tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post3896893220265429609..comments2024-03-27T22:32:02.739+01:00Comments on Beneath the Stains of Time: My Favorite Locked Room Mysteries I: The Novels (Updated: Jan 3, 2015)TomCathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-32093600635648827372022-03-30T15:08:49.356+02:002022-03-30T15:08:49.356+02:00The revised, updated list is coming next month. The revised, updated list is coming next month. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-65765315608369000712022-02-14T03:07:07.192+01:002022-02-14T03:07:07.192+01:00Only if you will update both lists,and fill the mi...Only if you will update both lists,and fill the middle months with impossible crimes.<br /><br />No,not the site but I have a great idea which can become a short stor,will you read it?Mysterybloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05495648805008200117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-87072424732670592972022-02-05T22:59:13.094+01:002022-02-05T22:59:13.094+01:00I've started on updating the list, but don'...I've started on updating the list, but don't expect it to be finished or posted for another two, three months. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-48175506314394405142022-01-22T22:58:49.225+01:002022-01-22T22:58:49.225+01:00Yeah, I know, I know. The lists are hopelessly out...Yeah, I know, I know. The lists are hopelessly outdated and really need to stop being lazy about it and get to work. But when the lists eventually get an overhaul, they'll probably be merged (novels and short stories) into one without plot descriptions. Only a list of titles with links to reviews. Probably divided in categories (pre-GAD, GAD, post-GAD and non-English). That would be the best way to do it now. <br /><br />Did you find the website that mentioned <i>The Bronze Devil</i>?TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-90636645484042206792022-01-22T16:49:04.317+01:002022-01-22T16:49:04.317+01:00Now it's starting of another year and you have...Now it's starting of another year and you haven't added anything to either of lists(at least do for short stories),and hey I have a good news about the bronze devil.Mysterybloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05495648805008200117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-35825859433138038672020-10-06T18:57:04.014+02:002020-10-06T18:57:04.014+02:00Glad to hear,and hey locked room international pub...Glad to hear,and hey locked room international published a new book of Marcel lanteaume 'the thirteenth bullet'.just mentioning.Mysterybloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05495648805008200117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-60512186488738408212020-10-06T11:20:44.057+02:002020-10-06T11:20:44.057+02:00The plan is to redo the whole list in a new post, ...The plan is to redo the whole list in a new post, but no idea when. Maybe early next year. TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-79580594685234896572020-10-06T08:28:55.867+02:002020-10-06T08:28:55.867+02:00Aren't you going to renew this list with some ...Aren't you going to renew this list with some more titlesMysterybloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05495648805008200117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-51639830008026070072016-05-12T12:37:37.654+02:002016-05-12T12:37:37.654+02:00Ellery Queen's A Room to Die In has a good and...Ellery Queen's <i>A Room to Die In</i> has a good and original locked room solution, but that's about the only good part from the book. Everything written around that trick was subpar at best. There's very little about Carr not to love and pretty much agree on Leroux and Zangwill. <br /><br />Anyhow, thanks for your comment!<br />TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-5317309690253536202016-05-12T11:18:00.806+02:002016-05-12T11:18:00.806+02:00I always thought that the Yellow Room's soluti...I always thought that the Yellow Room's solution was a bit disappointing - but I still see ist value in Locked Room history. The Big Bow Mystery is still ingenious. Carr-wise I always liked the obvious ones (Judas Window, Hollow Man, Arabian Nights Murder), but also He Wouldn't Kill Patience, A Graveyard To Let (with a Swimming pool disappearance!) and if I remember correctly And So To Murder. For German readers I can recommend Die Burg der Alchimisten by Peter Gustav Bargschat. Ellery Queen's A Room To Die In Features a new solution to the old problem. It's not the "real" Ellery Queen and the book isn't a page turner, but the solution still stands out. These are just the thoughts I've come up with at the spot of the moment...Dietmarhttp://www.thepolicewiki.org/Police_wiki/index.php?title=Main_Pagenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-8766920493855425732016-03-15T08:37:27.248+01:002016-03-15T08:37:27.248+01:00You're welcome. I hope you'll enjoy them a...You're welcome. I hope you'll enjoy them as much as I have! TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-5163132047047151272016-03-15T00:51:55.721+01:002016-03-15T00:51:55.721+01:00I have found your blog to be invaluable. I'm a...I have found your blog to be invaluable. I'm a huge Carr fan and thanks to you I have bought several titles by other authors. Nine Times Nine, Too Many Ghosts, Rim Of The Pit, Black Aura, and The Stingaree Murders to name a few. I haven't read them yet but I just started Nine Times Nine. Thanks for the good work you're doing!Bradhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01686555333603605203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-56969436819162421992012-03-16T22:48:55.403+01:002012-03-16T22:48:55.403+01:00A great list TC though there are limitations for m...A great list TC though there are limitations for me for those titles not available in Italian or English so I'm afraid that I can't say I've read more than 14 of them, though I do have a couple more on the shelves at least. Yet to take the plunge with Halter, a pleasure I am saving for a rainy day. I'm such a sucker for John Dickson Carr that I wouldn't want to do without any of your choices, though I might add HE WOULDN'T KILL PATIENCE and TEN TEACUPS / PEACOCK FEATHER MYSTERY which I remain inordinately fond of. <br /><br />If you ever decide to give the Martin beck series again, THE ABOMINABLE MAN is a really, really strong entry.Sergio (Tipping My Fedora)http://bloodymurder.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-91792002794335913032012-03-10T08:48:38.111+01:002012-03-10T08:48:38.111+01:00Some late, late responses:
@Patrick:
Yes, we ...Some late, late responses: <br /><br />@Patrick: <br /><br />Yes, we had this discussion before and I stand by my opinion that <i>What a Body!</i> is not only an original ripple in the locked room genre, but also a masterpiece (see pass discussions for supporting arguments). <br /><br />@John: <br /><br />Incomprehensible is one way of describing <i>Dead Box</i>, but I very much doubt that Marsh could fall back on being a high school student as an excuse for creating this <i>thing</i>. <br /><br />According to the back cover of the paperback edition we are dealing with a man who authored over a 100 newspaper columns dealing with crime and lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, son and a cat named Patchwork. So unless he started this family during his school career we're dealing here with a thoroughly bad writer instead of an inexperienced one. <br /><br />I still think you should read the book, though. The review would be hilarious! ;) <br /><br />@Curt: <br /><br />I'm afraid that particular book just didn't do it for me. <br /><br />@Pattinase: <br /><br />When I was just getting into detective stories, I gave them a shot and I despised them so much that I almost turned my back on the genre before I had really begun exploring the field. Thankfully, I had already began picking up Christie at the time and had pretty much read everything by Baantjer - who kept me in the game. <br /><br />So no Sjowal and Wahloo for this mystery addict. <br /><br />@JIM: <br /><br />I have been tempted to add Kelley Roos to this list, but the impossible crime from <i>Sailor, Take Warning!</i> is literarily a redressing of one of the oldest tricks in the book and thought the semi-impossible situation in <i>The Frightened Stiff</i> was not enough to justify a spot on this list.TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-77739043632215739872012-03-09T03:14:38.135+01:002012-03-09T03:14:38.135+01:00I am curious just where the Kelley Roos book, Sail...I am curious just where the Kelley Roos book, Sailor, Take Warning! fits in with this list. I know you regard it quite highly, so I was surprised by its absence.JIMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-23536199325709198862012-03-08T23:23:01.449+01:002012-03-08T23:23:01.449+01:00No, THE LOCKED ROOM by Sjowal and Wahloo? I rememb...No, THE LOCKED ROOM by Sjowal and Wahloo? I remember it as great but I was twenty then. Maybe not.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-54393862928242423962012-03-08T20:26:53.029+01:002012-03-08T20:26:53.029+01:00Patrick, I was somewhat disappointed with the Merl...Patrick, I was somewhat disappointed with the Merlini novels too.<br /><br />I liked Bronze Lamp, myself, though the impossible part isn't his greatest.