MARJORIE BONIFACE – Murder As an Ornament. Mabel Wickley/Sheriff Odom #1. Doubleday Crime Club, hardcover, 1940.

   A Christmas story, taking place on a Texas dude ranch facing the Rio Grande, When a body is found hanging from a tree on Christmas Eve, everyone thinks it is suicide, until the doctor discovers that the woman was actually poisoned first.

   While Sheriff Hiram Odom is the detective in this case, the calm, seemingly slow-witted man does not do too much to produce the killer. This is a “little did I know” kind of story, but catching me by surprise, hidden in the nooks and crannies, are a few clever clues.

NOTE: Two later books in the series appear to be Venom in Eden (1942), and Wings of Death (1946)

(Give Me That) OLD-TIME DETECTION. Summer 2025. Issue #69. Editor: Arthur Vidro. Old-Time Detection Special Interest Group of American Mensa, Ltd. 34 pages (including covers).

   THE LATEST ISSUE of OLD-TIME DETECTION focuses on one of detective fiction’s all-time greats, PETER LOVESEY (1936-2025), who passed away in April. OTD editor ARTHUR VIDRO has gathered comments, a 1980 EQMM interview with Lovesey, even a letter that the author wrote to Arthur about OTD, and personal recollections, among them DOUGLAS G. GREENE (“THE LOSS OF PETER LOVESEY, A GREAT WRITER”), JEFFREY MARKS, and MARTIN EDWARDS (“PETER LOVESEY, R.I.P.”).

   JON L. BREEN offers a JURY BOX appraisal of print publications that were spawned by Warren Beatty’s 1990 movie interpretation of DICK TRACY, some of which might surprise you, boasting really big names in detective and science fiction.

   NEXT UP, TOM MEAD manfully tackles what has been a vexatious topic for years, the “10 MOST PUZZLING IMPOSSIBLE CRIME MYSTERIES.” Long-time detective fiction readers might be familiar with most, if not all, of them, but Mead’s appraisals offer new insights: Carr’s THE THREE COFFINS (a.k.a. THE HOLLOW MAN), Dickson’s THE RED WIDOW MURDERS, Hoch’s “The Long Way Down,” McCloy’s THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY, Dunsany’s “The Two Bottles of Relish,” EQ’s THE CHINESE ORANGE MYSTERY, Rogers’s THE RED RIGHT HAND, Shimada’s THE TOKYO ZODIAC MURDERS, Halter’s THE SEVEN WONDERS OF CRIME, and Crispin’s THE MOVING TOY SHOP. “When done right,” says Mead, “the puzzle and the atmosphere are perfectly intertwined; all the clues are there but they are so ingeniously disguised as to make it nigh-on impossible for the reader to suss out what is going on.”

   PERCEPTIVE REVIEWS of a diverse collection of books come next: ARTHUR VIDRO discusses King’s CARELESS CORPSE; LES BLATT talks about Crispin’s THE CASE OF THE GILDED FLY; HARV TUDORRI takes on Berkeley’s THE WYCHFORD POISONING CASE; RUTH ORDIVAR reviews Gardner’s THE CASE OF THE BAITED HOOK; TRUDI HARROV appraises Christie’s POSTERN OF FATE; and RUTH ORDIVAR returns with her take on Guigli’s UNDER THE BLACK FLAG – PIRACY IS NOT A VICTIMLESS CRIME, a 2024 novel which “shares many of the old-time qualities we love.”

   THE FICTION SELECTION is excellent, as usual. This time it’s William Brittain’s ingenious “FALLING OBJECT,” which first appeared in EQMM in 1971.

   CHARLES SHIBUK continues to chronicle THE PAPERBACK REVOLUTION, that wonderful time when publishers discovered there was gold in them there classic reprints, this time from the mid-seventies: Allingham, Carr, Christie, Ellen, Francis, Hammett, James, Levin, Liebman, Post, Queen, Roueche, Stribling, and Symons.

