Charles Fulton Oursler

#1496: Little Fictions – Curiosities from Adey: ‘About the Disappearance of Agatha King’ (1939) by Anthony Abbot

/ JJ / 5 Comments

Neither of the two novels I’ve read by Anthony Abbot have exactly thrilled me, but the guy clearly has some good ideas — ideas that, I can’t help but feel, get a little diluted in the need to expand them up to novel length. So the opportunity to read the short story ‘About the Disappearance of Agatha King’ (1939) — listed in Adey — was too tempting to pass up.

Continue reading →

#514: About the Murder of a Startled Lady (1935) by Anthony Abbot

/ JJ / 26 Comments

About the Murder of a Startled Ladystar filledstar filledstarsstarsstars
This is another title brought to my attention via the Roland Lacourbe-curated list of one hundred (well, 114) notable impossible crime novels.  If I’m honest, I still don’t know what to make of that list — containing as it does some wonderful books that aren’t impossible crimes, some poor books that aren’t impossible crimes, and some thoroughly glorious impossible crimes that would otherwise have passed me by.  This one is…fine.  While the impossibility isn’t up to much, there’s enough interest in the approach taken to commend it if you can find a copy.  Would I put it among the hundred best, however?  Er, no…

Continue reading →