Mystery Series - Roderick Alleyn

Ngaio Marsh

(Edith) Ngaio Marsh was a New Zealand writer in the golden age of crime fiction. She is considered one of the top four of the era (with Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers, Margery Allingham). She lived from 1895-1982.

In my opinion she's in the running for the best of the lot. Her forte is collecting a large cast of characters with relationships, animosities and ulterior motives. She usually has scenes with rooms filled with people, and the reader must pay close attention to who is saying what to whom in order to have a glimmer of the solution to the crime.

Inspector Alleyn is the police presence in all her mysteries. All but four of the books are set in England. The others are in New Zealand.

Recurring Characters of note:
Inspector (becoming Chief Inspector) Roderick Alleyn
Agatha Troy, his wife
Inspector Fox, his assistant

#1 A Man Lay Dead, 1934

#1 Enter a Murderer, 1935

#1 The Nursing Home Murder, 1935

#1 Death in Ecstasy, 1936

#1 Vintage Murder, 1937

#1 Artists in Crime, 1938

#1 Death in a White Tie, 1938

#1 Overture to Death, 1939

#1 Death at the Bar, 1940

#1 Surfeit of Lampreys/ Death of a Peer (US title), 1941
The Charles Lampreys are a family whose immediate head, Charles, is the younger brother of a peer, George. Consequently, he keeps going through money in the way he's been accustomed to live, but George is the one who inherited the family fortune. Several times, the Charles Lampreys have needed to be bailed out of financial hardship by George. Now George says (apparently), "no more."

The family is a lively bunch, currently living in a double apartment in England (after we first meet them in New Zealand). There are a pair of twins who have spent their lives joking/lying about which is which. The oldest daughter is an actress, and two younger children round out the group. Their favorite passtime is playing charades and they keep a large closet full of props and costumes. Of course there are servants.

George angrily visits after the next request for funds, but he is found in the elevator, seriously wounded by one of the famous props.

This is one of the best examples of Marsh's ability to confuse everything with a huge group of people who are experts at play-acting, and the twins make it even more complex.

#1 Death and the Dancing Footman, 1941

#1 Colour Scheme, 1943

#1 Died in the Wool, 1945

#1 Final Curtain, 1947

#1 Swing Brother Swing/ A Wreath for Rivera (US title), 1949

#1 Opening Night, 1951

#1 Spinsters in Jeopardy/ The Bride of Death (US abridged version), 1953

#1 Scales of Justice, 1955

#1 Off With His Head/ Death of a Fool, 1956

#1 Singing in the Shrouds, 1958

#1 False Scent, 1959

#1 Hand in Glove, 1962

#1 Dead Water, 1963

#1 Death at the Dolphin/ Killer Dolphin (US title), 1966

#1 Clutch of Constables, 1968

#1 When in Rome, 1970

#1 Tied Up in Tinsel, 1972

#1 Black As He's Painted, 1974

#1 Last Ditch, 1977

#1 Grave Mistake, 1978

#1 Photo Finish, 1980

#1 Light Thickens, 1982

Mystery Series - Roger Sheringham

Anthony Berkeley Cox (public domain)

Anthony Berkely Cox was an early writer in the golden age of mysteries. His first book, The Layton Court Mystery, was published in 1925. He was one of the founders of the Detection Club, a group to which most of the famous authors of this period belonged, including Agatha Christie. The last Sheringham story was written in 1943. He wrote several non-series books under the name Frances Iles.

I had to ask myself why I had never heard of this author. And I still don't know the answer to that, except that his stories have not retained the popularity of Christie or Dorothy Sayers, for example. I've learned that he wrote ten books and a number of short stories featuring Roger Sheringham, amateur detective. At least one of these, The Poisoned Chocolates Case, is considered a classic.

One of the things I like best about this series is that they are not formulaic. Berkeley manages to find a different way to tell a story in almost every book. One of the things I like least is that the solving of the case is done largely by discussion of the facts, evidence, suggestions, and possibilities. There isn't a lot of action, although this improves as the series continues. To be honest, this type of story was a novelty in the 1920s, and much more exciting than it seems today in our age of "show don't tell."

