Enter the Saint by Leslie Charteris, 1930

 

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About the author: Leslie Charteris (1907 – 1993), was a British-Chinese author of adventure fiction, as well as a screenwriter. He was best known for his many books chronicling the adventures of his charming hero Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". Charteris spent 55 years – 1928 to 1983 – as either writer of or custodian of Simon Templar's literary adventures, one of the longest uninterrupted spans of a single author in the history of mystery fiction, equalling that of Agatha Christie (from Wikipedia). 

Series characters:

• Simon Templar, The Saint
• Norman Kent, one of the Saint's "haloes"
• Roger Conway, one of the Saint's "haloes"
• Dicky Tremayne, one of the Saint's "haloes"
• Patricia Holm, Simon's girlfriend
• Chief Inspector Claude Eustace Teal

This title contains three novellas. Some reprints are rumored to only contain two.

The Man Who Was Clever

The Saint infiltrates a gambling den at "Danny's Club", run by owner Edgar Hayn and cocaine smuggler 'Snake' Ganning. He enlists the help of gambling-debt-laden Jerry Stannard and his girlfriend Gwen Chandler. The plan is to get a hold of $10,000 of ill-gotten gains and route them to charity, while getting Stannard back on the right path.

Mini-review: This is the standard Saint pattern: a repulsive crook, an innocent in need of help, a beautiful girl, and a plan to teach the crook a lesson. Lots of action and fisticuffs. 

 The Policeman With Wings

Roger Conway meets a girl, Betty Aldo, who has a strange story. Her uncle Sebastian built a house seven years ago; and suddenly some characters are insisting on buying the property. He had stubbornly refused, and one day he was seen getting into a car with a policeman; and neither were heard from again. Even stranger, no policeman is missing.

Mini-review: A clever setup with the bad guys suddenly interested in real estate. The Saint turns the tables on the fake policeman scam and has Roger Conway masquerade as one as well, but everybody gets tied up in a house full of dynamite with a slow-burning fuse. High adventure!

The Lawless Lady

Countess Anusia Marova has chartered a yacht to entertain some rich guests. However, her real name is Audrey Perowne, and she is the head of a group of crooks set on robbing the guests. The Saint is set on infiltrating her operation, as one of her crooks had murdered an innocent girl. Simon is too well known, and deputizes Dicky Tremayne to get aboard as one of the gang.

 

Mini-review: Dicky Tremaine handles most of the action, with The Saint popping in for a cameo at the end. Infiltration of the gang and the resulting love interest stretches believablity, but it's all in good fun and revenge is properly taken.

The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories by Agatha Christie, 1932-1939

This is a collection of short stories featuring Christie's series characters (except #8).

1. The Regatta Mystery: At a luncheon following a yachting party, C. Parker Pyne investigates the case of a valuable diamond. It went missing in a "sealed" room after a teenage girl giggles that she could make it disappear.

2. The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest: Marguerita Clayton's husband is dead, and stuffed in a trunk. Before the body is cold, she wants Hercule Poirot on the case; not to find the killer, but to exonerate her lover.

3. How Does Your Garden Grow? Amelia Barrowby writes to Hercule Poirot for advice. Before he can respond, she is dead by poison. He visits the family to find not only were they  awaiting her inheritance, but placed a curious arrangement in her flower garden.

4. Problem at Pollensa Bay: On vacation in Spain, C. Parker Pyne meets Adela Chester, who certainly does not approve of her son Basil's fiancée, Betty. Pyne manages to adjust Adela's attitude with the help of a mysterious Miss Ramona.

5. Yellow Iris: Hercule Poirot is lured to a dinner party at the Jardin des Cygnes (Garden of the Swans), where there are five present at a table for six, marked by a vase of yellow irises. The host, Barton Russell, explains the dinner is in honor of his dead wife, Iris, who died of poison at a similar party in New York four years earlier; and he knows the murderer is one of them. As Poirot watches, one of the party falls face down on the table.

6. Miss Marple Tells a Story: Mr. Rhodes is suspected of killing his wife in a connecting hotel room. Her room was found locked on the inside, with access only through his own room. Miss Marple figures out who - and how - it was done. The layout is critical, here is my sketch map which will allow you to follow along:

7. The Dream: Benedict Farley asks for Hercule Poirot's advice. He has a recurring dream of looking at his office clock (3:28 PM) and then shooting himself. A week after Poirot interviewed him,  he is found shot dead at 3:28 in his locked room. Despite appearances of suicide, Poirot smells murder.

8. In a Glass Darkly: Our unnamed narrator sees a vision in his mirror, of a woman he admires being strangled by her fiancé. He finally gets the nerve to warn her about it, but then it happens for real. Can this marriage be saved?

