Affinities by Mary Roberts Rinehart, 1920

 

aaba.org

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

 

dustjackets.com

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

 

dustjackets.com

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

 

dustjackets.com

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. 

 

Escape the Night by Mignon G. Eberhart, 1944

 

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:

• Serena "Sissy" March, New York script writer, our protagonist
• Amanda Condit, her older sister
• Sutton Condit, Amanda's husband, ranch owner
• Luisa de la Vega Condit, Sutton's aunt
• Leda Blagden, Amanda's friend
• Johnny Blagden, Leda's just ex-husband
• Jeremy "Jem" Daly, Serena's lost love
• Dr. Dave Seabrooke, researcher
• Bill Lanier, US Army

Locale: Monterey, California

Synopsis: Script writer Serena March - originally from California - takes a vacation from her New York City office to visit her sister Amanda Condit, who is married to wealthy Sutton Condit; owner of a large ranch on the Monterey, California peninsula. It has been four years since Amanda's wedding, at which time Serena fell in love with Jeremy "Jem" Daly. She could not attain a relationship with him, and left California for New York to escape. Now she is returning, and as she hoped, meets up with Jem again. He is unchanged, and the chemistry seems intact.

However, the former camaraderie of the Condits and their friends seems to have dissolved, and there is tension and bitterness; which Serena senses but cannot understand. There are rumors about others, particularly Johnny Blagden, having affairs with Amanda. Sutton's aunt, Luisa de le Vega Condit, goes walking on the cliffs with Serena and falls to her death. During the investigation, another killing occurs, and Serena is the prime suspect by circumstantial evidence.

Review: This title features two of Eberhart's usual setups: the protagonist (Serena) in a love triangle (she loves Jem, who loves Amanda); and the action occurring in a fascinating sort of Spanish architecture. Eberhart's stories frequently use a three or four sided residence built around an open patio/courtyard, two stories, bedrooms upstairs, with verandas around the inside with spiral stairs on either side. This provides opportunites for persons on the verandas to observe and listen to the people below. This story has these two exterior stairs as the only connection between floors, handy for the plot but totally impractical for a residence. In any event, I always look forward to stories using this sort of residence, as it is already in my mind's eye.

It is interesting seeing how the four years' absence - and the war -has changed the group of friends for the worse. Amanda deteriorates before our eyes. 

I did pick the killer out early on. But that's OK, still an engaging story.

Terror by Twilight by Kathleen Moore Knight, 1942

 

This is Margot Blair #3 (of 4).

Major characters:

• Benjamin K. Embrie, wealthy patriarch
• Sam Embrie, his brother
• Countess Adelaide von Reisenau, his sister
• Count Hans von Reisenau, his brother-in-law
• Brooke K. Embrie, his disinherited son
• Adele Embrie Bourne, his missing daughter
• Arthur Bourne, Adele's husband
• Judith Maine, Arthur's secretary and in line to be wife #2
• Deborah Bourne, daughter of Arthur and Adele
• Adrian Ambrie, Deborah's second cousin
• Remsen Gray, reclusive neighbor
• Dan Murphy, chauffeur
• Donal Craigie, butler
• Janet Craigie, housekeeper, wife of Donal
• Margot Blair, of Norman and Blair, Public Relations
• Corey Graham, newspaper liaison for Norman and Blair, Public Relations

Locale: The Berkshires of western Massachusetts

Synopsis: Millionaire Benjamin K. Embrie hires public relations outfit Norman and Blair, paying a handsome monthly fee just to keep them ready if needed. He then approaches Margot Blair to serve as a support for his sheltered granddaughter, Deborah Bourne, buying her clothes and other things as needed; as her mother Adele Bourne has been missing for years and is presumed dead. Margot gets invited to his home Thistle Hills in the Berkshires to meet Deborah.  Embrie dies while she is en route.

Margot meets Deborah and finds it is believed she suffers from a periodic violent mania, in which it is believed she was responsible for some pet deaths. Embrie's will benefits his family equally, but it turns out that he was on the verge of signing a new will,  leaving everything to Deborah. When his death is found to be by poison, suspicion rests on the family members; who are all trying to point the finger at Deborah instead. 

