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Fleming Stone #45
Murder in the Bookshop
Book 50 in the Detective Club Crime Classics series is Carolyn Wells’ Murder in the Bookshop, a classic locked room murder mystery which will have a special resonance for lovers and collectors of Golden Age detective fiction. Includes a bonus murder story: ‘The Shakespeare Title-Page Mystery’.
When Philip Balfour is found murdered in a New York bookstore, the number one suspect is his librarian, a man who has coveted Balfour’s widow. But when the police discover that a book worth $100,000 is missing, detective Fleming Stone realises that some people covet rare volumes even more highly than other men’s wives, and embarks on one of his most dangerous investigations.
A successful poet and children’s author, Carolyn Wells discovered mystery fiction in her forties and went on to become one of America’s most popular Golden Age writers. Penning 82 detective novels between 1909 and her death in 1942, she was mourned in 1968 by the great John Dickson Carr as one of mystery fiction’s ‘lost ladies now well lost’, and remains undeservedly neglected 50 years later. Murder in the Bookshop is a story laced with criminality, locked rooms and bookish intricacies that any bibliophile will find irresistible.
This Detective Club hardback is introduced by award-winning writer and authority on Golden Age detective fiction, Curtis Evans, and includes ‘The Shakespeare Title-Page Mystery’, a murderous tale of literary shenanigans that was one of the last pieces of detective fiction which Carolyn Wells ever published.
When Philip Balfour is found murdered in a New York bookstore, the number one suspect is his librarian, a man who has coveted Balfour’s widow. But when the police discover that a book worth $100,000 is missing, detective Fleming Stone realises that some people covet rare volumes even more highly than other men’s wives, and embarks on one of his most dangerous investigations.
A successful poet and children’s author, Carolyn Wells discovered mystery fiction in her forties and went on to become one of America’s most popular Golden Age writers. Penning 82 detective novels between 1909 and her death in 1942, she was mourned in 1968 by the great John Dickson Carr as one of mystery fiction’s ‘lost ladies now well lost’, and remains undeservedly neglected 50 years later. Murder in the Bookshop is a story laced with criminality, locked rooms and bookish intricacies that any bibliophile will find irresistible.
This Detective Club hardback is introduced by award-winning writer and authority on Golden Age detective fiction, Curtis Evans, and includes ‘The Shakespeare Title-Page Mystery’, a murderous tale of literary shenanigans that was one of the last pieces of detective fiction which Carolyn Wells ever published.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1936
72 people are currently reading
268 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Wells
768 books47 followersCarolyn Wells was a prolific writer for over 40 years and was especially noted for her humor, and she was a frequent contributor of nonsense verse and whimsical pieces to such little magazines as Gelett Burgess' The Lark, the Chap Book, the Yellow Book, and the Philistine.
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
September 19, 2022
First published in 1936 and read today, it appears to be silly in parts. But if you overlook these parts, it is an interesting read for all bibliophiles. A rare book is right in the centre of the plot and you have some passionate book collectors as likely suspects. An engaging locked room mystery it is a whiff of fresh air for its novel approach.
March 16, 2019
A messy romp...
When two men enter a locked bookshop through a window and one ends up dead, suspicion not unnaturally falls on the survivor. Philip Balfour was a fanatical book collector and his companion on his mysterious trip to the bookshop was the man he employed as his librarian, Keith Ramsay. The fact that Keith is also in love with Balfour’s wife, Alli, provides a nice motive. But Keith claims that a masked intruder came into the store, chloroformed Keith and by the time he came round Balfour was dead and the intruder had gone. The police are dubious but the owner of the bookstore (who seems remarkably unfazed by the idea of one of his best customers breaking into his shop) is sure that Keith could never have done such a thing, so he advises Alli to bring his friend, the private detective Fleming Stone, into the case.
There are all kinds of mysteries here apart from the murder. What were the two men doing in the shop? A valuable book is missing – coincidence? What was the bookseller’s assistant up to at the time that he’s not prepared to reveal to the police? Who is sending mysterious anonymous letters? Why are the police willing to let Fleming Stone keep hold of vital evidence? Why does Fleming Stone say on one page that there’s a large pool of suspects and then a few pages later that there are very few suspects?
