Haunted Lady by Mary Roberts Rinehart: A Review

Elderly Mrs. Eliza Fairbanks went to the police to tell them that she suspected that someone was trying to kill her. The first clue was the arsenic which had been added to her sugar bowl. Now someone was putting bats and rats in her bedroom in hope that she would be scared into having a heart attack. Inspector Fuller immediately thought of sending Hilda Adams to the Fuller home to investigate. Hilda was a trained nurse and Inspector Adams called her Miss Pinkerton because of the assistance she had given in other cases.

Hilda found that Mrs. Fairbanks was apparently financially well off though other members of her family had been hit hard by the depression. In her house, lived her son Carlton and his wife Susie. His business had been ruined, and he now hoped to buy a small farm. Also living in the house was her daughter Marion who had been married and divorced to Frank Garrison who had left her to marry their daughter's governess, Edith. Their 19 year old daughter Janice also lived in the house, and she was quite interested in young doctor Courtney Brook who was her grandmother's doctor. His practice was not doing well, and Mrs. Fairbanks was possibly the only paying patient. There were also several servants living in the house, but they had been employed for a long time and seemed to be quite loyal to Mrs. Fairbanks. Everyone seemed to be very fond of Mrs. Fairbanks, though, of course Carlton, Marion, and Janice would benefit from her will.

Hilda Adams inspected Mrs. Fairbanks' room and found no way that any bats or rats could have gotten into it. Everything seemed to be tightly sealed. In the room was a closet with a safe, but only Mrs. Fairbanks knew the combination. Each evening, Hilda took her post in a chair outside of Mrs. Fairbanks' room. Every evening was uneventful until the fatal night when Mrs. Fairbanks was murdered - stabbed in the heart.

The solution to the problems of how the animals entered the bedroom, and how the murderer got into the room are really more interesting that the problem of who the murderer is. In her investigation, Hilda found clues in several places. The reader will probably note each clue discovered, but only Hilda can put them together to figure out how it all worked.  I read the Dell Map Back edition of this book, and having a map of the Fairbanks house was a big help in understanding how everything was carried out. I was a little disappointed in the final identification of the murderer though Ms. Rinehart tied everything up quite nicely.

This book was published in 1942. Used copies are available on the Internet.

Old Hall, New Hall by Michael Innes: A Review

Colin Clout returns to the University (Old Hall) from which he had received his first degree in English literature. He had since received yet another degree from Oxford, and now was in desperate need of a job. On his way to visit his old professor, Dr. Gingrass, Colin encountered a woman who for him was an incredible of vision of perfection. He took her for a tour of Old Hall, and she departed without giving him her name.

Colin's meeting with Gingrass gave him hope for two positions; the salaries from these two would enable him to live in scholastic poverty. The first was a lecturer in Literary Form. The second was the Alderman Shufflebotham Award which was given by the Council. The recipient of this award was to write a biography of a deceased eminent native of the city. Colin feared that this would take away time from his research on Franz Kafka and the Tradition of Symbolic Fiction, but he definitely needed the money. When he received the award, he learned that he was to write a biography of Sir Jocelyn Jory,  the owner of Old Hall in the early nineteenth century, who was noted for his scientific attainments. He could also include information about other members of the family, but not Edward Jory who was Jocelyn's younger brother. Edward was to be totally excluded from mention. All of this met with the approval of his great grandson, Sir John Jory who resided at New Hall which had become the family home after they departed the larger Old Hall.

Colin met with members of the Jory family, and discovered that there was a family dispute still going on about a wager that had been made between Jocelyn and Edward. It seems that Jocelyn was a collector of tombs, burial sites, catacombs, and other such death related materials. Indeed, he was building a mausoleum at Old Hall  to house his collection. Edward was a collector of more lively objects such as lovely young women. They had a wager that each would present the prime example of their collections, and there would be a judgement on who had the best. Here definite information about this event ended. It was speculated that Jocelyn had located a burial with a wealth of gold and jewels and had brought them to Old Hall but this had never been located. It was also speculated that Edward had located a woman of incredible beauty, but this had never been proved.

Here is the mystery for Colin to solve, but he was not the only one trying. There were descendents of both Jocelyn and Edward present and Colin found that the woman that he had fallen in love with on his first day was Olivia Jory, a descendent of Edward. There also George Lumb, a very intelligent  young man who was cataloging the library at New Hall, and who was also very interested in Olivia.  There was Professor Milder from America who was writing a history of 19th century searches for tombs.

All this leads to a jolly search for treasure by some very eccentric people. This is fun read as Innes makes fun of old families and modern academics. This book was originally published in 1956. It is currently available both in paperback and in a Kindle edition.

Colour Scheme by Ngaio Marsh: A Review

Wai-ata-tapu Springs is a thermal spa in New Zealand. There are eight hot springs with varying temperature. Five are exceedingly hot, the others are cooler and are believed to have medicinal properties due to the high concentrations of salts which they contain. This is all presided over by Rangi's Peak, an extinct volcano.

Wai-ata-tapu Hostel is located near these springs and welcomes guests who seek to benefit from the medicinal properties.  The hostel is owned and run by Colonel Claire and his wife. They manage it in a markedly incompetent manner. The Colonel's mind is limited and tends to wander. Mrs. Claire seems rather scatter brained. The furnishings of the hostel are fly blown, aging, and "vaguely uncomfortable" The Claires have a daughter Barbara who is pretty, but unattractively dressed and very naive. They also have son Simon who is studying Morse code while he waits to be called up to the army. The year is 1943, and New Zealand has been already affected by the war. A ship has recently been blown up in the local harbor.

