Review: Murder in the House of Omari by Taku Ashibe

Synopsis: Osaka, 1943: as the Second World War rages and American bombers rain death down upon the city, the once prosperous Omari family is already in decline, financially ruined by the terrible conflict. Then the household is struck by a series of gruesome murders.

Can anyone solve the mystery of these baffling slayings before the Omari line is extinguished entirely? To do so, and unravel the killer's fiendish plot, they will have to delve into the family's past, where a dark and deadly secret has been festering for decades...

~ ~ ~

To be perfectly honest I was not a fan of this one. I had to have a serious think about this one before putting pen to paper a it were.

Even for Japanese crime fiction, this book was excrutiatingly long winded with a snaking narrative that when it finally gets to the point, doubles back on itself, becoming long winded and snaking yet again.

I did enjoy facets of the book - the family dynamics and historical content, but felt my interest waning as the pathway to the conclusion became lost.

I am sure many other will enjoy this - and I will continue to champion Japanese crime fiction as I have grown to love it.

Review: The Spiral Staircase by Ethel Lina White

Synopsis: Helen Capel is hired as a live-in lady-help to the Warren family in the countryside. She enjoys the eccentric household and her duties, but her peaceful and simple life is soon disturbed by a series of mysterious murders in the isolated community.

As Helen’s employer, Professor Sebastian Warren, battens down the hatches and locks all the doors of their remote country house, the eight residents begin to feel safe. But somewhere out there lurks a murderer of young girls. As the murders crawl closer to home, Helen starts to wonder if there really is safety in numbers—and what happens when those numbers start to dwindle?

~ ~ ~

The premise evolves around a young maid, employed in a remote country house, where not all of the members of the household are what they seem; the setting is suitably gothic and claustrophobic; a murderer is on the loose and closing in.

I am in two minds - I love classic crime fiction, which is what this is; on the other hand, it was rather tedious in the initial set up, which I found distracting. The ending was rather curious and not all-together ..... well, believable. However, as this is fiction, the author has provided the reader with a fairly decent psychological drama.

First published in 1933 as "Some Must Watch"

Review: The Black Swan Mystery by Tetsuya Ayukawa

Synopsis: Early one morning, the owner of a local mill is found lying next to the railway tracks just outside of Kuki Station. Suspicion initially falls on the workers' union, with whom the man had been embroiled in a labour dispute, then on a new religious sect that has been gaining followers recently.

Chief Inspector Onitsura and his assistant Tanna are called in to investigate, and soon set off in a journey across Japan, from Tokyo to Kyoto and Osaka, and finally to the island of Kyūshu, in a hunt for the killer. But as they investigate, the killer strikes again, and again. Will they be able to catch the murderer before even more people are slain?

Fans of Agatha Christie’s 4.50 from Paddington and Seicho Matsumoto’s Tokyo Express will delight in the devious twists and turns of The Black Swan Mystery, as well as in the characterisation and portrait of 1960s Japan.

The author, Tetsuya Ayukawa, is considered to be the master of alibi deconstruction mysteries–a talent that is on full display in this brilliant classic railway murder mystery, which won the prestigious Japanese Detective Writers Club Prize.

~ ~ ~

I have been enjoying a range of Japanese crime mysteries, however, I felt that this particular one was okay. It is very detail orientated around trains and train timetables. The prime detectives, Onitsura and Tanna, seem to be merely secondary to events, coming late into the novel, which is initially dominated by Inspector Sudo and Constable Seki.

There is, of course, the inevitable twist in the narrative, and the murderer confesses in their own way, explaining to their audience, the hows, whys and wherefores.  This I did enjoy!

Japanese crime novels, well at least the ones I have read, tend to be long drawn out affairs, detailing both the social and cultural aspects of the people and places, as well as the investigation - sometimes it feels as if each moment of each day is being documented for the reader. Is this just a quirk of the writers of this genre? Perhaps.

Nothing groundbreaking - an enjoyable, if somewhat dry, read.

Review: Miss Winter In The Library With A Knife by Martin Edwards

Synopsis: Six down-on-their-luck people with links to the world of crime writing have been invited to play a game this Christmas by the mysterious Midwinter Trust. The challenge seems simple but ......

