Great name for a classic mystery. We for sure know who didn’t do it, but then who did? Driving out to the countryside, London barrister Frank Amberley stops to help a lady on the side of the road. While he’s doing that, he finds a sports car with a dead man behind the wheel. The girl insists she didn’t do it, but who else could have? They’re in the middle of nowhere! Turns out the dead man was the butler at Norton Manor, an estate […]
Blunt Instrument
Everyone liked Ernest Fletcher, or at least, that’s what everyone thought. Until he was bludgeoned to death in his study. The body is discovered by PC Glass, who happened upon the scene when he was on foot patrol. This particular patrolman is also a very religious sort, spouting bible quotes (at least I assume they’re quotes) – he seems to have one for every occasion. There are quite a few suspects: the gadabout nephew who stands to inherit, the put-upon sister who lives with the […]
An Artful Novel
So Dickens chose to write about Oliver Twist, the cherubic little orphan lost in the big bad world. But I think we all know who the more interesting character is – Jack Dawkins, otherwise known as the Artful Dodger. In fact, that’s how the book starts: the preface “reintroduces us to the acclaimed Mr. Jack Dawkins, known to sundry as the Artful Dodger, and laments the inattention paid him as compared to more simpering examples of the day.” The author goes on to explain why […]
And back to Agatha Christie
Back to the old standby, Agatha Christie. When in doubt, I read Christie or Austen. Depends on my mood, really. So, in Chipping Cleghorn, there are only a few options for receiving the news of the day. One option is the Chipping Cleghorn Gazette – and in one morning’s Gazette, there is a notice: “A murder is announced and will take place at Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks, at 6:30 p.m.” Ms. Blacklock, who lives at Little Paddocks, is a bit surprised by this, […]