Murder at the Smithsonian by Margaret Truman

Who would think that a former president's daughter could write an interesting mystery? Well, I've read that Margaret Truman did just that, although I believe there were rumors that her books had ghost writers. There are so many authors out that that I haven't read, and Truman was one of them. Amazon had some of her books on sale for the Kindle, and I took the opportunity to read Murder at the Smithsonian. It's not the first book that she wrote, but the books aren't series books, so i figured it would be okay to read them out of order. Plus I had a hankering for a mystery set in a museum.

Dr. Lewis Tunney is a friend of the vice president, and it seems he also has some secret information about goings on at the Smithsonian. At a gala at the museum, Tunney winds up getting killed with Jefferson's sword, and at the same time, the Legion of Harsa medal goes missing. The murderer has to be one of the guests at the gala, but who could it be. When Mac Hanrahan investigates, he finds his way blocked by everyone. The Vice President is not being very helpful, and the employees at the museum seem to act pretty suspiciously. When Tunney's fiancee, Heather McBea shows up, the investigation becomes even more cloudy. Heather's uncle was the one who donated the Harsa to the museum. The uncle also supposedly committed suicide, which Heather doesn't believe he would do. Then Heather starts to be the victim of some mysterious doings, such as a mugging, room ransack, and bombing. Can Mac Hanrahan figure out what's going on before Heather turns up dead.

The mystery in the book was a good one. However, I did have a problem with Heather. Every time she has information, that she should have shared with Mac if she really wanted Tunney's murder to be solved, she would keep it to herself. Then she would find herself in a threatening situation, and she would STILL keep her mouth shut. I found myself yelling at the book in frustration because Heather was so stupid and has such a lack of self preservation. I seem to be running into that a lot with mysteries lately, and I had the same complaint about Miss Seeton. I guess it's supposed to add to the suspense, but it doesn't work for me. I will continue to read Truman because I have a few more on my Kindle.

Religious Body by Catherine Aird

I am not very familiar with Catherine Aird, but I heard about some of her mysteries, especially The Stately Home Murder. It's supposed to be a must-read in the mystery genre. Since I never read any Aird, I thought I would start with the first book in the Detective Sloan series, The Religious Body. Inspector Sloan is called in to check on the death of a nun. The local doctor who was called in to check the body realized that the nun did not die from an accidental fall down the cellar steps; she was bashed in the head with a heavy object. Inspector Sloan starts his investigation, and he finds out that the nun's cousin is in the local area. The nun's death is to the benefit of the cousin who's chemical company can now go public to great financial benefit to the cousin. Things are looking dire for the cousin, and when a guy is burned at the local farmer's institute in the habit of a nun, with the dead Sister Anne's glasses, the case becomes muddier. How did the students get the habit and the glasses? Then one of the students, the one who got the habit from the convent. What did the student see that resulted in his murder?

Although the book is not long, Aird provides a fairly complex mystery. It wasn't clear at all who the murder was. In fact, I was quite shocked at the end when all was revealed. I already got the two of the next three books in the series. The third Henriette Who is not available from my library. However, the fourth Inspector Sloan book is the classic The Stately Home Murder, and I am really looking forward to reading it.

Death in Berlin

I just finished Death in Berlin by M.M. Kaye. This was originally published in 1955 as Death Walked in Berlin. Miranda Brand was on a month-long vacation with her cousin, his wife, their daughter (Lottie), and Mademoiselle (the nanny) in Berlin. As you can tell from the original publication date, the story was set in the time after World War II when the Russians and British/Americans were in Berlin, but before the Wall went up. Miranda's cousin, Robert Melville was in the British military, and his wife, Stella, was older, and a bit concerned about losing Robert to someone younger. While on their way to Berlin, Miranda and the Melvilles joined up with others heading to the city, such as Sally and Andy Page, the Leslies, and the Marsons. While at dinner the night before the group arrived in Berlin, the Melvilles dined with Brigadier Brindley, who told a story about a German SS officer named Riddler who had gotten a fortune in diamonds to only disappear with his wife. The story was that they killer their man-servant and his wife, and escaped. Brindley mentioned that they had a daughter, and a girl had escaped to Britain with a doll full of Riddler's wife's jewelry. Imagine the shock when Miranda said that she was that girl, and that she wore the ankh that was found in the doll. Things took a turn for the worse when on the train to Berlin, Miranda couldn't sleep, went to took for the coachman, and then accidentally walked into Brigadier Brindley's cabin to find him stabbed to death. Fortunately for Miranda, Simon Lang was also on the train, and he investigated the death. More deaths followed, making Miranda appear either responsible or the intended victim. Lots of thrills ensued until the mystery was solved.

I have to admit that Death in Berlin in Berlin is my favorite of the Death in ... series of Kaye's. The mystery is not obvious, and the tension and suspense build as the story continues. Miranda is a very likable character, and I found myself rooting for more action between her and Simon Lang. If anything, the romance part of the story is a tad underdone, but that means that most of the concentration was on the action and the suspense. All in all, this was an an enjoyable and entertaining read.

