The Locked-Room Mysteries

The Locked-Room Mysteries
by Otto Penzler
Rating: ★★★★½
isbn: 9780307743961
Publication Date: October 28, 2014
Pages: 941
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Vintage Crime / Black Lizard

In this definitive collection, Edgar Award-winning editor Otto Penzler selects a multifarious mix from across the entire history of the locked room story, which should form the cornerstone of any crime reader's library.

Virtually all of the great writers of detective fiction have produced masterpieces in this genre, including Agatha Christie, Edgar Allan Poe, Dorothy L. Sayers, Arthur Conan Doyle, Raymond Chandler, G.K. Chesterton, John Dickson Carr, Dashiell Hammett, Ngaio Marsh and Stephen King.

The purest kind of detective story involves a crime solved by observation and deduction, rather than luck, coincidence or confession. The supreme form of detection involves the explanation of an impossible crime, whether the sort of vanishing act that would make Houdini proud, a murder that leaves no visible trace, or the most unlikely villain imaginable.

There were so many promising selections and recommendations from everyone for locked-room mysteries, I found it a little overwhelming: what to choose?

Then I stumbled across this book at my library and it seemed the perfect answer; at 900+ pages I was certain to find a few good stories and all of them locked room mysteries.

I was not disappointed. In fact, I think I’ll probably buy a copy of this book for my personal shelves; if half the stories are as good as the ones I’ve read, I can’t go wrong.

For the Halloween Bingo challenge, I read the following stories; none of them less than 4.5-5 star reads:

A Terribly Strange Bed – Wilkie Collins
What do Disney’s Haunted Mansion and the movie Murder by Death have in common? This story! It was so much fun; I admit I wasn’t sure how much I’d like Collins’ writing style after listening to Mrs. Zant and the Ghost, but I found this story so entertaining, I’m feeling much more confident about picking up his longer classics.

The House of Haunts – Ellery Queen
A new author for me – I know, Queen is a legend! – but I’d never picked him up, thinking his work might be more noir or graphic than I’d like. HA! It was great! This is the longest of the stories I read, and it had all the elements: dark, forbidding atmosphere, gothic houses, mentally disturbed residents, an unending snow storm, a question of paranormal influences, and of course a locked room setup. The ending is nothing short of fantastical and cunning, with Queen coming across as a blend of Whimsey and Holmes.

The Burglar Who Smelled Smoke – Lawrence Block & Lynn Wood Block
Years ago I had a first date that took me to a bookstore and bought me a Bernie Rhodenbarr mystery. Despite such auspicious beginnings, the boyfriend didn’t last, but I’d read a few of the Burglar Who… books, so I pounced on this story as a guarantee of something light. After reading it, I sort of think Block would have been better off keeping Rhondenbarr confined to the short story format: this was a much better mystery than I remember the full-length books being. This is a true locked-room mystery, and while most relatively savvy readers will recognise the method of death, the details were really fiendishly clever, while still being a light, entertaining read.

The Poisoned Dow ’08 – Dorothy L. Sayers
My first Montague Egg mystery, and probably the ‘weakest’ of the stories I chose at 4.5 stars. Egg reminds me too much of Poirot, only a little bit… smarmy. This was also the most conventional of the locked room scenarios offered in the stories I read. Still, Sayers is a master and given a choice, I might choose Egg over Poirot in short story format. Maybe.

Death at the Excelsior – P.G. Wodehouse
Did you know Wodehouse wrote crime stories before he brought Wooster and Jeeves into the world? I didn’t, and when I saw him in the TOC there was no way I skipping it. It’s a classic mystery, and there are hints of the wry, dry humour Wodehouse would become famous for here and there. Another truly locked room mystery, with shades of The Adventure of the Speckled Band, but ultimately very different. This short could also be used for the Black Cat Square.

I’m looking forward to owning my own copy of this; I highly recommend it for classic mystery lovers.

(Read September 8-9 2016; Library copy; ISBN 9780857898920)

Agnes and the Hitman

Agnes and the Hitman
by Jennifer Crusie
Rating: ★★★★½
isbn: 9780312363048
Publication Date: August 21, 2007
Pages: 368
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

I used this yesterday as my ‘guilty pleasure’ read for the ukbookaday event and since I had finished and reviewed all my currently reading books yesterday as well, it felt like I had earned a guilty pleasure re-read. Plus, I figured this would be a great book to christen BL’s new re-read feature with, but it turns out I never recorded any read dates for this before, so that was a bust.

