A Year with Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine: September 1951

Despite my blog reviewing backlog I am still managing to read one Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (EQMM) issue a month and I have to admit with my recent reads I have jumped ahead to look at the Detective Directory section first. Unusually this issue has two double page spreads for this section, which contain snippets of reviews for mysteries that were published that month. The critics quoted from include:

• Anthony Boucher (The New York Times)
• Elizabeth Bullock (The New York Times)
• August Derleth (The Madison, Wisconsin Capitol Times)
• Dorothy B. Hughes (The Los Angeles Daily News)
• Rex Lardner (The New York Times)
• Nancie Matthews (The New York Times)
• Robert P. Mills (who edits the Detective Directory)
• Lenore Glen Offord (The San Francisco Chronicle)
• Kathleen Sproul (The Saturday Review of Literature)
• Unsigned Review (The New York Herald Tribune)
• John Sutherland (The New York Times)

With double the number of pages this means a lot more books were reviewed in this issue, and the first double page spread includes the following titles:

• Alias Basil Willing by Helen McCloy
• Accident by Design by E. C. R. Lorac
• The Case of the Fiery Fingers by Erle Stanley Gardner
• Too Many Bottles by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
• Pity for Pamela by Mary Fitt
• Reasonable Doubt by John Stephen Strange
• The Ivory Dagger by Patricia Wentworth
• The Professor Knits a Shroud by Wirt Van Arsdale

The story which receives the most negative comments is Mary Fitt’s Pity for Pamela. Lenore Glen Offord at best opines that it is ‘rewarding in a gloomy way’, whilst a review in The New York Herald Tribune writes that the ‘…element of mystery is almost negligible … chief quality is rather the atmosphere of impending tragedy.’ Meanwhile Kathleen Sproul notes that it is an ‘interesting study … but suspense… interferes with validity and validity with suspense.’ Erle Stanley Gardner’s The Case of the Fiery Fingers also receives some lukewarm reviews from Lenore Glen Offord who asserts that ‘the denouement seems unusually weak and disappointing’ while the unsigned reviewer remarks that ‘there’s no time wasted on either writing or characterisation. But as pure puzzle, it’s supreme.’ Moreover, Anthony Boucher opines that this is ‘not the best’ Perry Mason mystery. However, the two stories which received the most consistent praise are those written by Helen McCloy and Elisabeth Sanxay Holding. Robert P. Mills remarks upon McCloy’s ‘unusual ingenuity’ whilst the unsigned reviewer refers to her ‘ability to delve rather more deeply into character than the average mystery writer.’ Whereas Lenore Glen Offord writes that Holding’s mystery ‘packs in enough suspense, emotion and sheer wallop for one twice its size’ and Anthony Boucher concludes that it is ‘one of the season’s shortest but strongest shockers.’

Moving on to the second double page spread of reviews the following eight titles were included:

• Strangler’s Serenade by William Irish (a.k.a. Cornell Woolrich)
• Curtains for Three by Rex Stout
• Framed in Blood by Brett Halliday
• Murder Comes Home by Anthony Gilbert
• Too Dangerous to be Free by James Hadley Chase
• Murder is the Pay-Off by Leslie Ford
• Exit for a Dame by Richard Ellington
• Diplomatic Corpse by Phoebe Atwood Taylor

William Irish’s Strangler’s Serenade divided the critics. Lenore Glen Offord suggests that the ‘suspense is fine, but the attempted humour and pathos aren’t’, whilst an unsigned review notes the ‘strong and compelling suspense … clarity of detail’. Although the same review acknowledges that the ‘plot [is] too slim … to place this among his best.’ Conversely, John Sutherland describes it as a ‘freewheeling nightmare of high-pressure terrorism’ with a ‘few inconsistencies, but … suspense … almost unbearable.’ Finally, Robert P. Mills sums it up as ‘headlong, breathless, and gripping as always.’ The slimness of Rex Sout’s offering also crops up a couple of times in the reviews with August Derleth, for example, saying that ‘Nero Wolfe needs more room to expand’. Praise for James Hadley Chase’s Too Dangerous to Be Free is muted to say the least with commentators like Nancie Matthews writing that the ‘identity of the villain will surprise no one, but if you like to read about violence, murder and inanity, they are … here.’ On the other hand, Anthony Gilbert’s book fares much better with an unsigned review describing it as ‘cleverly plotted and eminently readable’, whilst Lenore Glen Offord says it is a ‘rollicking example of the straight detective story, skilfully done.’

