Book of Murder

by Frederick Irving Anderson

Meet Oliver Armiston, a writer whose ingenious mysteries inspired so many copycat crimes that the authorities began paying him not to write. Together with Deputy "Man Hunter" Parr of the New York Police Department, Armiston takes on cases of fraud, murder, and other nefarious activities in these ten dryly witty, cleverly constructed whodunits.

Beyond the conjecture --
The wedding gift --
The Japanese parasol --
The dead end --
The magician --
A start in life --
Big time --
The recoil --
Gulf Stream green --
The door key

Genres: Mystery

282 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1930

Reviews

[Googoogjoob · Rating 2 out of 5]

A 1930 collection of stories originally published 1923-29. Six concern the New York detective Deputy Parr and his friend and aide, the former author of crime fiction Oliver Armiston; three concern New England yeoman farmer Jason Selfridge and the local constable, Orlo Sage; one finds both sets of characters teaming up.

Anderson is very consciously modern- for the 1920s, when he was writing. He luxuriates in breezily describing the details of policework in a contemporary urban setting, and depicting the diverse inhabitants of the city. These stories are not consistently fair-play detective stories- the focus is frequently on the process by which the culprit is apprehended than on the mystery of their identity. Anderson has great faith in the competence and persistence of the police, and depicts them as almost omnipotent and unerring in enforcing the law in NYC.

Anderson had literary pretensions. He wanted to be a de Maupassant or a Wilde. He was writing these stories for the Saturday Evening Post, and he's generally as or more interested in the literary elements of his stories as the detective/mystery elements- to their detriment, I'm afraid. His digressions (on the workings of New York City and of rural New England) are frequently picturesque, but, though he shows skill at coming up with mysteries and their unraveling, he usually undercuts this in some way with over-clever plotting or frankly opaque over-clever writing.

I find Anderson to be too fond of leaving the reader in limbo- he likes unconventional plot structures that take their time to pay off, and he's too reticent about conveying what the characters know to the reader, instead stringing you along with cryptic remarks and clues and actions with unclear motivations, things which only make sense in retrospect, if then. This doesn't really create mystery, it just creates confusion, and the payoffs aren't really clever enough to be worth it. His dialogue is frequently glib and terse, and outright cryptic in some stories (esp. "The Wedding Gift," "The Dead End," "A Start in Life")- I feel like the expectation is that the urbane target audience will be able to extrapolate the meaning and implications, and congratulate themselves for doing so. But it's not New York in the 1920s anymore, so the text is frequently just opaque.

[Emmett Hoops · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories are all uniformly good, rather reminding one of the standard fare in the better pulp magazines of the late '20s and early '30s. No single story stands out as particularly innovative nor especially memorable.

It is necessary to have some knowledge of some of the language of Prohibition and the 1920s to fully appreciate the dialogue. "The flivver slipped past the coalhole. The British Empire falls before a coal shovel." Stuff like that.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

You won't think that Philo Vance is the only one who needs a kick in the pants when you meet author Oliver Armiston. I recommend the story The Infallible Godahl that is included in The American Rivals Of Sherlock Holmes It's better than any of the ones in this collection.
Which are, by the way: Beyond All Conjecture, The Wedding Gift, The Japanese Parasol, The Dead End, The Magician, A Start in Life, Big Time, The Recoil, Gulf Stream Green and The Door Key.

[Leyla Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains a series of cases in one book, very much written in the tradition 1920, I found it well written with lots of procedural information and interesting storylines. It took a little to get involved with the story but once that happened, the mysteries were good and intriguing - and I really enjoyed reading them.
This book was supplied to me in return for n unbiased and honest review

[Deb Novack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book written in the form of the 1920's. There were many different cases. It may be a little difficult for some people to get into the book but stick with it, the stories make it get more interesting as it goes along. Good characters and story lines.

***I received this book in return for an honest review***

[Jeff Hobbs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stories included:

Beyond all conjecture --
The wedding gift --
The Japanese parasol --
The dead end --
The magician --
A start in life --
Big time --
The recoil --
Gulf Stream green --
The door key --

[Whitney · Rating 2 out of 5]

It had its moments, but not enough of them for me to continue. Also, hundred year old pop culture references do not age well.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: several short stories from the 1920s about murder.

[flapaazs · Rating 4 out of 5]

probably the best book title. The guy was clicked bait god