<br /><br />TomCat, I liked the "comedy of manners" stuff in Death Leaves No Card. There's actually quite a bit of satire in there (the "Insititute for Incurable Imbeciles"). <br /><br />Granted, Arnold is not a thilling detective. I was amused when Merrion sent him the telegram saying he couldn't solve his case for him this time because he had flu. Didn't that ever happen to Campion or Wimsey? I think Street must have started to wonder whether Arnold could ever solve a case on his own. He has three solos without Merrion as I recollect and this one is the most complex (there's an earlier one he appears in with another amateur tec type, though he's a lot smarted and sophisticated in that one--Arnold got dumbed down over the course of the Burton series).The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-16361970177670799462012-03-08T17:30:54.528+01:002012-03-08T17:30:54.528+01:00RE: DEAD BOX and David Louis Marsh. I read one of ...RE: DEAD BOX and David Louis Marsh. I read one of Mr. Marsh's short stories at his website and it was utterly incomprehensible. It began with a puerile sex scene between a doctor and nurse hiding in a supply closet and kissing each other like two horny adolescents while the woman character writhed and groaned like some pulp magazine nympho. But all they did was kiss. No sex described at all. I get the feeling from what I read that Mr. Marsh is a devout Christian (he goes out of his way to point out that the Brown family reads the Bible after dinner in one scene) and I guess writing about sex beyond rabid frenzied kissing would be too much for him. I also get the feeling he is very young or very naive. I'd like to imagine that the story was written by someone in junior high school and NOT an adult, but you never know these days. A sampling of the first chapter of DEAD BOX was too painful to get through after the mess of his short story which by the way does not solve any of the purported "impossibilities" in the tale. A "mystery" with no solution - what's the point? (Is Mr. Marsh emulating Kay Cleaver Strahan? Bet he never heard of her.) But it didn't really matter since the story wasn't even a story. To paraphrase Truman Capote: it's not writing, it's just typing.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-27738097486197352742012-03-08T16:11:16.779+01:002012-03-08T16:11:16.779+01:00Incidentally, I just noticed this but I believe th...Incidentally, I just noticed this but I believe the Martin Meroy title should be spelled "Meurtre en chambre noir".<br /><br />As for disagreements, I could go and list some more. Don't think you're just getting away by throwing THE CURSE OF THE BRONZE LAMP at us! I refuse to accept WHAT A BODY! We've had this discussion before, but I think that while the situation is ingenious, the clueing is inept. The author stresses the incredible superhuman feats a murderer would have to achieve to commit the murder so much, that he only draws attention to the *real* way the murder was committed. And all the false solutions are half-realizible, shaky ones that are thrown at you in a bunch in an alcoholic stupor. Hardly "one-of-the-best-locked-room-stories" material.<br /><br />Clayton Rawson is... interesting. He keeps flip-flopping between brilliant ideas and ideas that make me wonder what on earth he'd been drinking at the time. THE HEADLESS LADY is worth reading for two thigng: (1) the beginning (2) a great escape by The Great Merlini from prison. Apart from that, it's very unremarkable to say the least. THE FOOTPRINTS ON THE CEILING has a great opening and a great discussion on poisons, but by the end the twist is rather obvious. DEATH FROM A TOP HAT is a masterpiece of plotting, with only one flaw in the whole patchwork, and that is the ridiculous explanation of the second locked room when Merlini had a perfectly acceptable explanation ready, that was only rendered invalid by the author's say-so.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-50568563653040669182012-03-07T18:17:42.976+01:002012-03-07T18:17:42.976+01:00Well, I guess I did a pretty good job at this list...Well, I guess I did a pretty good job at this list when the only real complaint is the inclusion of <i>The Curse of the Bronze Lamp</i>. :) <br /><br />Quick notes: <br /><br />@mousoukyoko: <br /><br />I like lists, too, but the problem they give me is that I constantly want to revise them. When I look back at the one with my favorite detective novels, compiled only last year, I want to delete it and start from scratch again – as there are so many glaring omissions and new titles to add. <br /><br />Herbert Resnicow is all but forgotten today, but his books, thankfully, are fairly easy to obtain and not all that expensive, either – especially the paperback editions. So you should be able to get your hands on <i>The Dead Room</i> without much of a problem or a huge financial setback. ;) And I hope you will enjoy the book as much as I have. <br /><br />@Patrick: <br /><br />Your recommendation will be taken under review later this year! ;) <br /><br />@John: <br /><br />I think you would do us all a huge favor if you would compile that list as soon as possible, but before you do you have to read <i>Dead Box</i>! <br /><br />@Curt (The Passing Tramp): <br /><br />I have read <i><a href="http://moonlight-detective.blogspot.com/2011/07/death-cant-be-locked-out.html" rel="nofollow">Death Leaves No Card</a></i> and reviewed it here, but reading back my comments it's safe to say that I was not impressed. <br /><br /><i>Hercule Poirot's Christmas</i> is OK as a detective story, however, I never understood why people think