The Mardi Gras Murders by Gwen Bristow and Bruce Manning (1932)

 

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About  this selection:

About the authors: Here is a Wikipedia article about Gwen Bristow and her husband, Bruce Manning. They also authored three other novels in the Mystery League series (The Invisible Host, The Gutenberg Murders,  and Two and Two Make Twenty-Two). 

Principal characters:

• Cynthia Fontenay, leader of DIS 
• Roger Parnell, DIS member killed at the party
• Arnold Ghent, DIS member
• Dick Barron, DIS member, lost a bundle at The Red Cat
• Ross Hildreth, DIS member
• Lucy Lake, Cynthia's maid
• Esther Morse, guest of honor at the DIS party
• Fritz Valdon, owner of The Red Cat gambling joint
• Con Conroy, secretary to Fritz Valdon
• Mark Oliver, toy manufacturer
• Tony Wiggins, photographer for The Morning Creole
• --- Wade, reporter for The Morning Creole
• Captain Murphy, of the Homicide Squad
• Dan Farrell, District Attorney

Locale: New Orleans

Synopsis:

The story is set in three parts, corresponding to the three days at the beginning of Mardi Gras: Collup Monday, Shrove Tuesday, and Ash Wednesday. DIS is a secretive group of 50 who hold their own alternative Mardi Gras celebration with a satanic theme: members dress in masked devil costumes and hold a big drinking party. As they are masked, the only way to tell them apart is a number of the back of each costume.

Photographer Tony Wiggins is assigned to take a group photo for his paper, The Morning Creole. Soon after, one of the DIS party, wearing #47, is found dead by Lucy Lake, maid to DIS leader Cynthia Fontenay. The victim is initially thought to be Arnold Ghent, but when his mask is removed he turns out to be Roger Parnell, wearing the incorrectly numbered costume; belonging to Ross Hildreth. Hildreth was out of town and missed the DIS party.

The investigation begins by Captain Murphy, and reporter -- Wade is his confidante and assistant. 45 of the DIS members present were in a closed room under observation when the murder occurs, and are eliminated from suspicion. The 5 remaining and some others (p. 89) are rounded up for questioning.

Toy manufacturer Mark Oliver, DIS member 147, is shot and slightly wounded by persons unknown. 

Cynthia Fonteney is questioned, and soon after dies in a fall during the Mardi Gras parade. Is it murder? When the parade is over, the body of Mark Oliver is found inside a closed simulated fish bowl on the float in which he was riding.

Review:

If nothing else, this book will acquaint you with the runup to Mardi Gras. I'm not sure if the DIS group has any basis in reality, a quick search did not turn up anything on it; but there are many and complex groups making up the celebration.

Reporter Wade seems to have a free hand in running the investigation, with the authorities having minimal participation. In the 1930's everything revolved around the newspaper world, and this story reflects that. Wade works out the solution with photographer Wiggins running the leg work. It is enjoyable following this pair as they work so well together.

It is distracting that the speech patterns of African-American is represented by phonetic spellings, i.e. "yessuh". Although unacceptable today as stereotyped, this was a prevalent writing style of the 1930's. There is liberal use of the n-word when referring to African-Americans, yet this seems, in context, non-derogatory. Two African-Americans play key roles in resolving the murders.

Two and Two Make Twenty Two by Gwen Bristow and Bruce Manning (1932)

 

dustjackets.com

About this selection: This selection was scheduled to contain the solution to Baffle Case Number Three, The Alexander Mystery (presented in #22, The Bungalow on the Roof). However, there is only this brief mention on the dust jacket flap: "The results of the Baffle Case, The Alexander Mystery, have individually been sent to all contestants submitting solutions." This was the last mention of Baffle Cases in the series. 

Gwen Bristow (wikipedia)

About the authors: Here is a Wikipedia article about Gwen Bristow and her husband, Bruce Manning. They also authored three other novels in the Mystery League series (The Invisible Host, The Gutenberg Murders,  and The Mardi Gras Murders). 

