Lost Man's Lane by Anna Katherine Green (1898)

 

About the author: Anna Katharine Green (1846 – 1935) was an American poet and novelist. She was one of the first writers of detective fiction in America and distinguished herself by writing well plotted, legally accurate stories. Green has been called "the mother of the detective novel".  (excerpt from wikipedia)

Major characters:

• Loreen Knollys, the older sister
• Lucette Knollys, the younger
• William Knollys, their brother
• Hannah, their maid/cook
• Mr. Obadiah Trohm
• Deacon Spear
• Mother Jane, an imbecile*
• Sue and Rob, two crippled* children
• Silly Rufus, disappearance #5
• Amelia Butterworth
• Detective Ebenezer Gryce

Locale: The Berkshires of western Massachusetts

Synopsis: In New York City, Detective Ebenezer Gryce mentions to Amelia Butterworth a puzzling case in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, on the Albany border - about 90 miles north of them. In a small village, four men have disappeared over the course of five years, all while walking alone along a certain country lane, now known as Lost Man's Lane.

Amelia cannot wait to go investigate, using as an excuse a visit to the daughters of her late childhood friend Althea Burroughs Knollys. Amelia arrives by train to find the two daughters, Loreen Knollys and Lucetta Knollys, living in an immense decaying mansion (A), and none too pleased with her arrival. The house is also occupied by their lazy do-nothing brother William Knollys and the maid/cook, Hannah.

At this point a map is introduced:

A - Knollys mansion
B - Obadiah Trohm
J - Mother Jane's shack
M - home of Rob and Sue
L - Window of the same
X - A disappearance occurred here

Gryce has told Amelia that Obadiah Trohm (B) is an ally, and is in the confidence of the police. A strange woman, Mother Jones, occupies a shack opposite (J). A fifth disappearance, that of Silly Rufus, occurs. The Knollys are intent on keeping Amelia out of the house in the daytime, suggesting something nefarious is occurring there.

Review: Well, this book has - or tries to be - everything. It is a mystery, a ghost story, a horror story, and even a romance. As I read along, more and more mysteries are introduced: missing men, a ghostly carriage which is only seen at night, a missing girl, secret passages, a coffin being snuck about. For a long time, nothing is resolved and strange things only added to the pile. A page turner for the first 2/3, but I began to wonder how all this stuff could ever be resolved.

As it turns out, the four - no, five - missing straw men only get a cursory treatment. Four are unnamed, dealt with for no apparent motive, and meet their doom in a rather silly way which is revealed - or suggested - at the end. I had expected more depth  about the four missing men, but the writer let me down.

Mother Jones is an interesting character and perhaps the best one in the book.

A big deal is made of William Knolly's penchant for vivisection, but fortunately, no details of this are provided and this story line is dropped midway.

The surprising turn at the end attempts to make this a love story (but not for Amelia, who even gets proposed to by two different suitors), and we wind up with a wedding and everybody happy. 

*here I am using the language of the writer, noting it is not acceptable usage today.

A Is For Alibi by Sue Grafton (1982)

About the author: Sue Taylor Grafton (1940 – 2017) is best known as the author of the 25 "alphabet series" ("A" Is for Alibi, etc.) novels featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fictional city of Santa Teresa, California (based upon Santa Barbara). She was the daughter of detective novelist C. W. Grafton.

Major characters:

• Laurence Fife, deceased from poison 8 years prior to story
• Nikki Fife, just released on parole, Laurence Fife's second (and final) wife
• Colin Fife, their son, who is deaf
• Elizabeth "Libby"  Glass, accountant, deceased from poison 8 years prior  to story
• Sharon Napier, Laurence Fife's former secretary, now a Vegas card dealer
• Charlie Scorsoni, Laurence Fife's former law partner
  
• Gwen ---, Laurence Fife's first wife
  
• Charlotte Mercer, Laurence Fife's former affair
  
• Lyle Abernathy, Libby's boyfriend

Locale: Santa Teresa, California and Las Vegas, Nevada

Synopsis: Kinsey Millhone, private detective, investigates the death of divorce lawyer Laurence Fife. His murder eight years earlier convicted his wife, Nikki Fife. Upon being released from prison, Nikki hires Kinsey to find the real murderer. In the course of the investigation, Kinsey becomes involved with Charlie Scorsoni, Fife's former law partner. She discovers Fife's death similar to that of Elizabeth "Libby" Glass in Los Angeles, his law firm's accountant; both died after taking poisonous oleander capsules. Kinsey reasons that if Nikki is indeed innocent, the real killer is comfortable after eight years and will not stand for the reopening of any investigation. Kinsey goes to Las Vegas to interview Fife's former secretary, Sharon Napier, who is killed minutes before Kinsey arrives; proving her supposition correct (portions from Wikipedia, edited for brevity and to remove spoilers). 

