The Mystillery blog
Monday, January 18, 2021
Port of Seven Strangers by Kathleen Moore Knight (1945)
Saturday, January 16, 2021
The Old Fox Deceiv'd by Martha Grimes (1982)
- The deceased: either Gemma Temple or Dillys March
- Colonel Titus Crael
- Julian Craeal, his idler son
- Olice Manning, housekeeper to the Craels
- Adrian Rees, a painter
- Kitty Meecham, the Irish bartender
- Lily Siddons, seamstress, former 'cook's girl'
- Bertie Makepeace, a 12 year old on his own
- Percy Blythe, eccentric roof thatcher
- Richard Jury
- Melrose Plant
- Sgt. Wiggins
Monday, January 11, 2021
The Face in the Night by Edgar Wallace (1925)
- Laker, a courier
- Mr. Malpas, a recluse with a mask
- Martin "Bunny" Elton
- Dora Elton, his wife
- Audrey Bedford (a.k.a. Audrey Torrington), Dora's sister
- Hon. Lacy Marshalt, former senator from South Africa
- Tanger, his valet
- Captain Dick Shannon, Scotland Yard
- Richard James "Slick" Smith, a crook or a Scotland Yard spy
- Curzon St. - home of Martin "Bunny" Elton and his wife Dora
- Portman Square - home of mysterious Mr. Malpas, and next door live Lacy Marshalt and his valet, Tanger. The two homes share a common wall.
- Audrey being hired for an exorbitant salary to get out of the way and laboriously hand copy correspondence is reminiscent of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Red Headed League.
- Mr. Malpas reminds me of Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera, having a facial deformity hidden by a mask, a hideout full of gadgets, and the habit of communicating with the world by dropping little notes.
Saturday, January 9, 2021
Vineyard Deceit by Philip R. Craig (1992)
This is J. W. Jackson #3, Also published as "The Double Minded Men".
About the author: Philip R. Craig (1933 –2007) was a writer known for his Martha's Vineyard mysteries. He was born in Santa Monica and raised on a cattle ranch near Durango, Colorado. In 1951 he attended Boston University intending to become a minister, and got a degree in 1957. He taught English and Journalism at Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts from 1962 to 1965, and at Wheelock College in Boston until 1999, at which point he retired to become a full-time writer. (Wikipedia)
Major characters:
- Edward C. Damon, ambassador-to-be
- Emily Stonehouse Damon, his wife
- Amelia Stonehouse Muleto, Emily's twin sister, a farmer, Zee's aunt by marriage
- Ali Mohammed Rashad, a.k.a. The Padishah of Sarofim
- Colonel Ahmed Nagy, his bodyguard
- Standish Caplan, State Department
- Jasper Cabot, a banker
- Willard Blunt, a banker
- Jason Thornberry, of Thornberry Security
- Helga Johanson, of Thornberry Security
- J. W. Jackson
- Zeolinda "Zee" Madieras, J.W's girlfriend
Locale: Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
Synopsis: A middle eastern potentate, the Padishah of Sarofim, has come to Martha's Vineyard on a quest to reclaim a priceless emerald necklace stolen from his country decades ago. It is now in the possession of the Stonehouse sisters - farmer Amelia Stonehouse Muleto and Emily Stonehouse Damon, wife of diplomat Edward C. Damon.
The return of the necklace was negotiated to occur at Damon's mansion, in exchange for a sum not mentioned. The police have rounded up extra security for the event, including J. W. Jackson. The plan is for the two necklaces (the real one and a paste copy) to be displayed, the real one turned over to the Padishah, while Emily retains the paste copy, prior to a big celebration party.
The handoff of the paste copy goes as planned, but when they open the box for the real one, it is empty. Guests are searched, the house is searched - no necklace. Shortly afterward, Willard Blunt, one of the bankers who was responsible for guarding the necklace is found dead.
Review: It is so relaxing to settle down with a Martha's Vineyard mystery. They are a bit hard to find on the used market, I suspect people are hoarding them. I have managed to find all but #1 so I have a good stash.
This was an excellent story. The bad guy is the Padishah, who is described as a "petulant child in a man's body", is controlled by his advisers, and is more interested in grabbing women in their private places than governing. This is soooooooo familiar to our own [insert name of a president here] who, at this writing, has just 9 days remaining in office. But I digress.
Back to the story .. an interesting story line is when J.W. teams up with Helga Johanson, and she winds up in his house .. wearing Zee's clothes .. and Zee finds out ... but it gets straightened out.
The theft of the emerald necklace looked like the old switcheroo coming up, as there is a real one and a fake one. I thought I knew how the real one got stolen and snuck out of the house, but no, the red herrings tricked me. The actual logistics of the theft were quite a surprise, and definintely a method I had not seen in other books.
A couple enjoyable characters: Manny Fonseca and Bonzo. They have small but essential parts, and I hope they return in future titles, which await me on the shelf.
Monday, January 4, 2021
The Case of the Turning Tide by Erle Stanley Gardner (1941)
- Ted Shale, salesman of paper products
- Nita Moline, glamorous blonde
- Joan Harpler, of the yacht Albatross
- Addison Stearne, of the yacht Gypsy Queen II
- C. Arthur Right
- Pearl Right, his wife
- Warren Hilbers, her brother
- Frank Duryea, District Attorney
- Gramps Wiggins
- Who killed Stearne and/or Right?
- Is it double murder, or murder-suicide?
- Who died first?
- What became of the acceptance letter?
- One story line has an attorney marrying his secretary suddenly, which to me seemed the old marry-me-so-you-can't-testify-against-me trope, but that story line - which had some promise - evaporates.
- Most of the middle part involves tracing movements of people and boats, and goes on far too long in too much detail.
- The appearance of Gramps at the end is a comedic episode, which distracts from the story line.
Thursday, December 31, 2020
By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie (1968)
- Aunt Ada, Tommy's Beresford's aunt
- Mrs. Moody, a.k.a. Cocoa, resident of Sunny Ridge
- Julia Lancaster, resident of Sunny Ridge
- Miss Packard, administrator of Sunny Ridge
- Amos and Alice Perry, residents of the riverside house
- Emma Boscowan, widow of painter Boscowan
- Nellie Bligh, church secretary
- Mr. Eccles, attorney
- Tommy & Tuppence Beresford
Sunday, December 27, 2020
Murder on the Bridge by Lynn Brock (1930)
- Dr. Sidney Melhuish, overworked doctor
- Barbara "Pickles" Melhuish, his wife
- Simon Wyckham Melhuish, their son
- Harry Halliday, their chauffeur
- Colonel Wyckham Gore, good friend of Pickles, godfather to Simon
- Gretta Higgins, tried for murder and acquited
- Woodbine and Bullock, two tramps
- Dr. Dorch, a money lender
- Ross, Dr. Dorch's secretary
- Anderson, Dr. Dorch's chauffer
- Inspector Lord