   BACK IN 2016, MARTIN EDWARDS wrote an introduction to MURDER AT THE MANOR: COUNTRY HOUSE MYSTERIES, and it’s reproduced in full here. “Today,” writes Edwards, “enthusiasm for the country house crime story remains as strong as ever.” The same could be said for 2025.

   ARTHUR VIDRO continues his series about collecting, “THE VAGARIES OF THE MARKET,” with his and others’ experiences thrown in.

   NEXT IS “CHRISTIE CORNER” by DR. JOHN CURRAN, probably the world’s foremost expert on all things Agatha Christie, and, as usual, the ways the good lady’s properties are being handled (and mishandled) come under his close scrutiny. His wise advice for the ages: “LEAVE HER PLOTS ALONE!”

   THIS ISSUE of OTD ends with readers’ letters and a baffling puzzle. Overall, the Summer 2025 issue of OLD-TIME DETECTION is worth a look, and maybe even a subscription.

Subscription information:

– Published three times a year: Spring, summer, and autumn. – Sample copy: $6.00 in U.S.; $10.00 anywhere else. – One-year U.S.: $18.00. – One-year overseas: $40.00 (or 30 pounds sterling or 40 euros). – Payment: Checks payable to Arthur Vidro, or cash from any nation, or U.S. postage stamps or PayPal. Mailing address:

Arthur Vidro, editor
Old-Time Detection
2 Ellery Street
Claremont, New Hampshire 03743

Web address: vidro@myfairpoint.net

JOHN BRUNNER – Into the Slave Nebula. Lancer 73-797, paperback. 1968. Cover art by Kelley Freas. Expanded and/or revamped edition of Slavers of Space (Ace Double D-421. paperback original, 1960).

   An earlier version was Slavers of Space, which I remember reading, not that any of the details came back right away, but the ending was familiar almost from the beginning of this one. It wasn’t difficult. Do you remember those old cowboy movies, where the outlaws have the hero in their power, and instead of shooting him on the spot, someone says, “No. Wait. I have a better idea,” which proves to be the beginning of their downfall?

   Derry Horn of Earth is tracing the path of murdered Lars Talibrand back through space, and the the same time learning the truth about the androids being shipped to Earth, when he is captured by one of ringleaders of the kidnapping gang. For the androids are really humans, dyed blue. Horn is turned blue, too, but allowed to suffer. and so he can reveal the gang’s secret to the first friend he meets. The same is up!

   The picture of Earth (domesticated to the point of perversion) and the stars (still havens for adventurers, rougher and tougher as one progresses from Earth) is quite good. It must have been these details that were added. The story itself seems to have been unchanged.

Rating: ***

A. A. MILNE – The Red House Mystery. Metheun, UK, hardcover, 1922. E. P. Dutton, hardcover; 1st US edition, 1922. Pocket #81, paperback, 1940. Many later editions.

   Mark Ablett is a self important windbag. From meager means, he attracts the favors of an elderly widow who leaves him a healthy and wealthy estate. But this in no wise makes him wise.

   He leverages his means to play patron of the arts. Patronizing the middle brow and those of middling money, he hosts his guests with a generosity conditioned upon their servile appreciation of his wit.

   Mark receives a letter from his ne’er do well brother Robert, late of Australia, who’s coming for his share.

   An argument takes place between the brothers behind closed doors. And when the doors are opened by his Mark’s minion, Robert’s remains remain. Mark is nowhere to be seen.

   The guests are sent home, save for a couple amateur sleuths, and the authorities are brought in.

   It all seems very obvious. More how done it than whodunit. But there’s more redness to this meat than first blush.

   I enjoyed it quite a bit.

ROBERT BLOCH “Is Betsey Blake Still Alive?” First published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, April 1958. First collected in Blood Runs Cold (Simon & Schuster, hardcover, 1961). First reprinted in Ellery Queen’s Murder—in Spades!, edited by Ellery Queen (Pyramid, paperback, 1969). Reprinted and collected many other times since, often with changes in the title. (See Comment #5.) TV adaptation: Alfred Hitchcock Presents (March 27, 1960) as “Madame Mystery,” with Audrey Totter as the title character.