9. Problem at Sea: Henpecked Colonel Clapperton and his annoying wife are on a voyage. She retires to her cabin to rest, locking her door. Later she is found murdered in her bed. Hercule Poirot stages a theatrical trick to expose the murderer.

Mini-reviews: 

The Regatta Mystery: We find how the diamond disappears, but the whole episode of the broken wine glass escapes relevance to me. 

Miss Marple Tells a Story: Best of the batch. I spent an enjoyable time  sketching out the layout (above) and using it to follow the paths of two characters - the chambermaid and the killer. It is a clever setup and quite satisfying when you understand how it was done.

Problem at Pollensa Bay: No murder here, just a social engineering episode. Good reading if you don't like who your son/daughter chooses for a mate and you want to "fix" it.

Yellow Iris: Both this story and Miss Marple Tells a Story use the theme of "invisible" people. The two stories are similar, but with a different cast and locale.

The Dream: How to commit a murder which only requires a tremendous amount of advance planning. Interesting way to lure your victim to the window. But why shoot him? Just let him fall out...

In a Glass Darkly: No murder here, but a long-term infatuation turns out OK in the end, all happily ever after. Satisfying, although unfortunate husband #1 got killed in the war. Did you catch the biblical reference? (title from 1 Corinthians 13:12)

Recommendations:

• Locked-room fans will enjoy 1,6,7,9.
• Murder mystery fans will enjoy 2,3,5,6,7
• Cozy fans will enjoy 4.

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

Double for Death by Rex Stout, 1939

 

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Series: Tecumseh Fox #1

About the author: Rex Stout (1886 – 1975) was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. His best-known characters are the detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin, who were featured in 33 novels and 39 novellas between 1934 and 1975. (wikipedia). (bibliography)

Major characters:

• Nancy Grant, Fox's client
• Andrew Grant, Nancy's uncle - accused of murder
• Ridley Thorpe, president of Thorp Control
• Jeffrey Thorpe, Ridley's son
• Miranda (Thorpe) Pemberton, Ridley's daughter (divorced)
• Vaughn Kester, Ridley's confidential secretary
• Luke Wheer, Ridley's chauffeur/valet
• Dorothy Duke, Ridley's mistress
• Henry Jordan, Dorothy's father
• Corey Arnold, Ridley's stand-in
• Tecumseh Fox, private investigator
• Dan Pavey, Tecumseh's Vice President
• Ben Cook, White Plains Chief of Police
• P.L. Derwin, District Attorney of Westchester County

Locale: Westchester County, New York (just north of New York City)

Synopsis: Nancy Grant hires Private Investigator Tecumseh Fox to assist her uncle, Andrew Grant, who is facing a murder charge. Grant just happened to be on the scene when Ridley Thorpe was shot in his remote bungalow getaway, which he maintained for his affairs with various women. Fox discovers that Thorpe is still alive, and the dead man is Corey Arnold - a somewhat look-alike he hires as a stand-in for security purposes. Thorpe is concerned he is the suspect, and hires Fox to build up an alibi for him. Then another murder occurs.

Review: This one was extremely fast-paced, and quite hard to follow as Tecumseh races from one inquiry to the next. There are two victims, one a stand-in for the other, two clients, two guns, and lots of misdirection. Halfway through I considered DNF'ing it, but I stuck with it, didn't pay too much attention to the details, and just enjoyed the ride. Fox's household is an amusing scene,  with his landlady and various hangers-on inhabiting it. Bottom line: Tecumseh Fox is to Nero Wolfe as Donald Lam is to Perry Mason!

Death Answers the Bell by Valentine Williams, 1931

 

Series: Trevor Dene #1

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:

• Miss Aline Innesmore, from New York
• Sir Charles "Chass" and Lady Julia Rossway
• Sholto Rossway, their son, 26
• Geraldine "Gerry" Rossway, Sholto's wife, 23
• Rodney Rossway, their son, 25
• Barrasford "Barry" Swete, tenant and family friend
• Mr. Murch, Sir Charles' secretary

Locale: London

Synopsis: Lady Julia Rossway, of Frant House, is presenting her friend Miss Aline Innesmore at Court. It is big occasion to be presented to the King and Queen, and Aline is wearing her new presentation gown. After, she stops by Frant House to the lodgings of the Rossway's tenant Barry Swete, a friend of the family; to show him her new gown. Swete's apartment, with The Yellow Door, is connected to Frant House via an old covered tennis court. It is early in the morning, and as Aline knocks on his door the lights inside suddenly go out. She returns to the car and notices blood on the hem of her gown (illustrated above). Chauffeur Giles and Lady Julia's son Rodney Rossway force entrance to find Barry dead on the floor. Later they realize the killer must have been in the room with them.

