Classic Mysteries

"Cat of Many Tails"

While there are a great many mysteries and thrillers about serial killers, there are surprisingly few of them among the classic mysteries. Agatha Christie's "The A.B.C. Murders" comes to mind, and Ngaio Marsh's "Singing in the Shrouds," but few others. That's one of the reasons why I think "Cat of Many Tails" is one of Ellery Queen's most interesting and successful novels. Over the course of a blazingly hot summer in New York City, Ellery Queen (the detective - it's always confusing when the author uses his character's name as his own pen name!) and his father, Inspector Richard Queen, are faced with a series of seemingly random murders. There are next to no clues, and the investigators are almost forced to sit and wait for each crime in the hope that the criminal will be careless.

"Cat of Many Tails" has a rather ambiguous ending, something that became pretty common in later Queen novels. I think it's one of the better written novels in the series. It's the subject of today's Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can hear the whole review here. As you will see, if you click the title link above, it's pretty much out of print, as is the case with all Ellery Queen novels, but I'm going ahead and putting it on the podcast bAmazon has links to a number of booksellers offering reasonably-priced copies. It's also available from the Mystery Guild, and if you belong to that book club, you might want to order a copy of "Queen's Ransom," which includes "Cat of Many Tails" along with "The Roman Hat Mystery" and "Calamity Town." It's a good introduction to the Queen novels.

New Bookstore in Town

That's a big deal, as far as I'm concerned. The town is Maplewood, New Jersey, and the new bookstore, which opened this past week, is called Words - good name for a bookstore. They have a reasonably good selection, though I'd like to see more classics and small publishers represented - but it takes a lot of courage and guts to open a bookstore these days, when you're up against fierce competition from both the big bricks-and-mortar chains like Barnes & Noble and an online behemoth like Amazon.

I use Amazon myself (and am grateful when you do so, as I get a small cut) for some of my books - but I intend to be a regular customer at Words, and I continue to encourage you to patronize your own local bookstore. For those of you in north Central Jersey (think Newark Airport area), Maplewood is a convenient visit. Based on a quick runthrough this morning, they have a pretty good children's section, a reasonable collection of other authors and genres (my wife picked up the new Orson Scott Card book there) and they can order just about anything.

Good independent bookstores - and mystery bookstores - are hard to find. If you know of one, be a customer. They need and deserve your support.

"She Shall Have Murder"

If you believe that murder is - sometimes - something worth a few laughs, then let me introduce you to Delano Ames. He was the author of a series of mysteries, written in the 1940s and 50s, featuring Jane and Dagobert Brown. The first of these books, She Shall Have Murder, introduces us to the lead characters: Jane, who works in a law office; and Dagobert, who is - well, pretty much unemployed, a status he appears to enjoy because it gives him more time for investigating possible crimes. Jane has decided she wants to write thrillers, but the thrills get somewhat out of hand when she and Dagobert discover that one of the firm's clients appears to be a murder victim. It's all handled with a nice light touch. You can hear the podcast review here. Thanks to the publishers at the Rue Morgue Press, this book - and others like it - richly deserve to be rescued from "biblioblivion."

R.I.P. John Mortimer

The BBC reports that mystery writer and dramatist Sir John Mortimer has died. Mortimer created the immensely popular character, Rumpole of the Bailey, many of whose exploits were chronicled in a marvelous series of TV adaptations starring the late Leo McKern as Rumpole.

I realize that I haven't reviewed any of Mortimer's Rumpole books here - an oversight I'll have to correct. But I do recommend them highly. They are well written, warm, funny and passionate, and if they're not exactly classic mysteries in the sense of fair-play puzzles, they more than make up for it both through the characters of Rumpole and the other lawyers and through the courtroom dramas that make up a significant part of the books.

Mortimer was a fine playwright too; I remember seeing a production of "A Voyage Round My Father," his tribute to his blind father, many years ago, and it has always stuck in my memory as a marvelous piece of theater. His Rumpole books were equally marvelous.

Hat tip: Sarah Weinman

"Nothing Can Rescue Me"

Strange and ugly things are happening on a country estate in upstate New York. The story begins with some unpleasant quotes typed into an unfinished manuscript, goes on through "spiritualist" sessions, and ultimately ends in murder. At the center of it all is Henry Gamadge, the urbane and very intelligent bibliophile created by Elizabeth Daly. "Nothing Can Rescue Me" is an excellent way to meet Mr. Gamadge, as he tracks down a vicious killer. There's a full review on this week's podcast, which you can listen to here. Elizabeth Daly was a fine author of America's Golden Age of Detection, and I am delighted to see her classic mysteries are being republished by Felony & Mayhem Press.

"The Chinese Bell Murders"

For the "Classic Mysteries" podcast this week, we return to seventh-century China and the cases of Judge Dee. There was a real Judge Dee, long considered one of China's wisest detectives, but he is best known to western audiences today through the fiction of Robert Van Gulik. "The Chinese Bell Murders" gives us the judge and his assistants solving three complex and difficult crimes: a rape-murder, some extreme irregularities at a Buddhist temple, and finding a resolution to a long and extremely bloody family feud. You can listen to the podcast here.

Van Gulik was a diplomat and a specialist in Chinese history and culture, and he uses the Judge Dee books to introduce western readers to a picture of Imperial China. "The Chinese Bell Murders" is an excellent introduction to Judge Dee and to the administration and pursuit of justice in ancient China.

Curtains for Murder One

Another piece of unhappy news for mystery lovers, this time from London. The Bookseller reports that Murder One, the mystery bookstore on the Charing Cross Road, will close its doors at the end of January. The staff members will be let go. That's too bad - it was a fine, highly reliable source of great mysteries, a great place to browse and buy when in London, and a number of my favorite classic mysteries were discovered and bought there. It will be missed.

Hat tip: Sarah Weinman

I Love a Mystery

Yes, I would think that headline probably covers just about anyone who's likely to be visiting this blog or listening to the podcasts. I bring it up because it's also the name of a periodic newsletter that contains reviews and articles about all kinds of mysteries (obviously including classics). I've been enjoying the free subscription for some months now, and I think you probably would enjoy it as well. The I Love a Mystery Newsletter, edited by Sally Powers, is available for reading here - you may find yourself drawn to some new authors you haven't read before. Try it!

Donald Westlake

Well this is a lousy piece of news to hit us at the beginning of a new year: mystery author Donald Westlake died last night. Westlake wrote more than a hundred books, and five screenplays as well, and he won three Edgars and a variety of other honors, including a Grand Master award from the Mystery Writers of America. He'll be missed. The New York Times has a good obit.

Penguin Book of Gaslight Crime - coming soon!

Here's something to look forward to in the New Year: Amazon.com is now taking pre-orders for "The Penguin Book of Gaslight Crime: Con Artists, Burglars, Rogues, and Scoundrels from the Time of Sherlock Holmes," coming out March 31st, 2009, which looks like a wonderful collection of stories about some of the master criminals (and master-detectives) from around the turn of the 20th century. I've just pre-ordered my copy - why not join me and join in the discussion once we've had a chance to read it together and review it in the spring?

Hat tip to Mike Tooney and the Golden Age of Detection group on Yahoo! for the pointer!