Mystery of the Cape Cod Players by Phoebe Atwood Taylor review

First published in 1933, this features Asey Mayo and is part of the Asey Mayo Cape Cod mystery series.

Vic Ballard has been recovering from illness, and her adopted son, George Ballord, has made plans for her to spend the summer just outside a small Cape Cod village.  While Vic is beginning to tire of George trying to run her life, she finally agrees to go, but insists on taking her maid Rose, and a young woman she has just met, the daughter of an old school chum, as her companion.

Shortly after arriving at her cabin, a group of traveling actors arrive, attempting to find the home they were supposed to perform at.  She impulsively invites them in, due to the weather.  The women stay in the house, while the men sleep in their cars.  However, in the morning, the body of one of them is found murdered.

I enjoyed this book, and the interactions between the characters.  It was very well written, and the mystery was really good.  I never suspected the actual murderer until very near the end of the book!



This is part of my 2014 Vintage Mystery BINGO Challenge--Golden "FREE SPACE" I'm substituting this book, by an author I've read before, for the E--Book that I have to borrow space.

Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout review

This Nero Wolfe book was first published in book form in 1939.  In this book, Nero is actually out of the brownstone he calls home and in a car traveling though a rural area when there is a minor accident.  On their way across a field to get help, they are confronted by a large bull--named Caesar.

Archie makes his way across the field to get help, while Nero manages to scramble up a large rock in the middle of the field, where he remains until rescued in a car by the niece of Thomas Pratt, owner of the nearby house.  Pratt is also the owner of a chain of restaurants, and plans to barbecue Caesar and serve him at his restaurants, which gets the local Guernsey League wound up, as Caesar is a prime bull, and they think he should be used to improve the bloodline of future cattle.

When the adult son of a neighbor is found dead in Caesar's field, it is first assumed Caesar had gored him to death, but it turns out to be murder.  Wolfe is asked to solve the murder, and manages to solve not only that murder, but another murder, and uncovers a  fraud that led to the murders.

This is also the book where Lily Rowan is first introduced and becomes Archie's friend.

I enjoyed this book, although not as much as others I've read in this series, although I'm not sure why.  Perhaps it is because Wolfe is in the country, and not in his accustomed place in his office.  Still, it is an interesting story, although a little dated, as the fraud couldn't have been perpetrated  in that way in today's world.

This is part of my 2014 Vintage Mystery BINGO Challenge--Golden--O--involving food/cooks.        This is also part of my Read It Again Sam Challenge.

Murder is Served by Frances and Richard Lockridge review

Published in 1948, this story is set in New York, like most of the series.  John Leonard is teaching a class on Experimental Psychology at Dyckman University.  He has the students write term papers about one of the human emotions, and one student writes about hate.  The paper is so intense, Leonard is concerned.

Leonard approaches Gerry North, who has published a book Leonard has written, to ask North to mention it to North's policeman friend, William Weigand.  Leonard says the paper was written by Peggy Mott, who is the estranged wife of Tony Mott, a womanizer who has already got a new girlfriend, but isn't quite ready to let Peggy go.

Mott withdraws his backing from a play that was going to feature Peggy, and was written by Weldon Carey, who is also in Leonard's class.  Leonard has been watching Peggy and Weldon, and is sure they are falling in love.  With the hate that is described in the paper, Leonard is worried that Peggy might do something foolish.

When Mott is found dead in a restaurant he is a partner in, Leonard is afraid his worst fears have come true.  The Norths become involved in the murder investigation, with Gerry trying to keep Pam out of trouble, and Pam just trying to help Weigand out.

I enjoyed this story for the most part, although there were parts I thought were perhaps a little wordy.  Looking forward to finding and reading more Lockridge books.


This is part of my 2014 Vintage Mystery BINGO Challenge--Golden--G--Academic Mystery.

Murder at the New York World's Fair by Phoebe Atwood Taylor review

This story was published in 1938, just in time for the 1939 World's Fair in New York!  It features Mrs. Boyston Tower, Daisy to her friends.  She is the widow of a former governor, and an independent woman, who, unfortunately, has spent the last year convalescing from pneumonia and a broken hip.

During the last year she has been under the care of her nephew, Egleston and his annoying wife, Elfrida, who seem to think Daisy is no longer capable of taking care of herself.  Daisy disagrees.  She decides to make an escape from her nephew's home, and go to the World's Fair in New York. She stows away in a laundry truck, and somehow manages to get herself on a private train, along with several other random people, where a dead body is discovered.

