Death on the Aisle by Frances and Richard Lockridge (1942)

 

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About the authors: Richard Orson Lockridge (1898 –1982) was an American writer of detective fiction. Richard Lockridge with his wife Frances (1896-1963) created one of the most famous American mystery series, Mr. and Mrs. North. (wikipedia).

Major characters (see the convenient program!)

and...

• Pam and Jerry North, amateur detectives
• Lt. Bill Weigand
• Dorian Hunt, his fiancée
• Detective Sergeant Aloysius Mullins
• Edward Evans, theatre custodian

Locale: a theatre on New York City's Broadway

Synopsis: Police Lt. Bill Weigand is on the verge of finding a minister to marry him and his fiancée, Dorian Hunt, when he gets a call to a homicide at the West 45th St. Theatre in New York City.

He arrives to find Pam and Jerry North in attendance at a rehearsal for the play "Two in the Bush". During the rehearsal, Dr. Carney Bolton is found stabbed to death in the audience sears. Bolton had been a theatre enthusiast and had been backing this production. The weapon - an ice pick - is still in him. Weigand locks down the theatre and interviews the cast and staff. One cannnot be found - custodian Edward Evans. After a search, Evans is located unconscious in a storeroom, having been pushed down the stairs.

Weigand stresses to the cast/staff that one of them must be the killer, and anyone with any knowledge of the crime is in danger themselves. No one admits to anything, but his assertion comes true when actress Ellen Grady does not show up for the next rehearsal. Weigand and Pam respond to her apartment, to find her drowned in her bathtub.

Review: I enjoyed this one as Bill Weigand plods through the investigation, ever slowly going forward in a good procedural manner. A detailed analysis of who-was-where every minute and checks into background relationships gradually narrows down the suspects. There are only a handful of possibilities for the killer - but the motive remains elusive until Weigand makes a phone call and asks one medical question of the doctor. The reader is not privy to the question or the answer, and this has the one footnote in the book - in which the author explains that the subject of the question, although not revealed, concerns a 'fact in evidence', and that the particulars have been laid before the reader previously in this Ellery Queen-like fair play disclaimer. This is, in fact, the turning point of the book.

The Norths have only a small presence in the book, and their involvement stems from being present at the rehearsal when the murder occurred. Pam accompanies Weigand to Ellen Grady's apartment, and looks at the scene with a 'woman's eye' to note some aspects which elude the police's notice.

I learned that the term 'actor' is preferred by both male and female thespians - and that the term 'actress' is a faux pas. I thought this was a recent thing, but this was written in 1942!

If you like death-in-the-theatre-audience, also try The Roman Hat Mystery by Ellery Queen.

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

2022 Reading Challenges hosted by The Mystillery

 

The Mystillery is pleased to offer these reading challenges for 2022!

Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge: You are the Medical Examiner, and your goal is to document the cause of death on as many unfortunate victims as you can by reading murder mysteries. Annual challenge.

Six Shooter Mystery Reading Challenge: (Nothing to do with Westerns) Shoot (read) six mysteries by the same target (author). Annual challenge, but unfinished targets roll over to the following year so you do not lose any partial progress.

Beachcomber Reading Challenge: Scavenger hunt. Fill four beach bags (Detectives, Victims, Crime Scenes, and Weapons) by finding all the items on each list. Honor system: Author/Titles need not be submitted. Annual challenge

Century Club: A real high-class operation. Expand your horizons. Read one mystery from each of the ten previous decades, comprising 1920-2020. Ongoing challenge which never expires.

In addition, The Mystillery offers two games (not challenges) for the relaxation and enjoyment of any of the challengers after a hard day of reading. The games alternate through the year: Abra Cadavers is a baseball game which runs concurrent with the Major League baseball season (April 1 to Sep 30). At all other times during the year, the Ten Pins bowling game is available!