Death in the Andamans by M.M. Kaye

I have been laid up with a bad back for the past week, but it did give me a chance to catch up on some reading. I have had an urge to read some M.M. Kaye, not the Indian saga, but the mystery books. I just finished Death in the Andamans. This book was originally planned with Kaye and a childhood friend that she was visiting in the Andamans over the winter holidays. A hurricane struck the area, and Kaye and her friend were holed up over Christmas until the storm abated and things returned to normal. The pair plotted out the story of a murder, and years later, Kaye put it to use in this book. The plot is similar to the real situation: with a hurricane that hits the area on Christmas Eve. Copper Randal is visiting with her friend, Valerie Masson, whose step-father is the commissioner of the islands. After a picnic party, a slew of celebrants are headed back to the main island when the hurricane strikes. All except one makes it back safely to the main island, but Ferrars Shilto doesn't make it back. Since a trio of boats, on which Ferrars was traveling, capsized, it is assumed that Ferrars drowned due to the storm. However, one of the guests, who is also a doctor, thinks otherwise, and he turns up murdered after checking out Ferrars' body. Another murder happens before Copper and Val, with their boyfriends, Charles and Nick, figure out whodunit.

I really enjoyed reading the story, and it was an added touch that it happened during the Christmas holidays. The plot was just convoluted enough to keep it interesting and to prevent me from figuring out who done it. It should have been as clear as the nose on my face, but Kaye did an excellent job of keeping the reader guessing. Next up is Death in Berlin.

Arrow Pointing Nowhere by Elizabeth Daly

I just finished Arrow Pointing Nowhere by Elizabeth Daly. This was an interesting tale, with Henry Gamadge receiving a coded message delivered in a suspicious way. A crumpled ball of paper was thrown out of the window off the Fenway's house in New York City, and a suspicious mailman who saw a crumpled ball of paper in the same place every day, picked up the paper. After some investigation, Gamadge figured out that someone was in trouble in the Fenway house, but wasn't able to get out to communicate openly with Gamadge. When Gamadge finagles an invitation to the house, he finds the atmosphere thick with tension. Mr. Blake Fenway admits that a shipment of books had arrived from his country estate, sent by Hilda Grove, the niece of a woman who was a companion to Fenway's disabled sister-in-law, Mrs. Fenway. The book had views, or pictures, of estates, and the one of the original Fenway estate, that had been torn down, was missing. As Gamadge goes to leave, Mr. Mott Fenway, secretly talks Gamadge into coming back later in the evening to secretly look for the missing picture. Mott suspects that Mrs. Fenway's son, Alden, suffering from mental retardation, now intellectual disability, ripped out the picture. They fear that Mott and his niece, and Blake Fenway's daughter, Caroline are suspicious that Alden ripped out the picture, and perhaps killed Caroline's pet dog. Of course, they are also suspicious of Craddock, a young male friend of the Groves, who has been injured in the war, and is taking care of Alden. Gamadge agrees to come back, but first, he heads out to the country to talk to Hilda, under an assumed name. When Gamadge returns to town for his rendezvous at the Fenway house, he arrives to find that Mott Fenway had fallen from his attic room window. Gamadge suspects that Hilda Grove might be in danger, and his associate gets into the country house to find a booby trap set to possibly kill Hilda. There is more murder and surprise before the book ends, and I don't want to ruin the mystery by disclosing too much.

I enjoyed reading Arrow Pointing Nowhere, and i thought the mystery was much stronger than Evidence of Things Seen. Arrow Pointing Nowhere was published in 1944, and there are references to WWII and the shortages in gas and other items. I did not figure out the mystery, and I was surprised at the twist at the end. Unfortunately, I might not get much opportunity to read more Elizabeth Daly, but I will keep my eyes open for her books.

Evidence of Things Seen by Elizabeth Daly

I was reading something on one of the mystery blogs recently, and it mentioned that Agatha Christie liked the writings of Elizabeth Daly. Elizabeth Daly was an American mystery author who was a contemporary of Christie. In recent years, Felony and Mayhem has reissued the Daly mysteries, which feature Henry Gamadge, a gentlemen sleuth. I thought I would check out some of the books at my local library, just to see if I liked the books. After all, I've never read Daly. Well, I found out that it's incredibly difficult to find Daly's books in my library system, which is quite a large one: Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. I was able to get two of the recent books in reissue. They have a few others in large print, and I think that I might have to resort to those to read more.