Solve the murder of a fictional crime writer in a remote but wonderfully atmospheric village in north Yorkshire to win a prize that will change your fortunes for good.

Six members of staff from the shadowy Trust are there to make sure everyone plays fair. The contestants have been meticulously vetted but you can never be too careful. And with the village about to be cut off by a snow storm, everyone needs to be extra vigilant. Midwinter can play tricks on people's minds…

The game is set – but playing fair isn't on everyone's Christmas list.

~ ~ ~

"... the skill lies in diverting attention from what really matters, seducing the players with red herrings ..."

The narrative is in the form of journals, letters, tourist-like pamphlets, maps, floor-plans where the challenge to solve the mystery is between both reader and characters. If the reader is stuck, Martin provides a "clue finder" at the back of the book. It will remind some readers of the classic interactive crime books and of more recent versions such as "Cluedle" or "Murdle".

For me, this really needs to be visual - I think you need to see how things play out - a bit like the movie "Clue". I wasn't really a fan of this one nor its set up. The story line was great, the characters fine, the setting suitable, but ... I don't know ... the delivery just wasn't there for me. I felt like I needed to be watching rather than reading, if that makes sense.

Give it a go as Martin is the supreme classic crime novelist - and his curated anthologies are exceptional.

Review: The Red House Mystery by AA Milne

Synopsis: The creator of such beloved storybook characters for children as Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, and Eeyore, A. A. Milne was also the author of numerous dramas, essays, and novels for adults — among them, this droll and finely crafted whodunit.

In it, Milne takes readers to the Red House, a comfortable residence in the placid English countryside that is the bachelor home of Mr. Mark Ablett. While visiting this cozy retreat, amateur detective Anthony Gillingham and his chum, Bill Beverley, investigate their genial host's disappearance and its connection with a mysterious shooting. Was the victim, whose body was found after a heated exchange with the host, shot in an act of self-defense? If so, why did the host flee, and if not, what drove him to murder?

Between games of billiards and bowls, the taking of tea, and other genteel pursuits, Gillingham and Beverley explore the possibilities in a light-hearted series of capers involving secret passageways, underwater evidence, and other atmospheric devices.

Sparkling with witty dialogue, deft plotting, and an intriguing cast of characters, this rare gem will charm mystery lovers, Anglophiles, and general readers alike.

~ ~ ~

This book was one that I have been wanting to read for eons and now (in 2024) finally took the plunge and picked it up.

First published in 1922, it is rather dated now with its "Jeeves & Wooster" / "Brideshead Revisited" style narrative, so that should definitely be taken into consideration when reading.

A standard though intriguing locked room mystery with all the elements needed to make for an enjoyable read. Set in a typical English "big house" with guests, servants, and a family at odds - did one brother kill the other or is there more to this murder mystery than meets the eye.

A charming read!

Review: The Lady Vanishes by Ethel Lina White

Synopsis: First published as The Wheel Spins in 1936 and adapted for the screen by Alfred Hitchcock in 1938, Ethel Lina White’s The Lady Vanishes established the author as one of the greatest crime writers of the Golden Age.

After a summer holiday in a remote corner of Europe, the glamorous socialite Iris Carr is looking forward to returning to the comforts of home. But having stayed on at the resort after her friends’ departure, Iris now faces the journey home alone. On the train to Trieste, she is pleased to meet a kindly governess, Miss Froy, and strikes up a conversation. Iris warms to her companion, and is alarmed when she wakes from a sleep to find that Miss Froy has suddenly disappeared from the train without a trace. Worse still, she is horrified to discover that none of the other passengers on the train will admit to having ever seen such a woman.

Doubting her sanity and fearing for her life, Iris is determined to find Miss Froy before the train journey is over. Only one of her fellow passengers seems to believe her story. With his help, Iris begins to search the train for clues to the mystery of the vanished lady at the center of this ingenious classic thriller.

~ ~ ~

If you pick up this tome and have watched Hitchcock's film, you will no doubt find yourself making comparisons. This tome is a slow build with a plot line slightly different to the one Hitchcock presents. The tension builds in the almost claustrophobia atmosphere of the train, as Iris - in her quest to find Miss Froy - realises that all are against her and she herself is in danger.