Review: I had read through this alphabet series a few years back, (prior to my review blogging) and this is the beginning of my second trip through. I had always found these books warm and appealing, with believable characters and descriptions; and it was time to revisit them.

The story tries to unravel happenings from eight years prior, but Kinsey is up to the task; and illustrates how the career of a P.I. is not wearing a trench coat and pretending to read a newspaper while leaning against a lamppost, but rather plodding searches of public records. 

I especially enjoyed the descriptions of Nikki signing with Colin (her son, who is deaf). She described how a person fluent in sign language can carry one on conversation with her hands while having a totally independent conversation verbally with a third person. Having seen this happen in person, it is quite impressive. I found it similar to my experience as a ham radio operation in having a conversation in Morse code with another operator, while having a side conversation verbally.

There are some twists at the end when the killer(s) are identified, although I found one of them quite a stretch - but being the first in the series, forgivable. Grafton uses a Christie-like sequence of misleading the reader by having multiple killers instead of one.

Warning: I learned that Wikipedia has plot summaries of these books, but beware: spoilers abound. I made the mistake of looking before finishing the book, and I couldn't "unread" them! I won't do that again.

Whisper Murder! by Vera Kelsey (1946)

 

About the author: (from gadetection): Audrey Vera Kelsey (1892-1961) was a Canadian journalist and foreign correspondent. She was born in Winnipeg, Canada and raised in Grand Forks, ND. She authored non fiction about Brazil, China, and other foreign countries. She wrote Red River Runs North!, a history of the Red River Valley, and several mystery novels: 

• The Owl Sang Three Times (1941)
• Satan Has Six Fingers (1943)
• The Bride Dined Alone (1943)
• Fear Came First (1945)
• Whisper Murder! (1946)  

Major characters:

• Marcus Cumberland, publisher of the Clayton News
• Dan Cumberland, his son, city editor of the same
• Lisa McPhail, Dan's former fiancée
• Professor Terence McPhail, Lisa's husband
• James Blythe, insurance investigator
• Anthony Elway, owner of the two burned hotels
• Dolores Sandys Elway, his wife
• Barbara Sandys, the woman in the cape, and sister of Dolores
• Jack Carston, manager of the two burned hotels
• Elmer Judson, landlord for the Elways
• Thode Brierson, District Attorney
• Pete Wilson, Chief of Police

Locale: Clayton, Minnesota

Synopsis: Newspaper publisher Marcus Cumberland is not pleased that his city editor (and son), Dan Cumberland, has given front page treatment to a fire which burned down the Wayne River Hotel. It is news, but it reflects badly on the town of Clayton; which has a fierce sense of pride. The fire followed another one, a year earlier, which burned down the Claytonian Hotel in the same manner. Now two of the three hotels in town are gone.

The second fire draws scrutiny from insurance investigator James Blythe. His company had insured both hotels, and now that a second one has burned, suspicion of arson runs high.

Dan receives an invitation to call on Lisa McPhail, wife of wealthy professor and scientist Terence McPhail. Dan has not heard from her for years. They had been engaged, but Lisa jilted him at the last moment to take up with Terence instead. Dan never lost his love for her, and hopes she is seeking a reconciliation. 

Dan encounters a woman in a blue cape who reports a barking dog closed in a garage. Police check on the barking dog report at the home of Anthony Elway and his wife Dolores Sandys Elway, the owners of the two burned hotels. They do not find a dog, but they do find a house full of leaking gas and Anthony and Dolores quite dead. An inquest finds accidental death.

Dan walks by the river and is struck on the head. The woman in the blue cape rescues him, and reveals she is Dolores' sister, Barbara Sandys. She is convinced the death of the Elways is not accident, but murder; and urges Dan to start an investigation. Next, Jack Carston, the former manager of the two hotels, is found dead. 

Review:

This is a fast-paced book in which events happen constantly - no chapters with dragging theoretical speculations. Four suspicious deaths occur, yet there is no apparent motive for any of them. 

Dan wants to get a private detective on the job, but events happen much too quickly. The chapter titles are dates/times, and the entire book only spans three weeks. The ending is pretty clever with several people not being whom they appear.

