Review : The Crime of Miss Oyster Brown and Other Stories by Peter Lovesey

The first review for 2022 and I am happy that it is not going to be a rant . My first read for the year is Peter Lovesey ‘ s anthology The Crime of Miss Oyster Brown and Other Stories consisting of 18 superb short stories . The author notes in the introduction that “the unexpected is what you are entitled to expect from a short story ” . I was a bit wary about getting my hopes high with an introductory passage but I was delighted when the man actually delivered . While anthologies generally tend to be mixed bags where few stories do the heavy lifting while the other more conventional ones quietly line up to make up a good number , that is not the case here . Every story is an absolute delight – each with its own narrative style , plot structure ( to say nothing of the humor ) . Below are the teasers to three short stories from this anthology . Hopefully they can convince you to pick up this one . . .

In The Crime of Miss Oyster Brown , Oyster Brown ‘ s twin sister Pearl Brown has not been seen by the anyone in the village recently . Although long time residents of the village , their neighbors and friends know nothing of what goes on behind the closed doors of their mock Tudor style mansion . When Oyster turns up at a local chemist ‘ s with three severely scalded fingers from an accident with the kettle ( or so she says ) and a neighbor remarks that Oyster had been drawing the curtains in her sister ‘ s bedroom to give the impression that Pearl is at home , the chemist decides to investigate . . . This one has the ending which even the most imaginative crime fiction reader will not guess . . .

In The Model Con , a young woman who has enrolled with a modelling agency gets roped in for a seemingly standard assignment until she discovers it is definitely not one . While the handsome compensation definitely quelled some of the misgivings she has about the latest assignment from the same woman , she did not foresee that she would soon become a suspect in a murder investigation . . .

In Pass The Parcel , a family gathered for Christmas decide to have a game of Pass The Parcel ( obviously ! ) which has become something of a family tradition while waiting for a family member . When the parcel is finally unwrapped and it ‘ s contents revealed , things quickly take a turn from a possible cozy Christmassy suspense to something possibly sinister . . .

I am not putting out too many teasers here because with short stories it takes only a few extra plot points for the astute overly – imaginative reader to work out the trajectory of the story . With few like A case of Butterflies , Being Of Sound Mind & You May See A Strangler , while there were some plot elements which I could spot , there were still some surprises which made for a thoroughly satisfying read . And of course , a special mention to the ones with highly inventive narratives – Curl Up & Dye ( a monologue from a hairdresser who is attending to a client ) , The Pomeranian Poisoning which is entirely told in letters & Youdunnit where you , the reader , will become the murderer . . .

This one is highly recommended from me . If you have an Audible Premium membership , you are in luck – this one is included in the membership ( you can get it for free ) . . .

Rating : 4.5 / 5

If you have already read The Crime of Miss Oyster Brown and Other Stories , let me know in the comments section about your thoughts on the book  . If you have any interesting recommendations , please do share them . Until the next review then . . .

Review : Willy & Alvirah by Mary Higgins Clark

Plot summary ( from Audible )

Follow the adventures of lottery winning couple Willy and Alvirah Meehan through these best selling short stories . The couple is targeted and pursued by ex-cons after winning the lottery in ” Plumbing for Willy ” , they discover the body of actress Fiona Winter in their New York apartment in ” The Body in the Closet ” , and they help Cynthia Lathem solve the murder of her stepfather in ” Death in the Cape ” . As a special bonus , author Mary Higgins Clark pushes the aura of suspense sky – high in ” Stowaway ” and ” Milk Run ” , a pair of stories set aboard jetliners . . .

My thoughts on the book :

A quick note before getting started with the review – I have given the star rating for individual stories also ( just count the stars next to the title ) . . .

In Death in the Cape *** , Cynthia Lathem has served twelve years for a crime she did not commit – the murder of her step – father . She is back in town looking for answers to the questions which continue to haunt her about the night her step – father was murdered . Luckily for Cynthia , Alvirah is holidaying in town and she is not the one to miss out on a case like hers . . .This one suffers from too much of classic Clark – isms and a very predictable plot – a damsel – in – distress who is determined not to lean on anybody and is on a mission , her Prince Charming standing on the sidelines hoping that she would let him help her and looking only for a cue from her so that he can swoop in and help her in her mission ( obviously that cue is not going to come from our heroine – so Prince Charming should finally put his foot down and make an appearance even if our heroine thinks she can handle it all on her own . . . ) and Alvirah ‘s sunburst pin . . . Still , Clark ‘ s average outputs are superior to some of the much – hyped recent releases which are riddled with plot holes . . .