Remember those old-ish Goldie Hawn movies, like Bird on a Wire? If you’ve seen those movies, you’ll have some idea of what Agnes and the HItman is like. (Maybe a bit of Analyze This mixed in.) I think this book is MUCH better than Bird on a Wire was, but it’s as close as I can come to describing the tone.

Agnes is having a very bad week. She’s bought the house of her dreams from her best friends mother, Brenda, with the stipulation that Brenda’s granddaughter (and Agnes’ goddaughter) be married on the grounds with Agnes planning and hosting the whole thing. Easy!

Except suddenly someone is trying to dognap her dog, at gunpoint. Seems a bit excessive for an ugly old hound. Agnes defends herself with her frying pan and in the course of self-defence, the would be dognapper falls through a wall into an unknown basement and dies, letting loose all sorts of family secrets Brenda would have preferred stayed buried. Agnes’ old friend Joey, a retired and reformed mobster, thinks there’s something up with a dognapping at gunpoint and sends his nephew, Shane, to protect Agnes. Shane’s in the middle of a job, trying to take out an assassin, but Joey is the man who raised him – sort of – and he’s never asked for anything from Shane in 25 years.

What follows from here is just pure hilarity. This is not a deep story; don’t look for the characters to be meaningful or even realistic. There is zero navel-gazing and it’s pretty much non-stop action from first to last. If liberal use of course language is going to bother you – avoid this book. If talk about sex bothers you – avoid this book. The sex isn’t graphic, but discussion about it abounds.

If you’re looking for a light, funny, comedic romp – find this book! I upgraded mine to hardcover several years ago because I was wearing out my paperback.

Death, Taxes, and Hot Pink Leg Warmers

Well, I’m not sure about the ending, but the rest is excellent! Great characters, snappy dialogue and excellent story lines.

I enjoy the way the author goes between two or more story lines in these books, each one is a nice break from the other and it keeps things interesting. The main plot line was intense, so the secondary plot offered a breather and I enjoyed reading about the individual agencies working together.

The sexual tension between Nick and Tara is fun and the author does an excellent job with the writing – enough to be steamy, not so much as to be veering into erotic writing. This has been a strong series from the beginning and I’m looking forward to the next book, which luckily is only a couple of months away.

Smarty Bones (Sarah Booth Delaney Series #13)

Wow, this book was busy! It’s like the author had three different novella-length stories she wanted to tell and compressed them all into the same plot line/book. But I don’t mean that as a bad thing. It was just a very busy storyline – which I can see a lot of people not enjoying, but it kept me on the edge of my seat for the last half of the book. I love how Ms. Haines brought Sweetie and Pluto into the storyline and made them active characters – a true animal lover will appreciate it. I really enjoyed the Lady in Red storyline. I was really intrigued by the role she played in the Civil War and the possible solution to the troubles that she hoped to forward. The modern day storyline revolving around The Lady in Red, however, I have to admit to finding hard to swallow – it felt a tiny bit over-the-top. But I still enjoyed the hell out of this book! Ms. Haines hints throughout the story that she might be shaking things up again in Sarah Booth’s life. As I’ve always been a fan of Coleman’s, I sort of hope that’s true. I’m looking forward to the next book to find out what happens.

An Affair to Dismember (Matchmaker #1)

An Affair To Dismember
by Elise Sax
Rating: ★★★
isbn: 9780345532220
Series: Matchmaker Mystery #1
Publication Date: January 1, 2012
Pages: 312
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Ballantine Books

Three months has been Gladie Burger's limit when it comes to staying in one place. That's why Gladie is more than a little skeptical when her eccentric Grandma Zelda recruits her to the family's matchmaking business in the quaint small town of Cannes, California. What's more, Gladie is also highly unqualified, having a terrible track record with romance. Still, Zelda is convinced that her granddaughter has "the gift." But when the going gets tough, Gladie wonders if this gift has a return policy.

When Zelda's neighbor drops dead in his kitchen, Gladie is swept into his bizarre family's drama. Despite warnings from the (distractingly gorgeous) chief of police to steer clear of his investigation, Gladie is out to prove that her neighbor's death was murder. It's not too long before she's in way over her head--with the hunky police chief, a dysfunctional family full of possible killers, and yet another mysterious and handsome man, whose attentions she's unable to ignore. Gladie is clearly being pursued--either by true love or by a murderer. Who will catch her first?

I’m not sure about this book – it was a mash up of sorts.

