Conservative Book Talk

Part 6 of 6

I’m not big on short stories, mysteries excepted. After reading this book, my horizons have been broadened, and I’m going to go find some more fun short stories to check out. 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 6 of 6, the (more than ten) short stories which are clearly NOT mysteries; with few exceptions, horror stories.
• The Clock, by A.E.W. Mason
• The Silver Mask, by High Walpole
• Suspicion, by Dorothy L. Sayers
• Treasure Trove, by F. Tennyson Jesse
• Philomel Cottage, by Agatha Christie, p. 2
• The Mad Tea Party, by Ellery Queen, p. 4
• The S. S., M.P. Shiel, Prince Zaleski.
• The Two Bottles of Relish, by Lord Dunsay, Mr. Linely
• The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell
• Faith, Hope, and Charity, by Irvin S. Cobb

I’m not bothering to recap these, because they are, by and large, that type of horror story that makes you shiver but is so stupid that, the second your brain kicks in, you start shaking with uncontrollable laughter. Three were reviewed in other sections anyway. And with that we wrap up a review of 101 Year’s Entertainment. I didn’t like it overall, but there were some good things to recommend, and an interesting lesson in history to be drawn.

The volume as a whole has several strengths. First, the historical aspect of each story is mentioned in some way, either in the story itself (set during 1800s England or what have you) or the editorial comments. The different genres within detective stories and mysteries are all given their turn, and the eras of each are evident by the context. Also, the different writing styles create a genre-within-a genre effect; the colorful language of the 1920s contrasting vividly with the refined philosophy of the 1840s. Most interesting of all, variety. There are all kinds of stories here, from the philosophical (The Problem of Cell 13) to the probing (The Criminologists’ Club) and the downright problematic (The Mad Tea Party).

It’s the problematic variety (mainly the stories above) that get to you after a couple hundred pages. Yes, there are some fine stories, and they are interesting to read in comparison to the other stories. Really, though, what is entertaining about justified mass murder (The S.S.), or torturous deaths (The Silver Mask and, more variously but still equally gruesome, Faith, Hope, and Charity)? Can’t we have variety and quality? The editor obviously thought so, but then, the editor’s taste leans toward the macabre (note, his own story gets into the “Criminals Win” and “Non-Mystery” categories); and therein lies the biggest problem with an anthology like this. Its totally up to the editor’s tastes as to what does and does not get included. And this editor, sadly, falls into his own category of “Doyle-imitators”; a mystery writer wannabe whose style is not entirely without merit, yet also without talent (and often without even that first qualifier, “mystery.”)

I don’t recommend the book, though if variety is the spice you want in your reading life, some of the short stories mentioned hereto would be a good place to start (I suggest parts 2, 3, or 5 of this review for a list: the stories above are, as I mentioned, more in the realm of terrifying stupidity than of stupefying mystery). Overall, however, the idea behind the book has led me to broaden my horizons in the short story realm. That bit of wisdom, however, can be easily shared without having to trudge through (all) the above.

Tags: 101 Years Entertainment, Ellery Queen, Mystery, Sincerelyornot

Part 4 of 6: Criminals Win

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 4 of 6, the ten short stories in which the thief is our hero and/or is not brought to justice. Some of these I enjoyed to one degree or another, and where I recommend them, it is so noted. I object in principle to the whole idea of the thief as hero, so unless its circumstantially explained away, I vote no to the whole genre.
• The Red Silk Scarf, by Maurice LeBlanc, Arsene Lupin. A well-known crook gives a police detective all the clues he needs except one. Said crucial clue threatens to unravel all the hard work of the police, because said crook won’t give it up until the other half (of this red silk scarf) is found. Very clever, if unacceptably and overwhelmingly bumbling policemen weren’t the main feature of the story. The resolution, also, uses a bit of dues-ex-machina that’s not set up well and therefore unbelievable.
• The Cyprian Bees, by Anthony Wayne, Dr. Hailey. Average writing, stellar if rather scary mystery. So well wrapped is the plot hat explaining any of it requires SPOILERs; a doctor/beekeeper wants an inheritance and if he doesn’t get it, no one else in the family will either. END SPOILER Not A Night Read.
• Arsene Lupin in Prison, by Maurice LeBlanc, Arsene Lupin. For all the faults of this one, it was one of the genuinely humorous mysteries in the book (despite having a chapter by that title, there were very few that made me laugh out loud. This one succeeded). The whole thing is so clever one can almost forgive the thief for being a protagonist; almost.
• Blind Man’s Bluff, by Fredrick Irving Anderson, The Infallible Godahl. Another genuinely funny one. Godahl is a member of an elite social club that plays mean pranks for laughs on its stage. (Our thief, being also the hero, naturally, is disgusted with his clubmates and doesn’t like them.) This round it’s a blind black magician who happens to be a fellow thief of our hero. When the magician shows up for a show, our hero isn’t among the crowd, and soon, neither are everyone’s wallets. The ending line needs to be read twice for full appreciation; recommended.
• The Stolen Romney, by Edgar Wallace, Four Square Jane. Clever, if somewhat contrived story of a female thief who uses the stolen goods to make donations to charity, and the police are baffled by her most recent heist: a painting, stolen in broad daylight, that could not possibly have left the museum.
• Paris Adventure, by Leslie Charteris, The Saint. Interesting story along the lines of Edgar Allen Poe in that it’s a character study more than a mystery (which makes it worth recommending despite the “hero”); a famous thief is on the lam when he meets a lady in a bar (further details would spoil the story, but trust me, its really complex and fun). Recommended
• The Eleventh Juror, by Vincent Starrett. A man is about to be convicted of murder and the jury must convince our narrator to vote him guilty or else he’ll escape the electric chair (and may I say, this one also qualifies for “Most Poorly Executed”; the author wrote himself into a hole and then just pulls the plug on realism).
• A Chess Problem, by Agatha Christie, Hercule Poirot. A chess genius dies two minutes into a tournament, his partner having just returned from iron-curtain Russia; who is the real victim, and why? Its Hercule Poirot’s job to find out, and I have to say, SPOILER if he’s such a great detective as he keeps telling us he is, why does the murderer get away with a fortune? END SPOILER not recommended; anyone know of a good Agatha Christie short story?
• The Sweet Shot, by E.C. Bentley, Philip Trent. This last is a truly ingenious mystery, with sublte turns of plot unraveled in true British style, over a tea at a golf club. A quietly nasty member of the community has no enemies but winds up dead, struck by lightening on a cloudless day, which blew him up but left his golf club untouched.
• The Criminologist’s Club, by Raffles A well known thief is invited to a dinner by London’s most distinguished detectives, to discuss the most recent criminal affairs of the city. Will they entrap him into confession, or will current criminal activity overtake them?

