Dr. Sam Hawthorne may be a very good doctor indeed, but it's worth pointing out that he possesses an even more valuable skill: solving seemingly impossible mysteries. What kind of mysteries? Here are a few examples:
A murder takes place in an old-fashioned parlor in the victim’s house...and the parlor promptly disappears, leaving a dead body behind. Impossible?
A man who was alive and kicking one day earlier turns up dead the very next day inside a coffin that's been buried for 20 years. Impossible?
In a locked house, surrounded by a field of unmarked snow, the water in a stoneware jar miraculously turns into wine - poisoned wine. And somebody is killed. Impossible?
A man is shot at very close range while riding alone through the center of a covered bridge, with more than 200 people watching – but nobody saw anyone fire the shot. Impossible?
These are just a few of the latest escapades of Dr. Sam Hawthorne, the creation of prolific short-story writer Ed Hoch. Crippen & Landru publishers have been releasing Hoch's Dr. Sam stories, and they have now released the fourth volume of these stories about impossible crimes. This one is called All Things Impossible: The Impossible Files of Dr. Sam Hawthorne. It's the subject of today's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the complete review by clicking here.
The fifteen stories in All But Impossible all involve apparently impossible crimes – and how Dr. Sam uncovered the truth about them. Each case is unique – I am constantly amazed at how Ed Hoch was able to come up with so many different plots, so many ways to make the seemingly impossible happen, with few if any repeats. The stories contain the word “problem” in their titles, for that’s how Hoch – and Dr. Sam – approach them. In most of the stories, there is a murder. The local police chief is baffled. So is Dr. Sam, initially, but by studying the clues (which, of course, for the most part he’ll share with you) and talking to the people involved, he usually figures out the secret and solves the mystery.
I’m not going to go into more detail on the stories. It wouldn’t be fair to you. Do yourself a favor. Get a copy of All But Impossible. And get ready to be fooled by an expert.
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