Conservative Book Talk

I’m not big on short stories, mysteries excepted since about ten years ago when I met one Sherlock Holmes. 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, I did find this very interesting from a historical perspective. There are too many stories for one review: this is review 1 of 6, the introduction and an overview of the anthology with some commentary on the commentary J.

PLOT: This is basically a short history lesson on mysteries in general and short stories in particular. In case you wondered, yes, Sherlock Holmes is mentioned, but no, he’s not in any of the stories. I think the editor’s hope is to introduce people to the lesser-known detectives of short story, and get mystery fans to stretch beyond their traditional limits in Doyle’s work. I love that idea, though as we’ll see, I’m not fond of the direction Ellery Queen takes us. The effects of that idea are lots of historical facts (detective short stories in history 101: dates of characters, the first detective story ever, etc), and fun editorial commentary on each story that give some historical background or maybe just hints at the plot twists. The introduction throws a lot of names and titles at you, while comparing them to Doyle’s work. It’s quite fun, and makes you think (especially since there are no Doyle stories in the thousand-plus pages that follow. The editor doesn’t mention why or even forewarn the reader that there will be nothing by Doyle). If anything, it shows how much an author expected of their readership fifty years ago; we’re expected to think it through and draw our own conclusions, a rarity in short story anthologies of my experience.

GOOD: Only two or three detectives are featured more than once, making a veritable smorgasbord of non-Doyle stories. Information about each detective, author, and story time-period provide opportunities to explore new serials for the interested reader. While only about a third of the stories are exceptionally good mysteries, roughly half are good stories overall, and very entertaining. The most worthwhile part of this book is the introduction, which describes the history of mystery. The only comparably interesting part is the first chapter, especially the very first mystery story ever written (by Edgar Allen Poe). The introduction is a crash course in the famous people and detectives of the mystery genre, and gave me countless names to look up for future reading. I enjoyed the categorizations of mystery stories (comedy, female detectives, Holmesians – Doyle imitators – and Comedic-Holmeisans, great detectives, and clever mysteries), and there is at least one good story in each category, all put into context by this introduction.

BAD: Roughly half the following stories are either boring or unacceptably non-mystery-like. So the book as a whole is not recommended, despite the cool introduction. The editor clearly feels that mystery includes the horror genre. Also, the standard for “best” is pretty low, despite the intellectual commentary.

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED: The introduction is worth every word. The rest of the book varies greatly in quality, but that’s to be expected when you’re dealing with 101 years and so many different authors. Why do you think the editor would spend most of his introduction comparing different authors to Holmes, and then omit all stories featuring the famous detective? Any ideas?

Tags: detectives, 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 three of the Alex Rider series. Alex Rider is British, and really, he shines in England. Something about the interactions across the pond seem to flow naturally and be so lifelike I can see the book unfolding in my head. Once you add Americans into the picture, its another story. Or maybe just less of a movie-in-book-form than previous volumes; either way, the Americans stand out like cardboard cut outs on a live action set. Thankfully, that is rectified when our main bad guy shows up (he and the main minions are Russian), and things kick into high gear for another rousing adventure.

PLOT: revolves around Alex getting roped into another mission, this one in America, involving a Russian nuclear nutcase. Instead of the British spy agency backing him all the way, he has to work with two American CIA agents (who aren’t supposed to tell the kid anything), and as usual, nobody knows what they’re actually after, even Alex. Alex, one female agent, and one male agent are soon in Florida, trying to get into the mansion of an impressively protective former Soviet general. His house consumes an entire island, and only a deep underwater cave is left unguarded…

POSITIVE: The world of spies is murky and uncertain in this series (as in real life), and Alex, while clearly brilliant, doesn’t know anything more than the agents he’s assigned with. As in, yay for adult competence! He saves everyone, but only once he’s willing to admit that he doesn’t know very much and so approaches each new thing with caution and humility. The story line also flows very naturally, making the transition from rainy London to the swamps of Florida and eventually the Russian Arctic Circle very natural. One of my pet peeves is “crazy” bad guys who are really just deluded idiots; this one is genuinely crazy, so he’s creepy, but he acts like you’d expect a lunatic to act, with unexpected logic, especially regarding his treatment of Alex. And the supporting minions are developed well enough that they supplement the performance, by treating his insanity as normal. And yes, that will only make sense once you’ve read the book. In short, the author has figured out what makes a good horror story, and applied the principles to his spy tale. He also discusses, subtly, several adult themes of women in the workforce, pride going before a fall, nuclear ethics, manipulation of the media, and security systems and their effectiveness being based on the people running them. These are positive because as an adult I enjoyed finding something to think about over the course of the book, and they are subtle enough that a kid could miss them entirely.

NEGATIVE: This is the darkest book in the series, in my opinion. Usually, authors forget to make the minions behave as if they’ve been minions for a long time, and the illusion of craziness is broken. Horowitz does a good job here of making it very real and therefore very scary. And something like seven different horrific ways to die are presented. Two bad words; many action scenes including bad guy sends minions to their death among the alligators, several life-threatening scenes where a young person is in danger of being electrocuted, eaten alive by sharks, chomped on my mechanical teeth, blown up, nuclear poisoning, ripped in pieces, etc –not graphic, and thereby more terrifying; our hero is unkind to a deformed minion (who wants him chopped in pieces); one stereotypical macho American guy who does stupidly risky things; and several characters consume alcohol liberally and one gets raving drunk.

OVERVIEW: four stars, because as a kids book it’s really rather more mature than it should be, with regard to the creepiness and violence levels. Otherwise, though, it’s very well crafted and though provoking.

Tags: adventure, Alex Rider, Anthony Horowitz, fiction, Mystery, Sincerelyornot, Skeleton Key, youth