We’ve had some serious detection this week already, so time for pulpy thrills!
Continue reading#1353: When Rogues Fall Out, a.k.a. Dr. Thorndyke’s Discovery (1932) by R. Austin Freeman
Once again, now for a third time, I have been misled by these House of Stratus editions about the nature of a book by R. Austin Freeman. The cover of When Rogue’s Fall Out, a.k.a. Dr. Thorndyke’s Discovery (1932) promises “Three Books in One, starring Dr. Thorndyke”, leading me to surmise that these were three novellas. Not so. As it happens, Book 1 – The Three Rogues, Book 2 – Inspector Badger Deceased, and Book 3 – The Missing Collector are simply parts of one novel-length story, and I approached the end of The Three Rogues very confused about the apparent lack of impending conclusion and the distinct absence of Thorndyke from its pages.
#1352: Little Fictions – ‘A Matter of Gravity’ (1974) by Randall Garrett
Randall Garrett’s Lord Darcy stories, where murder and magic mingle in an alternate-history Europe, being a closed set, I had never really thought to consider the gaps between them before now.
Continue reading#1351: And in That Way of Caution I Must Tell You – On Hiding Clues in Plain Sight
I recently lamented that I don’t really do much in the way of think-pieces on The Invisible Event any more, and some of you in the comments were like ‘Yeah, so do them again, then, idiot’. So here goes.
Continue reading#1350: Cat and Mouse (1950) by Christianna Brand
With the British Library having cracked the decades-old problem of getting Christianna Brand republished — they’ve now put out six of her novels, with a seventh, her debut Death in High Heels (1941), to follow in November — it’s wonderful to dive into Cat and Mouse (1950) and find something decidedly uncommon that speaks of an author wanting to challenge herself after penning some of the best small-cast, twist-ending novels in the genre. The focus on an almost Gothic level of mood and suspense here puts one in mind of a similar attempt in Telefair, a.k.a. Yesterday’s Murder (1942) by Craig Rice; but Brand wins, because she also remembered to include a plot.
#1349: Little Fictions – ‘A Stretch of the Imagination’ (1973) by Randall Garrett
A gap of six years followed Randall Garrett’s sole Lord Darcy novel Too Many Magicians (1967) before he returned to the universe. Was that time well-spent in creating another strong fusion of mystery, magic, and murder?
Continue reading#1348: “I don’t think. That’s not my method. I investigate. I wait. And, finally, I understand.” – The Secret of the Pointed Tower (1937) by Pierre Véry [trans. Tom Mead 2023]
This first English translation of The Secret of the Pointed Tower (1937) by Pierre Véry was a cause of great excitement when announced, and I regret only that the complexity of the multi-limbed TBR has delayed me this long in getting to it.
Continue reading#1347: The Secret of the Downs (1939) by Walter S. Masterman
When young Frank Conway returns to his hotel on the edge of the South Downs one evening in a distracted frame of mind, none of the other denizens of the Fernbank think much of it. His request for an audience with various people are rejected in the rush for dinner and when, over that same meal, Conway dies in an agonising and protracted manner, many of the people present begin to regret their thoughtlessness. Conway’s final movements then fall under the remit of local man Inspector Baines, and, with the dead man’s sister also in attendance, two parallel investigations are run…but which will bear fruit first? And how does the sighting of a ghastly half man, half monster on the Downs tie into events?
#1346: Little Fictions – ‘The Muddle of the Woad’ (1965) by Randall Garrett
More magic, mummery, and misdirection from Randall Garrett’s alternate history Europe, and this time a bit of an impossible crime thrown in to boot. Not that he makes much of that element.
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