The Case of the Lame Canary by Erle Stanley Gardner (1937)

 

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Major characters:

• Rita Swaine
• Rosalind "Rossy" Prescott, her sister with the canary, Mason's client 
• Walter Prescott, Rosalind's husband, a shady insurance adjuster
• George Wray, Walter's partner
• Jimmy Driscoll, Rita's boyfriend, a broker
• Stella Anderson, "Mrs. Snoops", a neighbor
• Carl Packard, a.k.a. Jason Braun, car driver involved in accident
• Harry Trader, van driver involved in accident
• Attorney Perry Mason
• Secretary Della Street
• Private Investigator Paul Drake

Locale: Los Angeles

Synopsis:  Broker Jimmy Driscoll used to be boyfriend to Rosalind "Rossy" Swaine. They broke up, and Rosalind married insurance adjuster Walter Prescott. Now Jimmy is cozy with Rosalind's sister, Rita Swain. 

Rita comes to Perry Mason with Rosalind's caged canary. She wants Perry to represent sister Rosalind in a divorce action. Perry is not interested in such cases, but the canary angle intrigues him. Rita is holding onto it while Rosalind is in Reno to establish residency prior to a divorce.

Perry and Rita head to Reno to talk to Rosalind. Meanwhile, Walter Prescott is discovered shot to death in his home. Rita and Jimmy had just left the Prescott home, under the watchful eyes of "Mrs. Snoops" - neighbor Stella Anderson. They did not want her to know Rita had been there, so Rita poses in the window clipping the canary's nails, while wearing one of Rosalind's dresses; so Stella will assume it is Rosalind.

This act is complicated when a traffic accident occurs in front of the house, between Carl Packard and van driver Harry Trader. Jimmy runs out to assist, and the police take his name, thus placing him at the scene of the crime.

Review: This is one of the earlier Mason stories, when Mason was a lot more rough-and-tumble, and the stories had much more action. It moves along very quickly, and the smaller cast of characters makes it easy to keep track of who is who. 

There is no Lt. Tragg, no Hamilton Burger, and no trial scene - although two inquests occur in a courtroom. The second inquest is the climax of the story and ends in a great scene of wild pandemonium. 

A subplot of Perry and Della's relationship winds through the story as they plan to take a round-the-world vacation together, which culminates in Perry proposing marriage.

An excellent read with lots of influnce from Gardner's pulp-writing days: lots of nonstop action, limited cast, and even a romantic element.

The Deer Leap by Martha Grimes (1985)

 

This is Richard Jury #6.

Major characters:

• Una Quick, whose last act was a very long phone call
• Dr. Farnsworth, the village doctor
• Polly Praed, a mystery writer
• Carrie Fleet, 15-year old animal champion
• Baroness Regina de la Norte, Carrie's mother-figure
• Sebastian Grimsdale, trophy-hunter owner of the Gun Lodge
• --- Donaldson, huntsman for Grimsdale
• Amanda Crowley, mother of two troublemaker boys
• Dr. Paul Fleming, veterinarian
• John MacBride, owver of The Deer Leap
• Sally MacBride, his sexy but claustrophobic wife
• Naehle Meara, Sally's 9-year old niece

Locale: Ashdown Dean, England

Synopsis: Una Quick is sad after her dog, Pepper, dies from poison. Mystery writer Polly Praid is waiting for Una to finish up her phone call in a phone booth, and when she pushes on the door, Una falls out - dead. The doctor states it was heart failure.

Other cats and dogs have been disappearing in town, much to the concern of animal rescuer Carrie Fleet, who takes care of a number of strays and orphan animals at the home of Baroness Regina de la Norte, where she lives. Rumors of abductions by a local research lab abound. Carrie's nemesis is Sebastian Grimsdale, owner of the Gun Lodge, and a big trophy hunter.

Carrie interrupts two boys - sons of Amanda Crowley - in the process of abusing a cat, which she rescues.

The other lodge in town is The Deer Leap, run by John MacBride and his sexy but claustrophic wife Sally MacBride. Sally is discovered dead after being locked in a small playhouse behind the inn.

