I’m a big fan of Edward D. Hoch’s mystery stories so when Crippen & Landru announced The Will O’ the Wisp Mystery I immediately ordered it. The Will O’ the Wisp Mystery is a series of six interconnected stories about David Piper (aka, “The Manhunter”), the head of the Department of Apprehension. After six convicts escape from prison, Piper follows to clues to discover where the escapees are hiding. But, Hoch is a crafty writer so there’s a much larger scheme lurking behind these six stories.
Also included are Father David Noone mystery stories. My favorite of this group is “Game of Skill” where a man threatens to blow up Noone’s church. I also liked “The Thing in Lover’s Lane” where two murders lead to a surprising conclusion.
If you’re a Hoch fan, The Will O’ the Wisp Mystery is a must read book! GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction by Tom Mead — 7
The Will-O’-the-Wisp Mystery
The Pawn — 11
The Rook — 25
The Knight — 41
The Bishop — 57
The Queen — 72
The King — 89
Father David Noone
Game of Skill — 105
The Thing in Lover’s Lane –124
The Sweating Statue — 145
One More Circus — 159
The Arrow of Ice — 176
Hand of God — 189
Searching for Sammy Sand — 205
Sources — 222
Hoch made writing mysteries seem so easy — he wrote nearly a thousand of them, with very, very few clunkers in the bunch. I doubt if there will ever be another short story writer like him.
The Will-o-the-Wisp Mystery was published in six part in EQMM from April though September 1971; each story was published under the pseudonym “Mr. X”. When I first read the stories I thought the author had to be Hoch. (I’m not usually that perceptive in figuring out who is behind a pseudonym; it took a long time for me to realize that “R. E. Porter”, EQMM’s mystery columnist of the early 80s, was also Hoch.)
Jerry, I agree with you that Edward D. Hoch was an incredible writer. Apparently, the series was suggested by Frederic Danny along with the “Mr. X” pseudonym.
There never will be another because very few outlets pay at all for short stories now. And poetry is even worse.
Patti, I just feel like we’ve all lived through the Golden Age of Mystery Short Stories. The magazines are are Life Support, the markets for all short stories and poetry are drying up. The future is AI and digital technology.
George, I’,m glad you reviewed this, because it is the second Hoch book from Crippen & Landru in the last year that I did NOT receive despite a standing order for all their new books. I hope they will replace it quickly, as – like you and Jerry – I am a big fan.
Jeff, you’re having problems with Crippen & Landru and Diane and I are having problems with JETBLUE. They’ve changed our flights THREE TIMES on Thanksgiving. With this latest change, I don’t have a SEAT on the flight back to Buffalo! WTF! Now, I have to call JETBLUE again and go through the wait time and deal with more screwups on their end! And people wonder why I hate to travel…
I agree. I hate air travel.
I read my first Hoch story this year. It made me want to read more of him abut did not make me seek out more of his work, immediately.
Neeru, Edward D. Hoch wrote over a dozen different series of mystery short stories. You might want to check out HOCH’S LADIES, here’ my review: http://georgekelley.org/fridays-forgotten-books-577-hochs-ladies-by-edward-d-hoch/
George, I definitely want this one, even though I still have a lot of Ed Hoch stories unread. But six interconnected stories about David Piper sounds very appealing. Thanks for the review.
Tracy, if you’re an Edward D. Hoch fan, you’ll love this new collection!