Mystery

Review: A Nice Derangement of Epitaphs

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Cover image of "A Nice Derangement of Epitaphs" by Ellis Peters

A Nice Derangement of Epitaphs

A Nice Derangement of Epitaphs (The Felse Investigations, 4) Ellis Peters. Open Road Media (ISBN: 9781504027090) 2015, first published in 1965.

Summary: When a poet’s tomb is opened, two newer bodies are found, the poet’s is missing and his wife’s buried alive.

The Felse family is vacationing in Cornwall when they are drawn into a mysteries that are like a matryoshka doll, one inside the other. It all begins when Dominic Felse, their athletic eighteen year old son is walking along the shores and spies a young boy struggling in dangerous tidal waters. Young Felse jumps in to rescue him. But the young boy, Paddy Rosall resists rescue. He’d seen someone floating in the water. Dominic doesn’t see a body and so “rescues” young Paddy. As they get to shore, Paddy’s uncle Simon Towne sees them. And he attempts to search the waters. In vain.

All this serves to introduce the Felses to a close knit circle of relations. We also learn that Simon returned to do research that involves opening the tomb of Jan Treverra. He even invites George and Dominic Felse to help in opening the tomb. But they don’t find what they’d expected. When they open Jan’s vault, they discover the still-sodden body of Zebedee Trethuen, the church verger who begged Simon not to open the vault. Paddy had seen a body! Then they find another surprise. When they open the Jan’s casket, Jan’s bones aren’t there but rather the body of a more recently buried man. Later, when they return, they find items of treasure by Morwenna’s vault. They decide to open that vault. Morwenna’s body was there, but in a pose that showed she was buried alive and struggled to get out.

Meanwhile, Paddy has gone missing. They fear he saw the murderer and is in danger. But he was exploring a tunnel in which he found a gold piece after running off from chores. A relative just had told him of his adoption. Tim and Phil were not his biological parents. He had just needed to get away and think.

Mysteries within mysteries. Felse and local Detective Sergeant Hewitt investigate but it is Dominic who inadvertently comes up with a key clue. It’s in Jan and Morwenna’s epitaph.

And as for Paddy? I’ll leave you to discover how things resolve, but if you’ve read other Peter’s stories, you should know you won’t be unhappy with the end.

I loved the mysteries within mysteries stretching back to Jan and Morwenna, a fascinating plot. In addition, Peters offers fantastic bit of description of the deadly tide and the struggle of Paddy and Dominic that draws you into the story. I wasn’t quite sure of the reason for Tamsin Holt in the story, other than the electricity between her and Dominic. But then, it wouldn’t be a Peters story without a bit of romance!

Review: The Knocker on Death’s Door

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Cover image of "The Knocker on Death's Door" by Ellis Peters

The Knocker on Death’s Door

The Knocker on Death’s Door (The Felse Investigations, 10), Ellis Peters. Mysterious Press (ISBN: 9781504027151) 2015, first published in 1970.

Summary: Felse investigates two assaults, one a murder, by a church door that has a legend associated with its knocker.

What is it about that door? Legend had it that the knocker on the newly restored parish door was dangerous to sinners, whose hands could be burned if they touch it. But shortly after the celebration of its restoration, two men are assaulted. One of them, Gary Bracewell, was a freelance writer who had returned to the village to look at the door and its knocker. He was found dead at the base of the door, a hand reaching toward the knocker. A blow to the head killed him. A similar blow concussed the other victim.

Inspector Felse, a friend of Sgt. Moon, the local officer in charge, is in the area and joins the investigation. We learn that the door came from a decaying old house, part of a former abbey. The remnants of the Macsen-Martel family live there. Robert, the elder son, manages the home and cares for his ailing mother. However, Hugh, the younger, lives elsewhere and is a business partner with Dave at an automotive shop. Hugh races cars and is dating Dave’s sister Dinah. Robert discovered that the door, used for their wine cellar, had come from the parish church and arranged for the restoration.