Evidence of Things Seen,written in 1943, had an interesting supernatural plot, so I started with it. Henry Gamadge is off working for his country during World War II. His wife, Clara, goes off to spend the summer in a rented cottage with some family friends. Gamadge is to join them when he is done with his work. Well, the friends are delayed, and Clara is alone in the cottage with her help, Maggie. They both start to see a mysterious figure who approaches the house, but never quite comes close enough to talk to. Clara and Maggie start to think that it's the ghost of a woman who died in the cottage a year earlier. What adds to the ghostly feeling is that the woman renting the cottage is the sister of the dead woman, and she appears to be unwilling to enter the house. On the Fourth of July, as the Clara hosts some local neighbors, The sister, Alvira Radford, winds up getting hurt in a carriage accident, when her horse is spooked by what appears to be the ghostly appearance of Alvira's sister. Clara helps get Alvira into the cottage, and calls the doctor. Meanwhile the neighbors, the Hunters, come for dinner. Alvira's ankle is broken, and she can't be taken back home. While Alvira is sleeping due to a morphine shot, Clara and the Hunters take up a watch over her. Fanny Hunter goes first, and Clara replaces her. While Clara is sitting beside Alvira, a previously blocked outside door opens, and the spooky sister seems to appear. Clara keeps her eye on the image and calls for help. When Phin Hunter answers Clara's cries, he says that Alvira is dead! Strangled! Did the ghostly sister somehow kill Alvira, possibly in revenge for Alvira murdering her. The finger of blame seems to point at Clara, and fortunately for her, Gamadge, finishes his job and comes to her aid.

I have to admit that like Gamadge, who admits he knew who the murderer was when he first heard the story, the murderer was quite obvious. Don't get me wrong; the story was entertaining. However, the mystery wasn't very complex. Clara comes across as a weak person who needs her husband to help her. She even seems to be mindless to a degree. When Gamadge suggests going back to the cottage, she says that she will do it if he wants to go there. I'm going to start on the second books Arrow Pointing Nowhere to see if the solution to the mystery is as obvious as it was in Evidence of Things Seen.

Strangled Prose by Joan Hess

I do like mysteries, and one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Peters had commented once that she enjoyed the mysteries of Joan Hess. Why? Because they have the touch of humor that Peters herself puts into her books. I had only read one of the Hess books that was set in Egypt, but I thought I would give the Claire Malloy series a try. What better place to start than the beginning of a series? That means that I got Strangled Prose on my Kindle, and gave it a go. I was not disappointed. Claire Malloy, book store owner, with teenaged daughter, Caron, was introduced in the story. Claire was coerced into giving a book signing party for her friend, Mildred Twiller, who wrote smutty romance books under the pseudonym Azalea Twilight. When the contents of the book were revealed at the signing, and a few faculty, including Claire's deceased husband, were revealed as offensive characters in the book, Claire was understandably angered. Claire didn't think anyone knew that her husband was involved in a tragic car accident while on his way to a motel with one of his students. When Mildred was strangled after the party, Claire was one of the key suspects. Will Lieutenant Pete Rosen arrest Claire, or will they work together to discover the murderer and the mystery behind the book?

I really did enjoy the book. There were several laugh out loud moments in the book, and the mystery was nicely plotted and revealed. i did guess that whodunit, but I didn't get the whole story behind why before it was revealed. The characters were interesting, and I found myself rooting for Claire and her daughter, Caron. Also, since I did read one of the more recent books in the series, I did know that Pete Rosen would play a huge part in Claire's life. The book was a winner, and I'm excited to know there are 17 more in the series. Plus Joan Hess wrote the Maggody series, and I'll have to give those a try too.

I do have some additional comments about the book in Kindle format. I would imagine that the original digital content may have been lost, if it ever existed. The book was published in 1986, so the publisher may have scanned print content. Because of that, there were several instances of misspelled words throughout the book. Granted, it was easy to figure out the correct word from the context, but it just showed a sloppy disregard for the transfer of the book into digital format. I expect much better from current publishers.

Death in Zanzibar by M.M. Kaye

M.M. Kaye was probably best known for her epic novel, The Far Pavilions set in British ruled India. What Kaye wasn't as well-known for were her mystery books. She wrote six of them in the last 1950s that were later published as The Death in... series. I just finished Death in Zanzibar, which was originally published as The House of Shade in 1959. The story was a combination of mystery and thriller. Dany Ashton was to go to visit her mother and step-father in Zanzibar. While she was in London, the step-father, Tyson Frost, asked her to stop at the family lawyer's house to pick up a letter. Dany rescheduled the meeting with the lawyer, got the letter, and later, was shocked to discover that the lawyer had been brutally murdered. The finger of suspicion pointed at Dany. Her room was searched, her passport stolen, and the murder weapon was found in her room. Fortunately, while the room was searched, Dany was locked outside of it in the hallway where she met Lash Holden, son of Frost's best friend. Lash came up with his scheme to get Dany to her the Frost estate in Zanzibar by having her pretend to be his secretary, who had come down with the mumps. More deaths followed, and the letter was a treasure map leading to $3 million dollars! Will Dany figure out who was looking for the letter and committing the murders?

