mysteries detective listening salamander

books:

John Dickson Carr: The Man Who Explained Miracles

1 review
Douglas G. Greene

Otto Penzler Books, 1995

Excellent Biography of John Dickson Carr (Carter Dickson)
John Dickson Carr excelled at creating "impossible" crimes and then explaining how they occurred. To enjoy Carr's mysteries, you must like puzzles that have intricate solutions, and not mind that a few aspects may be difficult to follow. While Carr's solutions are clever, these mysteries were written in the 1930s to 1950s, so there may be an occasional clue that doesn't hold up in today's CSI ...

People of Darkness (Armchair Detective)

15 reviews
Tony Hillerman

Otto Penzler Books, 1994

Skinwalkers, Navajo Wolves and Witches
In "People of Darkness", Navajo tribal police Sargent Jim Chee stumbles onto a mystery and unravels multiple crimes after being asked to find a keepsake box belonging to a wealthy man outside of Chee's jurisdiction. The wealthy man's second wife specifically requested Chee as investigator because Jim Chee is considered an authority on his Indian tribe's religion, studying to be a "yataalii" (a ...

King Blood (Armchair Detective Library)

1 review
Jim Thompson

Otto Penzler Books, 1994

Over-the-top raunchy fun
In the edition that I read, the foreword, written by Elmore Leonard, states "This book is terrible". Or something along those lines. Elmore Leonard really hated this book and reviewed it only resentfully on the orders of his publisher; Jim Thompson's agent hated it and most publishers refused to consider it. It IS a terrible book, but only in that it's such a cutting examination of an ...

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

1 review
Vincent Starrett

Otto Penzler Books, 1993

Out of print, but worth the effort (1977 paperback review)
This is an excellent book for anyone with even a passing interest in Sherlock Holmes. It's a series of essays-- more like discussions, or tributes-- and a few useful lists, with photogrpahs, drawings, and a nice short pastiche (written with as much skill that it might have been written by Watson himself.) It's currently out of print, but you can easily buy a copy from one of the sellers here on ...

The Snake Eater (Brady Coyne Mysteries)

2 reviews
William G. Tapply

Otto Penzler Books, 1993

A brisk, light tale with a nice turn of phrase.
The Kirkus Review is right on. Very readable. Not deep. The author has a way of describing interesting siuations. The story develops well and then wraps up a little too neatly. Still, I liked it.

Spenser's Boston

1 review
Robert B. Parker

Otto Penzler Books, 1994

It was great
It was an excellent display of photographs, but the price was far from reasonable (it cost $120 used). I recommend it for any die-hard Spenser fans, but otherwise, don't bother.

Quiller Salamander

6 reviews
Adam Hall

Otto Penzler Books, 1994

More info on Quiller series at www.quiller.net fan site
There is a lot more info on the Quiller series at www.quiller.net, a fan site.

The French Powder Mystery: A Problem in Deduction

5 reviews
Ellery Queen

Otto Penzler Books, 1995

Ellery's 2nd Mystery - Proof Positive of Exceptional Talent
The 1930 novel, "The French Powder Mystery", is a well-structured detective story that challenges the reader, is scrupulously fair, and makes good reading. Cyrus French is the chairman of the eminently successful and stylistically influential French's Department Store in midsection New York. In recent weeks the store window has been opened precisely at noon each day to exhibit somewhat ...

Black Tide: A Lewis Cole Mystery

3 reviews
Brendan DuBois

Otto Penzler Books, 1995

He's getting even better!
This is a great mystery...even better than his first, Dead Sand...but the plot is just a little far-fetched, and DuBois/Cole are still hung up on SWEAT. Get over it!

The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep (The Armchair Detective Library)

8 reviews
Lawrence Block

Otto Penzler Books, 1994

The start of something beautiful
The first Evan Tanner Novel, where our hero, a bit of a con-man and thief, who has a disorder which prevents him from sleeping, accidentally finds himself on an espionage mission. While the later novels are spy stories with satirical overtones, this one is a crime caper with spies in pursuit and a comedy of errors in progress. I can't recommend the series highly enough. It's literate, it's ...

Dead Sand: A Lewis Cole Mystery

2 reviews
Brendan DuBois

Otto Penzler Books, 1994

A Star (5, actually) is Born
"Dead Sand" is the first book by Dubois that I've read but it won't be the last. What a treat to stumble across a new-to-me mystery writer who is literate & conjures such believable characters, peopling a well-plotted book. The author creates a real sense of place - a term much bandied about & often not really true. This one 'puts you there'. I highly recommend it.

Listening Woman (The Armchair Detective Library)

24 reviews
Tony Hillerman

Otto Penzler Books, 1994

Action and adventure among the Navajos
This book is a great read with all the plot elements that one could want: Cerebral sleuthing; action and adventure; convoluted plot that keeps you hanging on to the last second; fun characaters; and more. The story starts with a murder of two people. Hosteen Tso is sick and knows it, so he calls on the services of a Listening Woman to diagnose his ills and get him back on the path to beauty. ...

Matt Field on the Santa Fe Trail (American Exploration and Travel Series)

1 review
Matthew C. Field, Clyde Porter, ...

Otto Penzler Books, 1995

Excellent first-hand account of experiences on the Trail & in Santa Fe
Matt Field, a middling actor down on his luck, sickly, rejected twice by two different women when he proposed marriage, decided in 1839 to take a trip to Santa Fe with one of the trading caravans headed to that city from Independence, Missouri. Accompanied by a few friends, he steamboated from St. Louis to Independence, where in July he joined a small (18 men) caravan and set out across the ...

Confessor

2 reviews
John Gardner

Otto Penzler Books, 1995

A spy novel with a magic twist!
Herbie Krueger must find out why Gus Keene was killed. Along the way, he finds out that his friend was a master magician and member of the Magic Circle. Why did he keep this hidden from all, and why did he take on another identity to perform? Herbie finds out that these answers directly tie in to Gus' death. John Gardner is an Associate of the Inner Magic Circle and this book shows it. It ...

221 B: Studies in Sherlock Holmes (Otto Penzler's Sherlock Holmes Library)

1 review

Otto Penzler Books, 1994

"What Watson never told"
Baring-Gould has taken it upon himself to explain what the childhood of Sherlock Holmes was like, as well as what really happened during the Great Hiatus, Holmes vs. the Ripper, and even Dr. Watson's first wife. (ACD wrote but never published a play in which Watson traveled to San Francisco and met Constance Adams in 1884.) A nice touch is the timeline at the end of the book, starting from ...

The Gracie Allen Murder Case: A Philo Vance Story (Otto Penzler's Classic American Mystery Library)

1 review
S. S. Van Dine

Otto Penzler Books, 1994

A Comedy of a Mystery
If you've ever seen George Burns and Gracie Allen you'll love this book. Philo Vance is at his best, but Gracie and George steal the show. The mystery is a good one with a great twist ending and well worth the read.

Unknown Man, No. 89 (Armchair Detective Library)

2 reviews
Elmore Leonard

Otto Penzler Books, 1993

great
My first approach to Elmore Leonard had been "Get Shorty".Nothing especial. But this crime story is really involving and impressing.Absolutely to read.

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