Other residents of the hostel are Dr. Ackrington, Mrs. Claire's brother, who sees the defects and problems of the Hostel, but is ineffective in trying to change them. There is Herbert Smith who is supposed to be working at the Hostel, but who seems to spend a lot of time drinking and doing little.

Maurice Questing, a guest, is a source of great difficulties for everyone. He is brash and loud, and speaks in cliches. He implies over and over that he expects to take over the hostel and when that happens, he will improve it.  He implies that he is going to marry Barbara, and she certainly does not want to marry him. He seems to have tried to murder Smith, but afterwards offers him a contract to work at the hostel when Questing takes over. Questing is also rude to the local Maori.  He has been seen wandering around Rangi's Peak which is a Maori burial ground, and the Claires suspect that he has been trying to find artifacts which can be sold. Simon believes that Questing is a Nazi spy who has been using Rangi's Peak to signal enemy ships about local ship movement.

Then more guests arrive at the hostel. There is Geoffrey Gaunt, a noted Shakespearean actor who is seeking relief from pains in his legs. Gaunt is loved by many and especially by himself. He brings his secretary, Dikon Bell, a young man who soon sees the charms of Barbara Clare who is overwhelmed by a crush on Gaunt. Also on the trip, is Gaunt's dresser, Colly, who acts as valet and chauffeur.  Then later in the week, another guest, Septimus Falls, arrives after having given very little notice of his intention to do so. He is middle-aged, good looking, bookish, and bent over because he is suffering from lumbago.

The local Maori community has decided to have a performance on Friday night in honor of the noted actor, Geoffrey Gaunt.  All of those living at the hostel attend, and watch the Maori perform dances and songs. Geoffey Gaunt is invited to give a recitation of Shakespeare which he does. After the recitation, Questing gives an impromptu speech in which he insults Gaunt, who leaves in a murderous fury.

As the guests from hostel leave to return, either individually or in small groups, they hear a blood curdling scream. After much searching, it is decided that Questing is nowhere around, and they all suspect that Questing has met his death in one of the boiling mud pools either through an accident or by murder. The police are called in. The residents of the hostel meet to discuss possible ideas of what could have happened to Questing, and what their individual alibis are to be. Roderick Alleyn will appear, and solve the crime with his usual skill.

I highly recommend this book.  Ms. Marsh has written wonderful descriptions of her native New Zealand and the Maori natives. The book was originally published in 1943. It has been reissued by Felony and Mayhem Press, and is also available for the Kindle.

Odor of Violets by Baynard Kendrick: A review

Norma Treadwell is the fourth wife of wealthy theatrical producer Thaddeus Treadwell. She is also the stepmother of Gilbert Treadwell, a 28 year old engineer who is designing bomb sights for American war planes (It is the year 1940), his younger brother Stacy, and their 18 year old sister Barbara (Babs). Norma had previously been married to Paul Gerente, and now she has come to believe that Barbara is secretly seeing Gerente. When Barbara leaves their home, and goes to New York city, Norma follows her to Gerente's apartment hoping to break up the relationship. When she enters the apartment, she finds Gerente dead on the living room floor. Norma is much too terrified to see if any one else is in one of the other rooms in the apartment. When she sees Bab's galoshes near the door, she picks them up and flees.

On the same evening, Captain Duncan Maclain receives a visit from a man who says that he is Paul Gerente, and that he has brought secret documents from Colonel Macolm Grey who is head of G-2, American intelligence, in New York. After Gerente leaves, Maclain becomes suspicious of him, goes to Gerente's apartment and finds the dead body of the real Gerente.

Thus Duncan Maclain is drawn into this rather complex mystery. Maclain, who is a professional detective, is blind. He was blinded during his service in the first World War. With a great deal of self-discipline, he has developed the ability to solve crimes without the use of his eye sight. He is assisted by two dogs, an able assistant  Spud Savage, and his chauffeur and valet, Cappo.

It now seems that Babs has disappeared and has possibly been kidnapped, and Maclain is hired to locate her. He goes to the opulent home of the Treadwell's in Connecticut, and finds that an attack has been made on Norma Treadwell in Gilbert's workshop in the basement of the house. Then a maid is beheaded with a medieval battle axe. Maclain believes that all this is linked to an effort to obtain the plans for the bomb sight which Gilbert is designing. It is up to him and his assistants to solve two murders, a kidnapping, and a plot to steal the secret of a bomb sight which is essential to the American war effort. And to find out why there is an odor of violets present at the scene of these crimes.

This book was published in 1940. It is out of print, but used copies are available at Amazon. It was made into a movie, Eyes in the Night, in 1942. It starred Edward Arnold, Ann Harding, and Donna Reed, and was directed by Fred Zimmerman.

Baynard Kendrick was the first American to join the Canadian army in World War I. A friend of his was blinded in the fighting, and Kendrick developed a life long interest in the abilities of the blind. During World War II, he served as an instructor for blinded veterans. He was the only sighted  member of the  Blinded Veterans Association. He was also a founding member of the Mystery Writers of America and held membership card number 1.