A more risque cover than I was expecting! It also doesn’t have relate to any of the stories in the issue.

Opening Challenge: The Problem of the Desolate Rock by Ernest Dudley

This is the third Snip Carton puzzle to be included in the EQMM issues of 1951 and an accompanying image to the puzzle depicts how ‘he is about to meet a particularly unpleasant death unless he – or you – can devise an inspired method of escape.’ On a cliff track he faces bandits with knifes to the left of him, a big lorry full of crooks driving thundering towards him on the right and a boulder descending from above. I didn’t have any idea as to the solution, but I think this is a fun exercise for those who have right sort of mind for working it out.

Story No. 1: ‘Charlie Won’t Be Home Tonight’ (1939) by Cornell Woolrich

Before the story begins Ellery Queen’s introduction to it shares an anecdote of how Woolrich first supposedly became an author:

‘The cause was an old sneaker – an old soft-soled canvas gym-shoe […] The sneaker rubbed one of Mr Woolrich’s heels raw. Because of the resultant infection, Cornell had to keep his foot up on a chair for about six weeks. By the time he started walking again, he had a lapful of scrawled yellow paper, and he had acquired a habit – the writing habit’.

If this is true then it is certainly an unusual form of ill health to have led to writing. Recovering from flu was a more common inspiration illness as several Golden Age Detective fiction authors began their writing careers whilst recuperating from this illness. Examples include Brian Flynn and Freeman Wills Crofts.

In Woolrich’s story the police are after a criminal, who once again manages to escape during a shootout. The criminal they are after has been targeting cigar stores for 5 weeks and is named ‘The Phantom’. The narrative quickly sets up the possibility that Captain Keene’s son is the thief-killer, which naturally places Keene in a moral dilemma and also in desperate need of definite proof of his son’s guilt or innocence. I enjoyed this story as the author keeps you guessing as to what the ending will be, despite the limited options. Woolrich has been an author who has consistently provided me with enjoyable reads, and I am glad this story continued that tradition.

Story No. 2: ‘Flowers for an Angel’ by Nigel Morland

This story was the first appearance of Morland’s series character, Mrs Pym, in EQMM. According to Morland and as reported by Ellery Queen, the idea for Mrs Pym came from Morland’s first mentor Edgar Wallace:

‘Think over, he said, the idea of a woman detective: make her middle-aged – tough – difficult to get along with – and a know-it-all. Wallace even suggested a name – call her Mrs Pym. And, yes, put her in Scotland Yard – give her some power there – and let her run wild.’

Queen further wrote that:

‘Mrs Pym evolve slowly. It was six years before she came to life. She turned out to be the direct antithesis of every known female ferret. She is not young. She dresses badly, in ugly tweeds. She is rough, tough, and hardboiled. She is grim-looking, harsh in her speech and manner […] She is strong enough physically to depend on her own fists […] Yet, it cannot be said that she is a masculine woman.’

Mrs Pym’s first published appearance was in novel form, in the 1934, in a mystery called The Moon Murders. Apparently, the public loved her, but the critics did not. Yet it seems that after Wallace’s death, another leading light of the day took over the role of teaching Morland how to write:

 ‘On later books, “Torquemada” of “The Observer” […] took Edgar Wallace’s place in Morland’s life, and patiently, tirelessly, showed Nigel how to write more muscularly’.

Dare I ask how one writes more muscularly?

The story included in this issue of EQMM ‘relates to a case which occurred before 1935, before she became the indomitable Mrs Assistant-Commissioner of Scotland Yard’. It takes place in China where she ended up becoming a detective sergeant in the Shanghai Municipal Police Force. The narrator is a reporter in the area and is a friend of hers. The pair come across a rich man’s wife, whose corpse is found in a dinghy. Mrs Pym is determined to have control of the case, as so far, she has been fobbed off with traffic assignments. To that end she hides useful evidence from Inspector Gaylor, and charges into the investigation like bull in a china shop. She makes Edmund Crispin’s Gervase Fen look like a model driver and I loved the line which reads: ‘Mrs Pym always drives as if she’s one minute ahead of death.’ However, that is the only thing that I did enjoy about the story, as Mrs Pym’s threatening interview style did not really win me over, nor the solution which is not guessable and has humour which failed miserably.  