Berkeley's strong point is the ability to pose as many different solutions to a mystery as there are people on the scene. He builds a strong logical case against every suspect. His weak point is open prejudice against Jews. I guess you'd have to say that this comes from his characters, but since it's not essential to the plot, it seems likely to reflect the opinion of the author.

Berkeley was only 32 when the first book was published. His characters are largely young adults, and readers who love Brit expressions and slang will have their wishes satisfied. Due to his talent for spinning multiple scenarios, the reader is always kept guessing until late in the stories.

Another amusing aspect of the books is that Sheringham's occupation is that of a writer of detective stories. He continually pokes fun at writers of detective stories, with perfect dry English wit.

Sheringham's character is that of a clever sleuth but one who thinks a bit more of himself than he should.

Although the writing style is dated, these books are a fascinating look into the time period of transition from the Victorian standards to "modern" lifestyles. It's also interesting to note how scientific police methods already were by that time, although obviously the technology was less advanced. They also provide a study of the evolution of detective novels.

Recurring characters of note:
Roger Sheringham: writer of mysteries and amateur sleuth
Chief Inspector Moresby of Scotland Yard: Sheringham's sometimes nemesis and sometimes friend
Alec
cousin

The Roger Sheringham Books/Stories

#1 The Layton Court Mystery, 1925
This is an early example of a locked-room mystery. An eclectic group of people are invited to the home of XXX. In the morning, their host's body is discovered in the library, with all doors and windows locked. He obviously committed suicide. Or did he? Of course Roger Sheringham doesn't agree with the police. For a first book, this is fine, although obviously the writer is less experienced. The mystery is solved almost entirely through discussion between Sheringham and a friend of his who becomes his "Watson."

#2 The Wychford Poisoning Case, 1926

#3 Roger Sherringham and the Vane Mysteries/ At Lover's Cave (US title), 1927

#4 The Silk Stocking Murders, 1928

#4 The Poisoned Chocolates, 1929

#5 The Top Storey Murder, 1931
A murder occurs in an apartment on the top floor of a house with eight units. It appears to be a robbery gone bad, as the victim was a woman who was rumored to hate banks and to have a small fortune hidden in her rooms. The police have their scientific theory, and Roger Sheringham has his psychological theory. This is a recurring theme of the series. It's impossible to tell which solution is the correct one until the very end.

#6 Murder in the Basement, 1932
In modern definitions, I would call this one a police procedural. Sheringham's role in intermittent, although he is the one who solves the mystery in the end. The badly decomposed body of a young woman is found under the floor in the basement of a house purchased by a newlywed couple. Inspector M applies all the power of police investigation to the problem, but there is little actual evidence pointing to anyone. The victim can not even be identified for several months. Hard work and luck eventually produce that bit of information. The Inspector calls on Sheringham to provide some psychological insights since he had briefly worked in the same place as the murdered girl. In response, Sheringham gives the Inspector a copy of a "novel" he has been working on which features the key suspects, giving insights into their personalities. Cold evidence and the application of psychology vie for top honors in reaching the solution.

#7 Jumping Jenny/ The Dead Mrs. Stratton (US title), 1933
This begins with a tongue-in-cheeck biography of Roger Sheringham. One can't help but wonder if it's a bit biographical of Anthony Berkeley.

The trope is the costume party (with a murder theme) gone awry. Each guest is to be dressed as an historical murderer or victim. It gets confusing if you don't have a handy list of such historic facts. I had to look up a bunch of them, and then had to try to remember who was dressed as whom. But this is a typical problem with the "party" setting- a lot of characters to keep straight. One of the guests commits suicide, or does she?

#8 Panic Party/ Mr Pidgeon's Island (US title), 1934

I have not yet been able to find this book.

There are a number of short stories published post-humously.

Mystery Series - Melody Lane

Lilian Garis

The Melody Lane mysteries were written from 1933-1940 by Lilian Garis. She and her husband Howard Garis are considered the most prolific writers of ficton for younger readers in the early 1900s. The Melody Lane books feature Carol Duncan, a high school girl, and other young people in "Melody Lane." The books are typically dramatic of the time period, but I like the characters. The writing style is a little "breathless," and may take a bit of getting used to. Garis herself was editing the women's page of a newspaper when she was yet in high school, so her own experiences probably influenced how grown-up these girls seem to be.