Kaye did a great job describing the scenery in Zanzibar and the atmosphere of tension that surrounded the characters in the story. The mystery was decent. I enjoyed reading the story, and I found myself engrossed in it. I'm going to try some more of the The Death in... series, and I hope they are as enjoyable as Death in Zanzibar.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

If you are a mystery fan, you have heard of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. The book has generated a good deal of interest and critique over the years since it was published in 1926. The story was narrated by Dr. James Sheppard, who played a key role in the story. The book opens with the death of a Mrs. Ferrars. Her husband had died a year before, and her death was a suicide. Her friend, that many thought she would marry, Roger Ackroyd, asked to talk with Dr. Sheppard about the death. Dr. Sheppard went to dinner at Ackroyd’s estate with Ackroyd’s sister-in-law, niece (Flora), friend (Major Blunt), and secretary, Geoffrey Raymond. Other key suspects in the story are the housekeeper, Mrs. Russell, Ackroyd’s stepson, Ralph Patton (who was recently engaged to Flora), the butler, Parker, and the parlor maid  Ursula Bourne. Ackroyd was found murdered in his study later that night when Dr. Sheppard got a suspicious call that Ackroyd was dead. The finger of suspicion pointed to each of the characters in turn, and it was up to the newly retired Hercule Poirot to figure it out. Poor Poirot! He retired to grow vegetable marrows and wound up getting pulled in to a murder investigation.

Christie caused a ton of controversy with the book because of the plot twist she employed. I won’t say what it is here, but some people thought it was a cheat. Since I read the book before, and I knew whodunit, I was looking for all the clues that point to the murderer. They are indeed there! Christie’s mantra throughout all of her books was that you can’t believe what people tell you. You should only believe the things that you know that you can absolutely verify that isn’t based on X told me. Even as a kid, I was one of the “show me” types. I don’t know if I ever took it to the level of Christie’s detectives, but I do appreciate the philosophy. I found The Murder of Roger Ackroyd to be extremely well-written and highly entertaining. Christie knew how to weave a pleasing and entertaining puzzle, and I highly recommend The Murder of Roger Ackroyd to anyone who loves a good book!

Political Death by Antonia Fraser

I felt in the mood for something completely different. Well, not so completely different that it wasn't a mystery. I picked up Political Death by Antonia Fraser. Political Death was the last book in the Jemima Shore mystery series. Fraser usually wrote historical non-fiction, but for a span of time, she wrote ten mystery books that featured Jemima Shore, investigator reporter. Jemima was one of those strong, modern women who had a life style free of attachments. It's not that Jemima didn't want the man, but just that she seemed to get involved with married men or men who were wedded to their careers. In Political Death, Jemima was just starting research on a project when she met Lady Imogen Swain. Lady Imogen had memories of an incident, but couldn't seem to get the memories verbalized. Lady Imogen had had an affair with Burgo Smyth, a married man who was now Foreign Secretary in Britain. Lady Imogen, in moments of senility, seemed to think she was still in the past, and started to dredge up memories of her time with Smyth and his involvement in the Franklyn Faber affair. Faber had stolen government papers from Smyth, and then during his trial, Faber went missing, presumed to have committed suicide. Both of Lady Imogen's daugthers, Olga (married to Holy Harry an ineffectual politician) and Millie (actress in a Shakespeare play with Randall Birley, hunk) tried to control their mother, but things were getting out of hand. When Lady Imogen threw herself from a high balcony at her home after meeting with Jemima and offering Jemima a plethora of diaries, Jemima turned her hand at investigating the death and the old Faber affair.

The Jemima Shore mysteries are light entertaining mysteries, and Political Death is no different. I was surprised at the twist in the story, and I must admit that I did not see the solution to the Faber disappearance or the death of Lady Imogen. Political Death was written in 1995, and there has not been another Jemima Shore since then. I wish that Fraser wrote more of the stories, but I suppose that I have to be satisfied with the ten that exist. I have some of the past volumes on my to-be-read pile, and I hope to get to them soon!

Trouble in the Brasses by Alisa Craig

I think that I have reached the saturation point with the Madoc and Janet Rhys mysteries. I just finished the fourth in the series, Trouble in the Brasses, written by Alisa Craig (aka Charlotte MacLeod). This one was really confusing for me, and definitely not my favorite. Madoc was called in to investigate trouble in the brass section of the orchestra that his father, Sir Emrys, was conducting. The book started with Madoc arriving at the concert. One of the guys in the brass section, Wilhelm Ochs, became ill and wound up dead right after the concert. Then a select few of the orchestra, singers, Sir Emrys, Lady Rhys, and Madoc go onto their next destination by private plane. Unfortunately the plane has an emergency landing in a secluded area. The story trundled on about the characters on the plane, how they were lost, how Janet must be thinking they are all dead, etc. Another murder, and plane-loads of news crews, but no rescue later, Madoc finally figured everything out just in time to hand off the murder to the local police.

