Two Envelopes And A Phone > Recent Status Updates

Right - so, back to another Patrick Quentin, for Pride Month, but this will also take me to my second pairing of one John Dickson Carr novel ‘versus’ one novel from a Mystery-writing rival from the same era. Only I’m gonna switch the order around this time, and read the rival’s offering first. Then go to The Skeleton in the Clock. Sanitarium murder, versus a murder on abandoned prison grounds. Yay!!

Ah darn, it hit a bumpy Not Aged Well part that is hard to take. These old books can be...offensive very suddenly, can't they? Okay, well, other than that, it has been a terrific whodunit. Let's just see if it can keep itself out of trouble, the rest of the way.

So this is competing very well with the Mystery I just read and fell in love with, He Wouldn’t Kill Patience. I’ve gone from a book set at a zoo with problems, to a book concerned with an art gallery in a bit of a mess (though, so far, we’re not setting actual scenes there, much). That was deliberate; as I try to pair John Dickson Carr novels off with rivals, I like some similarities, and same decade is preferred.

I’m very excited. I’ve got to deal with Black Plumes first…but I’m curious and excited. I’m not expecting…the film, really. A little. Not completely.

So it’s He Wouldn’t Kill Patience versus Black Plumes by Margery Allingham. I think they’ll both be good - we’ll see if one tops the other, definitively. I’m aware that I’ve read many John Dickson Carr novels that are considered his very best, but I also know that the lesser known stuff should also be quite strong. I mean, The Hollow Man and The Mad Hatter Mystery have set the bar, but I’ll expect more gems.

So this is…The Prestige…meets…Antidote to Venom?! Okay, well no, probably not. But, I’m all in for duelling illusionists mixed with strange goings-on at a zoo’s Reptile House. Who knew an author combined these things!? Anyway, this is the first book in my Summer focus on John Dickson Carr versus rival Mystery writers from his time. Starting with a bang, not a whimper, and a hiss.

I went to one of the larger Used bookstores in the city, found the Western section...and this book was there too. Well, you can't pass up some weird Daw book that has obviously been misfiled, and is out of sight from most of the browsers who would snap it up. I figured it would help liven up my Western reading, as a bizarre but fitting variant. So far, it's not bad. Very Edgar Rice Burroughs, H. Rider Haggard...

As my Profile notes explain, I’m gonna be reading a lot by this author, June 21 to September 21. And I’m thrilled!

It's very gripping. Shifting from the perspective of Emma, Peter, and Hanne - plus jumps in time - means I'm dealing with a lot of detailed backstories. And they're generally tragic. But there's nothing confusing...except for who the killer is, which is supposed to be confusing. Well - hidden, anyway. I like it a lot. The Scandinavian Crime stuff usually works for me, and this is no exception.

I’m still working my way through any Crime & Mystery novels covered in the Reviews section in each of the six issues of Crime Scene Magazine I own. This was a lovely but short-lived publication that I wish had gone on forever, but only lasted seven issues (I missed one!). Each issue also had a “Ten Best” list, covering some sub-genre, and I go after those books too. The Ice Beneath Her got reviewed in the magazine.

Totally fabulous...but I should mention this may be too disturbing for some readers. I would say you need to like stuff like The Wasp Factory; Children of Dynmouth is a distant relative. What I was not expecting were the great whodunit twists, and other bizarre tricks - like in a Bussi novel - that are so darn clever. Good for fans of Black Water Lilies. Anyway, it's quite the read!

Wow. We got some Breaking News of the splendid kind - this could be one of the best books I have read in a long time. I’m only three (linked) short stories in, but if things continue the way they’ve started, this is a serious contender for breaking into my personal Top Ten Horror Reads. Or Crime Reads. Both!?

Not just robot…if I recall, I also get a Bigfoot, and train that gets up and walks around. This is a re-read.