Masks Off at Midnight by Valentine Williams, 1934

 

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Series: Sergeant Trevor Dene #3

About the author: Valentine Williams (1883–1946) was an English journalist and writer of popular fiction. Williams was awarded the Military Cross as a soldier and wrote two autobiographical books about his war-time experiences. In the aftermath of war, he travelled widely as a reporter.  It was during this period that he began writing thrillers and around 1926 he gave up his post at the Daily Mail to pursue a full-time career as an author. (Wikipedia)

Major characters:

• Henry and Margaret Tallifer, local patriarch/matriarch
• Jenny Tallifer, their daughter
• Anthony Tallifer, Jenny's cousin
• Brent Hordern, millionaire developer
• Major Ivan Ivanoff, Hordern's chauffeur
• Constance Barrington, flashy widow
• Randolph and Barbara Waverly, the party hosts
• Ezekiah Harding, newspaper publisher
• Paul Kentish, newspaper editor
• Trevor Dene, of Scotland Yard
• Nancy Dene, his wife

Locale: Long Island, New York

Synopsis: Trevor Dene and his wife Nancy are in Laurel, a small town in Long Island, New York, to attend a gala pageant party given by Randolph and Barbara Waverly. All the locals are invited - but one is definitely excluded, developer Brent Hordern.

The locals despise brash Hordern, who has been buying up property in town. The locals are also suspicious of flashy widow Constance Barrington, with her expensive clothes and sports car. Constance wants to get her hooks into Hordern, but he wants young Jenny Tallifer, daughter of Henry and Margaret Tallifer, highly respected old-money in town.

The night of the gala arrives. There is to be a masked procession into the ballroom, and at midnight the guests will unmask.

Review:

A hated millionaire New York City developer who bullies everyone, spends most of his time golfing and chasing young girls, and just does whatever he damn pleases? In my mind's eye there is only one person who fits this description - You Know Who That Is. I couldn't get his face out of my mind while reading this character.

Nov 20 2024: Reading now, please check back. 

The Case of the One-Eyed Witness by Erle Stanley Gardner, 1950

 

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About the author: Erle Stanley Gardner (1889 – 1970) was an American lawyer and author. He is best known for the Perry Mason series of detective stories. The best-selling American author of the 20th century at the time of his death, Gardner also published under numerous pseudonyms, including A.A. Fair, Kyle Corning, Charles M. Green, Carleton Kendrake, Charles J. Kenny, Les Tillray and Robert Parr. (wikipedia)

Series: Perry Mason #36

Major characters:

Medford D. Carlin, bookbinder and photographer

Arthman D. Fargo, Realtor

Perry Mason, attorney

Della Street, his secretary

Paul Drake, private investigator

Locale: Los Angeles

Synopsis: While dining at a night club, Perry Mason receives a phone call from a woman - declining to give her name - desperate to retain his services. She sends, by messenger, a retainer of $570 and a newspaper clipping. She instructs Mason to show the clipping to bookbinder/photographer Medford D. Carlin, along with the message that "he needs to find a new partner". Mason also has a conversation with the club's cigarette girl, who tells him she is searching for her lost four-year old daughter who had been given up for adoption.

When Mason meets Carlin, Carlin denies knowing anything about it. Mason is skeptical and has Paul Drake watch the house. In the middle of the night, Drake's operative sees a woman enter the house, and shortly afterward the house catches on fire. When the fire is out, Carlin is found dead.

Mason thinks the woman may have been his client. In trying to trace her, he finds realtor Arthman D. Fargo, who could be her husband. Mason poses as a prospective house buyer to interview him, and later finds Fargo dead. 

Review:

The good: I enjoyed when Mason and Della called on Fargo, Mason pretending he was house-hunting with Della posing as his mistress. Mason and Della had some flirtation in which Mason suggested they really get married, but Della talks him out of it!

The bad: This 1950 novel has overtones from World War II and lingering prejudice about the Japanese. Much ado is made about a baby-selling scheme and how people don't want any baby that has any percentage of Japanese blood.

