Mon 26 Jul 2021
Diary Review: ELLERY QUEEN’S MYSTERY MAGAZINE January 1967.
Posted by Steve under Diary Reviews , Magazines[6] Comments
ELLERY QUEEN’S MYSTERY MAGAZINE. January 1967. Overall rating: 3½ stars.
HUGH PENTECOST “Volcano in the Mind.” Short novel. Dr. John Smith. First appeared in The American Magazine, December 1945, as “Volcano.”
Dr. John Smith, an unobtrusive psychiatrist-detective, stops a clever murderer who is trying to drive a man to kill his wife, thus disposing of them both. Smith is very perceptive in his quiet way, but the story may be just a little dry. ****½
Bibliographic Update: Dr. John Smith appeared in three novellas in The American Magazine (collected in Memory of Murder, Ziff-Davis, 1947), one short story in EQMM, and two novels.
JULIAN SYMONS “The Santa Claus Club.” Francis Quarles. 1st US publication. Previously published in Suspense, UK, December 1960. A threatening letter typed on one of only 300 possible machines; a club where all dress up like Santa. The grand ’tec tradition? (2)
KENNETH MOORE “Protection.” An outsider wants some of the Orleans Street District action but needs protection. (3)
TALMAGE POWELL “Last Run of the Night.” A bus-driver is a killer. Obvious. (2)
HAROLD R. DANIELS “Deception Day.” A man commits a perfect murder in killing his shrewish wife. It’s too bad that justice, or conscience, had to win out. (4)
MICHAEL HARRISON “The Mystery of the Gilded Cheval-Glass.” A “hitherto unpublished” story of C. Auguste Dupin, who saves an artist from arrest by deciphering a dying ma’s last words. Let’s leave it for Poe enthusiasts. (2)
ROBERT McNEAR “The Salad Maker.” Mystery of the Absurd. That’s the right word. (1)
JAMES HOLDING “The New Zealand Bird Mystery.” The two authors of the Leroy King stories use a small scrap of writing for their deductions in solving a shipboard murder. (3)
BERNARD J. CURRAN “The Mysterious Mr Zora.” First story. Would 94,600 people not notice an extra 10¢ charge on their checking account? (1)
ELLERY QUEEN “Last Man to Die.” Reprinted from This Week, November 3 1963. Also published in the June 2004 issue of EQMM. QBI: Intelligence Department. A butlers’ club forms a tontine, the outcome of which EQ must decide. Not difficult. (3)
MICHAEL GILBERT “A Gathering of Eagles.” Previously published in Argosy (UK) January 1966, as “Heilige Nacht.” Calder and Behrens are called to Bonn to complete a cold-war breakthrough in Intelligence. Fast-moving and exciting. (4)
CHARLOTTE ARMSTRONG “The Cool Ones.” A grandmother’s quick thinking gives her grandson the clue to the location of her kidnappers. (3)
July 26th, 2021 at 7:14 pm
A typical strong issue from that period. Calder and Behrens would be the highlight for me, but also a good Pentecost reprint, Harrison’s Dupin, and a Quarles story, also good Holding, Queen, and always interesting Armstrong.
Is it rare in this period to have no Hoch story? Feels like it would be.
July 26th, 2021 at 7:48 pm
No, not a bad issue at all, even if I found a few clunkers and said so. As for Ed Hoch’s consecutive streak in EQMM, it didn’t begin until 1973, but you could expect to see his stories in the magazine every so often before that. In terms of an actual count, he had four stories in EQMM in 1967, but eight in Hitchcock and three in The Saint.
July 26th, 2021 at 7:55 pm
EQMM did not begin publishing a monthly Edward D. Hoch story until 1973. Ah, if they only started doing that in 1962 when he first appeared in EQMM…
I have read and enjoyed all four of Pentecost’s Dr. John Smith stories, but I do much prefer some of his later detectives.
Harrison’s Dupin story was one of seven published in his collection THE EXPLOITS OF CHEVALIER DUPIN. I found the stories readable but nothing to write home about.
As for the rest of the issue, I’m a sucker for any EQ short story, Symons has always been a hit-or-miss author for me, I’ll read anything by Talmage Powell or Harold Daniels, Michael Gilbert is always worthwhile, and Charlotte Armstrong was a goddess. All in all, a nifty issue.
July 26th, 2021 at 8:58 pm
Never saw this issue.
But read lots of these in anthologies and collections.
Very much like the Ellery Queen, Charlotte Armstrong and Michael Harrison tales. Those Dupin stories should be better known.
Though the Holding was among the least interesting of its often good series.
And I just don’t like psychoanalysis in general, or “Volcano in the Mind” in particular. Wish the rest of the series were available though.
July 27th, 2021 at 8:40 am
I’ve read only the two Dr. John Smith novels, but I remember liking them very much. I have copies of both and plan to reread them, but who knows when I’ll get around to it.
July 27th, 2021 at 9:48 am
Finding time to reread books I’ve enjoyed is a problem for me, too. There are too many books I’ve haven’t read yet, and I keep adding more, no matter how hard I try not to.