Take what appeared to be an open-and-shut case of suicide. Stir in a few clues that don't add up - a pink glove, some possibly poisoned toothpaste, a few sounds that should have been on a tape recording that somehow weren't there, and a few shards of broken glass. And let Emily and Henry Bryce shake up the mix - because, as Emily observes, “When we have a murder, we don’t like to be piggish about it. We want all our friends to share it with us.” What you have is a rather remarkable screwball comedy-mystery called Glass on the Stairs, by Margaret Scherf. It's the subject of today's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the full review by clicking here.
Henry and Emily Bryce appeared in four very funny - and very well-plotted - traditional mysteries by Margaret Scherf. The husband-and-wife detective story was very popular in the 1940s and 1950s; Henry and Emily may not be as well known as Nick and Nora Charles or Pam and Jerry North, but they are cut from the same cloth. Emily is an interior decorator and designer; Henry helps her and tries (not always successfully) to keep her out of trouble.
In Glass on the Stairs, first published in 1954, Henry and Emily are working in their studio above Link Sampson's small gun shop [a small gun shop in New York City? This MUST be pre-Bloomberg New York. --Ed.] one evening when Link bursts in: there's a fairly hysterical woman in his shop who wants to buy a gun. Should he sell it to her? She doesn't have a license, by the way. As the three of them discuss the ethics of the situation, they hear a gunshot downstairs. When they get down to the shop, they find the dead woman, who appears to have shot herself. At least that's what the police say and think - and her family members say and think. Emily insists it's murder because...well because. And Henry, as he begins to look more closely at some rather peculiar clues, tends to agree with Emily.
It gets a lot more complicated - and a lot funnier, too. There's that peculiar pink glove - I mean, what murderer is going to wear shocking pink gloves to commit a crime? And there's that broken glass on the stairs leading from Link's shop to the Bryces' apartment. The pace throughout is pretty rapid-fire, with lots of dialogue among the central characters, most of it pretty funny. The characters in general are worth meeting. And there are some clues planted throughout to help the reader try to figure out whodunit – although in this case it’s probably just as much fun or more to sit back and let Henry and Emily lead the way. The Rue Morgue Press has republished Glass on the Stairs. It's both funny and fun.
Glass on the Stairs is another entry in the My Reader's Blog Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge, representing Category 25, Dynamic Duos. Again, I commend to you a lot of the books that others are reading for the challenge - you'll find lots of good ideas at the link for your future reading enjoyment.
Les - I love it that you've chosen some of the less well-known classic mystery stories for this challenge. That's such a great way of introducing authors we might not have 'met' yet. This is one example (for me anyway). Scherf is an author I'd heard of and wanted to try, and just...didn't. I appreciate the reminder of her work.
Posted by: Margot Kinberg | July 29, 2013 at 02:44 PM
Margot, I've read three of the books about Henry and Emily Bryce so far (and reviewed them - see the backlist page!), which leaves me only one to go. The books are genuinely funny and also very nicely plotted mysteries. I think you would enjoy them, if you can find room on your TBR pile!
Posted by: Les Blatt | July 29, 2013 at 02:51 PM