Superintendent Richard Jury investigates the two deaths, and also looks into an apparent extortion scheme to get money from Baroness Regina, over something in Carrie's past which is unknown. Jury puts Melrose Plant at Gun Lodge to spy on Grimsdale to pick up local gossip - while he is there, hunstman Donaldson (rumored to have an affair with Sally MacBride) is mauled and killed by Grimsdale's own dogs. Now Jury has three deaths on his plate.

Review:

This is a dark one, with intentional injuries to children and animals. Sensitive animal lovers may want to pass on it due to descriptions of injured animals and descriptions of research lab animals.

• Likes: Saucy secretary Fiona Clingmore is always fun as she flirts with Jury (Did Ian Fleming come up with that name?) Cyril the office cat is always enjoyable as he puts cat-hater Racer in his place. Mrs. Wasserman lightens up and even ventures out of her apartment to hoist a few at the pub.
  
  
• Dislikes: No appearance by Melrose's posturing Aunt Agatha. Melrose is also called upon to do something quite out of character to protect Jury. High body count (6). Messy shoot-em-up ending.

This title has a number of things which seem out of place in the Jury series. I was surprised at Jury's romantic interlude in the puzzle maze (isn't he on duty?) and by Melrose Plant's unexpected overreaction and use of a weapon to take out someone.

Note: Readers may be unfamiliar (as I was) with Carrie's activity of "unstopping earths". I found that earth-stopping meant "the act of blocking a fox's earth (burrow) while it is absent, so it is forced to stay above ground" as an illegal act to keep a fox active in a hunt. Thus, unstopping earths is cleaning out the burrows so the fox hax a chance to escape the hunters.

Murder on Angler's Island by Helen Reilly (1945)

 

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This title was also reprinted as Dell mapback #228 and in the seventh series of Collier Front Page Mysteries. The cover of the Spanish edition is much more attractive, although not 'mysterious' at all. The title translates to The House on the Cliffs.

About the author: Helen Reilly (1891 – 1962), was an American mystery writer known for a series of novels featuring Inspector Christopher McKee, head of the fictitious Manhattan Homicide Squad. She wrote mostly under her own  name but also under the pseudonym Kieran Abbey. Two of her daughters, Ursula Curtiss and Mary McMullen, also became published mystery writers.  (Wikipedia)

Major characters:

• Pfc. Elizabeth Spires, our protagonist, an Army WAC (Women's Army Corps)
• Major Compton Yarrow, her cousin
• Cicely Yarrow, Compton's wife
• Captain Jeffrey Crale
• Faith Ann (née Blake) Crale, his wife
• Norman Blake, Faith Ann's father
• Adelaide Crale, Jeffrey's mother
• Charles Hurd
• Garrison Ives, a lawyer
• Grace Drexel, his mother, housekeeper to the Crales
• Arthur Drexel, Grace's son
• Leslie Manxman, private detective
• Insp. Christopher McKee, Manhattan Homicide Squad, "the Scotsman"

Locale: Angler's Island, off the New England coast

Synopsis: It is wartime 1945, and Angler's Island is home to an Army base at one end, the other end remaining civilian. Pfc. Elizabeth Spires has just been posted to the base. She is anxious, as the island is home to the Crale family - and Captain Jeffrey Crale had jilted her three years ago to marry Faith Ann instead.

The Crale family lives in a cliffside home behind the Monmouth Inn. A wooded path connects them, with the inn's swimming pool midway along the path. Elizabeth encounters Jeffrey, and the old chemistry is there again; but they both resist temptation. Faith Ann gets wind that Elizabeth is on the island, and has a brief catty exchange with her. Returning to the inn, Elizabeth senses someone else is lurking on the dark path. In the morning, Faith Ann is reported missing, and soon found dead in the swimming pool. She had been struck on the head before falling in. 

News comes that Norman Blake, Faith Ann's wealthy father, was killed in an airplane crash shortly before she died. This leads to a twist: Blakes fortune went to Faith Ann upon his death, then to Jeffrey upon Faith Ann's death. This seemingly gave Elizabeth a double motive: to get her man and the fortune.