Like most tomes of the period, there is usually a secondary narrative or social commentary or political propaganda. Many early 20th century books embraced modernist techniques, such as stream-of-consciousness narration, nonlinear storytelling, and fragmented narratives; and focused on character to unravel the intricate web of an individual's thoughts and feelings .

This is no exception. It is a comment on the English abroad, on the behaviour and selfishness of the young group, and the outward snobbery of Iris' travelling companions. Even Iris comes under scrutiny: " ...... she was spoiled since birth; it was natural for her to be selfish ... ".

Still, read it for the enjoyment of this being a classic mystery.

Review: Golden Age of Locked Room Mysteries ed. Otto Penzler

Synopsis: For devotees of the Golden Age mystery, the impossible crime story represents the period’s purest form: it presents the reader with a baffling scenario (a corpse discovered in a windowless room locked from the inside, perhaps), lays out a set of increasingly confounding clues, and swiftly delivers an ingenious and satisfying solution. 

During the years between the two world wars, the best writers in the genre strove to outdo one another with unfathomable crime scenes and brilliant explanations, and the puzzling and clever tales they produced in those brief decades remain unmatched to this day.

Among the Americans, some of these authors are still household names, inextricably linked to the locked room mysteries they devised: John Dickson Carr, Ellery Queen, Clayton Rawson, Stuart Palmer. Others, associated with different styles of crime fiction, also produced great works—authors including Fredric Brown, MacKinlay Kantor, Craig Rice, and Cornell Woolrich.

All of these and more can be found in Golden Age Locked Room Mysteries, selected by Edgar Award-winning mystery expert and anthologist Otto Penzler. Featuring a delightful mix of well-known writers and unjustly-forgotten masters, the fourteen tales included herein highlight the best of the American impossible crime story, promising hours of entertainment for armchair sleuths young and old.

A nice anthology of classic "locked room" mysteries dates from predominantly the 1930s and 1940s. The settings vary from a touch of the science fiction - a la HG Wells - to the supernatural, missing heirs, actors, greedy and murderous relatives. Add to this a strange selection of detective: a magician, a young girl, an insurance broker, the usual police / detectives, a spinster, and a switchboard operator. Each story is unique - some are lengthy, others short and to the point.

A little summary to assist the reader:

Elsewhere by Anthony Boucher:

* published 1946

* sci-fi theme (use of a time machine)

Whistler's Murder by Frederic Brown:

* published 1946

* a vaudeville act holds the key

* insurance broker investigates

The Third Bullet by John Dickson Carr

* published 1937

* one murder victim, two sisters, three guns, three bullets

Fingerprint Ghost by Joseph Commings

* published 1947

* murder and a seance

* senator and magician investigates

Calico Dog by Mignon Eberhart

* published 1934

* return of a long lost child / heir

The Exact Opposite by Earl Stanley Gardner

* published 1941

* missing explorer and a gem in India

The Light at Three O'Clock by MacKinlay Kantor

* published 1930

* return of a murdered man

* switchboard operator investigates

The Episode of the Nail & the Requiem by C Daly King

* published 1935

* dead artists model and some late night music

The Riddle of the Yellow Canary by Stuart Palmer

* published 1934

* music producer and a dead starlet

* elderly spinster investigates

The House of Haunts  by Ellery Queen

* published 1951

* dead man's daughter returns

* creepy house and its occupants, gold, and an imposter

Off The Face of the Earth by Clayton Rawson

* published 1949

* missing judge, missing girls

* Great Merlini investigates

His Heart Could Break - Craig Rice

* published 1943

* suicide of a prisoner

* lawyer investigates - was it a frame up

Murder Among Magicians by Manley Wade Wellman

* published 1939

* when five guests visits a magician's home, murder prevails

Murder at the Automat by Cornell Woolrich

* published 1937

* man murdered in a restaurant

Nice retrospective look back at the golden age of locked room mysteries.

Review: The Coconut Killings by Patricia Moyes

Synopsis: A U.S. Senator is found brutally murdered with a machete on the grounds of an exclusive golf club on one of the British Seaward Islands. John and Margaret Colville, who operate a modest hotel on the island, ask their friends Chief Superintendent Henry Tibbett and his wife, Emmy to come to St. Mathews' to conduct an investigation. Although an amiable young islander who tends bar for the Colvilles has been arrested for the crime, Henry soon discovers that the murder rests on complex motives reaching far beyond the Caribbean.