As you might be able to tell from my description, I became disgusted with the book shortly into it, and it was quite a chore to get through the book. I found that it was taking forever to get through the book, which was surprising considering how short the book was (190 pages). The first thing that got to me was the even though Madoc was called in by his parents because of trouble in the brasses (hence the title), they seemed to be clueless that there was actually trouble. The characters all seemed rather two dimensional to me, and Janet Rhys only made an off-stage appearance at the end. That means that a message from Janet is relayed from Madoc to his parents. There’s only one more book in the series, but I just can’t bring myself to even be interested in wanting to read it. I think that if I continue with any other books written by Charlotte MacLeod, I’ll try another series. The Madoc and Janet Rhys series is as weak as skim milk. Okay, but not really filling.

A Dismal Thing to Do by Alisa Craig

I’ve been slowly working my way through the few Alisa Craig books for Madoc Rhys and his new wife, Janet (nee Wadman). The third book in the series was A Dismal Thing to Do. In this one started out with Janet in danger. She was going to check out an old wooden washstand, and found herself stranded behind a crashed truck. Things got worse when Janet found herself trapped in a crashed barn, and later found out that the guy who crashed the barn claimed to have killed her. Fortunately, Janet’s car was stolen, and found by the RMPC. Madoc tracked down the directions Janet was following to the washstand and found Janet, relatively unscathed. Janet recognized the accent of the miscreants, AND she recognized the same accent in the mysterious Mr. X who was investigating the incident. It seemed that both the investigator and the perpetrator came from the same family, who just happened to live near Janet’s old homestead. Janet and Madoc go to stay with Janet’s brother, Bert, and his wife, Annabelle, to investigate, and with the help of the local residents, Madoc solved the the crime.

As with the other two in the series, A Dismal Thing to Do was a short book. There were several characters in the story, and at times, I found myself trying to write down who was who and how they were connected. I enjoyed the story, and I’ll probably continue with the last two in the series. I have found that I feel a connection to Madoc and Janet, and I wonder what will happen next.

A Pint of Murder by Alisa Craig (Charlotte MacLeod)

I came down with a touch of flu, and I really couldn’t seem to wrap my mind around anything. This was a problem because I had to grade proposals from my technical writing class. I put that off though, and I read A Pint of Murderby Alisa Craig. Alisa Craig was a pseudonym for Charlotte MacLeod, a prolific mystery writer, who wrote several series, including the Sarah Kelling/Max Bittersohn mysteries that I loved when I was younger. It’s been ages since I read any of MacLeod’s work, and I wanted to start with something that was brand new to me. The Madoc and Janet Rhys series was new to me, and A Pint of Murder was the first in the short series.

Madoc was a Mountie, a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He got called into a the suspicious deaths that happened next door to Janet (pronounced Jennet) Wadman. Janet had a bad experience with a jerk of a boyfriend, and she went to her brother’s farm to recuperate from an appendectomy. The woman next door died from botulism from a jar of home canned green beans. Janet thought it might be murder, and when she found a jar with cut beans instead of cracked beans, she wanted to take it to the doctor (and family member) of the murdered woman. When Janet arrived at the doctor’s home office with the beans, she found the doctor dead from a head injury. It looked as if the doctor had slipped on a rug while his wife was upstairs getting ready for an afternoon tea. Janet was sure both cases were murder, and she finally convinced the local marshal to call in the Mounties. Madoc appeared on the scene, fell in love with Janet, and found another murdered person. Madoc caught the murder, and paved the way for a future relationship with Janet.

The book was a very quick and easy read, and Janet and Madoc were very pleasant characters. A Pint of Murder was perfect for some light mystery reading while sick with flu. It was so good in fact, that I already started the second in the series, Murder Goes Mumming.

The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side by Agatha Christie

I have finally managed to finish reading a book! It seems like it’s been a long time since I read through a book. I was in the mood for some of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and read The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side. The book was published in 1962, and Christie dedicated it to Margaret Rutherford. Today, some people claim that Christie would be irritated with the liberties that the television producers have taken with Miss Marple. All I have to say is that if she dedicated a book to Margaret Rutherford, who was an extremely a typical Marple, she would be perfectly okay with the new Marple. After all, it introduces her characters and novels to a whole new generation.

In The Mirror Crack’d, Christie seemed more aware of the aging, both her own and Miss Marple’s. Miss Marple was stuck with a live-in companion, Miss Knight, an extremely irritating woman who wanted to coddle and baby Miss Marple. But Miss Marple didn’t want all that coddling, and she rebelled, taking a walk on her own, falling, and being helped by Heather Badcock. Miss Marple’s body may be frail, but her mind was still as sharp as a tack, and she realized that Heather Badcock was one of those characters who was just asking for someone to kill her. When Marina Gregg, famous movie actress, bought the Bantry estate, the whole town was thrilled and couldn’t wait to see what changes were made to the house. Mrs. Bantry went to a fete at the house and was there when Heather Badcock was poisoned. Of course, Mrs. Bantry reported to Miss Marple, and on the advice of Doctor Haddock, Miss Marple began to unravel the murder to discover the murderer. Unfortunately, two more die before Miss Marple discovered the murder, but she figured it out!