The mystery deepens when Dave, who had repaired the steering on Bracewell’s car returns it to his widow. Because he was curious why Bracewell came back to the door, he learned that Bracewell had first seen the door when he wrote a story on the Macsen-Martel house. But the widow could share no reason for the interest. But he had search through photographs. So Dave searches out the photographer, Alix, and eventually they figure out the reason for Bracewell’s interest in the door and its knocker.

They pass all this on to Felse, which leads to the discovery of another body, accompanied by a suitcase! Felse methodically puts the pieces together just in time to prevent one more murder in the exciting climax to the story.

Ellis Peters (a.k.a. Edith Mary Pargeter) is probably most famous as the author of The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael. I read the whole series, enjoying characters, plotting, and good writing. Now I discover this series, albeit out of order, which didn’t seem to be a problem. I suspect you’ll see more reviews featuring Inspector Felse in the future! (And one spoiler: Dave and Alix get together, a trademark, it seems of an Ellis Peters story.)

Review: Desolation Mountain

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Cover image of "Desolation Mountain" by William Kent Krueger

Desolation Mountain

Desolation Mountain (Cork O’Connor, 17) William Kent Krueger. Atria Paperback (ISBN: 9781501147470) 2019.

Summary: When a U.S. senator’s plane crashes, Cork seeks the truth behind the crash and Stephen, a recurring dream.

Stephen kept having the same dream. He’s watching a boy who is and is not him. An eagle appears out of the clouds. The boy draws a bow, looses an arrow and brings down the bird. As the bird falls, an egg drops from it. Then the boy is looking at him. Or rather behind him at what he senses is an enormous, terrifying beast. He awakens as they scream together.

Stephen talks to Henry, the old mide to make sense of the dream. So far, they cannot. But Stephen somehow realizes he fears for Henry.

Then the plane crash occurs near Desolation Mountain. A U.S. Senator and her family, coming to discuss a mining project with the townspeople, die in the crash. Cork, part of a volunteer Search and Rescue team are first on the scene. Stephen joins him. Was the plane the eagle? Stephen is deeply troubled. If he’d understood, could it have been prevented?

All sorts of Federal investigators, including the FBI, show up. The site is cordoned off, and Stephen, studying the scene from the mountain is briefly held by some kind of authority figure. However, he momentarily sees another young man. Locals, including Sheriff Marsha Dross, are pulled off the case. Officially, the cause is given out as “pilot error.” They say there was no flight recorder.

But in that case, what are people looking for at the crash site? Is it the “egg” in Stephen’s dream? Then some tribal members, who were first on the crash site disappear. So Cork starts investigating. He discovers a man he’d worked with before is also in town. Bo Thorson is a former Secret Service Agent. At one point he took a bullet to save the life of the wife of the Vice president. Based on his past experience, Cork is willing to trust him and share info. Stephen and Henry intuit something different. And Thorson does save Cork at one point when Cork is set up for a “hit.” He gave Cork a bullet proof vest that saved his life. But Stephen and Henry are right. Bo is dividing his loyalties, and Cork and his family are “expendables.”

Cork recognizes his family is in danger. He and Stephen and his son-in-law Daniel were also early on the scene. So they shelter with Henry. But they make a mistake. Bo also knows where they are.

The young man in the dream is important. He is a photographer and captured a damning piece of evidence on film, that points to the people and motivations behind the crash. But will Cork close in on the truth before those who endanger him and his family close in on them?

Finally, Stephen does finally summons the courage to look at the beast at his back. But I’ll leave that for the reader to discover.