I will preface this review with advice for anyone from the "woke brigade" to avoid due to the fact that I am sure they will be offended. This tome was published in 1979 so the views, ideas, perceptions and actions date from a time before this. The slightly pompous and rather dated colonial tropes ascribed to the British characters and projected by the British characters toward the native Caribbeans will not be to everyone's liking - and I myself found it rather grating at times and I absolutely love the older classic crime and mystery books.

I suggest that one dispense with both the implausible and the plausible, and just enjoy the story - afterall, you don't have to read it, and if you do, you can always pass it on.

Review: The Acupuncture Murders by Dwight Steward

Synopsis: Trehune, a gluttonous rare book dealer, attempts to overcome his deafness by acupuncture treatment. While witnessing a demonstration operation that ends up in a suspicious death, Sampson Trehune begins to snoop about for the murderer.

Whilst book browsing, I can across this little tome and the premise intrigued me - a totally deaf detective. This 1977 book was part of the Penguin Crime series, of which I had a number in my own personal collection, so thought it would make an interesting addition.

I struggled with this one - quite possibly due to the requirements of adding in sign-language and lip-reading into the vocalised narrative (for which I applaud the author) - however, it just added any extra layer to the chore of reading. Putting that aside, I really did not find myself invested in the storyline, or any of the characters, and forced myself to push through to the end. And to be honest, my mind wandered so much that I could not even tell you "whodunnit" as I cared not a jot.

Others may pick this up and enjoy it - for me, it goes into the donation bag for the little neighbourhood street library.

Miss Silver Series by Patricia Wentworth

Miss Maud Silver is a fictional main character in series mystery novels written by bestselling British author Patricia Wentworth. Miss Silver is a former governess turned a private investigator whose age and physical appearance make her appear harmless. 

Unlike her literary contemporary Miss Marple, Miss Silver is an active,  professional investigator, often working closely with Scotland Yard (especially Inspector Frank Abbott) - a "true predecessor of all female private detectives". 

Most of Miss Silver’s activities happen from the readers view without getting a glimpse of how she works or how she learns all that she does. In fact, very little is known of the character - she appears fully developed, and readers are not treated to the backstory.

The Miss Silver series begins in 1928 with the Grey Mask and lasted thirty-two books concluding in 1961 with The Girl in the Cellar.

A full list of Miss Silver titles can be located here @ Goodreads

A must for fans of the golden age of classic crime.

see also:

- A List of Female Detective Characters

Review: Vintage Crime edited by Martin Edwards

Synopsis: Vintage Crimes will be a CWA anthology with a difference, celebrating members' work over the years. The book will gather stories from the mid-1950s until the twenty-first century by great names of the past, great names of the present together with a few hidden treasures by less familiar writers. The first CWA anthology, Butcher's Dozen, appeared in 1956, and was co-edited by Julian Symons, Michael Gilbert, and Josephine Bell. The anthology has been edited by Martin Edwards since 1996, and has yielded many award-winning and nominated stories in the UK and overseas.

A nice mixed bag of stories - not overly long - from some well-known and not so well-known names in crime fiction. We have stories covering practical jokes gone awry, sleepwalking, dreams, espionage, love and betrayal, greed and jealousy, accidental death and out-and-out murder. Quite a few have that twist at the end that readers will enjoy, and not all our protagonists are deserving of our empathy. With some distinctive noirish tones, I enjoyed all twenty-two stories, and appreciated the mini author biographies at the end. Martin Edwards does it again - collating a diverse range of tales for this murderous anthology.

The Poison Pen Letter: The Early 20th Century's Strangest Crime Wave

Curtis Evens for CrimeReads: 

Across the transatlantic world in the early decades of the twentieth century a terrible wave of poison attacks took place, cruelly claiming hordes of human victims. In contrast with the toxic chlorine, phosgene and mustard gases which armies put to such ghastly and inhuman use during the First World War, however, these particular poisons were not delivered via canisters and shells. 