Principal characters:

• Brett Allison, owner of the Peacock Club
• Major Jack Raymond, federal drug smuggling investigator
• Andrew Dillingham, federal drug smuggling investigator
• Linton Barclay, federal drug smuggling investigator
• Daisy Dillingham, perky grandmother of Andrew Dillingham, amateur sleuth
• Eva Shale, beautiful woman with a mysterious source of income
• Imogen Cupping, guest of the club
• Tracy Cupping, guest of the club, jealous husband of Imogen
• Judith Garon, guest of the club, keeps busy with frequent changes of elegant clothing
• -- Foster, potential buyer of the Peacock Club
• Mrs. Penn, manager of the club, subject to hysterics
• -- Warren, maitre d' and chaffeur of the club
• Felicia Meade, telephone operator of the club
• Beans, radio operator for the club
• Pedro Artinza, crewman on Linton Barclay's yacht
• John Smith, crewman on Linton Barclay's yacht

Locale: Paradise Island, in the Gulf of Mexico off Mississippi

Synopsis: 

A storm is approaching Paradise Island in the Gulf of Mexico. The island is the site of the Peacock Club resort owned by Brett Allison. Most of the guests have gone to the mainland for the duration of the storm but a few remain. Of those remaining are three men investigating drug smuggling into the US via the Gulf (Major Jack Raymond, Andrew Dillingham, and Linton Barclay). 

A private plane lands - on the golf course, no less - to discharge Daisy Dillingham, grandmother of Andrew.

Just as the storm arrives, Linton Barclay is found murdered in his cottage, with Eva Shale present, but disclaiming any knowledge of the murder. The mainland authorities empower Brett Allison to secure the scene and begin the investigation.

It turns out pretty much everyone has a motive, and everyone was in the vicinity of the cottage at the time of the murder. The interviews boil down to a exhaustive query into everyone's movements and accusations. 

To better understand the setting, here is a sketch of my conception of the cottage area which I reverse-engineered from the text. 

Linton Barclay's cottage at the time of the murder.

Numbers indicate page number references.

The investigation gets derailed when Pedro Artinza and John Smith, crewmen on Linton Barclay's yacht, come ashore and start a fight. Artinza is injured. On his deathbed, he tells Daisy that Barclay has committed other murders by using his cane as a weapon. His dying comments allow Daisy to figure out who Barclay's murderer is.

Review:

This is one novel which cries out for a map of the environs, S. S. Van Dine or Ellery Queen style - so I had to sketch my own in the process. This is a classic stranded-on-the-island murder which is supposed to limit the cast of characters, but somehow new ones keep popping in periodically. One character, "McPherson" just shows up in the action with no explanation, and I am still not sure who "Warren" is either. 

The solution lies in breaking down the alibis of everyone over the time of the murder, and gets a little tedious (as real detective work goes, I suppose). Feisty Daisy solves the case by her observations, and is a good solid character. When she reveals the solution, my eyebrows went up at the surprising development.

There are some fair play issues which put the reader at a disadvantage. Daisy keeps some observations to herself and does not share them with the reader. The final resolution of what-to-do-with-the-murderer is certainly not kosher legally, but in a sense satisfying to the reader.

In addition, may I refer you to this fine synopsis and review posted by Bev Hankins on Goodreads.com. 

The Gutenberg Murders by Gwen Bristow and Bruce Manning (1931)

 

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About this edition: This edition contains a teaser of the first chapter of the next edition (The Merrivale Mystery by James Corbett).

Gwen Bristow (wikipedia)

About the authors: Here is a Wikipedia article about Gwen Bristow and her husband, Bruce Manning. They also authored three other novels in the Mystery League series (The Invisible Host, Two and Two Make Twenty-Two, and The Mardi Gras Murders). 

