GERALD KERSH “The Ambiguities of Lo Yeing Pai.” Vara the Tailor #4. First published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, July 1968, Not known to have been reprinted,

   I have not read much of the novels and other short fiction of Gerald Kersh, but based on what I have read, including this one, he was a magnificent writer – a man born to write. His Wikipedia page is here:

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Kersh

   Even better, here’s the first page of another summary of his life and career, as posted by SF writer Harlan Ellison, champion of his writing like none other:

      https://harlanellison.com/kersh/index.htm

   Assuming you have now gone and come back, I will now be content to talk only about this one short tale. It’s a minor piece in many ways, and yet a completely fascinating one. Vara is a tailor, plying his trade somewhere in Manhattan, and as the tale begins, he is busy declining the advances of a salesman offering a fantastic deal on a neon sign for his shop.

   To further his explanation of why he is not interested in the offer, Vara tells the salesman and another man (who may be Kersh himself) a story of a murder, that of one of two Chinese partners in the ownership of their own shop, also somewhere in Manhattan – but one that was close by.

   As I say, it’s any ordinary tale, a mystery, one with a happy ending, more or less, a puzzle of words, you might say. The magic is in the telling, though, a magical way of talking about events that had already happened. What it was that made me smile every so often were the diversions that Vara takes his listeners along upon.

   I shan’t say more. If you ever happen to pick up this particular issue of EQQM, make sure you read this one. Don’t pass it by. It’s the last story in the issue; make sure you read it before setting the magazine down for good.
   

      The Vara the Tailor series —

The Incorruptible Tailor (The Ugly Face of Love and Other Stories, 1958)
The Geometry of the Skirt (EQMM, 1965)
Old Betsey (The Hospitality of Miss Tolliver and Other Stories, 1965)
The Ambiguities of Lo Yeing Pai (EQMM, 1968)

PATRICIA McGERR “Match Point in Berlin.” Novelet. Published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, June 1968. . Winner of the MWA contest sponsored by EQMM the preceding year. Not known to have been reprinted. [This statement is incorrect. It was the basis of Chapters 1-3 of Mead’s fixup novel Legacy of Danger. See Comment #3, by Mike Grost.] Drawing below by Austin Briggs.

   Selena Mead was at one time (the 60s) what might be called a hot item. As one of the few female espionage agents in the business, she appeared in some 25 short stories, one novel, and one collection (cleverly disguised as a novel), Before the lady’s first  appearance in 1963, her creator, Patricia McGerr, had been the author of a number of traditional mysteries, but with several based on gimmicks, shall we say, that few other authors would have been hard pressed to even imagine.

   As an example, one of these, Pick Your Victim, reviewed by Bill Deeck earlier on this blog, involves case in which “the murderer is known but the victim is not.” Here’s the link:

         https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=24770

   Mrs. Mead had already been around for a while when “Match Point in Berlin” was published, but it goes way back in her career, in fact before she even had a career. It begins when she was a young woman who is waiting for a train in Berlin as the first step in returning her to a life back in Washington DC, one that she believes she wants. It is a totally mundane one, or it would be, especially compared to one she ends up really having.

   But a man, recognizing her as an American, gives her a list of – she doesn’t know, but he is quite serious about it not falling into the wrong hands.

   It is hidden in a box of matches, or is it? Through a series of mishaps (or are they?) a chase ensues, taking her through all sorts of areas of Berlin where a young naive woman should perhaps not know about, including one moment I jumped at a recognition – no, a realization – that took me by surprise, brilliantly disguised.

   The story is very atmospheric, well choreographed, and filled with enough twists and turns that make it impossible to stop reading. Guaranteed.

   The Internet page below tells the story of a TV series to be called Selena Mead that almost ended up being made, but it was canceled at the last minute. Only a short pilot film was ever made. Actress Polly Bergen was cast as the show’s series character.

         https://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/selena_mead/

WILLIAM BRITTAIN “The Zaretski Chain.” First published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, June 1968. Not known to have been reprinted.

   William Brittain, the author of this small rather obscure tale, was known for a long list of detective and mystery fiction published over the years, most of them appearing in EQMM. Many of them were locked room or impossible crime mysteries. A list of them, along with a good deal of in-depth analysis, can be found here:

https://mikegrost.com/laterimp.htm#Brittain

   In “The Zaretski Chain,” a wealthy man with a fondness for the strange and unusual sets up a confrontation between a PI and a famous escape artist named Wrenn. The former has been on the trail of of the latter for a long time, as that gentleman may also have been responsible for many unusual thefts over the years.

   The challenge presented is this: Wrenn is to be secured with his wrists in cuffed on either side of a flagpole, a chain connecting them on the other side, with a horizontal spar across the pole toward the top. With personal incentives offered to each party, the winner of the contest will be determined on whether Wrenn can escape his confinement within the hour, a captive to be left alone during the allotted time.

   But before the hour is up, the man servant of their host announces that a robbery has taken place. Rushing to the scene of Wrenn’s captivity, he is still there, obviously having escaped and having come back to the place in which he had been trussed up.