The strange: I think the strange curvy shape on the cover may be a stylized jigsaw puzzle piece, as better seen on this cover:

Seven Were Veiled by Kathleen Moore Knight, 1937

 

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About the author: Kathleen Moore Knight (1890-1984) is one of my absolute favorite authors. She wrote 34 mystery novels, most set on fictional Penberthy Island off Massachusetts, all published by the Crime Club; with a few under the pseudonym of Alan Amos. See my post All I Know about Kathleen Moore Knight, as well as this Wikipedia article and her booklist  on Fantastic Fiction.   

Major characters:

* Phyllis "Phil" Heath, would-be bride, our protagonist

Christopher Bryan, her fiancé

Marvin Heath, her foster father

Dwight Garrison, wannabe groom

* Francine Drake, young gold-digging widow

Norman Brent, orchestra leader

* Corliss Brent, his wife

Pete Bishop, travel agent

* Anita Templeton-Smith, wedding planner

* Aunt Laurie Ferris, Phyllis' aunt, Marvin's sister-in-law

* Ailsa Breton, writer

Dudley Houghton, Marvin's attorney

Elisha Macomber, chairman of the Board of Selectmen

Bill Deeter, private investigator from Boston

Dr. Larcom Sargent

Dr. Franklin Tolman

Bellows, the Heath's butler

* Hattie Parsons, the Heath's cook

Lisa, the Heath's maid

* The title indicates the seven women known to wear veils, indicated by * in the list above: one wedding veil (worn by both Phyllis Heath and Francine Drake), one allergy veil (Aunt Laurie Ferris), and four fashion veils (four others).

Locale: Penberthy Island, off Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Synopsis: It is the night before the wedding  of Phyllis Heath and Christopher Bryan on Penberthy Island. All is not well - Phyllis' foster father, Marvin Heath, is against the wedding; and wants to substitute Dwight Garrison as the groom, no matter what Phyllis wants. Marvin issues an ultimatum - he will sign a new will if she marries Bryan, leaving his $5M estate to charity instead of to her.

As Phyllis frets about what to do, Marvin takes ill after the rehearsal dinner and dies. First suspicion is poisoning from mushrooms provided for the dinner by Elisha Macomber - yet everyone ate them but only Marvin had ill effects. Then suspicion is directed at a medicine, and word circulates that a woman wearing a veil was seen exiting Marvin's room after the poisoning.

Someone steals Phyllis' veil, and Phyllis sees Francine Drake, a widow who had eyes on Marvin, carry it into the woods. She follows only to find Christopher and a dead body - a man no one recognizes. Francine does not return the house, and a search finds her stranded on a sand bar with the tide rising. 

Christopher is arrested for the murder of the unknown man, and the poisoning of Marvin. Following a newspaper story, the dead man is identified as Franklin Tolman, a Boston doctor.

Elisha Macomber heads up the investigation, competing with a hotshot private investigator from Boston, Bill Deeter.

Review: Lots of possibilities to ponder in this one. There are three possible poisons that took out Marvin, each connected to a different character. Lots of poison information as well, including belladonna/deadly nightshade, a bit concerning to me as this summer we found this growing wild on the fence surrounding our garden! 

The high drama point is the ocean rescue of Francine who is stuck on a sand bar as the tide is coming in. This scene was well done and exciting.

The situation of Phyllis having to choose between grooms - on her wedding night! - seemed farfetched and like something out of the Old Testament - like Jacob, Rachel, and Leah in reverse. 

There are lots of veils to go around, but the wedding veil is the primary one of interest. Hattie wears an "allergy veil" which was prescribed to her to block allergens  - apparently a complicated alternative to a simple mask. My wife is a nurse, and has allergies, but has never heard of such a thing. The fashion veils are mentioned briefly but not pertinent.

The cast of characters is way too large, I left a few out of the list. It could easily have been cut in half without affecting the plot. 

Elisha's ongoing competition with hotshot P.I. Deeter did distract from his investigation. I enjoy in other stories how he goes it alone. This is one of the earliest Elisha stories, and one thing I find distracting is when the author renders his dialect phonetically. It is not always obvious what he is saying, and I had to "sound it out". It seems she did this less and less and the series continued. 