Overall, the thief stories were not my favorite. If you must find a guilty pleasure in criminal success, read the Artemis Fowl series, The Saint (mentioned above), or The Infallible Godahl (also mentioned above) for a more morally acceptable version of a good steal.

Tags: Ellery Queen, fiction, Mystery, Sincerelyornot

Part 3 of 6: the blah club

This is the interesting part about an anthology of so many different authors: some are great, others just don’t stand out in the crowd. Not bad, not exceptional, here are is the mediocre of the crop of mysteries…
• The Puzzle lock, by R. Austin Freeman, Dr. Thorndyke. A big gang bust is in the air for the police, but first, they must find the criminals, who have mysteriously disappeared. The whole city ahse been searched, except the room behind one particular locked door…
• The Secret Garden, by Bilbert K. Chesterton, Father Brown. A gathering at the constable’s house turns deadly, and even the victim is not all he seems. Father Brown is a very boring person to listen to, full of half ideas that only come to fruition after the murderer has accomplished all his ends.
• The Man Who Spoke Latin, by Samuel Hopkins, Average Jones. A truly average mystery, with some fun twists and several missing plot points (and, for those of you who know Latin, even more plot holes). A new man in town cozies up to an eccentric professor and claims to have woken from a Coma speaking only Latin.
• The Long Dinner, by H.C. Bailey, Mr. Fortune. A disappearing artist, a orphan’s boarding school, and two dead children are connected across the English Cahnnel. The idea is interesting, but the red herrings prove gruesome, and the eternal yaking between the two protagonists is futile as regards enlightenment or entertainment.
• The Tragedy At Brookbend Cottage, by Enerst Bramah, Max Carrados. A woman’s isster is caught in a loveless marriage to a… you know the story. Our author tries to add a twist of tragedy to cliché, but its really quite insulting to feminity (and therefore not in the “Great” section).
• The Borderline Case, by Maragary Allingham. A man is shot from a window at a club he wasn’t near, with no apparent witnesses. The mafia rule the town on this one, as is made clear at the beginning, and we end with the same murkiness that borders on stupidity but just manages to be above it somewhere in the realm of annoying.
• The Mystery of Mrs. Dickenson, by Nicholas Carter, Nick Carter. The editorial comments on this one (to the effect that Nick Carter is infamous) seem unfounded, but whatever his reputation, it’s a rather mediocere storyline. A con is being pulled, in a rich
• The Doomdorf Mystery, by Melville Davisson Post, Uncle Abner. The twists and turns in the story are clever, as is the (also clever but very much impossible) climax. It’s the blathering boredom of Abner and his sidekick talking the whole story long that leaves you sleepy.
• Introducing Susan Dare, by Mignon Eberhart, Susan Dare. Another whodunit where all but the crucial clues are withheld, and the reader is, in the end, left thoroughly confused as to why the who and how the dun it.
• The Tea Leaf, by Edgar Jepson, Ruth Kelstern. A by now very cliché story of a murder without a weapon, a lover without an alibi, and a controlling father who can’t let go even in death.
• The Mackenzie Case, by Viola Brothers Shore, Gwynn Leith. Written in classic format, our heroine must navigate a series of differing clues on her cruise ships’ most interesting personalities: a millionaire and his companion, washed overboard one at a time in Cuba’s warm waters.

Overall, an unprepossessing group. I must say, in writing this review, I was struck by how unfun it is to write a lukewarm review. The truly pathetic are rife with sarcastic availability, while the great rise above in praiseworthy verbage; but there just isn’t much to say when its lukewarm middle-of-the-roadness all around. It brought to mind that scripture about being more desireable to God as hot or cold water (lukewarm being just no use : the Supreme writer of His Story would know that feeling.

Tags: Ellery Queen, fiction, Mystery, Sincerelyornot