I must admit I thought this was all a bit of a mess. The author contradicts herself from page to page as if she just dashed the words down and never went back to read it over. For example, at one point Stone decides not to tell Alli about accusations that have been made against her in an anonymous letter, then promptly ten minutes later hands her the letter and asks her what she thinks! That’s just one instance – I could have picked many, many more. It all adds to the confusion, but not quite in the way the author intended, I assume. I believe she was hugely prolific, often churning out three or even four books a year, so I guess that didn’t leave much time for editing.
However, apparently she was also very popular in her day and I can understand that too to an extent since, despite the messiness, there is still some fun in this because of the element of humour the author introduces from time to time. Her characterisation is far from being deep, but it’s often quite slyly wicked, giving a neat summation of a person in a few words. The first lines of the book will give an idea of what I mean…
The investigation gets bogged down in repetition for a bit in the middle and drags, but both the beginning, when the murder takes place, and the end, when all is revealed, are better, and in retrospect, yes, I think there were enough clues there for the reader to have had a fair chance of spotting whodunit and why. I didn’t – I was too preoccupied spotting all the contradictions!
Overall, not one to be taken too seriously, but an enjoyable enough romp for those times when something a bit lighter suits your mood. And I assume that’s the secret of her appeal. However, I don’t think I’d be seeking out more of her work based on this example.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Collins Crime Club.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
When two men enter a locked bookshop through a window and one ends up dead, suspicion not unnaturally falls on the survivor. Philip Balfour was a fanatical book collector and his companion on his mysterious trip to the bookshop was the man he employed as his librarian, Keith Ramsay. The fact that Keith is also in love with Balfour’s wife, Alli, provides a nice motive. But Keith claims that a masked intruder came into the store, chloroformed Keith and by the time he came round Balfour was dead and the intruder had gone. The police are dubious but the owner of the bookstore (who seems remarkably unfazed by the idea of one of his best customers breaking into his shop) is sure that Keith could never have done such a thing, so he advises Alli to bring his friend, the private detective Fleming Stone, into the case.
There are all kinds of mysteries here apart from the murder. What were the two men doing in the shop? A valuable book is missing – coincidence? What was the bookseller’s assistant up to at the time that he’s not prepared to reveal to the police? Who is sending mysterious anonymous letters? Why are the police willing to let Fleming Stone keep hold of vital evidence? Why does Fleming Stone say on one page that there’s a large pool of suspects and then a few pages later that there are very few suspects?
I must admit I thought this was all a bit of a mess. The author contradicts herself from page to page as if she just dashed the words down and never went back to read it over. For example, at one point Stone decides not to tell Alli about accusations that have been made against her in an anonymous letter, then promptly ten minutes later hands her the letter and asks her what she thinks! That’s just one instance – I could have picked many, many more. It all adds to the confusion, but not quite in the way the author intended, I assume. I believe she was hugely prolific, often churning out three or even four books a year, so I guess that didn’t leave much time for editing.
However, apparently she was also very popular in her day and I can understand that too to an extent since, despite the messiness, there is still some fun in this because of the element of humour the author introduces from time to time. Her characterisation is far from being deep, but it’s often quite slyly wicked, giving a neat summation of a person in a few words. The first lines of the book will give an idea of what I mean…
Mr Philip Balfour was a good man. Also, he was good-looking, good-humoured and good to his wife. That is, when he had his own way, which was practically always.
The investigation gets bogged down in repetition for a bit in the middle and drags, but both the beginning, when the murder takes place, and the end, when all is revealed, are better, and in retrospect, yes, I think there were enough clues there for the reader to have had a fair chance of spotting whodunit and why. I didn’t – I was too preoccupied spotting all the contradictions!
Overall, not one to be taken too seriously, but an enjoyable enough romp for those times when something a bit lighter suits your mood. And I assume that’s the secret of her appeal. However, I don’t think I’d be seeking out more of her work based on this example.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Collins Crime Club.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
December 11, 2018
I really enjoyed this golden age detective novel featuring Fleming Stone. Carolyn Wells wrote 60 novels featuring P.I. Stone, many were set in and around New York.