 

 

Affinities by Mary Roberts Rinehart, 1920

 

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About the author: Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876 – 1958) was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie, although her first mystery novel was published 14 years before Christie's first novel in 1920. Rinehart is considered the source of the phrase "The butler did it" from her novel The Door (1930), although the novel does not use the exact phrase. Rinehart is also considered to have invented the "Had-I-But-Known" school of mystery writing, with the publication of The Circular Staircase (1908). (from a Wikipedia article).

Locale: England

Débutantes get into some crazy adventures in this collection of five charming girls-in-trouble stories. 

Affinities: Fanny and her friends (all married) have a marvelous idea: In addition to their husbands, each wife should have a platonic male friend (their affinity) and spend time with just them. The wives all match up with their chosen affinity and head off to a picnic on an island. There is a mixup and Fanny and her affinity get marooned by themselves. How will they save their reputations?

The Family Friend: Kit is ready to be married to Russell, but a friend convinces her to elope with her childhood friend Henry instead - the night before the wedding. 

Carla's Little Escapade: Clara and Roger are out for a drive and get stuck in a rainstorm. The car winds up stuck in the creek, and, soaking wet, they seek shelter. It is very late when they enter what they believe an empty house, but are surprised by who is waiting inside.

The Borrowed House: Poppy and her sufragettes have a bold plan: kidnap the Prime Minister and hold him hostage until he agrees with their demands for the women's vote. They take over an empty house for the adventure.

Sauce for the Gander: Poppy and her sufragettes set out posting votes-for-women signs and graduate to infiltrating a government meeting. Things get complicated when they get locked in with all the men, and the only key has been slipped down the back of Poppy's dress, completely out of reach.  

Mini-review: "Débutantes Gone Wild" would be a good subtitle. This collection of five stories has the girls getting into some crazy messes, chases, and situations as they try to resolve things without harming their reputations, yet always putting it on over the men. We have a lady stuck on an island with a man (not her husband!), sufragettes kidnapping the Prime Minister, housebreaking, stolen cars and boats, kisses in railway tunnels, keys dropped down corsets, and of course wild chases! A fun romp with Mary Roberts Rinehart!

The Eye of Osiris by R. Austin Freeman, 1911

 

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About the author: Richard Freeman (1862-1943) became a medical trainee at Middlesex Hospital Medical College, and was accepted as a member of the Royal College of Surgeons. He became a writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the medico-legal forensic investigator Dr Thorndyke. (excerpt from Goodreads)

Series: This is Dr. John Thorndyke #3.

Major characters:

• Dr. John Thorndyke, lecturer in forensics
• Dr. Paul Berkeley, a GP (General Practitioner), our narrator
• John Bellingham, archeologist, missing for two years
• Godfrey Bellingham, his brother
• Ruth Bellingham, Godfrey's daughter
• George Hurst, cousin to the Bellingham brothers
• Arthur Jellicoe, John Bellingham's lawyer

Synopsis: Forensics lecturer Dr. John Thorndyke points out a newspaper story to his students. An archeologist, John Bellingham, had disappeared from his brother Godfrey Bellingham's home without a trace. He was last seen by a maid, sitting in Godfrey's library, waiting for John to arrive. Thorndike point of interest to the class is the legal point of succession: what is the last moment it can be proven Bellingham was alive? The case is complicated by the finding of a scarab, a curio John Bellingham's always carried, in the yard of his cousin George Hurst. Did John go from Godfrey's to Hurst's and lose the scarab there? Or did he leave Hurst's, lose the scarab, and then go to Godfrey's? 

Two years later, one of the students, Dr. Paul Berkeley, is called to treat Godfrey. Recalling the class two years earlier, he gets an update from Godfrey. Godfrey is nearly destitute, and his brother's will in his favor cannot be probated since he cannot be shown to be dead. 

Suddently bones are found in various places in the area, including on property owned by John Bellingham. The bones could be his. Bellingham had several injuries could identify his body, including a tattoo of the Eye of Osiris; yet none of the found bones are those which could be identified.

The legal point of succession comes into play. If Bellingham can be shown or presumed dead, the will can be probated. But the will is strange: Brother Godfrey inherits in one circumstance, else cousin Hurst inherits. 