The Body in the Closet **** has Alvirah trying to hunt down the murderer of an up – and – coming actress Fiona Winter when her favorite playwright nephew becomes the prime suspect . While this is a clever one , Alvirah trying to play the Cupid in every story involving young people is highly exasperating . Also , several of the elements mentioned above have almost become constants with every MHC offering and it does not need a Kirkus to call them out . Still , it would have been a welcome surprise to have at least regulars like Willy & Alvirah evolve with every new anthology – I am expecting Alvirah to go all teary eyed ( and Willy to pragmatically observe that Alvirah should leave the lovebirds alone ) when two young people finally decide to get together after their life – altering ordeal and both never disappoint me . ( Duh ! )

I would suggest that you start with Stowaway ***** & Milk Run ***** – both definitely have some of the elements which I have mentioned earlier but the brilliant plotting makes them fantastic reads ( especially with Stowaway ) . Oh , you can also expect some mid – air drama in the style of movies involving plane hijacking . . . In a nutshell , Stowaway has a flight attendant helping a young boy from the underground evade capture by the Soviet police . In the Milk Run , a flight attendant is entrusted with some secret papers only to find that they have been stolen mid – flight . . . Can she retrieve them before touchdown ?

Alvirah ‘ s long suffering husband Willy gets kidnapped in Plumbing For Willy *** after a bunch of ex – cons watch an episode of the Donahue show in which Alvirah and her husband make an appearance . The ex – cons are sharp as marbles and with Alvirah roping in her sister – in – law Sister Caroline & friends in the rescue mission , you are guaranteed a romp . . .

Rating : 4 / 5

If you have already read Willy & Alvirah , let me know in the comments section about your thoughts on the book  . If you have any interesting recommendations , please do share them . Until the next review then . . .

The Murder of My Aunt by Richard Hull ( British Library Crime Classics #4 )

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Richard Hull ‘ s brilliant debut ( first published in 1934 ) is considered a masterpiece in the inverted detective fiction sub genre and features Edward Powell , a narcissistic , conniving young man with whom the elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top . Edward lives with his Aunt Mildred in the Welsh town of Llwll . But Edward and Aunt M . are at opposite poles for almost everything that it is no wonder that Edward is seething underneath the effeminate exterior . His aunt ‘ s latest trick is the last straw and E . has finally decided to bump off the old lady . As he is well aware of the repercussions that might come with the suspicious death of his aunt ( who happens to be his only relative on whom he is also financially dependent ) , he decides to take his time to pull off the perfect murder . . .

This had me chuckling too often with it ‘ s highly entertaining narrative with liberal doses of snark despite the dark undertone . With Edward being unparalleled in his dim – witted attempts to do away with the rather astute old lady ( at least for me , I had never come across a murderous protagonist who is too dense as Edward that he shouldn ‘ t have even dreamt of doing away with someone in the first place . Of course , we come across some bungling idiots once in a while in crime fiction who leave a mile – long trail of clues or sometimes leave the job unfinished , but IMHO none can match Edward in terms of his characteristic delusional and unimaginably stupid thought process ) , the middle was somewhat of a drag . But the ending was gold . This might be perfect for a suspense fiction reader if you want to pick up something that would keep you entertained while not being too cozy .

Rating : 4 / 5

If you have already read The Murder of my Aunt , let me know in the comments section about your thoughts on the book  . If you have any interesting recommendations , please do share them . Until the next review then . . .

P . S

Speaking of blundering murderers like Edward , one can ‘ t help contrasting them with some of their ingenious counterparts who manage to commit the perfect crime . Check out P D James ‘ The Part – Time Job in which the protagonist goes to great lengths to exact his revenge on his school bully – the ‘ Queen of Crime ‘ has packed a brilliant twist at the end that will explain the title . It is to be noted that several of P D James ‘ short stories have the old sins casting long shadows theme and frankly , some are a tad disconcerting . If you are game enough for some ‘ perfect murders ‘ with sinister undertones , you can check out James ‘ Sleep No More . . .

Check out my review here – https://sherlockedsharon.com/2020/12/24/review-sleep-no-more-by-p-d-james/