Somehow, Daisy finds herself trying not only to identify the body, but to solve the murder, all the while avoiding her nephew and his wife, and still find time to enjoy the Fair.

Loved this book!  It reminded me of the screw-ball type comedy mysteries of the 1930s and 1940s, with all kinds of unlikely but amusing happenings.  It was a little dated, of course, but funny and interesting.

This is part of my 2014 Vintage Mystery BINGO Challenge--Golden--D--read a book by an author you've read before.

The Case of the Drowning Duck by Erle Stanley Gardner review

This is one of the early Perry Mason novels by Erle Stanley Gardner, first published in 1942.  This has an unusual setting for Perry Mason, as he and Della are taking a short vacation in the Palm Springs area.

While sitting in the hotel lobby, Mason is approached by wealthy John L.Witherspoon with a problem he hopes Mason can help him with.  His daughter has a boyfriend she wants to marry, and Witherspoon has had him investigated.  His daughter, Lois, and her boyfriend, Marvin, believe that Marvin was kidnapped from somewhere back East by the people he believed to be his parents, Sarah and Horace Adams, because on her deathbed, Sarah confesses to Marvin.

However, Witherspoon's investigation shows that Marvin was not kidnapped, but his father, Horace Adams, had been convicted of murdering his business partner.  Witherspoon is of the opinion that murdering people can be an inherited trait, and so doesn't want his daughter to marry the son of a murderer, and is determined to do whatever is necessary to stop that from happening.

While at the Witherspoon's home, Marvin had shown a trick where he causes a duck to drown (using a new invention--detergent!), although Marvin does not let the duck actually drown.  This seems to support the theory that he could have murderous genes.

Mason tries to discover if Adams was, in fact, the murderer, or merely the victim of a poor defense counsel.  During this investigation, another, current, murder is discovered, and it ends up with Witherspoon being a suspect.  As is usual, Mason figures out who had caused the death of not only the current victim, but also the previous victim.

An enjoyable read, although like many of the early Mason books, he seems more ready to bend, if not break, the laws to get to the truth.

This is part of my 2014 Vintage Mystery BINGO Challenge--Golden--D--Mystery that involves water.

Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie review

Published in 1938, this is a great example of Poirot at work.  A wealthy man invites his family to his home for Christmas, and proceeds to stir things up by letting them think he is on the verge of changing his will.   He remains in his room while the rest of the family has a Christmas Eve dinner, when they hear furniture tipping over and then a horrible scream, and it appears to be coming from their father's room.

They all rush to the room, and find the door is locked.  After breaking the door down, they discover their father's body, with his throat slit, and blood all over.  There is no one else in the room, the windows are locked, and the door had been locked.  Luckily, a police inspector had been ringing the bell just as the incident happened, and he immediately took over.

Poirot is asked to help with the investigation, and solves the murder.  He discovers several secrets among the suspects, and at the end comes up with the perpetrator.  I didn't figure out who it was until quite a way into the book, and wasn't sure how it was done until the end.

Really enjoyed this story, but then I've been a Poirot fan since I was a teen.


This is part of my 2014 Vintage Mystery BINGO Challenge--Golden--G--Locked Room.

It is also part of my 2014 Read It Again, Sam Challenge.

The Widows Club by Dorothy Cannell review

 This is the second in the Ellie Haskell mystery series.  Ben and Ellie are married, and Ben is opening a restaurant.   During the Grand Opening of the restaurant, a man dies after eating one of the items that Ellie has prepared.

Ellie is devastated, and is afraid the death is her fault, and it will cause the restaurant--Ben's restaurant--to fail.  She tries to figure out what could have happened, and then meets two sisters, who are also private investigators.  They ask her to help them in an investigation involving a local group, the Widows Club, which will also help her answer questions she has about the Grand Opening death.

I enjoyed this book for the most part, although at the beginning there were a couple of times I was confused.  I also was a little surprised by the behavior of a couple of different people--I thought it was a little unbelievable.  However, in the main, it was an entertaining read, and the plot was interesting.  Looking forward to reading other books in the series.

This book is part of my Vintage Mystery BINGO Challenge--Silver--I--Having to do with food.