Review: I always enjoy Valentine Williams. I especially liked the tight cast of characters - the list above is IT (other than the police and a couple incidentals). The investigation would have been much easier all around except that the Rossways, having found the murder weapon, just pass it around as a curiosity for everyone to fondle instead of mentioning it to the police. Much of the middle part is trying to follow the travels of the gun, all immaterial as the murder had long since occurred. There is a secret passage, too, which figures in the story as well. It is discovered in the proper Gothic manner, in the middle of the night by the heroine (Aline) in her diaphanous nightgown holding a candle, with a cold wind blowing.

This is the first Trevor Dene and he has a very small part to play in the investigation, but he does get romantically involved with Aline. 

 

Road to Folly by Leslie Ford, 1940

 

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

Major characters:

Diane Baker, interior decorator, our narrator

John Michener, attorney

Of Darien plantation:

• Phyllis Lattimer, wealthy, ambitious, owns Darien plantation
• Rusty Lattimer, her husband
• Anne Lattimer, Rusty's sister
• Brad Porter, Phyllis' ex
• Felice Marin, French maid

Of Strawberry Hill plantation:

• Miss Caroline Reid, 80-year old matriarch
• Atwell Reid, her nephew, deceased before story
• Mrs. Elsie Reid, Atwell's widow, Caroline's niece (by marriage)
• Jennifer Reid, Elsie's 22-year old daughter
• Colleton Reid, Elsie's son

Locale: Charleston, South Carolina

Synopsis: Decorator Diane Baker travels from Philadelphia to visit old school chum la-di-dah Southern belle Phyllis Lattimer. Phyllis and her husband Rusty Lattimer own genteel Darien Plantation, which is adjacent to run-down Strawberry Hill Plantation; owned by the destitute Reid family. 

Grasping Phyllis is determined to get her hands on the Reid's antique furniture, and tries to use Diane to achieve this. She wants Diane to appeal to matriarch Caroline Reid. Caroline, 80, in poor health, is confined to her rooms. The family maintains a charade for her benefit, keeping her rooms and the gardens outside her window in pristine condition; while the rest of the estate is slowly being gutted and sold off. The Reid family consists of Caroline's niece, Mrs. Elsie Reid, widowed upon the hunting accident death of her husband Atwell Reid. Their two children are Jennifer Reid and Colleton Reid. No one talks about Atwell's death, but it appears Colleton had been holding the gun when it happened. Now another death occurs.

Complicating the dynamics are two cross-family love affairs: Rusty Lattimer with Jennifer Reid, and Colleton Reid with Rusty's sister, Anne Lattimer.

Review: This setting of genteel plantation estates reminds me of Rebecca (Daphne du Maurier). As in that story, there are long-kept family secrets which no one talks about; which are gradually revealed. As soon as arrogant Phyllis was introduced, I knew she was to be a victim. I liked the comparisons of the two side-by-side estates, one lavish, one becoming decrepit. The maintenance of the charade of unchanging wealth for Caroline's benefit is poignant. The story is presented through the eyes of third-party Diane Baker, and this is an effective way to move the story along. 

There are two murders, and the victims are left with a mass of Spanish moss over their faces. I was not sure if that is the murder method or not, it was not explained. I haven't seen Spanish moss but it seems an odd way to do away with someone. The cover (above) suggests the right hand is holding a clump of it (the light green stuff?), about to squish it onto the victim.

There is a jarring contrast with the Black servants - they are always spoken to politely and respectfully in person, but when they are not present they are referred to by using the n-word. Hypocrisy at its best.

About the title: Folly is a beach area just south of Charleston, although that does not play a part in the story.

Again the Three Just Men by Edgar Wallace, 1928

 

Series: This is the Four Just Men series #6.

About the author: Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1875-1932) was a prolific British crime writer, journalist and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and countless articles in newspapers and journals (Goodreads). In terms of production, by cranking out one novel per month, he was the British equivalent of Erle Stanley Gardner. See this Wikipedia article.

This is a series of ten short stories featuring the three just men: Leon Gonsalez (a.k.a. Señor Mandrelino), George Manfred (a.k.a. Señor Fuentes), and --- Poiccart; and Scotland Yard Assistant Commissioner Reginald Fare. The three are described thus: "The 'Three Just Men' was an organisation which set itself to right acts of injustice which the Law left unpunished. It is believed that the members were exceedingly rich men who devoted their lives and fortunes to this quixotic but wholly unlawful purpose." The stories are best read in order, as some refer back to previous ones.

The Man Who Lived at Clapham: Noah Stedland had an office and fancied himself a financier, but his real occupation was blackmail.

The Man With the Canine Teeth: Professor Tableman is found dead in his laboratory, apparently strangled. The Three Just Men have a different theory.