   This small chiller of a story takes place in Hollywood, where a writer turns down the chance offered him by a live-wire PR agent to help him publicize a movie star’s latest and possibly final film by building up a huge campaign on her life after her assumed death in a motorboat accident. When I say huge, I mean the works. Ads and magazine stories galore. Is she alive? And if so, where is she?

   All is going well, extremely well, when … you probably guessed it – [Plot Alert] the lady shows up. All that work? For next to nothing? Usually this is as far as I’d go in telling you about a story, but since you’ve been warned, I will let you know the lady disappears again. In all likelihood this time she is as dead as she can be. [End Plot Alert.] But of course that is not the end of the story.

   Author Robert Bloch tells the story as smoothly as he ever did, and maybe even more. Once started you are not likely to put this one down. And yes, the very last line is a small masterpiece.

THUNDER OVER THE PLAINS. Warner Bros., 1953. Randolph Scott, Lex Barker, Phyllis Kirk, Charles McGraw, Henry Hull, Elisha Cook Jr. Director: André De Toth.

   Randolph Scott stars in this early 1950s western directed by André De Toth (House of Wax). The plot is as follows: it’s Texas and the year is 1869. The Civil War has ended, but Reconstruction continues apace. Carpetbaggers are taking advantage of the situation, leaving native Texans resentful. It’s up to men like Federal Captain David Porter (Randolph Scott) to keep the peace.

   Not an easy task, given the animosity that Texans have for exploitative Northerners. Some even support an outlaw by the name of Ben Westman (Charles McGraw) who has been active in fighting back against the Reconstructionist military occupation.

   When Westman is wrongfully framed for a murder, Porter takes matters into his own hands, teams up with the rebels, and seeks to bring justice to the state. Filling out the cast are Lex Barker and Elisha Cook Jr., among others. Cook is always enjoyable to see on screen. Here, he portrays a corrupt tax official who has been deliberately raising taxes on the locals.

   There’s nothing technically wrong with Thunder Over the Plains. In fact, it’s a well choreographed and directed western with some great outdoor cinematography. The movie begins and ends with a lot of action. Indeed, there’s no shortage of chases, fistfights, and killings.

   Despite that, however, there is something rather tiring about the whole affair. I know that may sound like a contradiction, but it really isn’t. After a while, the chase scenes all blend together and it feels as if you’re watching a movie on repeat, with the story not going anywhere interesting for a long time.

   Final assessment: an interesting film, but not a particularly compelling one. Scott, though, is a formidable presence here and is leaning into a grittier version of himself. There’s no silly sidekick in this one.

WILLIAM FULLER – Tight Squeeze. Brad Dolan # . Dell First Edition A189; paperback original; 1st printing, August 1959.

   Brad Dolan is an adventurer, a man with a boat scrounging for a living in the Florida keys. Not averse to making a few dollars illegally, he accepts a girl’s offer of $3000 to run a shipment of guns to Castro’s guerilla army, still in hiding in the Cuban hills.

   The plan goes wrong, of course. These were the heady days of the Cuban revolution, and Fuller’s description of it, in bold, vivid strokes, makes it seem a grand venture. Dolan has a head of rock, otherwise there’d be no story. A gripping macho fantasy.

   
      The Brad Dolan series —

Back Country.
Goat Island.
The Girl in the Frame.
Brad Dolan’s Blonde Cargo.
Brad Dolan’s Miami Manhunt.
Tight Squeeze.

   All were first published by Dell in the 1950s as paperback originals.

EMILE GABORIAU – Monsieur Lecoq. E. Dentu, France, 1868. Edited version published in the US by Dover, softcover, 1975. Many other editions published in the US.

