Ron K. (WhidbeyIslander) -
Miraculous Mysteries
Editor Martin Edwards prefaces each story with a short bio of the author and mentions other works if a reader is interested in further work by each author. His
observations elevate the collection.
Plots and my rating (* to *****)
The Lost Special (Arthur Conan Doyle) A man hires a specially chartered train from Liverpool to London, but he and the train disappear between two stations. The mystery is explained in a lengthy letter written by the man behind it years later. Doyle's writing is wonderful, although this is a little too preposterous (although it seems you can accomplish anything with enough money.) ***
The Thing Invisible (William Hope Hodgson) Carnacki the Ghost Hunter relays his experiences with what appears to be a haunted chapel where a dagger is able to attack people without a human hand wielding it. A touch of the supernatural infuses this story where Carnacki tackles a mystery by spending a night inside the chapel which allows him to figure out what's going on. Not exactly a new twist of the problem (but when it was written in 1913 maybe it was), it's an enjoyable story. ****
The Tragedies in the Greek Room (Sax Rohmer) Night watchmen die in a museum's locked room where the most valuable item is removed from its case but left behind. Moris Klaw sleeps at the scenes of crimes and sees the thoughts of the victims and criminals involved. Written in 1920 in the style of the period and somewhat outlandish in the solution. (Dr. Fu Manchu is nowhere in sight.) **
The Aluminium Dagger (R. Austin Freeman) Dr. Thorndyke is called in to help solve the murder of man stabbed inside a room with the only door bolted from the inside and whose (open) window is 40 feet from the ground in an un-scalable wall. Plays fair although the solution is maybe a little obvious as the story goes along. ***
The Miracle of Moon Crescent (G.K. Chesterton) Father Brown helps unravel the disappearance (and subsequent death) of a man who was inside a room with the one door observed by the priest and three other men. The room is 100 feet from the ground and the building has walls that cannot be climbed. OK mystery and logical solution, I sort of had a problem with a page or two of psychological / spiritual babble, though. ***
The Invisible Weapon (Nicholas Olde) Rowland Hern solves the problem of a man who is bludgeoned to death inside a room with people outside the only door and where no weapon can be found, even on the one man who probably committed the crime. Fun take on an old (well, this was written in 1928) locked room device. ****
The Diary of Death (Marten Cumberland) Interesting take on a motive: the killer is avenging a dead diary writer who wrote venomously about people she knew. If you've read a number of locked-room mysteries the solution will come as no surprise, although in 1928 it might have been. ****
The Broadcast Murder (Grenville Robbins) An announcer in the middle of a radio broadcast (from inside a sound-proof studio whose only door is visible by his boss) screams for help over the air, then disappears. The introduction mentions that Robbins left behind no novels, which is too bad since his writing is fresh and zippy, as are his policeman and narrator. Again, the solution is not that amazing. ****
The Music Room (Sapper) During a house party in his newly bought (and under renovation) manor house a man tells about a mysterious death years before in the music room. A man was found bludgeoned to death inside the locked room. Later that night the man's young nephew is killed in the same room by what looks like a falling chandelier. One of the house party suspects it was another cause. Nicely written tale but the solution to both deaths isn't so surprising. ***
Death at 8:30 (Christopher St. John Sprigg) A killer acts when his victims refuse to pay a huge sum. One victim is a police official and he spends the predicted actual time of his murder encased in a glass room observed by fellow officials; but he still dies at the appointed time. OK variation on the problem, but not awe-inspiring. ***
Too Clever By Half (G.D.H. & Margaret Cole) What looks like a suicide inside a locked room might have too many details pointing towards that. An ok tale but a bit pedantic. **
Locked In (E. Charles Vivian) A man is found dead in a room whose door is locked from the inside and the windows are unable to be opened; one policeman suspects it's not the suicide everyone thinks it it. OK story with a sort of different twist on the problem of the locked room. ***
The Haunted Policeman (Dorothy L. Sayers) On the night of his son's birth Lord Peter is outside his London home when a policeman appears. Seeking company, Lord Peter invites the constable in for a drink and listens to an incredible tale of a murder in a nearby house that doesn't seem to actually exist. An amusing story, well written and executed. (Note: Sayers included the N Word as spoken by one of the characters.) *****
Sands of Thyme (Michael Innes) Appleby relates a story about following a set of footprints to a dead body in the middle of a beach that must be a suicide. Sort of silly with a silly explanation. **
Beware of the Trains (Edmund Crispin) The motorman of a train disappears at a station surrounded by police who were anxious to apprehend one of the passengers. Great writing but not all that surprising a solution to the mystery. ***
The Villa Marie Celeste (Margery Allingham) Campion is consulted by police when a young couple disappears from their home, breakfast on the table with warm tea, and all their possessions intact. Lighthearted tale with a solution that makes perfect sense. ****
Editor Martin Edwards prefaces each story with a short bio of the author and mentions other works if a reader is interested in further work by each author. His
observations elevate the collection.
