Academy Mystery Novellas: Locked Room Puzzles - Various
Volume 3 of 'Academy Mystery Novellas.' Preceded by 'Police Procedurals.'
Volume 3 of the Academy Mystery Novella collection is focussed on 'locked room puzzles', the fun sub-genre of mysteries that involves figuring out how a crime could have taken place when elements in the story suggest it to be impossible that it could have.
I like these puzzles, and this has been my favourite volume so far as a result. The collection of novellas this time are:
'The Third Bullet' by John Dickson Carr. This is the longest entry in this volume by far, taking up almost half the volume on its own. It is also the most complex and detailed - which makes sense. Judge Charles Mortlake is found dead, with the man who had threatened to kill him standing in the room with him, and holding a gun that had just been fired. It seems open and shut, but the man - Gabriel White - appears shaken and claims that just after he fired erratically, he heard a second shot from elsewhere in the room and Mortlake was killed by that shot. The room is searched and a second gun, also fired, is found, but the gunman has vanished. The mystery deepens when an autopsy reveals that Mortlake was killed by a bullet from a third gun - one that was owned by Mortlake himself and is then discovered by his eldest daughter in her room.
There are a number of mysteries here, and although I was suspicious of various characters, the author kept me guessing until the final revelation. Quite enjoyable.
'Booktaker' by Bill Pronzini. This story takes place in my favourite location by far: a multi-story second-hand bookshop. Who cares about the story; take me there!
Despite having a carefully guarded secure room for the antiquarian books and maps that are being sold by the store, the store owner is frustrated to learn that various items are still being stolen. He suspects one of his employees, but can't figure out who or how, so he enlists the help of the protagonist, a nameless detective who (according to the introduction blurb for this story) greatly resembles the author in personality and appearance. This makes the story feel a little like 'fan-fiction'; although the mystery is interesting and has a satisfying solution, the subplot of the overweight, slovenly protagonist being found incredibly attractive by his much younger flame seems a bit off. It can happen, but...
'From Another World' by Clayton Rawson. The 'detective' in this story is actually a famous magician, Merlini, who only works with the police to solve crimes that seem magic or even supernatural at first glance. In this particular entry, a rich man who has been looking into ESP and the idea of 'apport' (objects brought supernaturally into being from another place or realm) is found dead in a sealed room, with the only other person in the room (the alleged 'apporter') knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant. Merlini, of course, is able to quickly figure out how the mysterious incident can have occurred, although we as the audience only learn it once all the pieces are in place.
Not only is this a clever little story, but it also gives insight into how 'abilities' like 'apporting' could be faked. Interesting.
'Day of the Wizard' by Edward D Hoch. This is the strangest of the four entries, and has the strangest investigator of the lot - a possibly 2000 year old coptic priest named Simon Ark! And weirdly, although this is an intriguing set-up, very little is made of the fact that Simon is seemingly immortal.
Simon (via the narrator) is enlisted to help find a plane that has been missing since the end of the Second World War (seventeen years before the story is set), but this is not the 'locked box puzzle' promised by the collection. That comes in the form of a magician, hired by the narrator in Cairo to locate Simon by creating a trick that Simon will be challenged to crack. Simon will then emerge from his hiding in order to solve the trick, and the narrator will reconnect with him.
The trick is that a sealed case will have something appear inside it between when it is sealed one evening and when it is opened the following evening. The suggestion for what is left up to the audience, with the narrator deciding it should be 'the most beautiful woman in Cairo.' The case is sealed in front of the audience, and of course, the following night it contains a very confused woman. Oddly, she doesn't remember the magician at all, but does remember a mysterious man, who moments later is found dead in the magician's hall.
This one has a few less-than-likely twists, and although it was interesting enough, it was my least favourite of this volume.
Overall, though, this was a strong volume, and I find it a bit harder to pick a favourite than usual. Perhaps 'The Third Bullet' by a whisker...
Completed 23 June 2024.
Comments
Post a Comment