   I can think of few stories that take as much time to set up and explain as this one does, but Brittain was a good writer, and it is with some fascination that the devoted reader of such tales (such as I) follows along with quite a bit of interest.

   Even more, the solution to this chronicle about the rather excessive need of someone who is a Problem Solver to unravel it (note the capital letters) is well worth the journey.

EDWARD D. HOCH “The Theft of the Toy Mouse.” Nick Velvet #3. First published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, June 1968. Collected in The Thefts of Nick Velvet (Mysterious Press, 1978).

   Of the several series characters created by Ed Hoch over his long writing career, I think Nick Velvet, professional thief, is my favorite. Not only is he always hired to steal something outrageous (a complete baseball team, the water from a swimming pool), with all the intricate care that’s required, but he almost always endeavors to learn why anyone would hire him to steal that particular item.

   In this story, which falls early in his early days in his unique line work, he is given $20,000 to steal a toy mouse which, when wound up, runs in circles. It is the focus of a modern film being shot in France, just outside of Paris, a setting which certainly boosts the story’s sense of place. (He does manage to convince his girl friend Gloria to stay home.)

   The story rambles comfortably along and is a lot of fun to read. Unfortunately the location of toy mouse is in a building which has been built (by Hoch) to make it, on reflection, an easy task to steal. And the reason behind the caper is rather mundane. But not, of course while, the story is rambling on.

   Overall, the tale is a bit of a letdown. Being “lot of fun to read” does manage to make up for a good portion of that, though.

PAT CADIGAN “The Sorceress in Spite of Herself.” First published in Isaac Asimov’s SF, December 1982. Reprinted in Isaac Asimov’s SF-Lite, edited by Gardner Dozois (Ace, 1993). Collected in Dirty Work (Mark Ziesing, 1993).

   Pat Cadigan has had a long career as a SF writer, mostly shorter fiction, starting in the late 70s, but she’s produced a handful of well-regarded novels, plus an even longer list of movie and TV tie-in’s.  (These I knew nothing about until I looked up what I could learn about her online just now.) In spite of her long resume, this is the first of her work that I’ve read.

   So, based on very little, or perhaps even on nothing, I’ve assumed she’s been involved solely with what’s called cyberpunk fiction, or perhaps stories centered on near future concepts such as virtual reality. “The Sorcerer in Spite of Herself” proves how wrong I was about that.

   It involves a young woman, married perhaps for half a year, who’s been plagued her whole life by her habit of losing things. She doesn’t know why or how, and when she finally breaks down and tells her husband, he doesn’t believe her. As she explains at some length, he begins to change his mind, gradually of course, but eventually so much so that he begins to wonder how they might cancel out this curse she’s been under for so long.

   It all works out, in a most logical fashion, in a climax that is as funny, say, as it is chilling. A minor work, but one most nicely done.

WAYNE D. DUNDEE “The Judas Target.” PI Joe Hannibal. First published in An Eye for Justice: The Third Private Eye Writers of America Anthology, edited by Robert J. Randisi (Mysterious Press, hardcover, 1988).

   Of the various authors included in this third PWA Anthology, Wayne Dundee is probably the least well known. But when you’re included in a book that also includes original stories by authors such as Lyons, Lutz, Grafton, Estleman and Pronzini, I’d have been pumped if it were me, and I’ll bet Dundee was too.

   His primary PI character was a fellow named Joe Hannibal, and although it’s been a while since he’s made an appearance, over the years he’s been featured in a couple of dozen short stories and eight or do novels. His stomping ground is, of all places, Rockford, Illinois, a place which if you’re a PI in, you’re probably the only PI in town.

   In “The Judas Target” it’s his good buddy, bar owner Bomber Brannigan, whose life has been threatened – twice before he lets Joe know about it, and once after the Joe talks him into letting him help.

   The case develops slowly but assuredly from that point on, ending in one slam bang of a finish. It’s difficult to learn much about a character after reading just one short story about him, but I can safely say that if someone were after me, for reasons unknown, I’d sure like to have someone like Joe Hannibal on my side.

MICHAEL COLLINS “Black in the Snow.” PI Dan Fortune. Published in An Eye for Justice: The Third PWA Anthology, edited by Robert J. Randisi (Mysterious Press, 1988). Collected in Crime, Punishment and Resurrection (Donald Fine, 1992).

   Of the several pen names used by author Dennis Lynds, I believe (but am not absolutely certain) that Michael Collins is the one he  used most often. And of the books and shorter fiction he published under that name, most of them were about PI Dan Fortune.

   The most distinguishing physical aspect of Dan Fortune as a man is that he has only one arm. This fact sometimes comes up as a crucial part of story; sometimes, as in “Black in the Snow,” it’s mentioned only in passing. Which is interesting, and maybe someone could write a master’s thesis about it someday, but in all honesty, I don’t think it’s likely to be all that interesting to anyone else but me.

   Fortune is hired by a lawyer in this one to look into the death of the female half of a married couple, middle-aged or perhaps later. The husband claims he came home to find her dead, stabbed to death by persons unknown. The man suggests a burglar, which is certainly a possibility. The “black in the snow” is that of the wife’s dog, thrown there by the killer. Quite possibly, but why? Fortune has a job to do.