I especially enjoyed the struggle of the Chamber-of-Commerce types who did not want to admit that (gasp) a crime can occur in their town, as they faced the increasing reality that things are, indeed, very wrong in town. I could just hear them singing "Iowa Stubborn" from The Music Man!

The character of Captain Billy is especially enjoyable. He only has a small part, but is a real character - in charge of his grounded steamboat in which he spends his days on the bridge watching the river and dreaming of better days.

One aspect which did not seem quite fair to the reader: One victim left behind a long letter which explained everything. Dan has the letter, refers to it and mentions it often, but the contents are not disclosed to the reader until the dénouement.

I especially enjoy newspaper-based mysteries, but usually there are a lot of chaotic newsroom scenes. Not here - the newspaper office remains a mystery. 

Overall, a good thrilling read despite the fair-play issue noted above.

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

The White Cockatoo by Mignon G. Eberhart (1933)

 

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:

• James Sundean, mining engineer, our narrator
• Marcus Lovschiem, blingy hotel manager
• Mme. Grethe Lovschiem, his wife
• Miss Sue Tally, hotel guest
• Francis Tally, her brother
• Pére  -- Robart, a priest and hotel guest
• Mrs. Felicia Byng, hotel guest
• Marcel, hotel porter
• David Lorn, private detective
• Pucci, Marcus's cockatoo

Locale: rural France

Synopsis: Mining Engineer James Sundean (our narrator) checks into a hotel in rural France during the cold off-season winter; to await arrival of his friend Jack Dunning. Although the hotel is large, there are only a handful of guests: Mrs. Felicia Byng, an annoying American woman; Pére Robart, a priest; and Miss Sue Tally, the attractive young love interest.

Sue Tally comes to Sundean's room seeking help. She said she had been abducted by unknown man, driven around, then dropped back off at the hotel. Sundean urges her to call the police but she is reticent. He then goes to the lobby to retrieve her room key. He returns to find a dead man in the hallway outside his room, and Sue Tally gone. Hotel manager Marcus Lovschiem and his temptress wife Grethe Lovschiem respond, and they find he was stabbed with a miniature dagger which had been part of the decorative clock in Sundean's room - representing Napolean's sword. As the weapon was from his room, Sundean is placed under arrest.

Private detective David Lorn arrives on the scene and quickly gets Sundean released. Lorn and Sue Tally meet with Sundean to explain the situation. Lorn has been hired by Sue's brother, Francis Tally, to track her down. Sue, along with her brother, are heirs to a $10M fortune, but before her $5M portion can be released, she must prove her identity to Francis. This is because she and her brother have been separated since infancy, and would not recognize each other by sight. Each of them had received a "token" from their father's estate - a unique item which, when matched, will prove her identity by virtue of its possession. 

It now seems likely the murdered man had been in search of her token, in order to plant a substitute Sue and claim the fortune.

Review: We start right off with some standard Eberhart: the man wrongly accused and his beautiful young brunette young interest. It's a formula, but it always works. 

The atmosphere element is enjoyable. An almost deserted hotel in a deserted resort town in winter. The winds blow and the rooms are cold, and it is a perfect setting. The characters are well-drawn, especially hand-wringing hotel manager Marcus and his come-hither wife Grethe. The cockatoo Pucci makes an appearance now and then, but pulls off the stunt that solves the case at the end.

Jack Dunning, the long-awaited friend of Sundean, never shows up and although I expected him to part of the story line, he is just written out. A map of the hotel would have been quite helpful, suffice to say it is a 2-story open square with a courtyard in the middle.

One little nitpick: Sundean obtains a gun from Lorn. At the beginnning it is described as an automatic, but somewhere along the line it becomes a revolver. Oops. Readers will also find a interesting new use for a grand piano.

Collier's Uniform Binding Mysteries

 P. F. Collier & Son Corporation certainly had a soft spot for mystery reprints, churning out a pile of them between 1928 and 1947 in attractive uniform binding sets. Generally sold in lots of six, they certainly made these titles more accessible to the public at an economical price. They are still widely available on the secondary market - check eBay and Biblio.com especially. This page provides some notes on the various series. It is likely I have not identified all the titles in each series - if you are aware of additional titles, please let me know at rickmills9@gmail.com. Thank you!

S. S. Van Dine (6 titles)

Certainly the most recognizable cover in a striking spiderweb pattern. Only six titles were released in this series:

1. The "Canary" Murder Case
2. The Greene Murder Case
3. The Bishop Murder Case
4. The Garden Murder Case
5. The Kidnap Murder Case
6. The Gracie Allen Murder Case

It is a puzzle why Collier stopped there, as there are only 12 S. S. Van Dine novels in all! Why didn't they issue the other six and complete the job? Another odd note - these titles were not sequential, but rather random from among the twelve.