Bo Thorson is a complicated figure. I think he really wants to return Cork’s trust and sees something in the life of Cork’s family he has missed. Also, Waboo, Jenny’s adopted son also seems to have some special gift. He also sees monsters in the woods. Meanwhile, Stephen, having to fight impulses, is slowly growing into his own calling. What I do wonder is how Krueger will develop Cork further. As time goes on, he is identifying more deeply with his tribal ancestry. What is clear is that Krueger is a master at developing the sense of dark foreboding we encounter in Stephen’s dream and both Henry and Waboo’s sense of evil in the woods. It keeps one turning the pages!

Review: Mrs. McGinty’s Dead

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Cover image of "Mrs. McGinty's Dead" by Agatha Christie

Mrs. McGinty’s Dead

Mrs. McGinty’s Dead (Hercule Poirot, 29), Agatha Christie. William Morrow Paperbacks (ISBN: 9780063376915) 2025, first published in 1952..

Summary: Superintendent Spence doesn’t think the man he helped convict in Mrs. McGinty’s murder is guilty and asks Poirot’s help.

“Mrs. McGinty’s Dead.” In this case, real life follows the nursery rhyme. But everyone thinks they know who killed her. Specifically, all the evidence was against James Bentley, her out-of-work, depressive lodger who was behind on his rent. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. But Superintendent Spence, who collected the evidence that helped convict him is still not sure. Bentley doesn’t fit the profile of other murderers observed by the experienced Spence. So he asks his friend Poirot to investigate to see if any reason can be found to stay the man’s execution.

Poirot goes to Broadhinny, the village where Mrs. McGinty had lived. His plan is to put it about that new evidence suggests someone else murdered Mrs. McGinty, to see if the murderer will show his or her hand. He stays with the Summerhayes. The family goes way back but the current occupants have no idea how to run a guest house. This provides an element of humor as Poirot has to put up with inedible food and a chaotic and messy house. However that mess will later provide key clues–the missing murder weapon and a photo that had not been in a drawer when Poirot previously tidied it.

As Poirot goes through Mrs. McGinty’s effects, he discovers a newspaper with part of a page clipped out from three days before the murder. The story was about four women suspected of but never convicted of murder, accompanied by pictures of them. Furthermore, Mrs. McGinty had purchased ink to write a letter. Poirot concludes she believed one of the women, under a different name, lived in Broadhinny! She’s seen one of the photographs.

It turns out that Mrs. McGinty did domestic work for a number of the families. Guy and Eve Carpenter are wealthy and he is running to become a Member of Parliament. Eve’s background, however, is one she wants to keep quiet. The Weatherbys have manipulated their step-daughter Deidre, who is independently wealthy to stay with them. Robin Upward, a budding playwright seems to fawn over his adoptive mother Laura. Dr. Rendell’s wife seems quite nervous. All employed Mrs. McGinty, and all seem to have something to hide.

Twice, during his investigations, Poirot meets Bentley, who does nothing to help him. He believes he has no friends. Poirot believes otherwise. But it becomes clear someone else connected to the newspaper story is the real party of interest when another murder occurs. Who that is emerges in a climactic scene with the leading villagers.

The other humorous element in all of this is Ariadne Oliver, who happens on the scene because she is working with Robin Upward, the playwright. As always, she thinks she will “help” Poirot with her mystery-writer skills. And she does help sell the reason for Poirot’s visit. But it is Poirot alone who exposes the real murderer.

This one had just the right mix of humor and suspense and red herrings. Most rankings of Christie’s novels don’t rank this one at the top. While not among the very best, I would put it in the category of “very good” with a great setup, setting, and plot twists.

Review: The Bullet That Missed

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Cover image of "The Bullet that Missed" by Richard Osman

The Bullet That Missed

The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club, 3) Richard Osman. Penguin Books (ISBN: 9780593299418) 2022.

Summary: The Thursday Murder Club investigates the murder of a TV journalist while Elizabeth must kill an old spy friend.