I enjoyed this book. The book was written and published in the questionable era, when Christie’s plots and writing seemed to disintegrate a bit. However, I thought the book was very entertaining and fast paced. As I mentioned, Christie seemed very aware of the changing times. Miss Marple was laid low with a bad case of bronchitis, and even had to realize that she couldn’t continue living alone in St. Mary Mead. The town itself was changing. A housing development was built in the town, and the people living there have a different character. The young people, like Cherry, who cleaned for Miss Marple, have a different attitude. As Miss Marple commented, Cherry used a vacuum cleaner where others in the past would use a broom and dustpan. Times were changing, and Miss Marple, and I think Agatha Christie, felt out of place. The title of the book, The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side, came from the poem, The Lady of Shalott by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The look of doom overcame the face of Marina Gregg, and ultimately led to the death of Heather Badcock. The book was a good Miss Marple mystery, and I would strongly recommend it!

Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie

Cards on the Table is one of the earlier Agatha Christie novels (published in 1936) featuring Hercule Poirot. It also features the first appearance of Ariadne Oliver. The victim, Mr. Shaitana, is a weaselly sort of person. He gets joy out of finding things out about people and collecting them. When Shaitana meets with Poirot, Shaitana mentions that he has a "collection" of people who have committed murder and gotten away with it. Shaitana invites Poirot to a dinner party. When Poirot arrives at the party, he finds mystery writer, Ariadne Oliver, Superintendent Battle from Scotland Yard, and Colonel Race, connected with British intelligence in some undisclosed way. In addition to our four crime solvers, we have four other guests, young Anne Meredith, dashing Major John Despard, Doctor Roberts, and Mrs. Lorrimer. Shaitana throws out hints throughout dinner about undiscovered murders, then he splits the guests into two groups. The detectives play bridge in one room while the murder suspects play in another. At the end of the evening, Shaitana is found stabbed through the heart with a long, sharp, skinny dagger while sitting in a chair by the fire in the room with the murders. It's the classic locked room mystery. Only the four were in the room, and one of them must be the murderer. The question the detectives have is who did it then, and perhaps got away with it in the past? All four take a hand at detecting, and in the end, the finger of blame swings from one to the other before finally settling on the real murderer.

I love Agatha Christie, and her works from the late 1930s and 1940s are her best in my opinion. Cards on the Table is an entertaining mystery. The only problem that I had with the mystery is that bridge plays a huge role in solving the mystery. Knowing who was the dummy, meaning who was the person who was walking around, and what was being played at those particular times helped Poirot with the solution. The bridge score cards were included in the front of the book that I read. I know nothing about bridge, but I could gather enough from Poirot's explanations to get some idea of what was going on. Of course, with that said, I admit that I picked the wrong person as the murderer. It turns out that my choice was a pretty nasty piece of work, but wasn't the murderer of Mr. Shaitana. After the murderer was revealed, I could see that the hints were there. I just missed them, or rather misinterpreted them.

I enjoyed seeing the four detectives too. Ariadne Oliver is supposed to be Christie's image of herself. Mrs. Oliver has issues with her Finn detective. She berates him and wonders why in the world she ever decided to have a Finn as the detective. I love the voice of Christie that comes out. As she says, it's a story, who cares if she has the right flowers in season or if she makes some other similar minor mistake. As long as it doesn't affect the story, who cares. Mrs. Oliver also admits to reusing murder ideas, and if the story is running too short for the prerequisite word count, Mrs. Oliver just throws in some more murders. In this book, one of the earlier murders occurs when a woman accidentally drinks hat dye instead of medicine. The same technique was used in Murder Is Easy. Also, it was good to see Colonel Race and Superintendent Battle in action. Sometimes I think of them as the same man, so it's nice to know that both appear together in this novel. I admit that Hercule Poirot isn't one of my favorites. Yes, I tolerate him because he is in a good number of Christie's mysteries. I prefer Miss Marple.

Spoiler alert! Reading this paragraph might give some clues to the murderer. The four suspects were interesting characters. I found myself liking and admiring Mrs. Lorrimer and Major Despard at the start. I was hoping for romance for Major Despard, and when it came down to Anne Meredith and her housemate, Rhoda Dawes, I was rooting for Rhoda. She was the more outgoing of the two and a definite adventure seeker. Christie never lets the reader down. You know that when there are young people involved that they will find some happiness together.

I really enjoyed Cards on the Table. It wasn't my all time favorite Christie, but it was an enjoyable, quick read. Get your cuppa tea and scones ready, sit in a comfy chair, and let your little grey cells take a romp.