John Dickson Carr (7? titles)

This is the creepist series, featuring a red-eyed skull on the spine, and the skull surrounded by eight question marks on the cover.

Issued: 

1. Death Turns the Tables
2. The Man Who Could Not Shudder
3. The Emperor's Snuff Box
4. 'Till Deth Do Us Part
5. The Case of the Constant Suicides
6. The Sleeping Sphinx
7. The Problem of the Wire Cage

There may be more.

Valentine Williams (16? titles)

This British Secret Service series is set in the period between the two World Wars. The front cover has a simple diagonal band with "Secret Service Series" embossed.

Issued:

Titles:

1. The Clock Ticks On 
2. Clubfoot the Avenger 
3. The Clue of the Rising Moon 
4. The Crouching Beast 
5. Dead Man Manor 
6. Death Answers the Bell 
7. The Eye in Attendance 
8. The Fox Prowls 
9. The Key Man (a.p.a. Pigeon House)
10. The Man With the Clubfoot 
11. Masks Off at Midnight 
12. Mysterious Miss Morrisot (a.p.a. Mannequin)
13. The Mystery of the Gold Box (a.p.a. The Gold Comfit Box)
14. The Portcullis Room 
15. The Spider's Touch 
16. The Three of Clubs 

Agatha Christie (? titles)

Front Page Mysteries (red cover)(33 titles)

detail

This series has a small man caught in a spiderweb embossed on the front cover.

Issued: 1920's - 1931
Titles:

1. Berkeley, Anthony The Silk Stocking Murders , 1929
2. Brock, Lynn Murder on the Bridge 1930
3. Buck, Neville Marked Men 1929
4. Campbell, Alice Juggernaut 1929
5. Carr, John Dickson It Walks by Night 1930
6. Carr, John Dickson The Lost Gallows 1931
7. Christie, Agatha The Seven Dials Mystery, 1929
8. Clevely, Hugh Call the Yard! 1931
9. Dalton, Moray The Body in the Road 1930
10. Dutton, Charles Streaked with Crimson 1929
11. Ferguson, John The Man in the Dark, 1928
12. Fletcher, J. S. The Diamond Murders, 1929
13. Footner, Hulbert The Under Dogs 1929
14. Footner, Hulbert The Mystery of the Folded Paper 1930
15. Freeman, R. Austin The Eye of Osiris 1911 copyright, printing date likely 1929
16. Gluck, Sinclair The Shadow in the House, 1929
17. Hart, Frances Noyes The Bellamy Trial 1929
18. Holden, Raymond The Penthouse Murders 1931
19. Hughes, Rupert The Ladies' Man 1930
20. King, Rufus Murder in the Willett Family 1931
21. Loban, Ethyl The Calloused Eye 1931
22. MacDonald, Philip The Crime Conductor 1931
23. Martin, Stuart The Trial of Scotland Yard 1930
24. Morris, W. F. "G.B." 1929
25. Packard, Frank The Adventures of Jimmy Dale 1929
26. Packard, Frank The Big Shot 1929
27. Plum, Mary The Killing of Judge MacFarlane 1930
28. Propper, Milton The Boudoir Murder 1931
29. Propper, Milton The Ticker-Tape Murders 1930
30. Rhode, John The Murder at Bratton Grange 1929
31. Rinehart, Mary Roberts The Man in Lower Ten 1929
32. Wallace, Edgar The Girl from Scotland Yard 1929
33. Wells, Carolyn Deep Lake Mystery 1928

Front Page Mysteries (black and red 'weapons' cover)(19 titles)

Issued: 1942-1947
Titles:

1. Blau, Ernest Queen's Falcon 1947 
2. Eberhart, Mignon Wings of Fear 1946
3. Ford, Leslie Murder in the OPM 1942
4. Ford, Leslie Siren in the Night 1943
5. Gardner, Erle Stanley Case of the Drowning Duck 1942
6. Hughes, Dorothy The Delicate Ape 1944
7. Hughes, Dorothy Ride the Pink Horse 1946
8. Irish, William Phantom Lady 1942
9. Lockridge, Frances & Richard Death on the Aisle 1942
10. Lockridge, Frances & Richard Killing the Goose 1944
11. Lockridge, Frances & Richard Murder Within Murder 1946
12. McCloy, Helen The Goblin Market 1943
13. Reilly, Helen Murder on Angler's Island 1945
14. Saunders, Clare Design for Treachery 1947
15. Starrett, Vincent Murder in Peking 1946
16. Stout, Rex Black Orchids 1942
17. Treat, Lawrence H as in Hunted 1946
18. Walling, R.A.J. The Corpse with the Eerie Eye 1942
19. Walling, R.A.J. A Corpse by Any Other Name 1943

