"Arrow Pointing Nowhere"

It was certainly a strange case for an amateur detective. The invitation to become involved was cryptic, to say the least. There was no indication which of several people might have issued the invitation. Nor was there any real sign of what was wrong in that odd house belonging to an old, upper-class New York City family. The only real clues were crumpled pages from a railroad schedule, marked with arrows - one of then an "Arrow Pointing Nowhere," which is the title of the book by Elizabeth Daly reviewed on today's Classic Mysteries podcast.

"Arrow Pointing Nowhere," first published in 1944, features amateur detective Henry Gamadge, an expert on rare books and documents. Gamadge receives an odd message, scrawled on an apparent circular from a book dealer, the envelope found crumpled outside a New York City mansion. Gamadge, who has made something of a name for himself as an amateur detective willing to help friends and acquaintances in trouble, must find a way to be accepted inside the mansion, discover what is going on, and figure out who has invited him inside - and why. How he does so makes a fascinating story; what he finds is a terrifying mixture of greed, evil and murder.

Henry Gamadge, the creation of Elizabeth Daly, appears in 16 mysteries. Daly is said to have been Agatha Christie's favorite American author. Her works are largely unknown today, which I think is a pity - they are literate, sometimes funny, often provocative books that provide fair clues to the reader who can interpret them. They also provide the kind of plot twists and surprises that readers of Agatha Christie will appreciate. The Felony & Mayhem Press has reissued several of Daly's mysteries, and I hope there are more on their way.

As for Henry Gamadge, expert on signatures, forged documents and antique books, he is my entry in this week's "Moonlighting for Murder" feature over at Jen's Book Thoughts blog. There are a lot of other bloggers offering their favorite amateur detectives this week; please be sure to check them out as well - you may find some new friends. There are also some contests there which will encourage you to visit - and to leave comments on participating blogs (including mine, thank you very much).

This book is also another entry in the My Reader's Block Vintage Mysteries Reading Challenge - the kind of stories that will delight readers of this blog. That one has been going on since the beginning of the year, and there are a great many excellent suggestions for vintage mystery reading that may have escaped your attention. Check them out!

Come back here tomorrow morning to learn more about Henry Gamadge, about the life and work of an expert in documents and forgeries, and about "biblio" mysteries such as these that center around a love for, and appreciation of, books.

 

Comments

[Word Lily]

This *does* sound like a series that deserves more attention!

[Les Blatt]

Agreed, Word Lily. Felony & Mayhem currently lists six of her books in their catalog. I hope they can and will publish more - they are all very much worth reading.

[Teresa]

Interesting... I'll have to check it out. Thanks for featuring it.

[Jen Forbus]

With Agatha Christie's Jane Marple doing so well in the tourney, I bet there are a lot of readers out there who would enjoy reading this Les!

Thanks for highlighting Elizabeth Daly's Henry Gamadge this week. What a great addition to the theme week!

[Beth F]

I should add this one to my list. Can I start a new series? Oh why not.

[Bev]

I love the Elizabeth Daly books. I still have a couple on my shelf that I need to read (I hate to get them all read and then not have any to look forward to...) and a few more that I need to find. What could be better than a mystery book that involves someone who is an expert on books?! Thanks for highlighting this one for the Challenge!

[Bernadette]

Great choice - a mystery with a book-loving protagonist - definitely adding this author to my must try list

[J F Norris]

Purportedly Agatha Christie's favorite mystery writer, Elizabeth Daly is also one of mine. Mysteries about books! Hmm, I wonder why I like them so much. I have almost all the first editions (many with DJs). I'm missing only her first book (way too expensive) and the strangely rare Murders in Volume Two which I have in paperback and a newspaper version. (I should do a post on those newspaper mysteries. A Philadelphia paper put them out in the 1940s.) Thankfully, Felony & Mayhem has made nearly the Daly books available in handsome reprints.

Her niece, Eleanor Boylan, later continued the series with five books about Clara Gamadge, Henry's wife in Daly's series but a widow in Boylan's series.

[Les Blatt]

Jen, Beth, Bev, Bernadette - Daly's a favorite of mine. Her plots are well-executed, and the twists and turns can really fool you.

John - I'm jealous of the first editions! I have all of the novels in paperback, most of them much-thumbed and read. I think Felony & Mayhem have six in print; I'd love to see the others available as well. And thanks for the tip on Eleanor Boylan - I wasn't aware of those and I'll have to try to find some.