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

Even though I'm a huge fan of mysteries, I've managed to miss some of the classics. For example, I've never read anything by Dashiell Hammett. Yes, I did watch The Maltese Falcon with Humphrey Bogart, which is a very good movie. When I think of Sam Spade, I think of Bogart. Imagine my surprise when I read the book! It seems that Spade is tall. Now that's not something that I associate with Bogart. Except for the height and size issue, whenever Spade would talk, I could hear Bogart's voice. Bogart definitely captured the character of Sam Spade.

So what is the book like? It is very much like the movie. The plot is a tad convoluted. A woman shows up at Spade's and Miles Archer's detective agency, asking for them to follow someone for her, Floyd Thursby. The woman, calling herself Miss Wonderly, claims that her sister left with Thursby, and the woman wants to get her sister to come back home. When Archer turns up shot dead, and Thursby is found dead, Spade finds himself in it thick. The police wonder if Spade had something to do with Archer's murder because Spade has been having an affair with Archer's wife, Iva. Spade tracks down Miss Wonderly, who Spade finds out is really Brigid O'Shaughnessy. Spade can't get a straight story out of O'Shaughnessy, and finds himself getting threatened by Joe Cairo, a partner of O'Shaughnessy, and then Casper Gutman and Gutman's henchman, Wilmer Cook. There are lots of twists and turns while Spade tries to track down the Maltese Falcon, and in the end, all becomes clear. The only thing I was left wondering about is whether the Maltese Falcon might have been real, or if it was always a piece of lead. The Maltese Falcon could be anything that people become obsessed with.

I really enjoyed reading the book. Even with limited evening hours to read, I quickly finished the book. I've only seen the movie two times at the most, and that was a while ago. I couldn't remember much to spoil the story. Although now that I've finished the book, I want to re-watch the movie to see if it really matches up as much as I think it does. I loved Hammett's writing style so much that I've put The Thin Man on hold at the library, and I think I need to read the Continental Op stories too. I can understand how The Maltese Falcon ranked number 56 in the Modern Library 100 best novels.

The Clairvoyant Countess by Dorothy Gilman

I just finished reading my second stand-alone Dorothy Gilman, The Clairvoyant Countess. This book was really a collection of stories about Madame Karitska and her policeman friend, Detective-Lieutenant Pruden. Madame Karitska meets Pruden when he comes calling to find out why her address was in a murdered girl’s house. The girl has come to visit Madame Karitska earlier in the week and left in a huff when Karitska told the girl not to trust the person the girl trusted the most. As a spoiler, that “trusted” person wound up murdering the girl, and Karitska helped out Pruden by giving him information on what she picked up about the girl. Other cases include robberies at a boarding school, a man dying of a voodoo curse, a woman accused of being a witch, and a missing girl, who was first believed to be dead. The stories are quick, and the same characters weave in and out of the stories. The book is a short one, but a very enjoyable read. I found myself rooting for Madame Karitska. I think that Dorothy Gilman must have had some interesting experiences with spiritualism because both this and A Nun in the Closet have elements that encourage the characters, and the reader, to investigate how the brain and the soul work. Madame Karistka uses psychometry, touching objects owned or worn by someone, to get information about the person’s past and future. There was a later sequel, published in 2002, calledKaleidoscope. I’ll give that one a try too, but I’ve read that it is not up to par withThe Clairvoyant Countess. I wonder if Ms. Gilman was already experiencing some Alzheimer problems, which crept into her work. The disease is a sad one because it robs the person of himself/herself.

A Nun in the Closet by Dorothy Gilman

February 2nd was a sad day for Mrs. Pollifax fans. Dorothy Gilman died at 88 years of age from Alzheimer’s disease complications. I’ve read most, if not all, of the Mrs. Pollifax books. However, I never read any of the standalone books that Ms. Gilman wrote. I decided in her honor that I would rectify that lapse, and finally got around to A Nun in the Closet. The nun in the closet isn’t a real nun. It’s “Sister Ursula,” a seriously injured man found by two Benedictine nuns in a house the abbey inherited. Sister Ursula wasn’t the only things that Sisters John and Hyacinthe found on the property. They also found a suitcase with over $400,000 hidden in a well and 50 pounds of cocaine hidden in sugar jars. Since the book was published in 1975, Gilman sprinkled in some hippies, and Sister John had a militant awakening. Before the book ended, the Mafia and the FBI made appearances.

The book reminded me of the Pollifax books. Good won out in the end, and no likable character died. Sister John was the most interesting of the bunch because she had an awakening from her cloistered existence. The book was a nice, light, enjoyable read. Nothing substantial, but that’s not what I expect from some books. A Nun in the Closet is a book that should be read on a nice spring day, while you sit outside on a swing, sipping a cold drink, and nibbling on cookies.