Recurring Characters of Note:
Carol Duncan
Cecy Duncan her younger sister
Rosie
Thally
Glenn
Ken

#1 The Ghost of Melody Lane, 1933
Carol Duncan is a high school girl caught in the depression like so many others. She lives with her father (her mother is dead), who is out of work, and her younger sister, Cecy. Carol has taken on the responsibility for bringing in some income by playing organ at the local movie theatre, but so many movies are beginning to have their own music that she loses even that job, and the book begins with her looking for another similar position. She is depressed, and goes to the home of her organ teacher, a friend, and retired actress, Katheryn Becket, fondly known as "Cousin Kitty."

Kitty lives in an old rambling mansion on Melody Lane. The estate was built years ago with a huge pipe organ built into the house. It is this organ which Carol plays to calm her tensions. However, the house has developed a reputation for being haunted, and a rumor that the organ is heard to play by itself. There is an odd young man (Stubby Flint) who pumps the organ when the power is out, and a rather suspicious old repairman who seems unlikely to be playing ghost, but he is certainly menacing. A German caretaker and wife live in the gatehouse, and their niece is currently living with them, having come over from Europe. She is not at all friendly, and efforts to contact her to enroll in school are even futile.

Meanwhile, Cousin Kitty, Carol and her friend Thalia (Thally) Bond, and Cecy all have experiences with seeing the "ghost." Then they have to catch it and find out what it means to preserve the value of the homes on Melody Lane.

#2 The Forbidden Trail, 1933
Carol Duncan is waylaid by the eccentric aunt of a young friend, Veronica Flint (sister of Stubby from book 1). Aunt Marah wants Carol to protect Veronica from following "the forbidden trail." That trail involves a family history of tragic loves and the secret of Veronica's father, an explorer who disappeared in the Arctic leaving Veronica with a cryptic message of valuables hidden in a cave.

The Duncans are now living in the gatehouse at Katheryn Becket's estate, since the caretaker and his family have gone back to Europe. Cecy is away at boarding school.

#3 The Tower Secret, 1934
The story opens with Carol and her friends being kind to some circus people who are traveling through town after the break-up of their act. The girls arrange for this family to stay at "Splatter Castle" (see book 2) to act as caretakers. Meanwhile Thalia Bond's family is moving to a large house with a tower on the property located on a point of land which juts into a lake. The tower has a reputation for being haunted; a round window high up in the tower sometimes winks like a huge eye.

Mary, one of the circus girls, leaves the group and goes off to marry her beau. The local concern of the summer is a case of corn borer, resulting in produce being stopped at state lines, and Mary's new husband is caught trying to take ears of corn across the border. Mary is overheard to say that she will "take care of those Bonds." But what does it mean? How could people new in town be connected with old rumors? When the girls also see the "eye" wink they search the tower, but find nothing.

Carol's good friend, Glenn, also does some searching and finds the solution.

#4 The Wild Warning, 1934
It is summer vacation and Carol's younger sister and their cousin, both of junior high school age have found what they consider to be a robber's cave hide-out. Carol discounts their story, believing their discovery to be a boys' play area. She is caught up in another strange affair at the local drugstore which is a substation for the Post Office. A registered package disappears while Carol is actually at the store. The only person they saw enter the building at that time is a very poor girl who is always eager to work for a few extra pennies. The sender of the package chooses not to press charges. But who took it, and why, and why is the beautiful young clerk so nervous?

#5 Terror at Moaning Cliff, 1935
Carol's father is out of town on business and their great aunt Isabel has written to the girls that she is going to come visit because she wants to talk to them in secret. Isabel asks them to take some of their friends and spend some weeks at a house she owns at the rocky seashore. It is hers by inheritance, but the will is rather odd in that she must either live there or put it to profitable use or she will lose the property to a distant cousin. She has tried to rent the place for years, but tenents never stay long, complaining of odd noises. The girls are asked to try to discover the secret of the old house.

The girls do go, and are aided in their quest by the boys, Glenn and Ted who are able to come visit occasionally on their time off from the nearby boys' camp where they work. A young couple, on vacation nearby, are aided by the girls when Barry takes a nasty fall. This new friendship with the young engineer proves to be the key to the puzzle.

This book had a lot of potential, but the girls were just totally out of character. They were flighty, frightened, and always looking to have a man around to help. Thus it just didn't seem consistent with the rest of the series.