The Man Who Hated Earthworms: Dr. Viglow is engaged to be married to Miss Moleneux, but she is concerned about his erratic behavior, and his hatred of earthworms. 

The Man Who Died Twice: Gregory Ballam operates an opium den and gambling operation in three adjoining houses, until the Three Just Men send him to "prison". 

The Man Who Hated Amelia Jones: Amelia Jones approaches the Three Just Men. She is worried her imprisoned husband is going to 'do her in' when he is released. The Three Just Men provide an alternate victim.

The Man Who Was Happy: Leon Gonsalez has a problem: A criminal has discovered he is one of the Three Just Men. And Lord Pertham has a marriage problem: too many wives. The Three Just Men set out to fix both problems.

The Man Who Loved Music: Mr. Lynne cannot get to sleep unless he plays his record of Tschaikovsky's "1812" - very loud, annoying the neighbors. The Three Just Men use the ruckus to their own advantage.

The Man Who Was Plucked: Jack Eden, neighbor to Manfred and Gonsalez, is despondent over gambling debts. He attempts - and fails - suicide, and the Three Just Men go after the the man who caused the whole thing.

The Man Who Would Not Speak: Clever "Spaghetti" Jones pulls off a kidnapping, and won't reveal where the child is hidden, until the Three Just Men find a way to make him talk.

The Man Who Was Acquitted: Dr. Twenden poisoned his wife, and got away with it. Until the Three Just Men figure out how it was done.

Ten short stories - each one a good length for a bedtime read before turning out the light, and going to sleep knowing justice has prevailed.

Murder on Cape Cod by Maddie Day, 2019

 

Series: This is Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery #1.

About the author: Maddie Day is a pseudonym of Edith Maxwell. She is a talented amateur chef and holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Indiana University. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction which has appeared in a number of juried anthologies. She lives with her beau and three cats in Massachusetts. (Fantastic Fiction)

Major characters:

• Mackenzie "Mac" Almeida, bike shop owner
• Derrick Searle, Mac's half brother
• Florence "Flo" Wolanski, librarian
• Gin Malloy, candy shop owner
• Zane King, distiller
• Stephen ----, Zane's husband
• Tulia Peters, lobstah shack owner
• Norland Gifford, retired chief of police
• Jake Lacey, handyman
• Tim Brunelle, Mac's boyfriend
• Orlean Brown, Mac's bike mechanic
• Suzanne Wolanski, Flo's daughter, bookstore owner
• Mysterious person #1: Wesley Farnham, wealthy visitor
• Mysterious person #2: Katherine Deloit, "blazer woman"
• Mysterious person #3:  Wendy Rawson, "the happy/sad woman"
• Chief of Police Victoria Laitinen
• Detective Lincoln Haskins

members of the Cozy Capers Book Group

Locale: Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Synopsis: Mackenzie "Mac" Almeida owns a bike shop on Cape Cod. She is returning from a meeting of the Cozy Capers Book Group on a foggy night, and trips over a body - that of handyman Jake Lacey. She sees a knife in his neck, with a distinctive haft, belonging to her half-brother Derrick Searle. Derrick is nowhere to be found.

Mac had been observed in a confrontation with Lacey earlier over his work on her roof, which raises the suspicion of police chief Victoria Laitinen. Mac and the book group decide to do some investigating on their own, and share their findings with Detective Lincoln Haskins. They come up with three persons of immediate interest: Wesley Farnham, wealthy mainland apartment house owner; Katherine Deloit (a.k.a. blazer woman), and an unidentified "sad woman". No sooner than they begin making progress, when Mac gets warned off, and an attempt made on her lift.

Review: Cozy mysteries are new to me, and I certainly enjoyed this one. I realize why. I tend to read mostly golden-age mysteries, which have a lot in common with cozies: simple plots, generally one victim, no blood, no gory wound descriptions, no bad language, no sex scenes. 

Having been to Cape Cod a number of times, I found the writing authentic as to place and characters. Mac reminds me a lot of Kinsey Millhone of the Sue Grafton alphabet series, being a minimalist single introvert living in a tiny house - in fact, she (Kinsey) is even mentioned in a meeting of the book group.

My only quibble is the rather unbelieveable coincidence that mystery woman Katherine Deloit would stop her car just within earshot of Mac, get out, and have a loud cell phone conversation which reveals a lot of information.

I see there are seven titles in this series, and I will be looking out for others on Paperback Swap. 

You may also enjoy these reviews by other members of The Mystillery:

• this review by Susan Jensen on Goodreads
• this review by Tari Hann on Goodreads
• this review by Karen Baroness on Baroness' Book Trove
• this review by Traci on Title Surfing with Traci