Cropped to Death by Christina Freeburn review

Cropped to Death by Christina Freeburn is the first in a series about scrap-booking.  The main character, Faith Hunter, is working in her West Virginia hometown at the store owned by her grandmothers, who are best friends.  Faith had previously left town, joined the service, and was now out of the service and looking for some peace and quiet, which she was sure she would get in the small town she had lived in while growing up.

Unfortunately, while at an event promoting the shop, a man is murdered, and he is the estranged husband of one of the shop's employees.  Trying to help, Faith involves herself in the investigation, much to the consternation of her grandmothers, her friend who wants to be her boyfriend, and the detective in charge of the case.

This was an enjoyable summer read, with interesting characters.  It wasn't too long, or too tricky, or hard to follow.  I've already purchased the next two books in the series, and plan to read them over the holidays.

The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett review

First published in 1934, it was the last novel Hammett published.  It was the basis of the movie, "The Thin Man", starring Myrna Loy and William Powell.  The movie is one of my favorites, and I put off reading the novel because I was afraid one or the other would suffer by comparison.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they are quite similar, with the movie using dialogue from the novel, and I pictured the scenes from the movie as I read.

The story is about Nick and Nora Charles, who are visiting New York at Christmas time to avoid having to deal with relatives if they stayed home in California.  Before their marriage, Nick had lived in New York and had been a private detective.  One of his old cases had concerned the Waynant family, and while in a bar waiting for his wife, Dorothy Waynant, the daughter of his former client, sees him and introduces herself.


Against his will, this draws him into the Waynant family drama.  Shortly thereafter, there is a murder involving the the family.   Between the police, the newspapers, the family and Nick's shady acquaintances, he is drawn into the investigation.

The book and novel aren't exactly the same, but the "feel" seems to be the same.  I'm glad I finally read this book.

I enjoyed the story, and will be looking for other novels by Dashiell Hammett.

This is part of my Vintage Mystery BINGO Challenge--Golden--L--Man in Title.
This is also part of my Mt. TBR Challenge--I've had this book for years!!

Reviews of three Southern Quilting Mysteries by Elizabeth Spann Craig

Quilt or Innocence by Elizabeth Craig is the first in the Southern Quilting Mystery series.  Beatrice Coleman has retired from her career as a folk art curator and moved to Dapple Hills, North Carolina, to be close to her daughter, Piper.  Just as she is getting settled in, she is dragged by a slightly strange woman to a barn next door.  The woman is Meadow Downey, wife of the local sheriff, and the Village Quilters Guild president, who decides that Beatrice is just the person they need in their guild.

One of the members of the guild is Posy, who owns a quilt shop in town.  She is afraid she will have to close the shop, because Judith, the owner of the building and also a quilter, wants to raise the rent quite a bit.  Judith is not a popular person in town, and this just adds to the people who don't like her.  When she is found dead, murdered, there are a lot of suspects, including Posy.  Beatrice becomes involved in trying to solve the murder, and finds herself in several uncomfortable situations.

Kooky characters, dogs, quilting and a murder.  What else could you ask for in a cozy mystery?  Really enjoyed learning about the characters, and liked the plot.

The second in the series is Knot What It Seams.  Meadow Downey, president of the Village Quilters, is worried about dwindling membership, and talks Beatrice into helping her to get Jo Paxton to join their group.  Jo is a quilt show judge, and wonderful quilter.  It's too bad she isn't a wonderful person.  She uses her job as a mail carrier to find out secrets about everyone, and causes trouble wherever she goes.

When her car crashes during a storm, it is first thought to be an accident, but then it is discovered that the brake lines were cut.  Beatrice once again gets involved in trying to solve the mystery.


Quilt Trip by Elizabeth Craig is the  third in the Southern Quilting Mystery series.  In this story, Beatrice accompanies Meadow, Posy, and Miss Sissy to a meeting being held at a Victorian mansion in the mountains owned by Muriel Starnes.  Muriel has requested several people representing various quilt guilds to come to her home because she wants to start a foundation to teach quilting to young people in the area.  Unfortunately, Beatrice discovers that the Village Quilters had not received an invitation to this meeting, but Meadow is sure it was merely an oversight, and wants the Village Quilters to run the foundation.