Plots and my rating (* to *****)
The Lost Special (Arthur Conan Doyle) A man hires a specially chartered train from Liverpool to London, but he and the train disappear between two stations. The mystery is explained in a lengthy letter written by the man behind it years later. Doyle's writing is wonderful, although this is a little too preposterous (although it seems you can accomplish anything with enough money.) ***
The Thing Invisible (William Hope Hodgson) Carnacki the Ghost Hunter relays his experiences with what appears to be a haunted chapel where a dagger is able to attack people without a human hand wielding it. A touch of the supernatural infuses this story where Carnacki tackles a mystery by spending a night inside the chapel which allows him to figure out what's going on. Not exactly a new twist of the problem (but when it was written in 1913 maybe it was), it's an enjoyable story. ****
The Tragedies in the Greek Room (Sax Rohmer) Night watchmen die in a museum's locked room where the most valuable item is removed from its case but left behind. Moris Klaw sleeps at the scenes of crimes and sees the thoughts of the victims and criminals involved. Written in 1920 in the style of the period and somewhat outlandish in the solution. (Dr. Fu Manchu is nowhere in sight.) **
The Aluminium Dagger (R. Austin Freeman) Dr. Thorndyke is called in to help solve the murder of man stabbed inside a room with the only door bolted from the inside and whose (open) window is 40 feet from the ground in an un-scalable wall. Plays fair although the solution is maybe a little obvious as the story goes along. ***
The Miracle of Moon Crescent (G.K. Chesterton) Father Brown helps unravel the disappearance (and subsequent death) of a man who was inside a room with the one door observed by the priest and three other men. The room is 100 feet from the ground and the building has walls that cannot be climbed. OK mystery and logical solution, I sort of had a problem with a page or two of psychological / spiritual babble, though. ***
The Invisible Weapon (Nicholas Olde) Rowland Hern solves the problem of a man who is bludgeoned to death inside a room with people outside the only door and where no weapon can be found, even on the one man who probably committed the crime. Fun take on an old (well, this was written in 1928) locked room device. ****
The Diary of Death (Marten Cumberland) Interesting take on a motive: the killer is avenging a dead diary writer who wrote venomously about people she knew. If you've read a number of locked-room mysteries the solution will come as no surprise, although in 1928 it might have been. ****
The Broadcast Murder (Grenville Robbins) An announcer in the middle of a radio broadcast (from inside a sound-proof studio whose only door is visible by his boss) screams for help over the air, then disappears. The introduction mentions that Robbins left behind no novels, which is too bad since his writing is fresh and zippy, as are his policeman and narrator. Again, the solution is not that amazing. ****
The Music Room (Sapper) During a house party in his newly bought (and under renovation) manor house a man tells about a mysterious death years before in the music room. A man was found bludgeoned to death inside the locked room. Later that night the man's young nephew is killed in the same room by what looks like a falling chandelier. One of the house party suspects it was another cause. Nicely written tale but the solution to both deaths isn't so surprising. ***
Death at 8:30 (Christopher St. John Sprigg) A killer acts when his victims refuse to pay a huge sum. One victim is a police official and he spends the predicted actual time of his murder encased in a glass room observed by fellow officials; but he still dies at the appointed time. OK variation on the problem, but not awe-inspiring. ***
Too Clever By Half (G.D.H. & Margaret Cole) What looks like a suicide inside a locked room might have too many details pointing towards that. An ok tale but a bit pedantic. **
Locked In (E. Charles Vivian) A man is found dead in a room whose door is locked from the inside and the windows are unable to be opened; one policeman suspects it's not the suicide everyone thinks it it. OK story with a sort of different twist on the problem of the locked room. ***
The Haunted Policeman (Dorothy L. Sayers) On the night of his son's birth Lord Peter is outside his London home when a policeman appears. Seeking company, Lord Peter invites the constable in for a drink and listens to an incredible tale of a murder in a nearby house that doesn't seem to actually exist. An amusing story, well written and executed. (Note: Sayers included the N Word as spoken by one of the characters.) *****
Sands of Thyme (Michael Innes) Appleby relates a story about following a set of footprints to a dead body in the middle of a beach that must be a suicide. Sort of silly with a silly explanation. **
Beware of the Trains (Edmund Crispin) The motorman of a train disappears at a station surrounded by police who were anxious to apprehend one of the passengers. Great writing but not all that surprising a solution to the mystery. ***
The Villa Marie Celeste (Margery Allingham) Campion is consulted by police when a young couple disappears from their home, breakfast on the table with warm tea, and all their possessions intact. Lighthearted tale with a solution that makes perfect sense. ****
Carol S. (waucondacarol) reviewed Miraculous Mysteries: Locked-Room Murders and Impossible Crimes (British Library Crime Classics) on + 319 more book reviews
Sixteen impossible mysteries by as many authors. Some are the proverbial locked room mystery but others are very clever situations that make the murder all but impossible.
