Conservative Book Talk

Part 2 of 6: Most Poorly Executed

I’m not big on short stories, mysteries excepted. Unfortunately, this anthology includes a selection of “mystery” stories that are more like horror, or fairy-tales gone amok; so I can’t recommend the whole batch of 50. That said, there are too many stories for one review: this is review 2 of 6, the nine short stories with the most plot holes /poorest writing.
• Ransom, by Pearl S. Buck A little boy is kidnapped, and we spend a lot of time looking for him but its not clues that solve this mystery, its luck. Unluckily, it comes too late into the story for us to care about the boy, much less his parents (who we have to endure for most of the story); all are stock figures of bored brat and panicked adults, respectively.
• The Treasure Hunt, by Mary Roberts Rinehart, Tish This story has a great set-up: a charity fund-raiser, a night-time treasure hunt, lots of racing cars, and a townful of odd Joes and Janes. Too bad the writing is so poor we never get beyond names for any of the characters except Tish (our lady detective whose key characteristics are vandalism, stealing, and beating up her fellow charity-gala-attendees in life-threatening ways. Charmed, I’m sure).
• The Owl At The Window, by G.D.H. and M. I. Cole, Superintendent Wilson, 1923. A man is found dead, in his own home, the only suspect having just arrived and left late the night before while the man was clearly still alive. An original murder method, if you can endure the meandering and red herrings of ten too many pages.
• The Pink Edge, by Frank Forest and George Dilnot, Inspector Barraclough, 1915. A missing millionare’s daughter, a forgery trial, and randsom notes with pink edges. Excellent plot development, but most of the connecting plot points are simply missing, leaving the reader to wonder how we got from A to D when not even the end’s expounding mentions B and C.
• The Absent-Minded Coterie, by Robert Barr, Eugene Valmont, 1906. The literary founder of Hercule Poirot, this author has a great idea in the beginning, but the plot holes are so gapingly large that the ending falls through. So, *SPOILERS* the hero just waltzes into the bad guy’s office, is told he’s out of line (not having a warrant or police authority or even retaining a single clue), and stays around arguing long enough for all the evidence to be destroyed. Really annoying, this one. *END SPOILERS*
• The Perfect Crime, by Ben Ray Redman, A detective with a big ego, a keen-eyed scientist, and a long evening of friendly conversation. This isn’t as much a mystery as a recounting of past mysteries, which recreates the atmosphere of the night-time so successfully I was bored to sleep. The title is explained by the end of the story, though its got to be the least reasonable crime (motive and means are equally unexplained) ever, and far from perfect (an investigator “in”hibits the search for evidence).
• The Hands of Mr. Otter-mole, by Thomas Burke, is well written in the technical sense, but the plot leaves much to be desired, deliberately not telling us why the murders happen or how the detective solves it. This might be a philosophical point but it isn’t stated and was really annoying, so I’m including it on grounds of poor plotting.
• The Mystery of the Missing Wash, by Octavus Roy Cohen, Florian Slappey, A washerwoman, recently divorced, is losing her commissioned clothes and will soon lose her clientele if the their isn’t found. This one isn’t so much bad writing as it is laziness. The author writes himself into a corner, then suddenly, whoosh, we’re at the end, mystery solved, and the reader is left scratching her head.
• The Mad Tea Party, by Ellery Queen, Ellery Queen, A crazy architect is murdered, and a whole host of things go missing while our detective, the arcitect’s adulterous wife, and few other random and convenient guests lock themselves in and start to go crazy. If you enjoy mind benders without solutions, you’ll love this.

OVERALL: The mix wasn’t entirely boring to read, but generally by the end it got tiresome and or downright annoying. “Most Poorly Executed” definitely.

Tags: detecives, Ellery Queen, Mystery, Sincerelyornot

In a story reminiscent of Rebecca (due to the focus on Menley’s feelings, emotions and marital struggles), Clark leads on from one suspenseful chapter to the next. This is great summer reading.

The leading lady, Menley Nichols, may or may not be chasing ghosts of the distant past, but she is certainly chasing the ghosts of her past. Just a few years prior to this story, a tragic accident caused the death of her firstborn son Bobby. Menley was driving and never saw the train.

Now, with a baby girl named Hannah, Menley struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder. In an effort to boost her recovery, Menley, her husband Adam and baby Hannah decide to vacation in Remember House on Cape Cod. What should be a relaxing vacation turns into a nightmare on the coast. Of course, no one mentioned to the ill Menley that the house was haunted by its first mistress….

