Booked (and Printed): November 2024

 

Booked (and Printed) November 2024     November brought the first dusting of snow—and it was only a dusting but just enough fell to ice the roads for Thanksgiving travel, which made me happy we had nowhere to go. It brought friends to our home, a fire to our fireplace, and darkness at quarter past four. It also made for a month perfectly fitted for reading and I took advantage, at least as best I could, by reading six books—two story collections and four novels—and three short stories; every one of the shorts by the late mystery writer, Jeremiah Healy. That trio of Healy tales starred Boston private eye, John Francis Cuddy, and while they are easily categorized as hardboiled, each stands tall as a puzzling whodunit, too. Another commonality of the stories: each was nominated, but failed to win, the Private Eye Writers of America Shamus Award for best short story. “The Bagged Man”—published in the Feb. 1993 issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine—is a gem of a murder mystery. Cuddy is hired to help a private investment firm escape the bad publicity it has received since a homeless man, wearing a bag over his head and protesting that same firm, is found murdered. The set-up is believable and, of course, Cuddy solves the murder with his usual competent flair. “Rest Stop”—which was published in the May 1992 issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine—is a cool take on a real-time kidnapping. While talking to an attendant at a highway rest stop, Cuddy sees a kidnapping. In a rush, he follows the kidnappers and finds himself in deep trouble. It has more action than the average Cuddy tale and it works very well. “Turning the Witness”—published in Guilty as Charged, edited by Scott Turow (1997)—is my favorite of this month’s three stories for the simple reason that when the solution was revealed I kicked myself for not solving it earlier. Read my detailed review of “Turning the Witness” here. I read these three stories in the following two Jeremiah Healy collections (and both are well worth reading) published by Crippen & Landru: The Concise Cuddy (1998) and Cuddy – Plus One (2003).

As for the books… two are story collections—one a single author effort by William Campbell Gault and the other a multi-author anthology of criminous Christmas tales—with the remaining four novels squarely within the mystery genre. William Campbell Gault is best known for his mystery and crime novels, but in the 1950s he wrote several speculative tales for, mostly, digest magazines. Mixology 2: More Science Fiction Stories (2024), gathers three—a short and two novelettes—of Gault’s best sciencey stories published in Fantastic Universe. Each tale is exciting and thought-provoking with worlds and characters both familiar and new. Click here to read a detailed essay I wrote about William Campbell Gault and Mixology 2. The other story collection is Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop, edited by Otto Penzler (2024). Its twelve tales are, as the title suggests, set during the Christmas holiday and have at least some action at New York City’s famed Mysterious Bookshop. An outstanding anthology with an impressive list of contributors that will ring true for anyone that enjoys the crossroad where mystery and Christmas meet. Check out my detailed review of Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop here. Back in April, I told you about Sasscer Hill’s first Fia McKee mystery, Flamingo Road (2017). A book I really liked—you can read my detailed review here. Fia has appeared only twice and (fortunately) my local library has both titles. So naturally I got around to reading that second book, The Dark Side of Town (2018). Fia, working undercover for the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau at New York’s Saratoga Race Track, is investigating a trainer suspected of horse doping. The evidence against the trainer is sparse, but the outcomes of his horses is suspect. One thing leads Fia to another and soon she is hip-deep in a scheme of blackmail, murder, and kidnapping. The Dark Side of Town is an enjoyable foray into the horse-racing world with more in common with Sue Grafton than Dick Francis. My only wish? I wish there was another Fia McKee. Bill Crider’s We’ll Always Have Murder (2003) is a hardboiled blast starring silver screen tough guy, Humphrey Bogart. The plotting is slick, the action is sharp, and Crider paints Bogart with a likable hue. It is set in the Hollywood of the late-1940s and it could easily have been written in that same era. You can read my detailed review of We’ll Always Have Murder here. Another book I wrote a detailed review for, is Alan Orloff’s second Mess Hopkins novel, Late Checkout (2024)—which means I won’t spend much time bending your eye about it here. Other than to say it is light-hearted and mysterious fun. Mess is pretty cool, too, with a self-deprecating wit and enough sense to know he doesn’t know much. Read my full review of Late Checkout here. Now, for my favorite book of the month—and it was a close race. David Housewright’s twelfth Rushmore McKenzie novel, Unidentified Woman #15 (2015). While driving on a snowy night in Minneapolis, McKenzie witnesses a woman thrown from a moving pick-up truck. McKenzie does what McKenzie does and rescues the woman from the icy highway asphalt. She wakes up to no memory of who she and since her pockets were empty of any identifiers, she is simply known as Fifteen. After Fifteen’s release from hospital, McKenzie and his girlfriend, Nina Truhler, happily allow her to stay in their swanky Minneapolis condo. But there is concern for Fifteen’s safety since whoever tried to kill her is still out there. Things go sideways—how else will they ever go in a McKenzie novel?—and McKenzie finds himself in a race to figure out Fifteen’s identity and exactly who is trying to kill her. Unidentified Woman #15 is in my top three or four of the McKenzie mysteries. It has all the usual hallmarks of the series: a strong setting, colorful characters, concise plotting, and of course the likable McKenzie. It is also surprising, suspenseful, and personal for McKenzie for a few reasons. An absolute winner from the first to the last page. Fin— Now on to next month…