Academy Mystery Novellas: Police Procedurals - Various

Published by The Reader's Digest Association, Inc./Academy Chicago Publishers: USA, 1991.
Volume 2 of 'Academy Mystery Novellas.' Preceded by 'Women Sleuths.' Followed by 'Locked Room Puzzles.'

The second volume of a box set of four novella collections, Police Procedurals contains another four novellas, each focussing on a different detective. The four in question this time are:

'The Empty Hours' by Ed McBain. In this novella, the detective Steve Carella (not to be confused with modern actor Steve Carell) tries to solve the mystery of a woman found dead in her apartment, who has been making strange withdrawals and deposits of her own money into her own accounts. There are a number of elements to this case, and it feels the most like one that could become its own full novel. The ending is also odd in that it resolves the case nicely, while still feeling a little like a 'cheat' for this genre.

'The Sound of Murder' by Donald Westlake. A young girl walks into a police station and accuses her mother of having killed her step-father, and possibly her birth father as well. The officers ask how the step-father was killed and the girl says he was murdered by the mother 'making a loud noise.' At first incredulous, as the officers continue to investigate, they become more convinced that there might be something to what the girl has said. Out of all of the novellas, this one has the darkest ending...

'Storm in the Channel' by Georges Simenon. A French detective, going on holiday with his wife in England, is delayed from travelling by a storm in the English Channel. After a maid from the boarding house they are staying in is found dead, the detective must help to solve the murder. The one has a nice classic whodunnit feel to it, with one of those 'unlikely coincidence' elements of numerous characters all having a connection to the deceased despite being in a completely different part of the country to where they all originally met.

'Murder in the Dark' by Hugh Pentecost. This one takes a little while to get going, but is quite interesting nonetheless. An eccentric older man is found dead after recently investing into diamonds on a whim. Suspects include his assistant, the woman he bought the diamonds from and a mysterious figure who wished to purchase the diamonds from him immediately after he had bought them. There are a few left turns and even a mild romantic subplot, and I learned a lot about the diamond industry in the process. Probably my favourite of the four this time around.

In fact, in this volume, I think I enjoyed the novellas increasingly with each entry, with 'Murder in the Dark' being my favourite, and 'The Empty Hours' being my least favourite.

Completed 29 May 2024.

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