Review: This book is a great insight into wartime conditions on the home front. The setup of the love triangle is quite Mignon Eberhart, with two women - one good, one bad - competing for the same man, and when one woman (the bad one) is killed, the other - our protagonist - is the immediate suspect.

The story is set on an island, but could have been anywhere. The isolation of an island is not a significant part of the story. The night scenes are very well done, I especially enjoyed the episode near the end when Elizabeth is driving a truck to another part of the island through heavy fog and mist, and encounters danger.

One drawback to this story was the large number of characters. The list above is only partial. Most of the characters are related, or have interconnections with others. The story could have had a few trimmed out to be a bit easier to follow. 

The Buckled Bag by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1914)

 

This short story is contained in The Mary Roberts Rinehart Crime Book, a collection of five stories published in 1925. This review is of that edition.

Major characters:

• Clare March
• George March, her father
• Mrs. --- March, her mother
• Fraulein Julie Schlenker
• Nurse Hilda Adams
• Detective Patton

Synopsis: Detective Patton enlists Nurse Hilda Adams to investigate a case, knowing that a private duty nurse could pick up more from the family than he. She is hired to nurse a Mrs. March, who is suffering from nervous anxiety. 

Mrs. March and her husband, George March, are worried as their 20-year old daughter Clare March disappered two months earlier while returning from their summer home in Maine to the city. There has only been one brief note from her, simply stating "I'm OK".

Nurse Adams notices a mysterious old woman lurking in the house at night, and it is neither one of the family nor one of the servants.

One night, Clare unexpectedly returns to the house. Nurse Adams finds her in terrible condition, almost starving. Once she recovers, she tells a story of being held captive in a derelict house outside the city.

Following clues from Clare's story, Detective Patton locates the house. Nurse Adams is not convinced it is the correct house, and investigates on her own to find a similar house nearby is the one Clare was confined in.

Review: This is a nice, tight little short story - being a missing-person mystery. It is a good introduction to the Hilda Adams series of longer stories. The descriptions of the two derelict shacks are very well done, and the reader can envision the exact scenes easily. The ending is a surprise explanation of the disappearance.

Bab: A Sub-Deb by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1917)

 

This book is an absolute riot and I laughed all the way through it. It consists of five “themes”, or reports written for school and diary entries.

The writer is 17-year old Barbara Putnam Archibald (Bab). She is a Sub-Deb, or a Debutante in waiting. She has an older sister, Leila, who is now a Debutante, having had her coming-out party upon turning 18. Bab cannot wait until she, too, is a Debutante, and can take her place in Society. One of her prime goals is to get Leila married off, as she (Bab) cannot “come out” until Leila is “out of the way”.

Bab is constantly getting into a series of misadventures, much to the horror of her family. The accounts are written in her 17-year old voice, complete with misspelled and misused words (which add to the flavor), with Important Things always capitalized.

1. The Sub Deb: Bab invents a lover of her own (Harold Valentine) and devises ways to get out of the house, and is horrified to find her friend Carter Brooks knows a real Harold Valentine and brings him to a dance to meet Bab.

2. The Celebrity: Bab finds a favorite actor of hers is staying at the adjacent beach house, and manages to rescue him after his family locks him inside a bathhouse without any clothing.

3. Her Dairy: Bab devises a way to get out of the house unaccompanied (forbidden for a Sub-Deb) and attend plays at which her favorite actor stars, and manages to get invited to his dressing room.

4. Bab’s Burglar: Bab receives an advance allowance for her year in school, and manages to spend it foolishly on a car. She then uses the car to provide a taxi service to earn back some of the money, and finds a suspicious man who has his eye on her home.

5. The G.A.C: Bab, in a frenzy of patriotism over the war (World War I) organizes a group of neighborhood girls into a scout-like organization she calls the Girls Aviation Corps and sets out to track down German spies, one of which appears to be the family butler who is engaging in suspicious conduct with secret codes. (less)