it's one her trickiest whodunits (I solved this one when I was newbe) and the immediate, off-hand explanation of the locked room angle disqualifies it, IMHO, as an impossible crime story. Has anyone ever notice Nicholas Blake gave the locked room the same treatment in <i>The Case of the Abominable Snowman</i>, which, also, happens to be Christmas mystery? I think either Strangeways or one of the policemen even jokes about it ("<i>oh did the murderer really uses such an obvious trick</i>," or something along similar lines). <br /><br />@Puzzle Doctor: <br /><br />To be honest, I could've filled this entire list with Carr alone and it still would've been a great list. So picking only a few of them was the hardest part in compiling this list. <br /><br />Looking forward to reading your thoughts on <i>Captain Cut-Throat</i>.TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-5038672203370005272012-03-07T08:15:34.941+01:002012-03-07T08:15:34.941+01:00A great list, TomCat, but I'll have to side wi...A great list, TomCat, but I'll have to side with the anti-Curse of the Bronze Lamp lobbyists! I'd personally put The Reader Is Warned quite a way ahead of it.<br /><br />And being vaguely controversial, I'd bump He Who Whispers because, much as I love it as a novel, part of the solution always felt ludicrous to me - what someone physically has to do (if you've read it, you know what I mean) and that soured it a little for me. Personally, I'd add in Til Death Do Us Part and The Black Spectacles/Problem of the Green Capsule... possibly above the theatricality of The Hollow Man.<br /><br />Must get round to reading Captain Cutthroat now...Puzzle Doctorhttp://classicmystery.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-36905489369611648302012-03-07T08:10:24.246+01:002012-03-07T08:10:24.246+01:00What do you think of Christie's Hercule Poirot...What do you think of Christie's Hercule Poirot's Christmas, by the way?<br /><br />I liked the comment in one Ngaio Marsh story, from Alleyn: "Don't let's have any nonsense about locked rooms." Georgette Heyer hated Carr too, though she has one herself in Envious Casca.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-20366077472807899772012-03-07T08:06:59.440+01:002012-03-07T08:06:59.440+01:00Interesting list! I will add my John Street locke...Interesting list! I will add my John Street locked room favorites, Invisible Weapons (1938), Death Leaves No Card (1939) and The Cat Jumps (1946). He has some other true and demi locked room situations, but these are my favorites.<br /><br />Freeman Wills Crofts' locked room in Sudden Death is quite disappointing, I think. He has a better one in The End of Andrew Harrison, though it's a comparatively minor element.<br /><br />Connington has a good impossible crime element in Tragedy at Ravensthorpe.<br /><br />Of course in the Streets the "how" or means element, while usually not strictly impossible, often is so involved and fascinating that it has much of the same intrinsic interest as a locked room problem, I think. It also may help explain the great friendship that Street and Carr had (along with their hatred of Puritanism and their love of drink). Carr however combined this with a near Christie level skill at clueing that Street mostly lacked (with some notable exceptions like Murder M.D.).The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-67196358140832392352012-03-07T01:46:59.824+01:002012-03-07T01:46:59.824+01:00I've read only 22 of these (a little more than...I've read only 22 of these (a little more than half) and I agree with many of them as being noteworthy - especially the two Japanese books you listed. Glad to see THE SLEEPING BACCHUS made your list which has become one of my all time favorites in the whole genre. I don't think, however, CURSE OF THE BRONZE LAMP deserves being put on any list. To me it's a retread of a famous Chesterton tale. I agree with Patrick, too. I dislike the ending - almost as big an anticlimax as the ending in THE WYCHFORD POISONING CASE by Berkeley.<br /><br />One of these days I'll make a list of the <i>worst</i> locked room/impossible crime books. I've certainly read a lot of them and I'd have a ball writing that up!J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5516189026477178777.post-85057040516115510252012-03-06T18:42:55.973+01:002012-03-06T18:42:55.973+01:00I personally don't love coming up with lists, ...I personally don't love coming up with lists, but I do love reading them, especially when people give some brief reasons for why this book was included and this one wasn't.<br /><br />It's an interesting list. I wouldn't agree with all of the entries (I've always found "the Curse of the Bronze Lamp" nothing but supreme silliness with a cop-out happy ending) but there are definitely books of interest on there.<br /><br />But where, oh where is LE DIABLE DE DARTMOOR? I expect it to appear on this list as soon as it is published in English! ;)Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.com