M. Richardson. Maddened by Mystery (1982)

     M. Richardson. Maddened by Mystery (1982) Subtitled “A casebook of Canadian Detective Fiction”, this is a pleasant and instructive collection. The title alludes to Leacock’s parody of Holmesian omniscience, still one of the best satires of pretentious guff ever written. But the other entries are all worthy, and most of them score high on the entertainment meter, the most important feature of detective stories. Since the anthology was published, Canadian authors have entered the mainstream of the mystery genre. This early collection makes a point that no longer needs making. What’s interesting is that the majority of these stories were published in the USA and England, then the major markets. Ironic, that Canadians imported their reading material from these sources unaware that much of what they read was composed by their compatriots. ** to ***. (2004)

R. Wingfield. Night Frost (1992)

 

R.D. Wingfield. Night Frost (1992) Jack Frost has to find a murderer of old ladies, a maker of porn videos, a rapist and murderer, and assorted other miscreants, all the while enduring Mullett’s wrath and his new D.S.’s ambition. The latter, Gilmore, has his own troubles. The TV series, starring David Jason, gives us a much toned-down version of the book (it was made into a series of episodes), with Frost gentler and Mullet less egotistically ambitious. One thing Wingfield never underplays is the effect of crime on everyone involved, victims, perpetrators and police, and their relatives and friends. Evil is a stain that spreads. **½ (2004)

“Hyacinth Bucket” Keeping Up Appearances (1972)

     “Hyacinth Bucket” Keeping Up Appearances (1972) Hyacinth has decided to write a book of etiquette for the rest of us, the “socially less fortunate.” Adapted from the TV scripts by Jonathan Rice, it is a pleasure for fans, and probably a tedious bore for everyone else. I enjoyed it. Kathryn and Roy gave it to Mother in 1993, and it looks well read, so P&M etc must have read it also. I liked it, but then I like Hyacinth. Hyacinth’s determination to keep up appearances is after all her version of everyone’s desire to make something of oneself and be acknowledged as a real person. The TV episodes (written by Roy Clarke) at times achieve an odd pathos: the line between farce and tragedy is quite thin. *** (2004)

Hugh Greene. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (1971)

     Hugh Greene. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (1971) Collection of stories published at the same time as the Holmes tales. Generally not up to Doyle’s standard, very formulaic, and derivative, i.e., the writers are imitating each other, not writing from experience and knowledge. Most are at about Boys Own Paper level, which is not a bad thing, but does mean they are for enthusiasts only. The detection is either of the pure ratiocination kind, or the action-hero-winner kind. Romance, IOW, but generally of a mediocre standard. Despite Greene’s claims, these writers don’t merit a wider audience. 'tec story enthusiasts will find some pleasure in these tales, and some grad student working on a thesis about Edwardian pop culture will find it a useful source text. * to ** (2004)

John Lescroart. Nothing but the Truth (199x)

     John Lescroart. Nothing but the Truth (199x) John Hardy’s wife is jailed because a hot-shot careerist DA doesn’t get the answers he wants about a murder. I read about the first 1/6th of this written-for-TV tome, and couldn’t care enough about the characters to keep reading, even on the plane. Cliched characters, cliched writing, cliched scenes, and just a draft or two away from a shooting script. Junk, in other words, but not my kind of junk. (2004)

Brendan Gill. Late Bloomers (1996)

     Brendan Gill. Late Bloomers (1996) Gill provides one-page biographies to accompany photos of famous old people, ones whose achievements came late in life, sometimes after early success in other fields. Interesting, not least because of Gill’s ability to put much information into few words, and to convey the quality of a his subjects’ performances, a skill he honed as theatre critic for the New Yorker. **** (2004)

Sarah Paretsky. Guardian Angel (1992)

     Sarah Paretsky. Guardian Angel (1992) Victoria Warshawski drifts into investigating a disappearance for her friend. It turns into a murder investigation, then widens to include corporate fraud and junk bonds, and scamming the elderly out of their savings. She’s nearly killed, has several run-ins with her ex, and so on. Nicely plotted, with characters you care about. Chicago feels like any other modern city with its rotting centre, decaying former suburbs, gentrification of run-down neighbourhoods, and glitzy new-money properties on the fringes. Not a keeper, but worth getting more of (at yard sale prices, that is). **½ (2004)