The Dirty Duck by Martha Grimes

The Dirty Duck is Martha Grimes' fourth entry in the Richard Jury series. I've been trying to read the series in order, and as I finish up a pair, I order replacements from the library. I'm very lucky to have such a good library system, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. In The Dirty Duck, Richard Jury is on vacation in Stratford-upon-Avon. Jury is hoping that he can meet Lady Jenny Kennington, whom he met in The Anodyne Necklace. Lady Kennington moved to Stratford-upon-Avon at the end of the last book. Melrose Plant is there too, with his Aunt Agatha and her American relations. There are also some other American tourists in Stratford-upon-Avon, touring with the Honeycut Tours. Of course, where Jury and Plant are, murder follows. First, Gwendolyn Bracegirdle gets herself slashed and stashed in a public toilet. She's found with a few lines of poetry written on a Shakespeare playbill. But it doesn't stop there. Little Jimmy Carlton goes missing. Then his step-sister is murdered, and as the tour moves to London, his step-mother is murdered in the same grizzly fashion. Both also have additional lines from the same stanza of poetry that's found on Ms. Bracegirdle. Is there a psycho killing folks, or is there a connection to the Honeycut Tours? Where's little Jimmy? Can Jury and Plant find the killer before anyone else is murdered?

So far, as I've been reading through the series, I find myself like the latest book better than the ones that preceded it. The Dirty Duck is the best of the four so far. Granted, the murders are fairly horrifying. The victims have their throats slit, and then are slit open to the waist. Of course, Grimes doesn't go into gross detail, but it's enough to set up some mental pictures. Again, we have the strong child character. This time, it's Jimmy, who finds himself kidnapped and not knowing what is going on. Of course, I don't want to give away the ending, but Jimmy shows a great deal of resourcefulness for a nine-year old. The only negative comment I have to make is that Jury and Plant have the worst luck of any characters I know in mystery literature. Lady Kennington, Jenny, leaves Stratford-upon-Avon before Jury can start a relationship with her, and Vivian Rivington, Plant's Ardry End neighbor, comes back from an extended stay in Italy with an Italian fiancé. Of course, she just happens to show up in Stratford-upon-Avon. Jury and Plant are in their 40s, attractive, and unable to get women? Really? Of course, they get the ones they don't want. Jury likes Vivian who likes Plant. What a tangled web! I am enjoying the Jury/Plant series, and if you like mysteries, you should definitely give them a try. I think they should be read in order because the characters and relationships appear to develop over the books.

The Anodyne Necklace

Everyone needs a break, and I’m mixing in some mysteries with the romantic suspense. One author that I haven’t read before is Martha Grimes. Grimes is an American who writes British mysteries, and if there’s one thing I like, it’s the classic British mystery. So I’ve been working my way through her Inspector Jury/Melrose Plant series. Inspector Jury is from Scotland Yard, and finds himself getting called in to investigate various murders around the country. Melrose Plant is a Lord who gave up his title because he wasn’t interested in the whole aristocracy/House of Lords bit. In the first book in the series,The Man with a Load of Mischief a murder happens near Plant’s family home, and Jury is called in to investigate. The pair become buddies, and as Jury goes to investigate other murders, Plant motors out to help his pal. I just finished reading the third book in the series, The Anodyne Necklace. In this book, Jury is called out to investigate the murder of young woman in the Horndean Woods in the little village of Littlebourne. The woman is a stranger to the village and was found with the fingers of one hand chopped off. Jury has to figure out who the woman is and if the murder ties in with the other disparate things that seem to be going on: a young girl from the village who had her head bashed in while busking in the Underground in London, a jewelry robbery from one of the local landed gentry, and the accidental death of the person suspected of committing the robbery. Of course, Jury ties up all the loose ends and finds the murderer.

The book was a good deal of fun. I read through it very quickly, but I did have some problems with it. In The Anodyne Necklace, as well as with the second book in the series, The Old Fox Deceiv’d, an independent child has a key role in the mystery and the solution. The child in question this time is a girl, Emily Louise Perk. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know that many 10-year-old kids who are as enterprising and self-reliant as the kids in Grimes’ books. Emily Louise’s mother is nowhere to be found. The girl totally controls the whole village with her strong personality. No one from child services shows up to wonder what the girl is doing working or wandering the town late at night. The situations and characters are starting to feel very formulaic. I would hope that Grimes finds some way to change things up. The mystery is a good one. At first, I couldn’t think of any way Jury could tie all the crimes together, but he did. This book had a decidedly dark element with the attack on young Katie O’Brien, who was left in a life threatening coma, and a threat to Emily Louise. The characters in the village are interesting, especially Polly Praed, a mystery writer who plots the murders of the annoying Bodenheim family, the leading family of Littlebourne. I did sort of suspect whodunit, but started to doubt myself as the story continued. I’ve just started the next book in the series,The Dirty Duck, so the formulaic bits of Grimes’ style aren’t annoying me yet!