What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
SOLVED: Adult Fiction
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SOLVED. Trying to identify a mystery story and anthology it is in; man overhears story on train
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Assuming the first short story is "Miss Hinch" by Henry Sydnor Harrison -- it sounds like "Unreasonable Doubt" by Stanley Ellin. Here's a review of Ellin's story on a Google blog -- http://gameofmurder.blogspot.ca/2012/...
"Mr. Willoughby has been asked to take a vacation by his doctor as his only malady is with his mind – he just can’t stop thinking of problems... He has just started on the train journey and he is confronted with a legal problem when he becomes too involved in overhearing his club car companion’s narration of a defense lawyer’s most spectacular case... Ben and Orville are two brothers who are patiently waiting for their uncle to die so that they can enjoy his wealth... Both men being acquitted by juries cannot be tried for the same offence again..."
Which anthology or Stanley Ellin's books do you think you read it in?
WOW!!! Yes, that is the name of the story. Thank you SO much!
I am trying to identify a short story I read in high school, and the book in which it appeared. The book was an anthology of mystery stories and it included the famous story "Miss Hinch". But I don't remember the title of the book or the title of the following story which is also in the same book. The plot of the story is:
A guy has been suffering symptoms of stress, described as feeling as if "a drill is boring into his head, a steel band is tightening around it" all the time, and his doctor has ordered him to go on vacation. He's on a train, leaving his home city for vacation, and he overhears a conversation between a lawyer and the lawyer's friend/fellow-traveler. The lawyer is telling his friend about a murder-case he tried in which there were two defendants, and first one defendant confessed to the murder, but then, later in the trial, the other also confessed, creating reasonable doubt for both defendants. The lawyer's friend says "wow, so they both got away with it!" The lawyer says "no they didn't!" and is about to explain how the case was resolved, when they both realize that the train has stopped at their stop and they get off, leaving the vacationing protagonist in unresolved suspense. He tries to shout through the train's window to get them to stop and finish the story, but they don't hear him, and he realizes that he's gonna worry about how it ended during the whole vacation and won't be able to relax or relieve his stress.
Can anyone out there in GoodReads-land identify the story, author, or anthology in which it was published?
Thanks!