Margot teams up with her newspaper liaison, Corey Graham and butler Donal Craigie to investigate who killed Embrie, and whether Deborah really has a mania or not.

Review: This has the standard formula of the victim being murdered just prior to signing a new will. (Moral: Don't tell anyone until after you sign it). 

The story is about the relatives "gaslighting" Deborah - making her think she is insane, in order to  get her found incompetent to inherit under a will.

I didn't care for the two instances of killing pets. This dampened my enjoyment of the story. I have read most of K.M. Knight's stories, this is the only one which has that.

I was not able to figure out Adrian Embrie's relationship until the end. He is identified as Deborah's distant cousin, he wanted to marry Deborah, and his parents are named but not connected up to family until at the end it is mentioned he is Sam's grandson (making him a second cousin to Deborah).

Also note the "twilight" in the title does not reference literal twilight, but rather the medical treatment known as "twilight sleep" which is a plot element. An AI inquiry defined this as: "Twilight sleep, also known as Dämmerschlaf, is an amnesic state characterized by insensitivity to pain, which can occur with or without the loss of consciousness. This technique was primarily developed for use during childbirth and involves the administration of a combination of drugs, specifically morphine and scopolamine. The purpose of twilight sleep is to manage pain during labor while allowing the patient to remain in a semi-conscious state."

 

 

The Broken Vase by Rex Stout, 1941

 

This is Techumseh Fox #3. 

No review, cover photo only.

Siren in the Night by Leslie Ford, 1943

dustjackets.com

About the author: Leslie Ford is a pseudonym of Zenith Jones Brown, 1898-1984. She also wrote as David Frome and Brenda Conrad. Here is her bibliography. Also see this Book Scribbles blog: Leslie Ford's Fall From Grace. 

Major characters:

• Loring Kimball, philanthropist
• Lucy Kimball, his second wife
• Amelia Kimball, his stepdaughter
• Thorne Kimball, his daughter
• Nat Donahue, indebted to Loring
• Ilya Donahue, his nasty wife
• Prentiss Vale, architect
• Dr. & Mrs. Norton
• The Butts family, Mr. & Mrs and son Freddie
• Grace Latham, narrator
• Col. John Primrose
• Jim Brodie, newspaper feature writer

Locale: San Francisco, 1942

Synopsis: Grace Latham is our narrator, and she describes San Joaquin Terrace where the action takes place. There are six houses in order (the street is U-shaped but that is immaterial):

1. Grace Latham & Molly Macintyre
2. Nat & Ilya Donahue
3. Mr. & Mrs. Prentiss Vale
4. Loring Kimball
5. Dr. & Mrs. Norton
6. Mr. & Mrs. Butts and son Freddie

San Francisco is on edge due to the war, and there are frequent blackouts to prevent bombing by the Japanese. The story centers on philanthropist Loring Kimball, his second wife Lucy, daughter Thorne and stepdaughter Amelia. His first wife reportedly died in the San Francisco fire. Kimball is seen as an eccentric, having physically moved his Victorian home up the hill to its present location, next to architect Prentiss Vale's modern home.  He keeps his first wife's bedroom as a shrine, as it was, locked, with the lights on all night. This has become a concern as the wardens have to get the light turned off during blackouts.

Neighbor Nat Donahue is employed by Kimball, who controls him by holding a number of financial notes owed by Donahue. Although married to Ilya, Nat is in love with Kimball's daughter, Thorne.

Kimball is working in his study one night, as the air raid siren goes off. All the lights in the neighborhood go out, and when the All Clear sounds, he is found dead at his desk. An autopsy reveals poisoning by cyanide.

Review: This book gives a thorough description of life in San Francisco during the war, with the frequent air raid warnings and blackout procedures. The story is fascinating, with a lot of drama between the neighbors, as well as the mystery of the locked shrine room and the unrequited love story of Nat and Thorne. I enjoyed the first 95% of the story, but I did not like the ending. It revealed the murderer, but the conclusion was sad, and to my mind, an unnecessary resolution.