The writing felt disjointed and the story not very tightly woven at all. The whole matchmaking-third-eye premise of getting Gladie back home is never really explained very well – is this gift supposed to be of a psychic sort? There are hints it might be, but then well, it’s never explained.

The murder mystery itself was all over the place – it’s repeated again and again that the first two deaths are natural causes – so why is the police chief constantly around looking into things? Not really explained very well either. The plot has what it takes to be really interesting – and in honesty, I got very engrossed in the story, but the writing was so almost stream-of-consciousness that I really just felt the chaos.

Still, the characters are all really likeable and interesting – there’s no mixing them up in your head because you can’t tell them apart. Each is colourful and interesting in their own way. The men are of course, hot hot hot, though I’m firmly in the police chief’s corner for some reason.

I’m going to read the next book in the series because I want to find the story lines tighter and I’m hoping for a more cohesive book all around – Ms. Sax could have a winner of a series on her hands if she just pulls it all together better.

Death, Taxes, and Peach Sangria (Tara Halloway #4)

This series is just so much fun. While Peach Sangria is a mystery, it’s not your typical murder mystery.

Tara is after terrorists by going after their source of money. It’s a slow story to develop and there’s a lot more character development going on, bulking up the book. But I like the character development so I don’t mind at all that the ‘plot’ isn’t front and center and taking up Tara’s every move.

In the land of character development, Ms. Kelly gave us a love triangle a few books ago, and it’s resolved in this book (thank goodness!). She also does something I don’t think any author to date has done: gotten me to switch loyalties from one man to the other. Usually once a love interest is introduced, and it’s a good one, I get really snippy about author’s messing with the status quo. But Ms. Kelly has done a very good job of changing my loyalties and handling the love triangle resolution with grace.

Nearly Departed in Deadwood (Deadwood Mystery, #1)

Nearly Departed in Deadwood
by Ann Charles
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 9780983256809
Series: Deadwood #4
Publication Date: January 8, 2011
Pages: 376
Publisher: Corvallis Press

This is going on my cozy-mystery shelf, even though it really doesn’t belong there, but I’m not sure where else this genre jumping book (and series) should go.

What I do know is that this book is a really fun read! Humour, a good mystery, lots of creepy, and oh wow the sexual chemistry going on! This little voice in the back of my head nailed the bad guy early on, but I was certain I was wrong. The author makes some very bold moves for a book that comes close to cozy. I have a mental picture of the ending that I’d dearly pay a bit extra to get rid of – I suspect it will stick with me awhile.

Great characters and a great setting. For those who dislike language – it’s here in all it’s glorious colours. So is the sexual chemistry – no graphic scenes, but nothing prim and proper either.

I read the Kindle edition because it was a freebie, but I’ve since ordered the paperback of all the books available in the series.

Bone Appétit (Sarah Booth Delaney Mysteries)

upgrade from paperback

India Black and the Widow of Windsor (Madame of Espionage #2)

I really enjoy this series – what’s not to like about a brothel madam that becomes a spy for her majesty? I love the repartee between her and French, her partner in spying. I love India’s sass and wit and her pragmatic outlook to life.

This book, the second one in the series, takes place in Scotland at Balmoral castle. Generally, I’m not a fan of ‘away’ mysteries, since I usually have to adjust to a new cast of characters, but this one simply relocates the entire cast to Balmoral for the duration. India goes undercover as a personal maid for a Marchioness who is rather eccentric. There are scenes with this woman that had me absolutely laughing out loud – one involving pepper that forced me to put the book down for a moment, I was laughing so hard. Truly these are Stephanie Plum-worthy scenes, although the book itself could hardly be compared to J. Evanovich’s popular series.

The book ends with some intriguing hints to future character developments and I look forward to the next book.

Grave Memory (Alex Craft Series #3)

There’s a whole lot going on in this book to Alex, maybe more than ‘normal’. A lot of action, and a creepy story line about a ‘rider’ that jumps from body to body, using them up and then killing them off to jump into the next available body. I truly enjoy just about every character in this world, and they keep me reading when the story itself gets a little too heavy for my taste.

Alex gets the crap beat out of her, not only physically but much more emotionally this time. And I really, really want to know the deal with her father – I have a suspicion I know who he is, but I want an explanation for the awful indifference he shows towards Alex.

The love triangle between her, Death and Falin not only gets more complicated, but just when I thought it was sorted out, the ending throws everything for a loop. I’m looking forward to the next book!