Rather, the instrument through which these poisons inflicted their damage was the pen—the so-called “poison pen” (a term which encompassed as well that click-clacking symbol of modern business efficiency, the typewriter). For these poisons were words—words which, like weapons of war, could not only hurt but in some cases kill.

Read more from Curtis Evans about this early 20th century phenomenom and how it was adapted by crime writers of the era @ CrimeReads.  And for those interest, there is a lovely list of novels featuring the poison pen!

January Book Bargains - Part II

So another book sale just happened to be on this weekend, so I did a drive by and stopped in.

Managed to pick up these offerings:

I also managed to pick up a 1944 paperback copy of Graham Greene's "A Gun For Sale" - it was in okay condition - a little bit of damage to the cover but otherwise in good nick for its age - I couldn't resist anyway - my cover looks like this one below - and had a price tag of 1'6.

Review: Dover Two by Joyce Porter

The next in the DCI Wilfred Dover series - and just as good as the first.

Once again, Dover is sent out into the sticks to solve a seemingly unsolvable crime by the Ass. Commission, whom Dover suspects (quite rightly) dislikes him. Considering these little outings are far beneath his position within Scotland yard, Dover is on the look out to solve the crime quite quickly and head back home.

But solving the "Sleeping Beauty" mystery is not going to be that easy as Dover and his trusty Sergeant MacGregor find themselves in a town segregated along religious lines, with a fair bit of tit-for-tat going on. And Sleeping Beauty is just one incident amid many. But someone has it in for the comatose girl, who is murdered, resulting in Dover being sent.

Dover blusters about in his usual manner, throwing round accusations alike breadcrumbs to birds, raising the hackles of all whom he comes into contact with, whilst poor old MacGregor is once again assigned all the leg work so that Dover can spend the majority of his day, sitting idly by, filling his belly and getting his daily nap. And again, as usual, and always in the absence of trusty MacGregor, Dover claims the kudos for himself.

I am loving this series - Dover is despicable whilst we cannot but have a soft spot for MacGregor, who hopes that one day, someone will hears his pleas and re-assign him to another DCI.

Library of Congress Launches Crime Classics Book Series

From Fine Books & Collections: 

Three titles will launch the Library of Congress Crime Classics Series in spring 2020. Cover designs were inspired by images from the Library's collections.

Classic American crime novels will see new life in a new publishing collaboration between the Library of Congress and Poisoned Pen Press, an imprint of Sourcebooks. The Library of Congress Crime Classics series will feature a rich and diverse selection of books originally published between the 1860s and the 1960s, the Library announced today.

Titles are drawn from the Library’s collection of hard-to-find and out-of-print books, with cover designs inspired by images from the Library’s collections.

The series will launch in Spring 2020 with the publication of three books: “That Affair Next Door” by Anna Katharine Green (1897), “The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope” by C. W. Grafton (1943) and “Case Pending” by Dell Shannon (1960).

read more here @ Fine Books & Collections

The Golden Age Detective Fiction Renaissance

From CrimeReads: 

Martin Edwards celebrates a new era of Golden Age mysteries, and takes us through the challenges of bringing beloved series back into print.

Not so long ago, Golden Age detective fiction was hopelessly out of fashion. Yes, Agatha Christie continued to sell, and her books were regularly televised and filmed. But she is a literary phenomenon, an exception who breaks every rule. Fans of the other Crime Queens, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham, kept the flame burning, while several good writers came and went who worked essentially in the Golden Age tradition; examples include Patricia Moyes, Dominic Devine, and Sarah Caudwell. But hundreds of writers who made their name in the Golden Age were out of print. And so far as readers and critics were concerned, it was a case of out of sight, out of mind.

read more here @ CrimeReads

Review: The Teahouse Detective by Baroness Orczy

Synopsis: All of the twelve detective stories in this volume are puzzled over by Orczy’s mysterious armchair detective, the “Old Man In The Corner”.

The second released in a series by Baroness Orczy, as an alternate to Sherlock Holmes.

Another series of mysteries, this time the narrator is (though not mentioned) out young reporter Polly Burton (though one is never sure - it is just implied). Another afternoon of classic crime escapism.