June 5, 2020
I bought Murder in the Bookshop because it is a crime story and it's set in a bookshop. So I wasn't deceived, but I wasn't impressed either. The insight into the book trade among wealthy collectors of rare and valuable books and manuscripts was genuinely interesting. The mystery element was dire.
The murder took place when two characters went to a closed bookshop after dark, broke in and searched for an expensive item which one of them quietly pocketed. This furtive behaviour doesn't seem to strike anyone except me as odd, and the bookseller is remarkably trusting about it.
Two obvious suspects emerge and we hear a dozen times how they didn't do it and their love affair should not be divulged to the police or the suggestion of collusion would make them even more likely to be suspected. The repetition is so heavy handed it makes the prose seem leaden.
The detective is a thorough investigator but lacks any kind of charisma. He questions people and trots here and there, but doesn't inspire confidence. The case is cracked by his bagman following the trail, and the detective then has a master plan which he executes to extract a confession. The plan is preposterous, tacky and macabre.
The murderer was clear - to me at least - from early on, though he appeared to have an alibi (easily cracked). The plot didn't properly explain how the second murder was necessary which I though for a while might lift the whole book with an ingenious way of discovering what had happened. Apparently it was simply added to increase the body count, as it didn't shed any light on the original murder.
A great disappointment, and a lesson for me not to choose a book for its cover or title!
The murder took place when two characters went to a closed bookshop after dark, broke in and searched for an expensive item which one of them quietly pocketed. This furtive behaviour doesn't seem to strike anyone except me as odd, and the bookseller is remarkably trusting about it.
Two obvious suspects emerge and we hear a dozen times how they didn't do it and their love affair should not be divulged to the police or the suggestion of collusion would make them even more likely to be suspected. The repetition is so heavy handed it makes the prose seem leaden.
The detective is a thorough investigator but lacks any kind of charisma. He questions people and trots here and there, but doesn't inspire confidence. The case is cracked by his bagman following the trail, and the detective then has a master plan which he executes to extract a confession. The plan is preposterous, tacky and macabre.
The murderer was clear - to me at least - from early on, though he appeared to have an alibi (easily cracked). The plot didn't properly explain how the second murder was necessary which I though for a while might lift the whole book with an ingenious way of discovering what had happened. Apparently it was simply added to increase the body count, as it didn't shed any light on the original murder.
A great disappointment, and a lesson for me not to choose a book for its cover or title!
March 2, 2019
Well I loved the title and cover of this book- I thought it would be right up my alley. I love a good murder mystery, I love books written long ago and I love female authors- so this seemed like the perfect book for me.
However I did not like this at all!!! It was a real struggle to finish. I found the language used was very odd, and I could not get a handle on any of the main characters. The book kept referring to the users in both first and last names which was confusing- and you never really got to know any of the characters well, so they were hard to like and barrack for.
There was also very little emotion from the the main characters- even though they were confronted by a few quite gruesome murders no one ever seems actually upset by this.
Not sure if I will try another of her works.
However I did not like this at all!!! It was a real struggle to finish. I found the language used was very odd, and I could not get a handle on any of the main characters. The book kept referring to the users in both first and last names which was confusing- and you never really got to know any of the characters well, so they were hard to like and barrack for.
There was also very little emotion from the the main characters- even though they were confronted by a few quite gruesome murders no one ever seems actually upset by this.
Not sure if I will try another of her works.
April 17, 2021
Philip Balfour is a man who likes to have his own way--and his own way generally involves rare books. So, when he decides that he can't wait any longer for a couple of Lewis Carroll books that Sewell's bookshop had tracked down for him, he insists that his librarian Keith Ramsay go with him to the shop on a "little marauding expedition." They break into the shop and start looking for the books (as well as an even rarer book with a near-impossible-to-find inscription in the hand of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence). Ramsay has just stumbled upon this last book's hiding place when the lights go out.
