“Constant Hearses and Other Revolutionary Mysteries contains not one, but two of Edward D. Hoch’s beloved characters. First are the thirteen stories of Alexander Swift, who works for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Swift deals with many of the leaders of the Revolution, including George Washington, John Adams—and Benedict Arnold. All of the stories are contained in this collection.
The second character is the decidedly flamboyant Gideon Parrot, the Golden Age detective who uses his brain to solve the most baffling of crimes. All five of the stories are included in this collection.” (CRIPPEN & LANDRU)
This is the description you’ll find on the Crippen & Landru web site about their latest Edward D. Hoch collection, Constant Hearses and Other Revolutionary Mysteries (2022). I’ve read several Ed Hoch short story collections and loved them all! Check out the links below after the Table of Contents.
Constant Hearses and Other Revolutionary Mysteries start off with an Alexander Swift story, “The Hudson Chain,” where Swift, an aide to George Washington, is helping protect a massive chain across the Hudson River to protect Washington’s forts. However, there’s a spy working with the British forces intent on destroying the chain. Swift needs to take action to reveal the spy’s identity and save the chain. I was completely fooled! What a wonderful story!
I also loved “Lady of the Impossible” featuring a very different character, Gideon Parrot (pronounced “Poirot”), a blend of Agatha Christie’s detective and John Dickson Carr’s Gideon Fell. A radio star invites Gideon Parrot to her dinner party with several other guests and announces she will be murdered that evening. She locks herself in her bedroom and shows up dead in sunroom downstairs. How did the victim escape the locked room? Who among the guests is a murder? Gideon Parrot knows! Classic Golden Age detection!
If you’re looking for mind-bending mystery stories, Constant Hearses and Other Revolutionary Mysteries provides 18 puzzles to delight you! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction by Brian Skupin — 7
THE REVOLUTIONARY DETECTIONS OF ALEXANDER SWIFT
- The Hudson Chain — 10
- King George’s Gold — 27
- The Uninvited Guest –43
- Duel at Dawn — 60
- The Broken Chain — 72
- Vulture in the Mist — 85
- The Sword of Colonel Ledyard — 100
- St. John and the Dragon — 111
- Constant Hearses — 126
- The Orchard of Caged Birds — 141
- Paul Revere’s Bell — 155
- The Barber’s Toe — 171
- Swift Among the Pirates — 184
THE CLASSICAL DETECTIONS OF GIDEON PARROT
- Lady of the Impossible — 198
- The Man with Five Faces — 212
- The Flying Fiend — 225
- The Cat and Fiddle Murders — 238
- The Doom Balloons — 254
Sources — 269
http://georgekelley.org/fridays-forgotten-books-522/(opens in a new tab)
http://georgekelley.org/forgotten-books-3/(opens in a new tab)
Always readable. always inventive, Hoch was a treasure for the mystery reader. It is impossible to pick a favorite Hoch series detective but Ban Snow (often mistaken for Billy the Kid), Simon Ark (the maybe 2000-year-old Coptic Egyptian), Jules Leopold (the police detective who comes against more than his share of “impossible” crimes), and Sam Hawthorne (the doctor whose small town hosts far more than its share of puzzling homicides) are near the top of my list. Admittedly, Alexander Swift and Gideon Parrot are of less stature (that’s not the word I want but it will do) than those I have noted above, but that is solely because Hoch visited them far less.
Although Hoch concentrated mainly on short stories, I have found his few novels to be consistently entertaining (albeit minor). It’s hard to go wrong with an Ed Hoch story.
Do you have a favorite Hoch character, George?
PS: “Gideon Fell knows!” Fumble fingers, perhaps?
Jerry, thanks for detecting my fumble fingers goof! I’ll correct it. Like you, I’m a huge fan of Hoch’s short stories and have read as many as I can get my hands on. So I’m delighted Crippen & Landru continue to reprint Hoch’s work…which I’m happy to buy! When I started reading Hoch in the 1980s it was Nick Velvet stories that captured my attention.
Do you mean that you began reading Hoch’s own collections in the ’80s? I imagine you encountered his work in the magazines and anthologies going back into the ’60s…the “Hitchcock” anthologies among others had me reading him about the same time I was starting to buy comic books…
Todd, I occasionally read one of Hoch’s stories in various mystery anthologies in the 1970s, but I was still deeply in the SF and fantasy world at that time. I got into mysteries Big Time when I joined DAPA-EM, the mystery apa in the later 1970s. Hoch became a huge favorite of mine in the 1980s.
I agree with George. I really liked this one too. I’ve read all of the Crippen & Landru collections of Hoch’s books – at least a dozen to date. My favorite of his sleuths is Dr. Sam Hawthorne, as much for the historical settings as the impossible crimes.
I looked it up, by the way, and the Hudson Chain was a real thing!
Jeff, I’ve found many of Hoch’s Alexander Swift stories have real historical elements to them.
Happy Birthday to Diane!
Jeff, I took Diane to one of her favorite restaurants: Webster Bistro. It feature French food. Diane had the steak and I had the pork chop. Diane went with the Caesar salad and I went with the Broccoli soup. For dessert, Diane chose the 17 layer Chocolate Cake and I went with the Coconut Cake. Yummy
These do sound very good. I was reading about this book recently, so glad that you covered it. And thanks for your links to your other reviews of Hoch’s short story collections.
Tracy, Ed Hoch was a master of the mystery short story. He published nearly a thousand stories and I’m glad Crippen & Landru are publishing them in wonderful collections!
Amazing that he could write so many series.
Patti, you’re right. Ed Hoch managed to create several characters to solve all those crimes. What a talented guy!
The author has long been on my wishlist. If only there was time enough…
Neeru, I highly recommend Ed Hoch’s short stories. If you enjoy impossible crimes and locked room murders, Hoch delivers plenty of clever puzzles!