Classic Mysteries

"813"

Our master detective on this week's Classic Mysteries podcast isn't really a detective - he's a thief. Meet Arsene Lupin, the world's greatest thief (and a character dearly beloved for more than a century now in his native France), and the mystery is "813," by Maurice LeBlanc. You can listen to the full review here.

In "813," Lupin is suspected by police of a brutal murder - a crime he has never committed in his career. He finds that the only way to clear his name is to take over the investigation from the police and find the killer himself. But the murder quickly becomes a series of crimes, and the motivation behind the events of the novel threatens the foundations and royal houses of Europe, as they existed in 1910, when the story was written.

And one thing you should consider, as you begin reading the book: what is its title? "813" are digits. How would you read the title? "Eight hundred thirteen"? "Eight-thirteen"? "Eight one three"? There's a reason the title is presented that way - but you will have to read the story to find out. You may also find out why Lupin has been - and, we are told, remains - so enormously popular at home in France.

"Poison Jasmine"

The guests sat down around the dinner table at the home of the perfume executive, but one of them wouldn't be getting up. He was poisoned - and it must have been done at the dinner table - but nobody saw anything. An impossible crime - or so it seemed, in "Poison Jasmine," by Clyde B. Clason.

John Dickson Carr certainly was the acknowledged master of the locked room mystery, but he was hardly the only person writing such stories. Clyde B. Clason wrote ten mysteries between 1936 and 1941, all featuring the detective work of Professor Theocritus Lucius Westborough, described as a mild-mannered history professor, but a man with the ability to solve crimes that appeared on the surface to be impossible.

Clason keeps the reader guessing about the murder - and the other events that take place in the course of this book - right to the very end. You can hear a full audio review on this week's podcast - and, as always, I'd welcome your comments here.

Blast from the Past: Charlie Chan Returns

Given that it can be very difficult sometimes to find older classic mysteries that are still in print, I was delighted to find that all six of the Charlie Chan mysteries by Earl Derr Biggers are, in fact, still in print and readily available - both in inexpensive paper editions and also in a six dollar bundle for the Amazon Kindle. I'll be reviewing one of them in the weeks ahead on the podcast, but - as they're in print now - why wait? If you're only familiar with Charlie Chan from the old movies that starred Warner Oland or Sidney Toler, and were usually full of racial stereotypes, you really ought to try the books, originally written between 1925 and 1932 - they work on a completely different level.

Portrait of the Detective as a Young Man?

As a followup to my earlier posts on Sherlock Holmes-related books, it appears that MacMillan is getting ready to publish a series of books about Sherlock Holmes as a teenager. We're promised some insights into a number of Holmes's personality quirks and traits, and we'll see him develop the detective skills that would carry him through life. Could be interesting, particularly for today's teenage readers who might find it a good introduction to the Doyle stories.

Hat tip: Sarah Weinman via Twitter

Not So Elementary, Watson: "The Beekeeper's Apprentice"

There's an interesting sub-class of mystery stories which probably should be called "Sherlockiana." It's based on Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes short stories and novels, and it usually is the province of other mystery authors trying their hand at pastiches of a Holmes story. Other authors have used the Holmes saga as a background for a more modern mystery - see my recent post here about Julian Symons's "The Kentish Manor Murders."

The approach taken by Laurie R. King is a little different: she has created a character, Mary Russell, who becomes Holmes's apprentice in 1915. Russell is fifteen when she meets - in fact, quite literally, almost steps on - Holmes, after the latter's retirement to the Sussex Downs to keep bees. In the first novel of the series, "The Beekeeper's Apprentice," the two meet, and Russell becomes Holmes's disciple. In this very entertaining book, the two set out to solve a number of smaller mysteries before tackling a much bigger problem - a mysterious murderer who appears to be trying to kill them both.

"The Beekeeper's Apprentice" doesn't exactly fit the mold of a classic mystery, but it is great fun, particularly for those familiar with the Holmes stories. King takes Doyle's character and makes him more approachable and accessible. He is still a genius, but he is matched (or very nearly so) by Mary Russell, who throws deductions back at him and even catches a couple of clues which Holmes had missed completely. I was also amused to find that King gives one of her characters the name "John Dickson" - undoubtedly after John Dickson Carr, who wrote a number of Holmes pastiches with Doyle's son, Adrian, as well as a biography of Doyle.