Mini-review: Legal technicalities abound in interpreting this strange will. The action is continuous with new revelations always popping up. The coroner's inquest is hilarious and provides a lot of comic relief when the witnesses make the coroner look foolish. A romantic subplot with Berkeley and Ruth rounds out this well-constructed novel.

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

Phantom Hollow by Gerald Verner, 1933

 

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This is Trevor Lowe #1. The series is available in "boxed sets" for the Amazon Kindle.

About the author: Gerald Verner (1897-1980) was the pseudonym of British writer John Robert Stuart Pringle.

Mini-synopsis (from Goodreads): When Tony Frost and his colleague Jack Denton arrive for a holiday at Monk’s Lodge, an ancient cottage deep in the Somerset countryside, they are immediately warned off by the local villagers and a message scrawled in blood across a window:  "THERE IS DANGER. GO WHILE YOU CAN!’

Tony invites his friend, the famous dramatist and criminologist Trevor Lowe, to come and help — but the investigation takes a sinister turn when the dead body of a missing estate agent is found behind a locked door in the cottage.

Mini-review: This immediately struck me as The Hardy Boys grown up, with the two boys (Tony Frost and Jack Denton) as adults, aided by dramatist Trevor Lowe, the stand-in for Fenton Hardy! We have all the elements: the two are in constant peril, being tied up, being gassed, messages scrawled in blood, warning notes attached to a dagger driven into the tabletop! And of course, lots of chapter-ending cliffhangers. A good romp with constant action. I was always waiting for the "dramatist" role to come into play, but it did not. 

Wings of Fear by Mignon G. Eberhart, 1945

 

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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:

• Monica Blane, our protagonist
• Eric Weller, a Frenchman
• Linda Chavon, Monica's friend
• John Basevi
• Gibbs Brooke
• "Uncle" Bill Fiske, elderly lawyer
• Pinky, an elevator operator
• Joe Sproul, a mysterious swarthy character
• Fae Demuth, née de Rissaud
• Carlos Demouth, Fae's husband

Locale: New York City, Chicago, St. Louis, Mexico City

Synopsis: Monica Blane and John Besevi were raised by an attorney, "Uncle Bill Fiske". Monica and John and two friends, Linda Chavon and Gibbs Brooke, take an extended vacation in the French Riviera. They are hosted by Fae de Rissaud (later to marry Carlos Demuth). They pick up another companion, Eric Weller.

It is 1939 and the approaching war sends Europe into turmoil. Monica, Eric, and Gibbs return to the US, but lose track of Linda and John for five years. Linda and John were to be married, but perhaps this did not occur. Linda, in love with John, hopes to reunite with him.

Now 1944, Linda, in New York, receives a tiny note concealed in a French-style medicine cachet. The note is from Linda, pleading for help. After a dinner date, Eric comes to Linda's apartment. They quarrel, and Eric is found dead. 

Uncle Bill fears Monica will be suspected of Eric's murder, and having now heard from John, sends her on a mission to Mexico City to deliver funds he needs. She travels by air via Chicago and St. Louis. She meets up with Gibbs, now in the Army, along the way. She realizes a fellow traveler, Joe Sproul, is following her, and now there are two attempts on her life - but she suspects Gibbs. 

Review: Set in the uncertain times around World War II, this follows four friends (and a fifth they pick up) trying to vacation in the Riviera, but cutting it short due to the drumbeats of war. It gives a good insight into the uncertainty of the times. Monica is our protagonist, and winds up in Mexico City where most of the action takes place. The setting is a villa in the usual Eberhart style - a two story open square residence with overlooking balconies. There is much suspense as Monica deals with a mysterious man (Sproul) following her, and ultimately suspecting the man (Gibbs) she saw as her protector.

I especially found interesting the description of a system which members of the resistance used to identify each other, whether dead or alive, and would not be discovered by the Axis powers. The system was simple, and involved carrying a token coin with a certain date on it, and making a tiny notch in the edge adjacent to the date. Mixed in with other pocket change, it was not suspicious at all, but could be shown as a token, or used as an identity clue if found on a body. I don't know if this was a real system or not, but it certainly sounded plausible.

A high-suspense wartime novel from Eberhart's most productive middle period.