Tip the Wink

A Siege of Bitterns by Steve Burrows, (c) 2016, my copy Point Blank Books 2018 trade paper, mystery fiction, 344 pages – 2015 Arthur Ellis Award — Winner, Best First Novel 

The Blurb:
Detective Chief Inspector Domenic Jejeune’s success has made him a poster boy for the U.K. police service. The problem is Jejeune doesn’t really want to be a detective at all; he much prefers watching birds.

Recently reassigned to the small Norfolk town of Saltmarsh, located in the heart of Britain’s premier birding country, Jejeune’s two worlds collide when he investigates the grisly murder of a prominent ecological activist. His ambitious police superintendent foresees a blaze of welcome publicity, but she begins to have her doubts when Jejeune’s most promising theory involves a feud over birdwatching lists. A second murder only complicates matters.

To unravel this mystery, Jejeune must deal with unwelcome public acclaim, the mistrust of colleagues, and his own insecurities. In the case of the Saltmarsh birder murders, the victims may not be the only casualties.

My take:
I found this a little slow at first, but as it went on I became caught up in the quest for who did murder, and how could that person be caught? The new copper in a new environment was interesting. Note that there’s no need to be a birder in order to enjoy the book. I liked it a lot and have the next in the series, A Pitying of Doves, on hold at the library.

Golden Age Detective Stories edited by Otto Penzler, Penzler Publishers June 2021 trade paper, mystery short story anthology, a volume of Otto Penzler Presents American Mystery Classics

I’ve been reading mystery fiction in both long and short form for many decades, and sometimes it seems a toss-up which I like better, the novel in which the author can develop a character-filled cast and detailed setting, or the short story where we are led straight into things and a conclusion, hopefully satisfying, is soon reached.

This anthology of 14 short stories is packed with classic stories from the top writers of the period.

Contents:

1. The Enemy by Charlotte Armstrong. (1951) Mike Russell
2. The Stripper by Anthony Boucher. (1947) Sister Ursula.
3. Postiche by Mignon C. Eberhart (1935) Susan Dare
4. The Case of the Crimson Kiss by Erle Stanley Gardner (1948) Perry Mason
5. The Enchanted Garden by H.F. Heard (1949) Mr. Mycroft
6. 5-4=murderer by Baynard Kendrick (1953) Captain Duncan Maclain
7. There’s Death for Remembrance by Francis & Richard Lockridge (1955) Pamela & Jerry North.
8. The Monkey Murder by Stuart Palmer (1947) Hildegarde Withers
9. The Adventure of the African Traveler by Ellery Queen (1934) Ellery Queen
10. Puzzle for Poppy by Patrick Quentin (1946) Peter and Iris Duluth
11. From Another World by Clayton Rawson (1948) The Great Merlini
12. Goodbye. Goodbye! By Craig Rice (1946) John J. Malone
13. Locked Doors by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1925) Hilda Adams
14. Mystery in Room 913 : The Suicide Room by Cornell Woolrich (1938) Striker

A good selection of Golden Age mysteries, and with each story there comes a short author biography. It’s available in both hardcover and paperback, I bought the latter. This is the short story anthology I’m about to start, to read between novels that have been coming in from the library.

It’s still hotter than I like, the mid-to-high 80s, and it’s very dry. We’ve had wind, and there are wildfires burning all over the Pacific Northwest.

It’s still hot, not sizzling, but hot. I’m dealing with reading ennui, maybe it’s the weather, but I read just a few stories this last week.

Vintage Books 1966 pb

From The Vintage Anthology of Science Fantasy edited by Christopher Cerf, Vintage 1966 mass market paperback:

“An Egg A Month from All Over” by Idris Seabright (very unusual in every way)

“There will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury (when the world ends…)

”And Now the News” by Theodore Sturgeon (an especially dark story)

”No-Sided Professor” by Martin Gardner (math-oriented)

”Random Quest” by John Wyndham (Wyndham strikes again)

Not a lot of stories, but I did finish two novels, A Solitude of Wolverines and The Killing Hills. I’ll continue to peck away at this anthology, as I dabble with novels both on hand and those starting to come in from the library.

Ten Second Staircase by Christopher Fowler, Bantam 2008 trade paper, mystery, 4th in Bryant & May Peculiar Crimes Unit series.

I’m continuing to read the series of mysteries featuring Braynt & May, written by Christopher Fowler. This is the 4th.

The Bryant & May series:
Full Dark House  (2003)
The Water Room (2004)
Seventy-Seven Clocks  (2005)
Ten Second Staircase  (2006)
White Corridor  (2007)
The Victoria Vanishes  (2008)
Bryant & May on the Loose  (2009)
Off the Rails  (2010)
The Memory of Blood  (2011)
The Invisible Code  (2012)
The Bleeding Heart  (2014)
The Secret Santa  (2015)
The Burning Man  (2015)
London’s Glory (ss) (2015)
Strange Tide  (2016)
Wild Chamber  (2017)
Hall of Mirrors  (2018)
England’s Finest (ss) (2019)
The Lonely Hour ( 2019)
Oranges and Lemons (2020)
London Bridge is Falling Down (coming Dec. 2021)

When the Death-Bat Flies: the Detective Stories of Novel Page edited by Matthew Moring, introduction by Will Murray, Altus Press 2010 hardcover, first edition, 775 pages, hard-boiled detective stories

Page, whose middle name was Wordsworth, broke into print during the depression while working for the New York Herald-Tribune as a crime reporter. He wrote pulp stories in several genres, including westerns, but primarily wrote for the mystery and crime titles, first for Dell’s Scotland Yard, then for Ten Detective Aces, Strange Detective Stories and a host of others before breaking into Black Mask and writing for The Spider magazine. He was prolific.