The story revolves around Menley’s attempts to prove her independence, her ability to care for Hannah all the while writing a children’s novel set in the 1600’s. This survey into the past brings to light mysteries about Remember House that had been hidden for centuries. Meanwhile, Adam, a high profile NY defense attorney is defending a local Cape Cod resident who has been fingered for his wealthy wife’s accidental drowning death. Mix in a few more subplots, throw in a dash of ghosts and out comes a mystery worthy of Mary Higgins Clark. In other words, it’s worth reading.

There are a couple of downsides. The first is profanity. While Clark never uses a lot of profanity, there is always some. Secondly, Clark breaks something that I thought was an unbreakable rule: the omniscient narrator lies. Every character, even when alone, decries their innocence / blamelessness / victimhood etc…. In her books, On the Street Where You Live and Nighttime is My Time, whenever she cuts to a scene with the evil character alone, you know what the evil character thinks, but not who they are. In Remember Me though, one never reads a confession from the bad guy. Therefore, it is never clear whether there is a bad guy or even if a crime has been committed. Other than wondering whether the book is about a murder already committed, a murder that might be, whether Menley is crazy (or maybe she is being manipulated out of the picture), or maybe its something else entirely, the book is good.

No, I won’t spoil the ending and tell you what the book is about. If you must know anything, the book is about memories and remembering your past. Menley needs healing in dealing with her past. Others have pasts that they want to conceal. One character has Alzheimer’s disease and she has the linchpin to the whole plot.

Enjoy this summer mystery. Just preferably not on the Cape in August.

Tags: Mary Higgins Clark, Matt Gardenghi, Mystery, Remember Me

Book two of the Alex Rider series (aka, more normal accidents). I am really enjoying this story line of teenage spy, I’ll tell you right now. I’ve found that when I’m feeling most unsure, I’m about to do something right. Alex is accepts his spy role but with reservations and hesitations (although he generally doesn’t hesitate to do what is right), and, drum roll, he makes mistakes in the process.

Plot: The “accidental” deaths of two important world figures have just one connection: sons who “happen” to be attending the prestigious Point Blanc academy, which “happens” to only admit fourteen year old boys. Guess who old Alex is? His secret agent skills have been emerging at school (the opening scene with drug deals is arguably the most hilarious bust up of all time), and its about time he took a vacation anyway. With that parental argument, the agent handler drops Alex off for a week of luxury training with murderously lazy rich brats. He’s delighted to leave them behind, until he finds the locale of his next mission involves the Swiss Alps, a miniature army, and a classroom that appears to be full of robots. And he is the newest classmate. In a school where classes are optional but only robots attend, no drugs are allowed but he falls right to sleep after one glass of soda pop, and the private bedrooms come equipped with hidden cameras, there are lots of secrets. But then, he’s a secret agent.

Positive: Well written, with good character development given to several supporting persons. Alex is delighted to hang out with kids his own age, until he recognizes how immature they all are. Several interesting themes regarding what a person’s taste in art says about them, how wealth does not bring happiness, and allusions to the effect of peer pressure. Also, did I mention that the obligatory opening action sequence is totally cool? The plot follows the stereotypical action-movie sequence of beginning action, introduction of real plot, development via small action sequences, and ever-bigger sequences of fighting and explosions, with a minor resolution that is an illusion to forestall the final ka-boom, and then the actual resolution (as do most of the Alex Rider series). As usual, that structure is tweaked to involve a more classical character development, and one very inventive opening sequence involving a drug ring, a boat, and a crane.

Negative: The crazy Swiss guy isn’t very realistic. He and his minions are pretty clumsy to have such a well-organized scheme, and the motivations are underdeveloped. I suspect the author was told to have a crazy lunatic in his second book just because it worked so well in the first, but he didn’t actually plan the plot around that point. So it seems incongruous. We forgive the book for its leaps of logic by the time of the last tension-filled scene, but the plot holes resemble, well, Swiss cheese. One of Alex’s escapades in particular is ridiculous beyond words (but since he is thinking “this is ridiculous” the whole time, I forgave it and enjoyed the thrill ride). Lots of action violence, some blood mentioned, adults are irresponsible, pride is used against several main characters with embarrassing frequency, drugs used against kids, and racism/apartheid espoused by bad guys.

Overall; great book for lounging on the beach with. Or in the library, where the next book is within easy reach (I borrowed the first three at the same time, and had to get the next three within a week, so be forewarned, its not a good book to casually pick up for half an hour between studying for other things!).

Tags: Alex Rider, Anthony Horowitz, fiction, Mystery, Sincerelyornot, youth