Last week I reviewed Erle Stanley Gardner’s Sheriff Bill Eldon stories (you can read my review here). The third and last Sheriff Bill Eldon story was reprinted after 30 years in Ellery Queen’s Secrets of Mystery which was published in 1979.
After reading Erle Stanley Gardner’s “The Clue of the Screaming Woman,” I read the rest of the stories in Ellery Queen’s Secrets of Mystery. I’m a Hugh Pentecost fan and “Jerico and the Studio Murders” delivers a compelling story with a twist at the end.
James M. Ullman is a writer new to me. I found his “Operation Bonaparte” a clever puzzle where two investigators chase a criminal on the run and try to recover his “treasure chest” of wealth. The last line of the story is classic!
My favorite stories in Ellery Queen’s Secrets of Mystery are the three Edward D. Hoch stories. Captain Leopold and his team chases a kidnapper and thief. Nick Velvet gets kidnapped but still figures out a way to steal a worthless object. In “The Spy at the End of the Rainbow” Hoch’s British spy Rand has to solve the murder at a conference in Egypt. All three stories show Hoch at the top of his game.
I found Ellery Queen’s Secrets of Mystery entertaining and so will you. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Erle Stanley Gardner: “The Clue of the Screaming Woman” — 9
Victor Canning: “A Stroke of Genius” — 80
Florance V. Mayberry: “Out of the Dream Stumbling” — 88
Lawrence Treat: “A As in Alibi” — 99
Robert Edward Eckel: The Last One to Know” — 110
Hugh Pentecost: “Jerico and the Studio Murders” — 121
Robert Bloch: ” The Man Who Never Did Anything Right” — 134
Lawrence G. Blochman: “The Killer With No Fingerprints” — 137
Phyllis Ann Karr: “Blood Money” — 160
Lloyd Biggie, Jr. “Have You a Fortune in Your Attic?” — 166
Brian W. Aldiss: “The Lonely Habit” — 182
Vincent McConnor: “Just Like Inspector Maigret” — 190
James M. Ullman: “Operation Bonaparte” — 201
Barry Perowne: “The Raffles Bombshell” — 217
Ellery Queen: “Uncle From Australia” — 234
Edward D. Hoch Tripleheader:
“Captain Leopold Gets Angry” — 239
“The Theft of Nick Velvet” — 253
“The Spy at the End of the Rainbow” — 267
Back in the sixties I read all the genre magazines mostly cover to cover. So, most of these writers are familiar to me, except Vincent McConnor, Robert Eckel, Florence Mayverry, and Phyllis Karr. Didn’t know Aldiss and Biggle wrote any mystery stories. I remember the Treat series exampled here. Always liked Hoch. I need to read more of him. Missing are EQMM regulars, Robert Fish, Avram Davidson, and Stanley Ellin. Looks like a solid collection.
Mayberry. No RFD. She was a fairly regular contributor, too.
Steve, the reason I originally bought ELLERY QUEEN’S SECRETS OF MYSTERY was the long lost Sheriff Bill Eldon story highlighted on the cover. The rest of the stories were good with the Hoch stories standing out.
I don’t recognize that Bloch story…and this would’ve been one of the last “Dannay” anthologies (unless he’d already ceded that task to Eleanor Sullivan). Does look good.
Todd, I’m pretty sure Dannay edited this volume. The introductions to each story match the style from previous anthologies Dannay edited. And, they include a photo of Dannay, too.
I wonder how many stories Hoch has written.
Patti, GOOGLE says Ed Hoch wrote over 950 stories.
Patti, I think it was between 900-1000 but I could be wrong.
You can’t go wrong with the long Gardner story and three Hochs, and the rest of the list of authors is good too. Nice choice.
Jeff, I was after the ESG’s Sheriff Bill Eldon stories. The rest of the stories were a bonus.
A good mix of authors, themes, and styles. Even the lesser known authors have produced some pretty good tales for EQMM. There is probably not a turkey in the bunch.
Jerry, I thought the quality of the stories in ELLERY QUEEN’S SECRETS TO MYSTERY was high. No turkeys. But I enjoyed the Hoch stories most.
There are a lot of stories there I would like to read. I like Victor Canning’s writing and it looks like “A Stroke of Genius” is in a short story book I have already so I will look for it there.
Tracy, I’m also fond of Victor Canning’s work. “A Stroke of Genius” is a clever story with some unusual characters.