Story No. 3: ‘Travelling Light’ (1935) by W. R. Burnett

The story kicks off with Johnny stopping for lunch at a roadside diner. He is a hitchhiker who is making his way to Los Angeles through Arizona. A noisy car rocks up with two dust covered men with bloodshot eyes. They ask Johnny to drive their car as fast as he can to El Portal. They claim one of them has a “sick wife” to rush to. Naturally we do not believe them. Alas Johnny does and ends up with more than he bargained for (in bad and good ways).

Story No. 4: ‘The Case of the Peculiar Precautions’ (1939) by Rufus King

Dr Colin Starr is asked by the district attorney to solve a murder of a retired judge, who was seemingly killed with a component from his own wheelchair. The narrative then has the DA sum up the evidence and witness testimony gathered to date. This style was rendered quite dull and worse the solution contains multiple pieces of withheld evidence that only the DA and the doctor know about.

Story No. 5: ‘O, Time in Your Flight’ (1951) by Vincent Cornier

Ellery Queen tell us that: ‘In its original version, as first submitted to EQMM’s Sixth Annual Contest, it was a full length story. The plot was complicated, but buried among the complexities was a magnificent plot-device – something new and fresh and stimulating […] So, we suggested to Mr Cornier that he do a drastic rewrite’ cutting the word count from 7000 down to 2000.

I think the new snappiness is evident in writing style, with the beginning of the story very quickly informing us about the shooting of Benjamin Jaffa, the jewels stolen from his safe, and his love of clocks. He is a horologist, a collector of rare clocks, and the second bullet which killed Jaffa seemingly also stopped one of these clocks, a clock that could not be tampered with. The police are stumped due to other evidence, until a friend of the victim is called in, Barnabas Hildreth, a secret service chief. The remainder of the story has him telling us the solution – as very little is given out about his own investigations. The mystery has a solution which requires several pieces of expert knowledge, and I am unsure how many readers would possess all of them. In some ways sadly, this story felt like it was made to fit the gimmick.

Story No. 6: ‘The Shakespeare Title-Page Mystery’ (1940) by Carolyn Wells

Wells’ story ‘first appeared in 1940 in “The Dolphin”, published by the Limited Editions Club’. Carolyn Wells was a big collector of first editions herself, so the literary, book collecting theme of the story is recreated well and I think she does poke a little fun at this hobby. The mystery centres on Leigh Herenden who has a giant library, although he is a collector who prefers books to be found for him, rather than having to hunt them down himself. He claims to now possess a first edition of Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis and intends to hold a gathering on Sunday to show it off. Another collector says he has one too and he is also told to bring it on that day. The reader is allowed to see that there is something shady about Herenden’s acquisition. On the Sunday, the rival book collector brings his own expert, who claims Herenden’s copy is a fake. Has there been a switch? Herenden invites a second expert to visit, but they are murdered before they could arrive. What has been going on? The solution has some guessable elements, but it does involve some technical knowledge to do with books and some of the clues are visual, so are not accessible to the reader.

Story No. 7: ‘The Spy’ by Rafael Sabatini

This is the final Count Alessandro’s Cagliostro short story to be included in the 1951 EQMM issues – something I was very happy about, as I do not get on with them at all. Count Cagliostro is a confidence trickster in 18^th century France who gets away with his claims that he has the ‘elixir of life’. A royal official called Armand de Bazancourt is investigating the Count and his supposed miracles, in this tale. He infiltrates the group, yet his feigned romantic interest in the Count’s wife, becomes his undoing when he forgets his love is fake and falls for her. You can tell he will be no match for the Count and whilst the ending has the nature of a Shakespearian jape, it is very predictable.

Story No. 8: ‘L’Affaire Antoine by Pierre Boileau (Trans. Anthony Boucher)

Suzanne Ruchet vanishes on Monday. Over the next week more women disappear, and each time one man’s name is linked to their lives: Antoine. He is marrying a rich woman next week. You could say the police have it easy with a ready-made suspect, but something is not adding up. I would say the story has an interesting finale, but that it is not perfectly executed. One reason for this is the fact the reader does not have enough background information.

