Howard HaycraftBesprekingen

Currently re-reading because the first mystery in the volume is The Maltese Falcon, this year's Big Read selection in Wichita. I wish this hadn't been chosen as a community read. It's drenched in unredeeming and unredeemed machismo and homophobia that are difficult to stomach. For all its merits as a classic in the genre, or even the representative classic of its genre, it's an unfortunate choice for a community event. I hope we'll see some discussion of the difficult aspects of the book, but I'm not holding my breath.

As I recall, the other mysteries in the volume are all pretty good, especially the Peter Wimsey story, which is one of the few genuinely light-hearted Wimseys.

4/8/22

First, know that this book was published in 1941, and except for a 10-year anniversary update at the end that adds a few more books recommended by Haycraft and by Ellery Queen, that is where it ends. If, however, you're interested in being pointed to the most worthwhile early stories of detection, you'll find much rewarding here. The author is a bit annoying in trying to narrowly define the detective story, however. Nowadays, when genres and sub-genres tend to be blended together for good or ill, this sort of distinction seems unnecessary. It reminds me of the used book store I visited where mystery was in one section and crime in another. (And thrillers in yet another.) Haycraft tells the usual story of the origin of the detective story with Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and proceeds through early writers such as Anna Katherine Green to the successes of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes up to the "present day" of 1941 or so. This means that the first part of the careers of some well known writers such as Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, John Dickson Carr, and Michael Innes are included. Also, unfortunately, the entire career of Dashiell Hammett, who even at that early date had already stopped writing. The main part of the book mentions Raymond Chandler only very briefly, but the 10-years-after update does give him credit and add some of his works to the recommended list. Haycraft, to his credit, doesn't disparage the hard-boiled genre, and is lavish in his praise of Hammett.

More interesting, perhaps, are the writers that have been largely forgotten that Haycraft extolls, such as Mabel Sealey, who is pretty forgotten today. His concise descriptions of his subjects' works, without any plot spoilers to speak of, will whet your appetite to try out some of these books, many of which are now in the public domain. Given his chosen framework, Haycraft only really errs when he states decisively that women do not make good fictional detectives. It is a bit jarring to read such a blatantly sexist statement in a book that is otherwise a model of balance. Haycraft, for instance, points out not just the strengths of each writer, but also their weaknesses.

In any case, there's probably no good substitute for this book if it's the book your're looking for, so have at it.½

Three of these are among my favorite spy writers Oppenheim's Great Impersonation, in which the famous plot twist turns on who is impersonating who, Buchan's Greenmantle, which I have reviewed elsewhere, and one of Manning Coles' Tommy Hambledon stories, No Entry, set in East Germany. This is not my absolutely favorite Hambledon, but it is as always very good. Hambledon is looking for a young Englishman who vanished from a pleasant German inn about ten miles from what was then the Zonal Frontier i/e. the East German border. half of Manning Coles was a man who had himself been a spy in Germany during World War 1, and I have always felt his German backgrounds were the best. The other two stories, by Martha Albrand and Eric Ambler, are by respected writers, but I have not read them. The only Abler I have tried was too grim for my taste.½

Very full omnibus including 3 full novels -- Raymond Chandler's The Lady in the Lake, Ngaio Marsh's Night at the Vulcan, and Geoffrey Hiusehold's Rogue Male, and a quantity of shirt stories including Sayers' In the Teeth of the Evidence, stores by Gardner, the Lockridges, Ed McBain, John Dickson Carr, Rex Stout , Ellery Queen. Many I own in other books. To me the Ed McBain and a Baynard Kendrick story with his blind detective Captain Duncan Maclain are the most interesting because I did not have them elsewhere.

I nominate "The Lamp of God" by Ellery Queen as best ever mystery story.

