I’ve been a fan of Edward D. Hoch’s work for decades. Some of his best work can be found in this Crippen & Landru collection, Diagnosis: Impossible (The Problems of Dr. Sam Hawthorne). Hoch specialized in locked room mysteries and other “impossible” crimes. With the Sam Hawthorne stories, Hoch features a lead character who is a physician which comes in handy when solving some of these conundrums. The settings are in New England in the 1920s. The bonus in this volume is Marv Lachman’s useful chronology. If you enjoy great story-telling and puzzle mystery stories, Diagnosis Murder is the book for you.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
The problem of the covered bridge
The problem of the old gristmill
The problem of the lobster shack
The problem of the haunted bandstand
The problem of the locked caboose
The problem of the little red schoolhouse
The problem of the Christmas steeple
The problem of cell 16
The problem of the country inn
The problem of the voting booth
The problem of the county fair
The problem of the old oak tree
A Dr. Sam Hawthorne chronology / Marvin Lachman.
George, never read anything by Edward D. Hoch and this looks pretty interesting as do the table of contents.
Prashant, Edward D. Hoch was a master of locked-room and “impossible” mystery short stories. I highly recommend all his collections.
I really enjoy Hoch’s Sam Hawthorne stories, and this is a fine collection.
Bill, I enjoyed DIAGNOSIS: IMPOSSIBLE so much I ordered two more Sam Hawthorne collections.
Well, of course I’ve read the three collections (Diagnosis: Impossible [1996]; More Things Impossible [2006]; and Nothing is Impossible [2014]) as Dr. Sam’s historical tales – the latest collection goes to 1936 – are probably my favorite Hoch stories. Impossible crimes, small town setting, historical perspective – how can you go wrong in the hands of a master?
Jeff, well said! I love these Hoch stories. They are always clever and entertaining. I’ll be reviewing MORE THINGS IMPOSSIBLE and NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE in the weeks ahead.
I love these stories George and can’t wait to get my hands on the third collection of Hawthorne impossible crimes.
Sergio, I have all three Sam Hawthorne collections. I’ve read many of stories over the years, but it’s great to have them all in such attractive books!
What Jeff said. Have them, read them, liked them. Good, fun stories.
Rick, I have some other Hoch collections, but these Sam Hawthorne stories are my favorites.