Murder Mystery Books

An immensely enjoyable detective romp, first published in 1919. The writing is sometimes a bit stiff and pompous, but the plot is satisfyingly dense, the mystery is intriguing, and the atmosphere and characterization (which are the point of the whole thing) are top-notch. My favourite was the old stamp dealer who exclaims, "You think and argue on modern lines -- which are, of course, highly superior."

This is a very good read. It keeps your interest. You want to keep turning the pages to see what's happening next. I really enjoyed it.

It was a Friday night in the summertime. Grijpstra and DeGier were faced with a stuck window. They had overstayed their shift and the weekend had really started.

Police constables may have thrown a handicapped man into a canal. The constables are called Ketchup and Karate. Grijpstra and DeGier take off in search of Rea Fortune since her belongings have vanished. They interview their suspect, Frits Fortune. His wife had wanted him to sell his business and he did not want to. It would vary his routine. A corpse is found on the roof of his house, that of his dog Babette.

The detectives run down Fortune's relatives, Aunt Coba and Uncle Henry. They are dressed in antique unisex. They say that as a child Fortune had beheaded his toy bear. Grijpstra believes that Rea Fortune is a woman of unfulfilled fantasy. Ketchup and Karate, the constables, contend that Fortune's relatives are mad.

One of the characters reports that everyone has gone to the beach to annoy the tourists. Amsterdam seems deserted. Rea Fortune appears. She is charged with attempted murder of her husband. Perhaps Mrs. Fortune was merely persuading her husband to sell his business. DeGier is giving up smoking and his suffering is detailed in the book. At one point he wants to snatch a nearly full pack of cigarettes from someone.

Two dead people have been found in trunks of cars in Amsterdam. The first was an accidental death, an overdose. The other death was from natural causes, an ulcer. Ulcers may be caused by a malfunctioning of the mind. It turns out that the police officers had seen the second person staggering on the previous day.

DeGier goes to see a female constable, Asta. Mr. Boronski, the ulcer case, was found dead in Karl Muller's car. Muller said the men did business together. DeGier and Asta interview Muller. Asta takes notes. The two interview the hotel manager. Asta points out that the hotel is hollow, not what it seems. DeGier plays flute and Grijpstra plays some drums he has gotten from the police lost and found department while they discuss the Boronski case with Asta. The two police officers, trailing Muller, catch some street muggers.

Asta arrests Muller. She goes into the canal to retrieve Muller's dropped case. The officers suspect cocaine. First they had a murder and no corpse and now they have a corpse and no crime except for drugs which is not their department. German police officers appeared to subject Muller to some rough interrogation. The Commissaris describes to DeGier and Asta how fear strengthened one man and destroyed another. The solution is that someone did a secret favor. This series is tops. The author is masterful.

I thoroughly enjoyed Minute for Murder (1947). War in Europe is over but continues in the Pacific. Nigel Strangeways is still working at the Ministry of Morale, a bureaucratic wartime agency in London. When a colleague is poisoned, Strangeways is again paired with his good friend Superintendent Blount of Scotland Yard. The abundant red herrings in Minute for Murder is likely to mislead even the astute reader of mystery stories.

Cecil Day-Lewis (Nicholas Blake was a pseudonym) authored sixteen Nigel Strangeways mysteries spanning three decades (1935-1966). Minute for Murder is perhaps more biographical than many of his stories; Day-Lewis actually worked in the wartime Ministry of Information from 1941-1946. I was especially intrigued with his description of daily life in wartime London.

Cecil Day-Lewis was professor of poetry at Oxford in 1951-56, and a lecturer in the 1960s at several universities. He was Poet Laureate from 1968 until his death in 1972. The actor Daniel Day-Lewis is his son.

I highly recommend the Nigel Strangeways mysteries. Although I only recently encountered the stories of Nicholas Blake, I have now read five: Minute for Murder (1947), Head of a Traveler (1949), End of Chapter (1957), The Widow's Cruise (1959), and The Worm of Death (1961).

It may be necessary to buy used copies online. The Strangeways stories were reprinted as Perennial Library paperbacks by Harper Collins Publishers. Another source (The Nicholas Blake Treasury) is an inexpensive, four volume, hardcover, book club edition published by the Mystery Guild.

I just loved this book! It grabed me from the first couple of pages. I literally could not put the book down. The characters seemed so real and they were so bad. CJ I sure hope you write another book soon (hopefully a sequel).

