3.5*
An interesting collection of short stories - I had read the 2 Jeeves stories before but the rest were new to me. I especially liked the 2 Reggie Pepper stories: "Concealed Art" and "The Test Case". ( )

An interesting collection of short stories - I had read the 2 Jeeves stories before but the rest were new to me. I especially liked the 2 Reggie Pepper stories: "Concealed Art" and "The Test Case". ( )

Heh! ( )

4 to 4-1/2 on this one. Two stories with Jeeves, brilliant stories, and then Wodehouse introduces a character I've never read named Reggie Pepper, who's as bone-headed and hilarious as any Wodehouse created.

I read this as part of a brilliant Goodreads group called "Reading Wodehouse" for the January 2015 read. I was drawn to the collection because of the title story, which was one of Wodehouse's only murder mystery stories. It was good; it didn't have the characteristic antics and quips, but it featured a great character named Ms. Snyder who reminded me of Jeeves.

The story "Jeeves in the Springtime" made me snort. Wooster runs into an old friend who's wearing a hideous necktie and he's repulsed by it apparently:

"My God, man!" I gargled. "The cravat! The gent's neckwear! Why? For what reason?"

The last four stories are full of these quips and hijinks, not to mention some wonderful plot twists.

I would recommend this collection to anyone. (Btw, it's currently free from Kindle http://amzn.com/B004TPZYI0.) ( )

Wodehouse always nice, even in minor stories. ( )