Principal characters: 

• Dr. Prentiss, head of the Sheldon Library
• Quentin Ulman, assistant librarian; whose racket is "wine, women, and books."
• Luke Dancy, secretary of the library, cultivates an English accent
• Marie Catillo, employee of the library
• Terry Sheldon, nephew of the library's founder
• Alfredo Gonzales, head trustee of the library
• Winifred Gonzales, man-chasing wife of Alfredo
• Wade, reporter for The Morning Creole
• Dan Farrell, District Attorney
• Captain Murphy, Homicide

Locale: New Orleans

Synopsis: The prize possession of the Sheldon Library is nine leaves of a Gutenberg Bible, worth a small fortune. The leaves are stolen from the library's safe. DA Dan Farrell and reporter Wade (tapped as a special investigator) discuss possible identities of the thief. 

Dr. Prentiss and Alfredo Gonzales have been at odds over the years. Prentiss obtained the Gutenberg leaves, but Gonzales claims they are forgeries. Quentin Ulman has been known to steal various items from the library but has never been prosecuted - and he is having relationships with two different women. Winifred Gonzales chases every man she encounters. 

Almost immediately after the theft, Quentin Ulman is found dead, his body torched on the little-used road in front of the library's off-site bindery building where books are repaired.

The investigation gathers facts, and after a society party, Winifred is found dead in her burned out car.

Wade looks into the deaths, and finds love triangles as well as complications arising from a convoluted will left by the library's founder.

Review: This story takes place primarily in the Sheldon Library of New Orleans, and the nearby bindery in which books are repaired. The beginning was good - two characters, assistant librarian Quentin Ulman and ingenue Winifred Gonzales - meet separate deaths in strange yet similar manner. The middle of the book mostly involves various drama between four (suspect) characters, who form various love triangles; and speculation on motives. Complicating the case is the will left by the library's founder which is so convoluted it provides plenty of motives to go around. At the end we find out the murders occur by an obscure, scientific method much too outrageous to actually work, or be believed today; but in the 1930's mystery writers were always trying to outdo each other with arcane methods of murder. This murderer drew his/her inspiration from the Greek play Medea by Euripedes. If you want to bone up on that play first, here it is >> http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35451/35451-h/35451-h.htm

The Invisible Host by Gwen Bristow & Bruce Manning (1930)

photo: dustjackets.com

About this edition: This edition announces the next release will be a special  Christmas selection, consisting of five titles in a special slip case. A short preview of each appears in the back. The titles included are:

• The Day of Uniting. Edgar Wallace, 1930
• The Monster of Grammont. George Goodchild, 1930
• The House of Terror. Edward Woodward, 1930
• The Hardway Diamonds Mystery. Miles Burton, 1930
• Peril. Sydney Horler, 1930

Gwen Bristow (wikipedia)

About the authors: Here is a Wikipedia article about Gwen Bristow and her husband, Bruce Manning. They also authored three other novels in the Mystery League series (The Gutenberg Murders, Two and Two Make Twenty-Two, and The Mardi Gras Murders). 

Major characters: See list below.

Locale: New Orleans

Synopsis: Eight people receive identical anonymous (from 'your host') telegrams inviting them to a posh New Orleans party, indicating each is to be the guest of honor:

1. Mrs. Gaylord (Margaret) Chisholm, high society, hostess of a debutante's ball
2. Dr. Murray Chambers Reid, professor of economics
3. Jason Osgood, financier
4. Peter Daly, playwright
5. Sylvia Inglesby, lawyer
6. Tim Slamon, politician
7. Henry "Hank" Abbott, painter
8. Jean Trent, actress

This Wikipedia article summarizes the plot as follows: The Invisible Host tells the story of eight people who are summoned to a deserted, well-appointed New Orleans penthouse by an anonymous invitation. Once there the guests, who are all known to each other, are served a fabulous dinner. But soon thereafter, they are accused by a voice over the radio that they are all going to die before the night is out. The unseen host has meticulously prepared the demise of each guest, and has booby-trapped the penthouse to prevent anyone from escaping. As they steadily succumb to the murderer's devices, some begin to suspect that the killer may be one of them.

This novel was turned into the 1934 movie, The Ninth Guest. (Available on DVD from Amazon).

Also see this synopsis and review by Kate (Archairreviewer) on her blog Crossexaminingcrime.