#6 The Dragon Of The Hills, 1936
Carol is caught in a thunderstorm while driving home and seeks refuge at a house occupied by an old lady and her granddaughter, Priscilla. The woman does not like strangers. Carol goes on to a tearoom which turns out to be run by an old friend of hers. The tearoom is named "The Dragon of the Hills," and its colorful sign is attracting a lot of attention. The sign was painted by a Japanese friend of hers, and may have a deeper meaning that leads to problems for Carol's friend, Dorothy. The next night there is an intruder trying to get in the tearoom.

Meanwhile, Priscilla reports that someone was also trying to get in their house, and that her grandmother has died.

A salesman who had previously had an accident in front of Priscilla's home returns when he is released from the hospital looking for something valuable that is missing from his car.

The plot of this book is fun, but it does contain quite a few references that would be considered racial slurs in the present era. That said, there is not type-casting. For example, not all the Gypsies are bad people.

typical cover of the series

#7 The Mystery Of Stingyman's Alley, 1938
This book really changes the direction of the series. Carol is now out of school. They have moved to a city in New Jersey. In constrained finances, Carol and her father live in a modest brownstone house. Carol is the teacher in a day nursery in the factory district of the city. (Cecy is in the midwest with great aunt Isabel.)

This plot is much more adult and realistic than the previous books. The children in the school come from factory families who need day care for children who are too young for regular school, so the parents can work. One can get a good idea of the plight of poor children of that era. The nursery is about to be shut down because the society women who run it are having trouble raising enough money to keep it open.

Meanwhile, a toddler is abandoned in the care of the nursery, but then someone else tries to kidnap the child.

#8 The Secret of the Kashmir Shawl, 1939
Apparently readers did not want Carol to grow up, and the series shifts again, now to feature Carol's younger sister Cecy. Not wanting to be a drag on the family finances, Cecy takes her first summer job as a companion to an older lady. But this lady acts very strange in many ways. Some people from the Middle East are hounding her to return a kashmir shawl she bought in Egypt a year previous. One of her own servants seems to be in on this plot.

The woman, whom Cecy is to call Aunt Bessie, is determined to keep the shawl because she likes it and she paid for it and paid the customs duties, and she's not going to be deterred. But the "gang" is persistent with their threats.

There is a sub-plot involving another girl from a previous book.

#9 The Hermit of Proud Hill, 1940
This mystery is mostly solved by Cecy and her friend Kay Findlay. There is a dual theme throughout the book. One is a real estate scam in which many local people lost their homes during the difficult period of the 1930's. There is also a curious man who lives alone in a small shack on a hill. However, when they meet him he seems to be quite cultured, almost academic, not their conception of what a hermit should be at all.

Can the girls restore Kay's family home in the face of opposition from the mean caretaker of the land? The caretaker is trying to gain full ownership. Who is the strange hermit on Proud Hill?

#10 The Clue of the Crooked Key, planned as the next book, but never written

Mystery Series - Beverly Gray

dust jacket of Beverly Gray, Senior

The Beverly Gray mysteries were written over the time period of 1933- 1955. It is a series of 25 books, similar to the Nancy Drew books, but the girls are college age and young adults. The first four books take Beverly Gray through Vernon college with Beverly Gray, Freshman, then Sophomore, Junior and Senior The author is Clair Blank, and the first four books were published when she was only 18, just out of high school. The series continued until her death in 1955.

#1 Beverly Gray, Freshman, 1933

#2 Beverly Gray, Sophomore, 1933

#3 Beverly Gray, Junior, 1933

#4 Beverly Gray, Senior, 1933
This story is definitely a period piece, and clearly written for girls. The emphasis is on the social aspects of college life, although I give it some credit for lines like, "I've so many plans and hopes for the future. I want a career. I wnat to do something-- I don't think I could be content if I settled down now and threw all those dreams aside." The mystery itself is a bit thin with a plot including the kidnapping of a classmate who has been hired to star in a motion picture.

The primary emphasis of the plot is the changes in the girl's relationships as the "movie star" becomes something of a snob. Graduation brings a bittersweet ending to the girls' "club." However, the book is well-written and fits into the genre and the time period well.

