle, and arrest her and Eva for the murder. Before Eva can be picked up, Mason hides her in a rooming house run by a former client, Mae Bagley; getting him in hot water with Assistant District Attorney Harry Gulling.

Review: A fast-paced read which I divided over two sittings. The setup was interesting, with the brunettes staged along the street. Gardner made a point that this particular street was in-between downtown and outlying areas, where the brunettes would be rather noticeable. 

A lot of time is spent analyzing the garbage can incident, which got a bit tedious after a while. Mason plots a little setup for Gulling, with a prop wallet and a fake perfumed letter - I was looking forward to seeing how that played out, hoping for a courtroom surprise, but that didn't happen.

Hamilton Burger does not appear in this one, and I did miss him and his repartée with Mason. 

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

The Visiting Villain by Carolyn Wells, 1934

 

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About the author: Carolyn Wells (1862-1942) was married to Hadwin Houghton, the heir of the Houghton-Mifflin publishing empire. Like Mary Roberts Rinehart, being in a publishing family created an easy pipeline for getting her works into print. She wrote a total of more than 170 books. See this Wikipedia article.

Major characters (Dunbar family in bold):

Bruce Dunbar, the millionaire

Anna Forrest, Bruce's niece

Jake Wood, Anna's boyfriend

Doris Ralston, Bruce's niece

Steve Ralston, Doris' husband

Barbara Corbin, Bruce's niece, a widow

Clive Rankin, Barbara's boyfriend

Emory Dunbar, Bruce's nephew

The house staff:

Philip Crowe, valet

---- Hatton, butler

Eliza Hatton, Hatton's wife, the cook

Hester Hatton, parlormaid

Olga, chambermaid

Streamline, the cobra

Martin Saunders, family attorney (drew the 'Anna will')

Samuel Sutton, attorney (drew the 'Emory will')

Harvey Pennock, attorney (drew the 'Doris' will)

John Hale, attorney (drew the 'Barbara' will)

Fleming Stone, detective

Locale: unspecified

Synopsis: Millionaire Bruce Dunbar has no immediate family, just a nephew (Emory Dunbar) and three nieces (Anna Forrest, Doris Ralston, and Barbara Corbin). None of them care for him particularly, but attend dinner at his mansion every Saturday night to stay in his good graces, and hopefully gain a nice inheritance.

Dunbar keeps a pet Cobra named Streamline, whose venomous bite can kill. He is usually kept in his cage but is let out occasionally for carefully supervised exercise.

One morning, valet Philip Crowe goes in to wake Dunbar, but finds him dead. Streamline is coiled up in his cage, but the door is open. Crowe has bite marks on his neck, and it is assumed Streamline did the deed. Niece Anna calls in detective Fleming Stone. The doctors arrive. Stone and the doctors determine that if it is a snake bite that killed him, it was not Streamline. The family immediately suggests a stranger (the visiting villain of the title) came in with a different snake which killed him.

The family is only minimally concerned about Dunbar's death, being more interested in getting their grasping hands on his money. A search for Dunbar's will reveals no less than four of them ... each one naming one of the relatives as the legatee ... and each one drawn by a different attorney.

Review: Oh, what fun! The body is still warm and the relatives are turning the house upside down looking for wills. Four competing wills, by four competing attorneys, are found! If nothing else, this book will certainly familiarize you with will and probate law, or at least as it stood in 1934. 

Not only is their enmity between Bruce Dunbar and his relations, all the relations are shooting eye-daggers at each other! 

The fun consists of all the running around trying to figure out which will was signed last. 

This book is unusual in the Fleming Stone series, in that Stone makes his appearance early in the book; and spends a significant amount of time flirting with Barbara in the process.