As a long-time fan of Tony Hillerman, I picked up "The Moki Pot Murders" mostly because of the Four Corners Mystery subtitle, that and the intriguing cover. What a pleasant suprise! Comparable to a Hillerman mystery! A great job of giving you the reader a feeling of really being part of this mystery! A variety of unique, well-rounded, characters. Likeable lead characters that stick with you, even after you put the book down, if you can? This is not one of those mysteries where the only mystery is how long it will take the protagonist to learn what the reader already knows! Cliff Black kept me guessing right up to the point where "Geronimo" figures it all out! The suspense and cliff hangers were awesome. Don't plan on getting a lot of sleep...this one can keep you up all night!

A chilling story, to think what it would be like to find out that someone you knew almost your whole life was really someone you didn't know at all. I definitely recommend this book if your a fan of true crime.

I read this book in the class for Reading time.
All my classmates had read it.
My favourite character is Theodore MacIntosh. He is the one who helped to catch James Barry, who murdered Wellington Moses' friend. After we read this story, we had a project to make a board game of Cariboo Gold Rush. It was really fun. I want to own a copy of this book, but there's none in Amazon.

In "Wish You Were Here", we meet Mary Minor Haristeen (aka Harry) and Mrs. Murphy (a tiger cat) and Tee Tucker (a Welsh corgi). Harry is recently divorced and a postmistress in Crozet, Virginia a very small town. She has grown up there, and finds it difficult adjusting to life as a divorcee' in such a small town. Half of the town is on her side, the other half on the side of her ex, Fair Haristeen, a beloved local vet. It also doesn't help that Harry is constantly seeing Boom Boom Craycroft, the other woman who broke up her marriage. But working in the town's post office with her pets each day does offer its own diversions. One such diversion is reading post cards...something Harry has always done. When 2 prominent business people are killed after receiving graveyard postcards reading "wish you were here", Harry realizes there is a pattern to the killing. And when a good friend receives one, Harry springs into action to stop the killer in his/her tracks.

In "Rest In Pieces", the animals once again play a huge role in solving a murder. The main character, Mary Minor Haristeen (aka Harry), along with her two animal friends Mrs. Murphy (a gray tiger cat) and Tucker (a corgi) lead the way. When newcomer, Blair Bainbridge, rolls into town a lot of folks in Crozet, Virginia believe that trouble rolled in with him. The handsome bachelor turns many female heads, and Harry tries to convince herself that she has sworn off men since her divorce. When pieces of a dead body are found on Blair's property, tongues start to wag. And when more pieces of the body are discovered during the Harvest Ball, a tragic event from Blair's past comes back to haunt him. Has this "Yankee" brought murder to this sleepy small-town?

Having just finished reading the first book in the series, I admit it was much easier for me to follow the dialogue between the animals in this second installment. At first, I had a difficult time following the discussions between the animals, as it adds to the already large cast of characters. However, I adore the way the animals speak to one another! Their antics are charming, and I find that it adds a lot to this great series.

The mystery had me guessing until the end. Normally, I am able to figure out the mysteries pretty quickly (as many cozies give a lot of clues), but I was surprised at the ending. This is a great series, and I look forward to reading the extensive collection of books by this author (and Sneaky Pie, of course!).

In "Murder at Monticello", a body has been discovered in the slave quarters of the home of Thomas Jefferson. Since Jefferson has been dead for 170 years, it is impossible to question him about the man found dead from a blow to the dead. And when another recently murdered body is discovered, it becomes apparent that someone wants the secrets that have been buried with the body to remain so. Coming into question is the practice of slavery, and the descendants of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson had been rumored to have fathered a child by one of his slaves, and it appears that the man found murdered may have been also been involved with one of the slaves. The citizens of Crozet band together to prove that their beloved Jefferson had nothing to do with the murder or cover-up, and while doing so they unearth secrets that have been hidden in the town for over a century.

I have become a big fan of this series, and enjoy the banter between the animals. The relationships between the members of the town have been evolving, and I like the way that Harry is loved and embraced by the people who have known her all of her life. She works hard, cares for her animals, and genuinely cares for the town and its residents. I look forward to future books in the series, and am hopeful to see more of Blair as a potential love interest for Harry.

If you like the KoKo and Yum Yum series by Lilian Jackson Braun, give this book a try. Enjoy!

When the local branch of the bank burns down and they find a body in the remains but are missing two, the confusion begins. The women of Maggody decide they will no longer be second rate citizens and the men do not seem to understand it may be the beginning of modernization in our favorite little town, but don't bet on it. Arly has to sift through the ashes and the motives of the suspects. You don't want to miss this stroy in the Arly Hanks/Maggody series