#5 Beverly Gray's Career, 1935

#6 Beverly Gray at the World's Fair, 1935

#7 Beverly Gray on a World Cruise, 1936

#8 Beverly Gray in the Orient, 1937

#9 Beverly Gray on a Treasure Hunt, 1938

#10 Beverly Gray's Return, 1940

#11 Beverly Gray, Reporter, 1940

#12 Beverly Gray's Romance, 1941

#13 Beverly Gray's Problem, 1943

#14 Beverly Gray's Quest, 1945

#15 Beverly Gray's Assignment, 1947

#16 Beverly Gray's Adventure, 1944

#17 Beverly Gray's Challenge, 1945

#18 Beverly Gray's Journey, 1946

#19 Beverly Gray's Mystery, 1948

#20 Beverly Gray's Vacation, 1949

#21 Beverly Gray's Fortune, 1950

#22 Beverly Gray's Secret, 1951

#23 Beverly Gray's Island Adventure, 1952

#24 Beverly Gray's Discovery, 1953

#25 Beverly Gray's Surprise, 1955

Clair Blank

I found it extremelly interesting that the back cover of the "Senior" dust jacket advertizes the Judy Bolton mysteries. And even more interesting to me is the back flap has the seven Melody Lane mysteries, which are some of my favorites of the time period.

Recent Promotional Upgrades

I finally got my act together and consolidated some useless single book pages I had created on Facebook long ago into one author page. You can like it at Joan H. Young, Author.

And, amazingly enough, I also managed to put together a video about Dead Mule Swamp, in which I also read chapter one of News from Dead Mule Swamp. Enjoy!



The flurry of accomplishment is spurred by the fact that I'm doing an author takeover for an hour at 8 pm in the Facebook Group "Cozy Mystery Friends." Free to join if you are interested.

Play MYNCT Bingo and Win Books

There are SO many wonderful places on the North Country Trail!

Play MYNCT Bingo and WIN A BOOK. Send me pictures that complete any row of 5, and your name will go in a drawing. 1 copy of North Country Quest, and 1 copy of North Country Cache will be awarded. You do NOT have to have visited these places or taken the pictures personally. You can hunt up pictures on line. However, if you can make a line of places you have actually been to you will get two entries for that card. (Just be sure to tell me.)

Enter as often as you want, as long as you complete a different line (that makes 12 possible entries per person, upped to 24 if you've really been to all those places!) Send entries to jhyshark@gmail.com. Label the pics somehow with the card location. For example T-1 is the Crown Point Bridge, and I might enter this picture for that square. But now you can't steal this one for your own entry- that would be too easy! Deadline for entries April 30, 2020. #myNCTbingo

space T-1, Crown Point Bridge (photo by jhy)

North Country Cache and North Country Quest together tell the stories of my end-to-end hike of the North Country National Scenic Trail. I was the first woman to complete the 4600-mile trail on foot.

Secret Cellar Interior Illustrations Redone

I decided that the interior illustrations for the Dubois Files children's mysteries need to be done over in ink rather than remain as pencil sketches. The actual result of the printed pencil sketches is that they are pale and muddy. This decision was made before I published The Bigg Boss, so those were done in ink on the first time around.

Here are the new pictures for The Secret Cellar. They will also be larger. I decided that the horizontal ones would be turned so you have to turn the book sideways to see them. This isn't my favorite plan, but in a 5.25 x 8" book the pictures have to be very small if you don't do this. I'd rather have the pictures larger.

I've left them full size here so you can click on the picture and see them better.

Picture #1- Laszlo's father drives the truck over a railroad bridge, but a train is coming! Jimmie and Laszlo hadn't planned on that much excitement.



Picture #2- Jimmie and Cora dig up a treasure in the crawlspace under Jimmie's house.



Picture #3- Laszlo uses the post-hole digger to make a foundation hole for their clubhouse.


Picture #4- The secret cellar- but it doesn't seem to be the hiding place for the papers the kids are trying to find. I made a major change to this picture by adding Ruby, who is tired and discouraged. She sits down in the corner to rest.



There are currently four books in the series, and I'm working on the fifth. Age range 8-11; chapter books. All are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or directly from me. Ebook formats also on Smashwords, Kobo and iBooks.

Visit Books Leaving Footprints for synopses and samples.

original pencil illustrations