This is more than a collection of short stories, it is a collection of short novels. Since that is the case, and so many of them are classic mysteries and fine reads, I'm going to give each novel a brief review.
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler- I enjoyed the pithy dialog in this. Easy to read as a film noir. The author has a great descriptive talent, though at times gets carried away in my opinion. I truly enjoyed this.
The Bone of Contention by Dorothy L. Sayers- I enjoyed this mystery, one gets to see Lord Peter at his country best, though I have to swallow some of the horse clues pretty hard.
The Arrow of God by Leslie Charteris- I really like the Saint. Much better than James Bond in spirit. I wish this story could have been fleshed out more, but it's a nice short story.
I Can't Find my Way Out by Ngaio Marsh- Another good short story, though the actual crime could have been explained better.
Instead of Evidence by Rex Stout-This is a nice post-war story, clever murderer. Nothing hidden, but so obvious you miss it. Rex Stout is one of my favorites.
Rift in the Loot by Stuart Palmer and Craig Rice- Not a bad story, cute in a way, but right at the climax of the story the leads do something so stupid it goes beyond credibility. I hate that. Other than that incident, the story was entertaining.
The Man Who Explained Miracles by Carter Dickson- I was enjoying this, then suddenly the pages were full of unreasonable reactions and hollering, lots of !!!!! Unnatural. Without that, the story would have been fun.
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier- This is my fourth read of this novel, it doesn't pale. I found this read different, in that since I've aged, I view the characters differently than I did in the past. Also loved enjoying her descriptions and mood setting. I've never read another book which holds me this well. Mystery, Gothic, romance, suspense, this story has it all and it is superb writing too.

nice anthology. Good selection of mysteries by well-known authors

Murder in the Calais Coach-Agatha Christie. Always enjoyable to read Poirot.
The Case of the Crimson Kiss-Earl Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason is O.K., kind of hohum.
The Treasure Hunt-Edgar Wallace. Interesting, I wouldn't mind reading more about Mr. Reeder to find out if I do like him. Kind of predictable in this story.
Maigrets Christmas-Georges Simenon. My mom really likes this guy, but I haven't been thrilled.
Puzzle for Poppy-Patrick Quentin. This was very simple to solve, but fun anyway.
The Secret-Mary Roberts-Rinehart. I found the premise of this intriguing, but the character herself fell short of my expectations. I like the idea of a detective nurse though.
The Incautious Burglar-John Dickson Carr. This one bored me.
The Lamp of God-Ellery Queen. A good mystery, but I'm not that fond of Ellery Queen the detective. The ending of this was silly.
The Case of the White Elephant-Margery Allingham. Well, I won't accuse her of copying Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter, but if it was the other way around, Dorothy Sayers did a MUCH better job!
Rear Window-Wiliam Irish. This was fun to read and compare to the movie. The movie was better, but this was suspenseful, though vague in so many places.
Journey into Fear-Eric Ambler. I finished this to know how it ended, but it bored me most of the way through. However, I could imagine all my favorite "noir" actors in the principle characters. Wonder if they made a movie out of it?

The Purloined Letter by E. A. Poe (); The Red-Headed League by A. C. Doyle (); The Blue Cross by G. K. Chesterton (); The Stanway Cameo Mystery by Arthur Morrison (); The Case of Oscar Brodsk1 by R. Austin Freeman (); The Tragedy at Brookbend Cottage by Ernest Bramah (); In the Fog by Richard Harding Davis (); The Age of Miracles by Melville Davisson Post (); The Absent-Minded Coterie by Robert Barr (); The Fenchurch Street Mystery by Baroness Orczy (); The Problem of Cell 13 by Jacques Futrelle (); The One Best BEt by Samuel Hopkins Adams (); The Private Bank Puzzle by Edwin Balmer & William MacHarg (); One Hundred in teh Dark by Owen Johnson ();

Vol. 2 contains The Big Sleep, R. Chandler; The Bone of Contention, D. L. Sayers; The Arrow of God, L. Charteris; I Can Find My Way, N. Marsh; Instead of Evidence, R. Stout; Rift in the Loot, S. Palmer and C. Rice; The Man Who Explained Miracles, C. Dickson; Rebecca, D. du Maurier.

3 volumes in one, contains 15 stories, novels or novelettes. Authors: Raymond Chandler, Dorothy Sayers, Erle Stanley gardner, F and R Lockridge, Ed McBain, Geoffrey Household, Baynard Kendrick, John Dickson Carr, William Irish, Agatha Christie, Rex Stout, Robert Bloch, Ellery Queen, Stnley Ellin and Ngaio Marsh.

2 copies