"Seven sneezes?"
Why yes. For Private Investigator Fergus O'Breen, it's the number of times he will sneeze whenever near a long-haired cat. Never six times. Never eight. Always seven sneezes. And it's a bit of information which will prove instrumental to O'Breen in solving a 25-year-old murder - and some much newer ones.
Back in 1915, the wedding of Horace Brainard and his wife Catherine was spoiled by the brutal murder of one of the bridesmaids. It was never solved. 25 years later, many of the same people who made up that wedding party are attending another party to mark the couple's silver wedding anniversary. Instead they find themselves trapped on a remote island with a psychotic killer who has more murders in mind. Fortunately, P.I. Fergus O'Breen has been added to the party because they're going to need all the help they can get...
That's the quick outline of The Case of the Seven Sneezes, by Anthony Boucher - yes, that Anthony Boucher, for whom the world mystery conference is named. The book was written in 1941, and is one of a handful of mysteries written by Boucher. It's the subject today of my audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you are welcome to listen to the entire review by clicking here.
Before we go any farther, I do have a word of warning for cat lovers. I know that there are readers who will not read a book in which an animal is hurt, especially a pet – and that happens in The Case of the Seven Sneezes as a major element in the plot. It happens offstage, but it is what it is, and it's an important story point.
Once you get beyond that, however, you have an excellent mystery. In addition to being a powerful and influential newspaper mystery critic, Boucher also wrote several mysteries himself, including some featuring the adventures of Fergus O’Breen. The Case of the Seven Sneezes was one of them. No impossibilities or locked rooms this time, but a pretty solid plot, interesting suspects, and a detective who puts his rather peculiar form of allergy to work capturing a killer. At the moment, it's primarily available in e-book formats.
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