Even though they were unexpected, Muriel welcomes them to the meeting.  After the meeting, they find that the storm that had started as they arrived has turned the long, steep driveway into a sheet of ice, and it is impossible for anyone to leave.  Muriel lets everyone stay over, and but during the night Muriel dies.  Almost everyone is sure it was natural causes, except for Beatrice, who fears it is murder.

Beatrice is proved right, and she and the other Village Quilters try to solve the mystery while trapped in the mansion with the other quilters and Muriel's lawyer, one of whom is the murderer.

Looking forward to other books in this lighthearted series.

Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers review

Published in 1923, this is the first of Dorothy Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey books.  I actually liked this one better than Gaudy Night, for some reason.  I believe it seemed a little more whimsical to me.

Wimsey is a rather foppish young aristocrat, and when the book opens is on his way to an auction, to bid on some books he was interested in.  He discovers as he starts out that he's left his catalog with his notes inside, so returns home, where he is just in time to receive a phone call from his mother, which gets him involved a an odd murder investigation.

An architect, named Thipps, who had been hired to do work on Wimsey's mother's church, has just discovered a dead body in his London flat.  In fact, the body was discovered  in his bath, naked except for his pince-nez.

She asks Wimsey to help Thipps, which he agrees to do.  Wimsey discovers that Sir Reuben Levy, a financier, has disappeared from his bedroom shortly before the naked body had been found.  While it turns out the dead man wasn't Levy, Wimsey still feels there is some kind of connection.

This was an interesting story, although very dated.  I was a little surprised to find who the murderer was, and his reasons for what he did.


This is part of my 2014 Vintage Mystery BINGO Challenge--Golden--E--set in England.

The Cat That Ate Danish Modern by Lilian Jackson Braun review

First published in 1967, this is the second of the "Cat Who..." series of mysteries.  Jim Qwilleran has been working the Art Beat for his newspaper, and is hoping to be moved to the Police Beat.  He is moved, but to a position as writer for a new magazine section featuring interior decorating.

His first assignment features George Tait and wife's home, featuring Tait's jade collection.  The day after the article comes out, the home is robbed and Mrs. Tait dies of a heart attack.  This bad luck is followed after the second article comes out, and the featured house is raided.

Meanwhile, Qwilleran goes to the Tait house to pick up a female Siamese that had formerly belonged to Mrs. Tait, and which Mr. Tait did not want.  While there, he makes a discovery that causes him a great deal of trouble.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I'm looking forward to the third book in the series!

Brief reviews of several books I've read

While I've joined several challenges this year, the following books don't fulfill any of their requirements, so I'm just going to hit the highlights so I can keep track of the books I've already read!

Dude on Arrival by J. S. Borthwick, published 1992.  This is a Christmas mystery, taking place at a dude ranch over the Christmas holidays.  Sarah Deane and her boyfriend, Dr. Alex McKenzie, are invited to join Sarah's Aunt Julia at the dude ranch she has been visiting since before Thanksgiving.  Living in Maine, with the snow and cold weather, makes Arizona sound warm and inviting.  Aunt Julia also mentions that they can help reveal who is pulling pranks around the ranch, and get them to stop.
Before the holidays are over, there is a murder, and the group get involved in crime.  I thought the book was okay, and if I was given another in the series I'd read it, but I don't think I'm going to be searching for any more.

Death of a Political Plant by Ann Ripley, published 1998.  This story is part of a Gardening Mystery series.  Louise Eldridge has a TV gardening show, and is a minor celebrity in the Washington, D.C., area.  She is wooed by politicians to endorse them, which she is trying to avoid.  She also is visited by an old friend from her college days, who is an investigative reporter looking for a place to hideout while writing an expose.  The story had some interesting information about gardening, and the plot was interesting, but for some reason, it just didn't really draw me in.  I had to force myself to finish it, because I just didn't seem to care who did what.

The Body in the Cornflakes by K.K. Beck, published 1992.  Ted is the manager of a grocery store, who has to deal with the odd members of the family that own the store, the employees of the store, and the customers.  He is trying to set up the store's Grand Re-Opening, and then a body shows up.  This is a fairly light read, interesting to a point, easy to follow.  I'd probably read more by the author, but wouldn't go out of my way to look for more books.

Falling Star by Patricia Moyes review

First published in 1964, this is one  of the earlier Inspector Henry Tibbett mysteries.  I hadn't read anything by Patricia Moyes before this.