   His investigation is limited. He scours the house for clues and has long conversation with the husband’s sister. I may have made the case sound lengthy and boring, but a writer as good as Lynds can make reading the phone book sound palatable, and Fortune gets to the bottom of things very quickly. (I’d sound like a grouch if I said coming up with all the details he does makes the ending a little sketchy, so maybe I won’t. Or maybe I will.)

LAWRENCE BLOCK “By the Dawn’s Early Light.” Matt Scudder. First published in Playboy Magazine, August 1984, Collected and reprinted many times. Winner of the Shamus Award for Best Short Story.

   Matt Scudder, of course, does not legally have a license to work as a private eye, or at least he doesn’t at the time this story takes place. That doesn’t stop him from taking cases such as the one in this story that PI’s always take on, with or without the proper credentials. This time around he agrees to help out a casual drinking buddy who’s being accused of hiring a couple of guys to kill his wife.

   As it turns out – and this is important – Scudder knows the fellow’s girl friend even more than he does the drinking buddy. What he’s hired to do — not having all of the resources the police do – is to ask around and see what people on the street know about, first of all, his client, but more importantly, the two guys who got caught and are now implicating the client. They never did the killing.

   Or so they say.

   This may sound way too complicated for a simple short story, and maybe it is, but Lawrence Block could write a story with a lot more going on, ten times as much, and he’s such a smooth talker (well, writer) you’d go along with it all in a heartbeat.

   And yet, I said complicated, and I meant it. Even while reading it and the 21 pages of the story are vanishing more and more quickly, and I’m thinking, he could have made a novel out of this. The structure? Exactly the same.

   There’s a hint of darkness in the ending, too. Maybe Playboy didn’t get too excited about it, but the story’s a lot tougher than what Alfred Hitchcock’s Magazine was publishing at the time. Face it, though. Lawrence Block is a writer’s writer, and he always has been. This one’s a winner.

BILL PRONZINI “Cat’s Paw.” Nameless PI. First published in separate form by Waves Press, hardcover, 1983. Reprinted several times, including in The Eyes Still Have It, edited by Robert J. Randisi (Dutton, 1995). Shamus Award winner for Best Short Story.

   PI stories make up a sizable chunk of the world’s supply of published mystery and detective fiction. There are fewer locked room mysteries, but there’s a sizable amount of them. And of course, as all you already know, the Venn diagram circles for each of these two subgenres, as we shall call them, do overlap.

   And while I’ve never made a count, I’m willing to wager that over half of those stories that exists in that aforesaid overlap section were written by Bill Pronzini.

   This is one of them. And it’s a good one.

   Pronzini’s nameless PI has taken a side job helping guard the expansive grounds of a zoo which has been the victim of several recent robberies. Some of its more valuable birds and animals have gone missing. On the night the story takes place, something more sinister happens. Another guard is found dead in the lions’ cage, shot at close range, but … the cage doors are locked, with the only accessible entry being through the grotto where the lions stay overnight. No way in, without keys, and no way out. Not even for the most expert of thieves.

   It is a puzzle. I stopped reading at this point and waited two evenings before getting on to the solution. The extra time? It didn’t help. Didn’t even come close.

   It’s a complicated solution, and as usual when it comes to locked room mysteries, explaining it all in the requisite detail is the weakest part of the tale. At least for me. But the clues are there, and with them in hand (and properly noted) the case is wrapped up as tight as a drum.

   As I said there up above, this one’s a good one.

SUE GRAFTON “Full Circle.” PI Kinsey Millhone. First appeared in A Woman’s Eye, edited by Sara Paretsky (Delacorte Press, 1991). An audio reading is available on You Tube (see below).

   According to the brief introduction to this story in the Sara Paretsky anthology, this story appeared just after G Is for Gumshoe, or early towards the middle of Sue Grafton’s lengthy A to Y series of book-length adventures of PI Kinsey Millhone, based in invariably sunny Santa Teresa California.

   “Full Circle” begins with Kinsey being involved in a multi-can accident on the freeway, but she leaves, hours later, without realizing that one young woman is dead. She assumes her death was of course caused by her injuries in the accident, and she is surprised to learn later that the girl actually died from bullet wounds.

   She is soon hired by the girl’s mother who believes the police are not working hard enough on the case, which is where the story begins in earnest – meaning the usual footwork a PI has to do on a case such as this, investigating family and friends, as well as any other suspects, all the while keeping on the right side of the law.

   I wish, though, that while it turns out not to be essential to the story, that as well as the footwork described above, Kinsey had followed up more on how the shooting was done. Given the lack of focus on the physical evidence, this left me a lot more puzzled than I think I should have been. And yet, after some consideration, I finally decided that the ending made up for it.

   At least in part. I’d like to say more, but I’ve decided not to. I’ll just use the word “karma” and say that the title of the story is all I will do to give you a hint. It’s an ending that a woman writing a story about a female PI is more likely to have written that a male author might have. Or at least I think so.

   To sum up, though, it’s an above average story, but for me, it’s one that just doesn’t come together as well as Grafton intended it to. I’ll leave it at that.