The next thing we (and Ramsay) know, his employer is dead--stabbed to the heart with an antique silver skewer. He calls the police and tracks John Sewell down at, of all places, Philip Balfour's apartment. When questioned, he tells an unlikely-sounding story. He's quite honest about how he and Balfour entered the building and then says that when the lights went out he caught a glimpse of a masked man before the fellow chloroformed him. And when he came to, he found Balfour dead. It is also discovered that the book with the famous inscription is missing. Ramsay and Sewell both insist that the masked man must be both a murderer and a thief. Inspector Manton naturally has little faith in this mysterious masked man and believes Ramsay has killed his boss. He's even more certain when his investigations uncover the fact that Ramsay and Alli Balfour, the new widow, appear to be in love.
Sewell calls upon his friend Fleming Stone to help find the murderer and the missing book. Stone is a private detective of sorts who has worked with the police before and is "a wizard for getting at the heart of a mystery."
...he isn't one of those story-book detectives, who startle you with their marvellous and often useless discoveries. But he is a deep thinker and a quick reasoner and, since I know his worth, I mean to ask his help.
Stone immediately believes that there is more to the case than a simple love-triangle with murder as the solution. But when he investigates the other possible suspects--Sewell's shop assistant Preston Gill' Balfour's son Guy; Peter Wiley, a fellow book collector; and Carl Swinton, long-time acquaintance of the Balfours--he can find little motive and even less opportunity. Things begin to take shape when Guy Balfour is also murdered, a ransom note appears demanding money for the return of the book, and then Alli Balfour is apparently kidnapped. Manton with twisted logic still seems to believe that Ramsay is still behind it all and Stone embarks on a risky mission to prove the truth at last.
This was a fairly disappointing read for me. The setting in the book world was a definite plus and is part of the reason I bought it. I like that the murder takes place in a bookshop; there's a lot of talk about book collectors; and the Macguffin is a rare book that is stolen. However, I find it a bit unbelievable that Sewell would be so casual about Balfour and Ramsay breaking into his shop. I don't care how trustworthy they've been in the past. "Oh, officer, it's no big deal that they broke into the shop. After all they were only looking for the books I'd obtained for Balfour--they've every excuse for breaking in to get what was essentially Balfour's property." Seriously? And if his shop is that easily broken into by a couple of amateurs, I'd think he'd at least be alarmed that someone far more unscrupulous might break in and run off with more of his rare books. But from his reaction you'd think it was just business as usual for people to force a window and enter his shop while he was out.
Oddly, the story contains lots of activity, but no action--if that makes sense. All sorts of things happen but they effect very little forward movement in the plot. It feels like it should be a fast-moving ride, especially after the mid-point, but somebody has left the hand-brake on. The rhythm of the dialogue is off. It just doesn't sound natural to me. The words and phrases are generally all correct, but they're lifeless. I wanted to like this more than I did--but no amount of "want to" can make this more than a ★★ and a half (and that may be a little generous).
**************
Bonus short story: "The Shakespeare Title-Page Mystery"
Another biblio-mystery. This time focused on a rare printing of Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis. Two collectors who know one another personally each claim to have found a rare first printing of Shakespeare's work. One proves to be fake--but whose is it really? Has someone switched the copies? And, if so, who?
This short literary mystery was much more satisfactory than the longer story, though I am a little dubious about how much esoteric book knowledge Pierson of the New York Police seems to have. It would have been nice if he'd been introduced as a policeman with a background in the book world or who was a collector himself in private life. As it stands, there's no reason for him to be so quick on the uptake when it comes to various editions of rare books. But--if I suspend my disbelief on that point--I can say I enjoyed this story about a book swindle that didn't quite come off.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks!
The next thing we (and Ramsay) know, his employer is dead--stabbed to the heart with an antique silver skewer. He calls the police and tracks John Sewell down at, of all places, Philip Balfour's apartment. When questioned, he tells an unlikely-sounding story. He's quite honest about how he and Balfour entered the building and then says that when the lights went out he caught a glimpse of a masked man before the fellow chloroformed him. And when he came to, he found Balfour dead. It is also discovered that the book with the famous inscription is missing. Ramsay and Sewell both insist that the masked man must be both a murderer and a thief. Inspector Manton naturally has little faith in this mysterious masked man and believes Ramsay has killed his boss. He's even more certain when his investigations uncover the fact that Ramsay and Alli Balfour, the new widow, appear to be in love.