Crime Club (blue and black cover)(16 titles)

Issued: 1941-1946
Titles:

1. Coles, Manning: The Fifth Man, 1946
2. Davis, Frederick C.: Deep Lay the Dead, 1942
3. Dean, Amber: Wrap It Up, 1946
4. Disney, Doris Miles: Who Rides a Tiger, 1946
5. Kelsey, Vera: Whisper Murder, 1946
6. Knight, Kathleen Moore: Terror by Twilight, 1942
7. Knight, Kathleen Moore: Trademark of a Traitor, 1943
8. Millar, Margaret: The Devil Loves Me, 1942
9. Roberts, Katharine: Center of the Web, 1942
10. Seeley, Mabel: The Chuckling Fingers, 1941
11. Seeley, Mabel: Eleven Came Back, 1943
12. Stagge, Jonathan: Death's Old Sweet Song, 1946
13. Strange, John Stephen: Look Your Last, 1943
14. Strange, John Stephen: Murder Gives a Lovely Light, 1941
15. Weston, Garnet: The Hidden Portal, 1946
16. Woolrich, Cornell: Black Angel, 1943

A Corpse by Any Other Name by R.A.J. Walling (1943)

 

AbeBooks

About the author: Robert Alfred John Walling (1869 - 1949) was an English journalist and author of detective novels. His character Philip Tolefree plays the role of the detective in most of Walling's books. Starting out as a private enquiry agent in non-criminal insurance matters, he takes on his first murder case in the Fatal Five Minutes. ... Tolefree has his own Watson, James Farrar, who narrates the first stories, is dropped, and then appears a character in later works. ("R.A.J. Walling" by Fred Dueren, quoted in wikipedia). 

Major characters:

• Philip Tolefree, Secret Service agent
• James Farrar, narrator
• Robert Blenkinsop, a.k.a. "Perry", survivor of S. S. Bridgend
• Charles Black, the other survivor of S. S. Bridgend
• William Hasty Fonthill
• Frank Jackson, a potential witness
• Capt. Barrett

Locale: Westport, England

Synopsis: World War II is in progress, and England is getting regular bombings from Germany. Our narrator, James Farrar, receives a letter from a Robert Blenkinsop, stating he is one of the survivors of the torpedoed S. S. Bridgend, and has a message for him from the ship's captain, Capt. McPherson, who went down with  the ship. Farrar meets up with Secret Service agent Philip Tolefree, and they travel to Westport to meet Blenkinsop. 

They meet up with Capt. Barrett at the Hotel Imperial in which Blenkinsop is staying. As they arrive, they encounter an injured William Hasty Fonthill fleeing, whom they apprehend. A German blitz is underway, and they take Fonthill to recover in safety at the rural home of Farmer Rawlings. Fontill suddenly recovers and escapes. 

Returning to a devastated Westport after the bombing, they find the hotel has collapsed. Two bodies are found in the wreckage: Blenkinsop (who had registered under the name Perry), and Charles Black - the only two survivors of the torpedoed ship. Examination shows both Perry and Black had been shot prior to the bombing. Fonthill is their prime suspect. Another lodger at the hotel, Frank Jackson, is perhaps a witness; so he is sought also.

It is learned Fonthill has sought refuge in the family lodge in remote, mountainous Wales. Tolefree and Farrar travel there to receive a cold reception, and Fonthill again escapes from under their noses.

Review: Philip Tolefree is a series character, but not having read previous titles, I was a bit lost as to who exactly he was; it seemed to be assumed the reader is familiar with him. It was not stated that he was Secret Service until near the end. Farrar's relationship with him, other than being our narrator and Tolefree's 'Watson', is not clear either. I am also not sure about Captain Barrett, if he is a police or military captain.

The last third of the book was a bit of a tiring slog, as every possible sequence of events of who shot Blenkinsop and Black in which order is exhaustively explored. 

We never find out what was in the important message from Captain McPherson. Oh yes, the person he gave the message to (Blenkinsop) died before he could deliver it.

I did enjoy the descriptions of mountainous Wales, and also the descriptions of life in England during the blackout.

Note: The acronym H.E. is used throughout - this means High Explosive.