Synopsis: A classic collection of mysteries featuring the Teahouse Detective - a contemporary of Sherlock Holmes, with a brilliant mind and waspish temperament to match that of Conan Doyle's creation.

Simple and entertaining series of stories featuring an old man providing his own commentary on a number of "national" crimes to a young reporter who he meets in a teashop.

An afternoon of escapism, as twelve short mysteries are played out before the reader. It is only a matter of solving them before their final denoument! Must be read after "The Case of Miss Elliott" even though released first.

Review: The Man of Dangerous Secrets by Maxwell March

"In the past twenty four hours he had stumbled into the very midst of something which baffled him completely.  In that brief interval he had caught glimpses of a web of intrigue and danger so closely knit that it seemed doubtful if , once within it, one could ever escape."

The perfect summary for this classic tome from noted author Margery Allingham writing under the pseudonym of Maxwell March.  I love classic crime, especially that written between the 1920s - 1970s.  There is just something about the style, the mystery, the whole set up - which is why they are classics.

In this installment, Robin Grey, who works in the murky shadows of Scotland Yard or the Home Office (one never quite knows), witnesses an incident at Waterloo Station that sets him off on a mission to rescue a damsel in distress.

Without revealing too much of the plot, Grey inserts himself into the life of the damsel, Jennifer Fern, in an attempt to find out why she is being so cruelly persecuted - and who is behind it all.  There are some shady characters with whom Grey comes into contact - however, like all good mysteries, no-one is really who they claim to be, leaving Grey wondering what he has gotten himself into.

The story rolls on towards its inevitable conclusion; however, clues are dropped like the proverbial breadcrumbs, leading this way and that, as each of the five protagonists are revealed for what they really are.

This is storytelling at its best - and this was one of three stories Allingham wrote as Maxwell March (the other two being Rogues' Holiday and the Shadow in the House).

See more here:

@ The Margery Allingham Society

@ Margery Allingham Books In Order

@ The Guardian - Queen of Crime

@ Mystery Scene - A Writer to Remember

John Creasey - King of Crime

The King Of The Crime Writers: The Biography of John Creasey by Nigel Cawthorne

John Creasy was not quite as famous as Agatha Christie yet his output dwarfed hers. Aged 21yo when his first book was published (though it was the tenth he had written), Creasy wrote over 600 books and numerous television series, and was published under 28 pseudonyms.

His life is told in a series of flashbacks, anecdotes and personal memoirs.

A Kind of Prisoner by John Creasey

John Creasey was a prolific writer of crime and mystery novels, many of which have made it to our TV screens.

In this outing, we enter the world of British espionage, more specifically Department Z, the elite detective agency. The plot is a simple one - Department Z is being sabotaged with a view to their final destruction. Under siege from enemies both within and without, and with one of their own "a kind of prisoner", can Department Z root out the source of the impending doom before it is too late.

This is my kind of book - I love the crime / mystery / thriller style from the 1930s to the 1970s, so for me, this was an enjoyable read. Creasey himself was rather an enigma, and I suggest tracking down The King Of The Crime Writers: The Biography of John Creasey by Nigel Cawthorne to get an idea of the man and his literary output.

Read more here:

@ John Creasey Books

@ The John Creasey Online Resource

@ Department Z

View all my reviews @ Goodreads

Review: Maigret & the Tall Woman by Georges Simenon

Look, I personally love classic crime - and Maigret (recently brought to life by Rowan Atkinson), definitely falls into this category.  

The "tall woman" is the wife of a career safe-cracker (a woman whom Maigret knew from years gone by).  There is a murder, and the safe-cracker vanishes.  In his usual style, and sometimes with the thinest of evidence, Maigret investigates.  There is nothing seemingly rushed about this man, and at times you wonder if Maigret will ever solve the puzzle.  But you know he does.

This style of crime fiction is classic for a reason, and will never go out of style.  I was introduced to Maigret and others of his ilk many, many years ago, and then sometime ago, I indulged myself in reading a vast array of classic crime (for the pure joy of it) - Simenon was among the many authors.  And yet their characters are still fresh as if it were only yesterday.  That is the power of Simenon and his ilk - they still have the power to captivate an audience years later.

Well worth the effort to seek out more from Georges Simenon and the full list of Maigret titles, which you can do here @ Penguin Books