   Monsieur Lecoq, Gaboriau’s twelfth book and his fifth novel in which the French detective of the title appears, is today often considered his best and most readable book. Changing reading habits, plus indifferent translations, have left the pioneer French mystery writer all but unread today, but he deserves a place in any survey of classic detective fiction.

   Lecoq, introduced in his first book as a secondary character, was a minor Surete detective with a shady past somewhat like that of the real-life Vidocq. But he soon takes center stage in the Gaboriau novels, and in Monsieur Lecoq he investigates a triple murder in a poor section of Paris. The killer, apprehended at the scene, appears to be a petty criminal who cans himself May, but Lecoq suspects he might really have another identity.

   The duel of wits between the two men extends through the first volume of the novel. The second volume, sometimes published separately as The Honor of the Name, is really a separate and inferior historical novel set around the year 1815, with Lecoq and the evasive villain only reappearing in the final twenty-two pages.

   Though there have been numerous British and American editions of the novel, the recent Dover edition cited above (skillfully edited and introduced by E.F. Bleiler) is the first to eliminate the extraneous historical novel and jump at once from the end of volume one to the important final pages of volume two.

   Gaboriau’s books are not without their weaknesses, and they often suffer from cardboard characterizations and inconsistencies. Their strengths lie in plotting and background. They arc not exactly the books we think of as detective novels today, but enough elements are present to argue effectively that Gaboriau deserves his title as the father of the detective novel.

   Lecoq first appears as a secondary character in The Widow Lerouge (1866), but stars in his next two cases, The Mystery of Orcival (1867) and File No.113 ( 1867). He also makes a brief appearance in The Slaves of Paris (1868), but this is more a crime novel than a detective story.

———
   Reprinted with permission from 1001 Midnights, edited by Bill Pronzini & Marcia Muller and published by The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, 2007.   Copyright © 1986, 2007 by the Pronzini-Muller Family Trust.

ANALOG SF – November 1967. Editor: John W. Campbell Cover art: Kelly Freas. Overall rating: **

GUY McCORD “Coup.” Novelette. [Guy McCord is a pen name of Mack Reynolds.] A planet originally settled by colonists from Scotland is rediscovered by the crew of an explorer ship. Their ignorance of local customs, developed by necessity, enables the natives to count coup on them A coup is a telling blow inflicted by an unarmed warrior upon one who is armed. Standard but interesting, yet unsatisfying. (3)

PIERS ANTHONY “Prostho Plus.” Dr. Dillingham #2. Dr. Dillingham’s dentist’s office is taken over by two aliens, one of whom has a problem with his teeth. The story ends just as it’s beginning. (1)

MARTIN LORAN “The Case of the Perjured Planet.” The Librarian #2. Novelette. [Martin Loran is a joint pen name of John Baxter and Ron Smith.] Librarian Stephen Quist uses hard-boiled private eye techniques to discover the secret of planet Napoleon 6. An unlikely premise that fails miserably, though the story is barely tolerable. (1)

JACK WODHAMS“The Cure-All Merchant.” To the consternation of an inspector representing the drug industry, Dr. Malmy practices medicine without the use of drugs, relying on human resources for his cures. Too long. (2)

JOE POYER “Mission: Red Plague.” A super-high-altitude reconnaissance pilot observing warfare in Asia is exposed to a Chinese bacteriological attack and comes down with … the flu. A story hidden in technical junk. (2)

THE FALLEN SPARROW. RKO Radio Pictures, 1943. John Garfield, Maureen O’Hara, Walter Slezak, Patricia Morison. Based on the novel by Dorothy B. Hughes. Director: Richard Wallace.

   John Garfield stars as a former prisoner in the Spanish Civil War, now investigating the murder of a friend on the police force – the same one who helped arrange his escape from Spain (about which he finds he still has more to learn).

   This was the age of Nazis and war-torn Europe, and the tone of the movie follows suit. Slezak is immediately suspicious as a refugee well-versed in matters of torture, but Maureen O’Hara’s role as the granddaughter of a deposed prince in a bit more puzzling.