Once again, the Thursday Murder Club are in deeper than they expected, and loving every minute of it. The four have decided to investigate the unsolved murder of Bethany Waites. Waite was a TV journalist investigating a VAT avoidance scheme and was about to break the story. The same night she had called Mike Waghorn, the news host, her car was found at the bottom of a cliff, with bloodstains that matched hers. Investigators find clothes but no body. It was assumed she had washed out to sea. The one woman who went to prison for the scheme said nothing.

Meanwhile, a man who calls himself the Viking abducts Stephen and Elizabeth. He gives Elizabeth a stark choice. Either kill an old KGB spy, Viktor Illyich, or the Viking will kill Joyce. As it turns out, Elizabeth and Viktor had gone from rivals to lovers, long before Stephen. Yet she takes Joyce along to Viktor’s suite to kill him, not having told Joyce about the Viking’s threat. But in reality, they feign his death and he joins the Club, both to catch the Viking and to work on the other murder.

The question is, why does the Viking want Viktor Illych dead? And who is he? It turns out Stephen supplies a key clue, in a moment of mental awareness, even as he gently and sadly declines into dementia, a decline that will hit Bogdan as hard as anyone.

Meanwhile, the Club is meeting all the people associated with Bethany Waites from Mike Waghorn, who wants her killer found, to Pauline, the make-up person, who falls in love with Ron, to a rival, Fiona Clemence, now a famous TV personality. They work with Chief Constable, Andrew Everton, and even enlist Connie, the drug dealer’s help, despite the fact that she intends to kill Ron and Bogdan.

Before they wrap things up, two more murders take place while Joyce faces a murderous Viking. And I will leave things there so you can have the same fun I did reading to the end!

Review: Not Quite Kosher

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Cover image of "Not Quite Kosher by Stuart M. Kaminsky

Not Quite Kosher

Not Quite Kosher (Abe Lieberman, 7), Stuart M. Kaminsky. Forge Books (ISBN: 9781429912631) 2002

Summary: Lieberman juggles two murder cases, one with multiple deaths including a cop, a bar mitzvah, a partner’s wedding and more.

Sometimes a lot of life happens at once. At home, Lieberman is involved in bar mitzvah plans for his grandson, mainly in figuring out how to stretch the family budget to pay for everything and leave something to repair the roof. Meanwhile, his partner Hanrahan is moving up his wedding date to marry Iris Chin–to this week, with a reception at the Liebermans! This, despite Iris’s family disapproval and threats which Lieberman cleverly handles through the leader of one of Chicago’s gangs. And he even manages to book Senator Joe Lieberman (no relation) to speak for a synagogue fund-raiser.

Then there is the work. A group of young thugs attacks a depressed store owner. Only it doesn’t turn out so well. The man, Arnold Sokol, defends himself well enough to chase two of the young men off and land the other in the hospital. Lieberman and his rabbi help settle things with the young man in the hospital, or so they think. But the next day, Sokol’s badly beaten body washes up in the lake.

Actually, that’s just one of two bodies that wash up. The other is a man called Pryor, involved in Lieberman’s other case. Him and Michael Wychovski rob a jewelry store–the same one they robbed a year ago. Only this time, things don’t turn out so well. On the way out, Pryor stumbles and his gun goes off, killing the owner. Then, while Wychovski drives, he fires on pursuing police, killing one of them. But they manage to elude capture-until Pryor’s body washes up along with Sokol’s.

I love the great relationship between Lieberman and Hanrahan, punctuated with food stops and ever-present reminders about Lieberman’s cholesterol. Each has gotten the other out of trouble on more than one occasion. I also love the philosophic decency of Lieberman–his companionable marriage, his acceptance of his difficult daughter, and his loyalty to his brother Maish and the alter cockers. He’s a man people trust, from Kearney, his boss to a somewhat unstable gang leader.

The reader trusts him as well, even to catching the real killer of Arnold Sokol. My only regret is that Kaminsky only wrote ten installments in this series. Having read most of the Rostnikov and Lieberman stories, perhaps it’s time to check out Toby Peters and Lew Fonseca, his two other crime solvers.