Story No. 9: ‘The Mystery of Andorus Enterprises’ by T. S. Stribling

Ellery Queen explain before the story commences how this tale is not written like the other Professor Poggioli mysteries. The author told them that he was ‘tiring of his old formula – murder, hunt, another murder, then discovery.’ Queen further added that ‘he didn’t tire of it because he no longer thinks it good […] but [that he] doesn’t want his Poggioli investigations to run the slightest risk of becoming stereotyped.’

The opening of the story has a strong Sherlock Holmes vibe as we are told that:

‘The tallish youth in the living room of our Acacia Street apartment asked Professor Henry Poggioli if he could tell by just looking at him who he was and what he wanted? Now a question like that, somewhat flattering and completely silly, irks me; but my friend took it as an opportunity for an exhibition.’

After Poggioli performs his party piece, we learn that the visitor is a newspaper reporter called Gebhardt. He has a story to write up but wants Poggioli to make a mystery out of it, because as it stands ‘it’s really a tear-jerker’ of a news item and apparently Gebhardt is not good at writing that sort of thing. The news item concerns a woman giving away her tenth child, due to financial difficulties and Andorus Enterprises are the big company who have generously offered to help find it a home. Poggioli’s suspicions are initially raised by his belief that it is illogical for a couple to give away their 10^th child:

‘Don’t you know that the first child any couple has is the most expensive to rear, the second less so, the third still less and so on. Finally, when a woman has nine children she can rear the tenth without any perceptible extra cost, beyond the hospital fees for her confinement. So to give away a tenth baby to save expense doesn’t make sense.’

Would any parents reading this agree? Whilst the reader will twig that the big business is up to something shady, the complicated plot is definitely told rather than shown to the reader and the ending is quite ambiguous.

Story No. 10: ‘Mr Loveday’s Little Outing’ by Evelyn Waugh

I wonder how many writers would say they functioned in a similar way but according to Ellery Queen, Evelyn Waugh’s writing habits were as follows: ‘for every three or four hours of actual writing, he spends twelve to eighteen hours thinking about what to write.’ ‘Mr Loveday’s Little Outing’ begins with Angela and her mother Lady Moping going to visit Lord Moping who was committed to the county asylum, 10 years ago after he had tried to kill himself at the annual garden party. His wife has never forgiven him for this social embarrassment. Yet whilst this is the reason for visiting the asylum the character who is most focused upon is Mr Loveday, an inmate who helps Lord Moping with his writing. Loveday is said to be sane now, but the doctors find him too useful to let him leave. Nevertheless, Angela begins to campaign for him to be released. The sting in this story’s tail is easy to guess at and to be honest the plot’s crime angle is very slight.

Story No. 11: ‘All the Way to the Moon’ by Q. Patrick

This entry is Q. Patrick’s 6^th consecutive prize win for the Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine’s Annual Contest. This time it came third. Ellery Queen wrote that:

‘Loyal readers of the Q. Patrick short stories are aware of the authors’ preoccupation in the past with tales in which unpleasant people go about killing other unpleasant people. Q. Patrick has always taken an almost fiendish delight in concocting stories about neurotics who murder other neurotics. So, it was inevitable that sooner or later Q. Patrick would reverse their field. They asked themselves: How near can we get to finding a situation in which a rather nice person kills another rather nice person?’

John Flint has a bedridden wife named Amy, due to a heart attack. Neither of them is set up as a horrible person, but from the get-go their marriage seems to be going through the motions. John’s mind keeps flitting back to Mexico, which he went to on holiday a very long time ago. The company he works for then offer him an opening in Mexico City, as a previous colleague there has had to retire due to the affect the altitude was having on his heart. Amy’s doctor tells John that she would never survive going to Mexico City and that to take her there would be tantamount to murder. Sad that his dream job will be taken from him, bumping Amy off seems like the solution to his problems. At this stage I think it is reasonable to question how “nice” John really is, as his resentment quickly led him to plot his wife’s demise. Nevertheless, the story has a strong ending with nemesis coming up trumps.

The only two good reads from this issue for me, were by Q. Patrick and Cornell Woolrich, so alas this issue received quite a low rating from me.

Rating: 2/5