There are several more novels in King's series featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes - by the way, the reviews tell me that the book is fine for teenagers and young adults as well - and I'm looking forward to reading them.

"Inspector French's Greatest Case"

A murder, compounded by a major diamond robbery, turns into a fine mystery for Freeman Wills Crofts's detective, Inspector French. "Inspector French's Greatest Case" was the first book to feature the Inspector, who became an enormously popular character during the Golden Age in Britain. Crofts was thhe master of the "unbreakable" alibi. In this case, Inspector French traces a couple of very elusive - and hard to identify - criminals across the European continent. It's an enjoyable journey, seen from the inspector's point of view, as he doggedly pursues leads until they peter out - then must find a new place to pick up the trail. Think of it as a long-pre-CSI police procedural. You can listen to the full review here - and I welcome your comments below.

Are You Following Me?

To a mystery lover, that question, "Are you following me," probably sounds like somebody is being stalked in a thriller. That's not how it's meant: I am inviting you to follow me on Twitter. It's a good way to stay on top of new Classic Mysteries podcasts and postings and random thoughts. If you're on Twitter already, just follow @LesBlatt - if you're not on Twitter, come on over and find your friends! 

"The Kentish Manor Murders": Good Sherlockian Fun from Julian Symons

It really doesn't fit into the "classic mystery" pattern, but Julian Symons's "The Kentish Manor Murders" is such good fun and so elegant that it's worth a separate mention here. It's also out of print, alas, but the button below will take you to Amazon's second-hand booksellers, who seem to have plenty of inexpensive copies. You might even check your own public library, which is where I found the copy I read.

During his lifetime, Symons was named a Grand Master by both the Mystery Writers of America and the Swedish Academy of Detection, and he succeeded Agatha Christie as president of the Detection Club in Britain. "The Kentish Manor Murders" is one of his later works, and it's delightful - more so, I must say, than some of his other books that I've read.

It's Sherlockian in nature and theme, too. The central character is an English actor, Sheridan Haynes, who has made a specialty out of playing Holmes on stage and in films. He is hired to present a private reading of his Holmes show to an American multi-billionaire recluse at his private English manor, which he has renamed "Castle Baskerville," after the hound of the same name. Haynes finds himself confronted with a number of puzzling questions: is the recluse really the billionaire? Is he being held captive by his staff? And then there is the document which is said to be a manuscript of an unpublished Sherlock Holmes novel, which Haynes is asked to show to the billionaire. Is it legitimate? What's the point of the exercise? And to further complicate the matter, there's another subplot involving drug dealing. It's quite complex, but very nicely (if, to my mind, somewhat unbelievably) sorted out at the end.

It's great fun - and, as I say, it's not really a classic puzzle mystery - but then, in his later years, Symons wrote mostly "psychological" thrillers. This is closer to a puzzle than many of his other books, and it's a quick and enjoyable read.

Looking Back: "The Nine Tailors"

I have been doing the Classic Mysteries podcast weekly for nearly two years now, and that's a lot of reviews. I do not keep all of them active with directories such as iTunes or Podcast Alley = a hundred reviews tends to intimidate first-time visitors. But I do think it might be worth inviting you to go back and listen to some of the early reviews, when appropriate.

For example, having just posted the review of "Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club," by Dorothy L. Sayers, you might enjoy going back to hear my comments about my favorite Lord Peter Wimsey story - "The Nine Tailors." It is a book as much about the British art of change-ringing - the ringing of sets of church bells - as it is a mystery, and the bells are central characters in the story. Listen to my review by following the link. If you haven't read it - you owe it to yourself; it is one of my favorite mysteries by any author.

"The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club"

It's scandalous, really. Poor old General Fentiman, 90 if he was a day, sitting peacefully in his chair in front of the fireplace at the Bellona Club - a little too peacefully, it turns out. Not to mince words, the General was dead - in full rigor mortis - before anyone noticed. It was "The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club," by Dorothy L. Sayers, our review on this week's Classic Mysteries podcast, which you can listen to here.

The unpleasantness continues because, as will soon become apparent, the question of precisely when General Fentiman died will prove to be tremendously important to his potential heirs. Lord Peter Wimsey is called upon to try to determine the time of death - and soon discovers that he must also learn how the General died, and whether it was natural or if the old man was helped a bit along the road to the next world.

I think it's one of Sayers' cleverest plots, and I recommend it to you!