Anne Perry. The Carter Street Hangmen (1979)

     Anne Perry. The Carter Street Hangmen (1979) The first in the Charlotte Ellison & Thomas Pitt novels, in which they meet because of the murders mentioned in the title, and end up in each other’s arms and with an “understanding”. Perry is better than most authors at producing a Victorian pastiche, mostly because she doesn’t try too hard. She’s more concerned with serving up Victorian attitudes and values than with imitating Victorian prose. A pleasant entertainment, very much in the Harlequin romance mode, but without that genre’s excessive focus on the heroine’s emotions, and with accurate period detail. Perry’s exploration of character nudges the book towards the psychological end of the crime novel spectrum, but since she doesn’t want to give away the perp too soon, she focusses more the effects of the crimes on the Ellison family than on the clues. Good, but not a keeper. **½ (2007)

Mordecai Richler. Jacob Two-Two and the Hooded Fang (1975)

     Mordecai Richler. Jacob Two-Two and the Hooded Fang (1975) I finally read this book, years after it appeared and made a splash. It’s awful. If this book were written by anyone other than Richler, it would not have been published, or else it would have been heavily edited. The ostensible audience is children from K to about grade 2, which means it must sound well read aloud. It doesn’t. Richler seems to think that funny names, CAPITAL LETTERS, and elaborate explanations of the obvious are the difference between adult and children’s books. Not so. The plot of this book is lame, the style is pedestrian, the characterisation is cardboardy as can be. If this book resulted from Richler’s attempts at bed-time stories for his children, too bad for his kids. Ugh! (2007)

Howard Haycraft and John Beecroft, eds. Three Times Three (1964)

     Howard Haycraft and John Beecroft, eds. Three Times Three (1964) Three crime omnibuses bound together, each containing a short novel, a novelette (or long short story), and three short stories. I read all except the Marsh novel, which I’d read recently, and the Geoffrey Household novel, a tediously detailed “suspense” story whose narrator fancies himself a hunter. It’s an example of gore-porn. The short stories are nicely done examples of the crime shaggy-dog story, a very popular genre before the days of TV. Good entertainment, but not a keeper. 0 to *** (2007)

Ngaio Marsh. Light Thickens (1982)

 

     Ngaio Marsh. Light Thickens (1982) Marsh’s last Alleyn mystery. The title quotes Macbeth, and the mis-en-scene is a production of that play, described in wonderful detail. I think it’s Marsh’s vision of the play, and wonder if she ever actually staged it this way. Anyhow, I’d love to see someone take up her concept.
     The murderer is a mad devotee of ancient Scottish culture (no doubt thoroughly misunderstood), who avenges an “insult” to the real claymore used in the production. Alleyn has to use one of his tricks to prod him into confession, a schtick that Marsh has overused, but it suits this story. Apart from this, the novel is near perfect, one of Marsh’s best. **** (2007)

 Update 2022-03-08: Just reread this book. I'd forgotten the murder puzzle's solution, but it doesn't actually matter that much. Most of this book deals with the production of Macbeth by Peregrine Jay, who twenty years before had rescued the Dolphin Theatre from ruin with the help of a moneyed benefactor. The book is worth reading for the story of how Jay envisions the play, and manages to meld a disparate group of egos into a wonderfully successful version of the play. It provides not only insights into the collaborative work of putting on a play, but also into this play itself. I will be watching any Macbeth I see with eyes and ears and brain informed by Marsh's version.

Ruth Rendell. The Veiled One (1988)

     Ruth Rendell. The Veiled One (1988) A woman’s body is found in a parking garage, but there are no obvious clues: no family or business connections with possible murderers, etc. As so often with Rendell, the essential clues lie in the past: an ancient grudge has led to this murder, and the perpetrator is a psychopath (Rendell likes psychopaths as perps). Wexford and Burden are nicely drawn as always. Wexford is nearly killed by a bomb intended for someone else, which puts him off the case for the first couple of weeks. This gives Burden an opportunity to fixate on the wrong suspect, who however does become a murderer. He too is a psychopath, and his victim is the murderer of the victim in the car park. I don’t really like twisty plots like this, I prefer straight police procedurals. The TV series plays down the moody and psychological aspects of Rendell’s fiction, which IMO improves the stories. **½ (2007)

Douglas G. Green, ed. The Collected Short Fiction of Ngaio Marsh (1991)

 

     Douglas G. Green, ed. The Collected Short Fiction of Ngaio Marsh (1991) Just what the title says. The Alleyn mysteries look like trial runs for novel plots, the others are typical commercial fiction of the period: moody, with a twist. In the days before TV, people read genre fiction by the ton. Marsh was as skilled a practitioner of the craft as any, but she did not need to pursue it to make a living. As I understand her life, she worked in theatre in New Zealand and the novels brought in welcome additional income. Still, these stories are fun to read. ** to *** (2007)

Howard Engel. There Was an Old Woman (1993)

     Howard Engel. There Was an Old Woman (1993) Number 8 in the Cooperman series, and a pleasant read. Kago, so-called handyman at Cooperman’s office building, asks Benny to look into the death of Lizzie Oldridge, whose dilapidated house in the middle of a prime development block makes a tempting target. Benny uncovers ancient secrets and present-day evil. His courtship of Anna Abraham moves forward a few centimetres, and his relationship with Det. Chris Savas becomes a mite friendlier. All in all, an easy-going read. I figured the perp about halfway through, but not the full extent of his evil. **½ (2007)