In this story, an actor, Bob Meakin, is killed in a tragic accident when he trips and falls into the path of an oncoming train.  One of the directors of the film company, Anthony "Pudge" Croombe-Peters, an acquaintance of Henry Tibbett's, calls Tibbett to report the accident.  Tibbett points out that as a homicide detective, he isn't the person to be informed, but the local police should be.

After the accident, the film continues to be filmed with one of the other directors, Keith Pardoe, taking over the starring role.  During the filming, there is another death, this time a suicide of one of the employees, then another man is murdered.   The police investigate all of the deaths, and try to determine who had caused them.

Henry Tibbetts, in spite of all the evidence pointing to Croombe-Peters as the murderer, believes him to be innocent, and sets out to solve the crimes. The story is told by Croombe-Peters, and includes his fears, thoughts and feelings.  This makes for an interesting story.

I enjoyed this, and will be looking forward to reading more by Patricia Moyes.

This is one of my books for the  2014 Vintage BINGO Challenge--Silver--L--Professional Detective.
It is also one of my books for the Mt. TBR Reading Challenge.

The Thin Woman by Dorothy Cannell review

First published in 1984, this is the first in the Ellie Haskell series of mysteries.

The books starts with Ellie, overweight, single, and invited, along with the rest of her extended family, to visit eccentric great Uncle Merlin.  Not willing to be the object of her family's nasty comments about her weight, her single status, and anything else they can come up with, Ellie decides to rent a date from an escort service.  The owner of the service selects Ben to be her escort, and on the way she decides she really doesn't like him much, but it's only for a weekend.

Shortly thereafter, Uncle Merlin passes away, and his will leaves almost everything to Ellie and Ben, with a few conditions--she has to lose weight, and Ben has to write a non-smutty book and submit it for publication, and they have to live in Merlin's home.  If they don't meet these conditions in 6 months, the money goes to the rest of the family.

This, of course, causes a lot of resentment from the rest of the family, and they are eager to make sure Ellie and Ben aren't able to fulfill the conditions.  Someone slips a box of chocolates to Ellie, and Ben's almost completed novel is ruined.

Ben and Ellie, with the help of Dorcus, a woman they had hired to be their housekeeper, and Jonas, longtime gardener at the house, try to discover who is pulling these pranks on them.  And then the pranks turn more serious.  The rope in the dumb-waiter is cut, and when Ellie falls into it, it crashes to the ground.  Someone ends up missing, and an animal is drowned.

I found myself very sympathetic to Ben and Ellie, and was surprised at the perpetrator's identity.  Looking forward to more in the series.

Part of my Vintage Mystery BINGO Challenge--Silver--I--Woman in Title.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie review

First published in 1934, this novel features Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's Belgium detective.  While in Istanbul, Poirot receives a telegram which causes him to make arrangements to take the Orient Express train to get back to London.  With the help of a friend, M. Bouc, he succeeds in getting a reservation on the oddly full train.

The first night he has to spend sharing a coach with another man, but is given his own room for the second night.  That night he is awoken by various activities on the train, including the fact that the train has been stopped by a snowdrift.

The next day, another of the passengers, Mr. Ratchett, is discovered dead, murdered by several stab wounds.  Poirot's friend, M. Bouc, is a director of the train company, requests Poirot's help in solving the murder.

When I was a teenager, I had read this book and didn't particularly enjoy it.  However, when reading it this time (decades later) I actually found that I liked the book.  I'm glad I took the time to re-read it, because apparently my tastes have changed a bit since then!

This is part of my Vintage Mystery BINGO Challenge--Golden--Mode of Transportation.
This is also part of my Read it Again, Sam Challenge.

Charlie M by Brian Freemantle

Charlie M by Brian Freemantle, published in 1979, is about a spy who is not appreciated by his bosses.  They involve him in dangerous situations, hoping he doesn't come out alive, but Charlie M is an old hand at intrigue, and manages to come though.

I didn't care very much for this book, although it was well-written and the plot was interesting.  I think the main character just didn't do it for me, I found him a little unsympathetic overall, although clever and a survivor.

I have another book by Freemantle, which isn't part of the Charlie M. series, and I'm going to try reading that and see if I like it better than this one.

This is part of my Mt. TBR Reading Challenge--purchased June, 2012, finished July, 2014.