This collection focuses primarily on Page’s contributions to Detective Tales and Strange Detective Mysteries. Detective Tales followed the pulp formula editors called “detective-action” while Strange Detective Stories was more “murder-mystery” themed.

This collection of 33 stories offers an unparalleled look at the detective and mystery writing of one of the best and brightest of the crime pulp writers. The book contains the following stories:

• “Murder Undercover”
• “Law—Without a Badge!”
• “Forsaking All Else!”
• “Like Father—”
• “Once a Cop—”
• “The Love That Kills”
• “When Guns Turn Traitor”
• “The Death Game”
• “Death For His Fee!”
• “Manhattan Nocturne”
• “Double Cross—with Honor”
• “Between Two Loves”
• “Comeback of the Damned”
• “Copper’s Cross”
• “Alias the Corpse Maker”
• “Women Take the Rap”
• “Murder Rides the Flood”
• “The Man Who Wouldn’t Stay Dead”
• “Murder Edits the News”
• “When the Death-Bat Flies”
• “Crime’s Capital City”
• “The Devil’s Clinic”
• “Corpse Fever Is Catching”
• “Murder Follows the Headlines”
• “Satan’s Penthouse Carnival”
• “Crime’s Christmas Carol”
• “Skulls Always Grin!”
• “The Glamour of Sin!”
• “Blood of the Dragon’s Horn”
• “Tough Little Girl”
• “Fingers of Fear”
• “A Corpse for Company”
• “Dead Hands Can’t Kill!”

The Readers’ Room by Antoine Laurain, translated by Jane Aitken/ Emily Boyce, Gallic Books 2020 hardcover, mystery fiction, 172 pages

I first became aware of this author when in 2017 I read The Red Notebook [© 2014], about which at the time I said: “An enjoyable little book about the finding of a red notebook and the finder’s efforts to locate it’s owner. I liked it when I read it, and liked it more as I considered it later.”

This novel is even better.

from B&N website:

When the manuscript of a debut crime novel arrives at a Parisian publishing house, everyone in the readers’ room is convinced it’s something special. And the committee for France’s highest literary honour, the Prix Goncourt, agrees.

But when the shortlist is announced, there’s a problem for editor Violaine Lepage: she has no idea of the author’s identity. As the police begin to investigate a series of murders strangely reminiscent of those recounted in the book, Violaine is not the only one looking for answers. And, suffering memory blanks following an aeroplane accident, she’s beginning to wonder what role she might play in the story …

Antoine Laurain, bestselling author of The Red Notebook, combines intrigue and charm in this dazzling novel of mystery, love and the power of books.

from Publisher’s Weekly:

“A profound love of books and authors underpins this sprightly mystery from Laurain (The President’s Hat). Violaine Lepage, the director of the manuscript readers’ room for a Parisian publisher, is certain that Sugar Flowers, a debut crime novel, will be a big seller, and so it proves when, a year later, the book is shortlisted for the Prix Goncourt. Then the problems start. First, the author, Camille Désencres, has only communicated with her publishers by email, and refuses to participate in person for interviews. Then Det. Insp. Sophie Tanche of the Rouen regional crime squad informs Violaine that a double murder described in the novel closely resembles an actual case. When a third man is found dead, the detective observes, “I don’t know how, but everything stems from one bizarre place: a thirty-square-meter room in which people are paid to read books that don’t yet exist… the readers’ room.” The tendency of characters to wax philosophical (“All books are works of black magic”) adds to the charm of this witty and perceptive novel.”

The author’s writing style is simple and straightforward, the character building the same, yet the book caught and held me through it’s length — I finished it in a day, unusual for me. Recommended.

Hayden’s World Volume 1 by S. D. Falchetti, 2018 trade paper, science fiction

I’m not sure how I came across this self-published hard science fiction collection, probably saw it on Amazon. The cover is certainly eye-catching, don’t you think?

James Hayden is a scientist, businessman, explorer, adventurer, promoter, space pilot. He and the other characters in these seven stories survive the skies of Saturn, Uranus and other parts of the outer Solar Syatem, desperate struggles at the solar system’s edge, and takes near-lightspeed interstellar expeditions.

The stories are tied together, much like chapters in a novel. I liked that.

Contents:

“43 Seconds”
“Silver-Side Up”
“Erebus” (novelette)
“Signal Loss” (novelette)
“Last Stand”
“Aero One”
“Titan’s Shadow”

See the image of the back of the book for a brief plot description. →

The writing style here is straightforward, clean. early Larry Niven in style. The stories are interesting, the characters involving and the hard science fiction well done.

When I finished reading this, I wanted more, and fortunately there is Hayden’s World Volume 2 which I have and plan to read soon.