Andrew Taylor. Caroline Minuscule (1982)

     Andrew Taylor. Caroline Minuscule (1982) A grad student discovers his tutor’s body, is approached by a mysterious stranger who wants him to translate a medieval manuscript, and what happens after that I just didn’t care to find out. The protagonist is an unpleasant dimwit, the author’s voice is pseudo-witty, and the plot wasn’t developing fast enough to overcome these flaws. I didn’t finish this one. (2004)

Martha Grimes. The Case Has Altered (1997)

     Martha Grimes. The Case Has Altered (1997) Two women are murdered within a couple weeks of each other. Eventually, the real murderer is found, but in the meantime Jury and Plant have to do all kinds of stuff, and neither is lucky in love. I just can’t care for these people. This is the third Grimes I’ve read, and it’s no better than the first two. I can’t see why she has the rep the blurbs give her. * (2004)

Dorothy Sayers. Unnatural Death (1927)

     Dorothy Sayers. Unnatural Death (1927) Wimsey is attracted by what may have been a murder of an old lady. His investigations startle the murderer into more crimes, and eventually Wimsey and Charles Parker are able to arrest the woman responsible. She commits suicide in custody, and the book ends on a darker note than usual. Sayers is here playing with the motif of successful (undetected) versus unsuccessful (detected, and usually solved) murders. Wimsey isn’t quite as much of a Bertie Wooster type as in other books, except when he deliberately acts the part. Parker is a faithful sidekick; Sayers later develops his character and makes him Wimsey’s brother-in-law. This is a pre-Harriet Vane story, and so follows the formula and adopts the conventions more faithfully than the later books, but Sayers already shows her interest in character rather than event, and the acute moral and psychological observations that Christie, for example, could never quite equal. *** (2004)

Greg Bear. Eon (1985)

     Greg Bear. Eon (1985) The Stone, a hollowed asteroid, appears out of nowhere, it’s investigated, and seems to be a gateway to multi-dimensional reality. Or so the story thus far. I’m not engaged enough by the characters to care whether or not the Stone is a gateway. Page 86 out of 502 is far enough.

Colin Dexter. The Wench is Dead (1989)

     Colin Dexter. The Wench is Dead (1989) The last of the Morse books until the one that finished him off. Morse is in hospital on account of an ulcer, etc, brought on by bad food, too much drink, too little exercise, and overmuch stress. A fellow patient dies, and his widow distributes a pamphlet written by the dead man, which deals with a murder on the Oxford Canal. Morse becomes intrigued despite himself, and eventually decides that there was a grave miscarriage of justice.He infers that the murder was of another woman, done to collect the insurance on the putative victim. Lewis helps him dig out relevant files, as does the daughter of another fellow patient, who happens to work at the Bod, and so can supply Morse with data he wouldn’t have a hope of getting otherwise. The book is gentler than other Morse books. Dexter seems to be more interested in the characters (the women all fall for Morse, perhaps a clue to Dexter’s own fantasies). I saw the video version of this story some months ago on TVO. It expanded some of the hints in the book, and played down the erotic fantasies, but otherwise was faithful to the book, and as usual well done. **½ (2004)

Michael Rutherford. City of Truro: Main Line Centenarian (2003)

      Michael Rutherford. City of Truro: Main Line Centenarian (2003) A biography of the famous GWR engine that reputedly broke the 100mph mark in England in 1904. A competent survey of motive power development under Dean and Churchward, an analysis of the reasons why the record-breaking run probably didn’t happen as described, and assorted other remarks, as well as survey of the engine’s work as a relic make up this book. As is common with enthusiasts’ books on railways, there is little or no attempt to connect the pictures to the text, and the writing is very much that of an amateur. The author thanks a friend for correcting grammar and punctuation, but the friend had no better skills than Rutherford himself; there are not nearly enough commas. Still, a pleasant survey, with interesting photographs, most of which are excellent, and all of which are well printed. ** (2004)