Sewell calls upon his friend Fleming Stone to help find the murderer and the missing book. Stone is a private detective of sorts who has worked with the police before and is "a wizard for getting at the heart of a mystery."
...he isn't one of those story-book detectives, who startle you with their marvellous and often useless discoveries. But he is a deep thinker and a quick reasoner and, since I know his worth, I mean to ask his help.
Stone immediately believes that there is more to the case than a simple love-triangle with murder as the solution. But when he investigates the other possible suspects--Sewell's shop assistant Preston Gill' Balfour's son Guy; Peter Wiley, a fellow book collector; and Carl Swinton, long-time acquaintance of the Balfours--he can find little motive and even less opportunity. Things begin to take shape when Guy Balfour is also murdered, a ransom note appears demanding money for the return of the book, and then Alli Balfour is apparently kidnapped. Manton with twisted logic still seems to believe that Ramsay is still behind it all and Stone embarks on a risky mission to prove the truth at last.
This was a fairly disappointing read for me. The setting in the book world was a definite plus and is part of the reason I bought it. I like that the murder takes place in a bookshop; there's a lot of talk about book collectors; and the Macguffin is a rare book that is stolen. However, I find it a bit unbelievable that Sewell would be so casual about Balfour and Ramsay breaking into his shop. I don't care how trustworthy they've been in the past. "Oh, officer, it's no big deal that they broke into the shop. After all they were only looking for the books I'd obtained for Balfour--they've every excuse for breaking in to get what was essentially Balfour's property." Seriously? And if his shop is that easily broken into by a couple of amateurs, I'd think he'd at least be alarmed that someone far more unscrupulous might break in and run off with more of his rare books. But from his reaction you'd think it was just business as usual for people to force a window and enter his shop while he was out.
Oddly, the story contains lots of activity, but no action--if that makes sense. All sorts of things happen but they effect very little forward movement in the plot. It feels like it should be a fast-moving ride, especially after the mid-point, but somebody has left the hand-brake on. The rhythm of the dialogue is off. It just doesn't sound natural to me. The words and phrases are generally all correct, but they're lifeless. I wanted to like this more than I did--but no amount of "want to" can make this more than a ★★ and a half (and that may be a little generous).
**************
Bonus short story: "The Shakespeare Title-Page Mystery"
Another biblio-mystery. This time focused on a rare printing of Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis. Two collectors who know one another personally each claim to have found a rare first printing of Shakespeare's work. One proves to be fake--but whose is it really? Has someone switched the copies? And, if so, who?
This short literary mystery was much more satisfactory than the longer story, though I am a little dubious about how much esoteric book knowledge Pierson of the New York Police seems to have. It would have been nice if he'd been introduced as a policeman with a background in the book world or who was a collector himself in private life. As it stands, there's no reason for him to be so quick on the uptake when it comes to various editions of rare books. But--if I suspend my disbelief on that point--I can say I enjoyed this story about a book swindle that didn't quite come off.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks!
September 19, 2022
This American detective novel was written in the 1930s, so I was hoping for a Golden Age murder mystery with a stylish, hardboiled Sam Spade-ish vibe. Unfortunately, although it's tolerable enough, the story just doesn't deliver. The repetitive discussions of the suspects and their motives bog down the pace, the revelation of the murderer is anticlimactic, and the means by which the private detective, Fleming Stone, "gets his man" are almost laughable. I won't be reading any of Wells' other work, sadly.
August 10, 2023
I was rooting so hard for this book and it made me sad
May 21, 2020
Before Sam Spade and The Continental Op, detectives were a gentlemanly lot. They had menservants, chauffeurs, large apartments - and they always solved the mystery before the police. Fleming Stone is a perfect example of the genre, and he has all the charm - and flaws - of these well-bred detectives. Here he secures a confession by dressing up as a ghost and shaking a bony finger at the startled murderer. Boo!
Carolyn Wells wrote reams of popular books - some for girls, YA fiction (her Patty series is excellent), many detective stories, but she was best as a parodist. She was genuinely witty. All this in an era when young ladies only appeared twice in print: when they married and when they died.
Carolyn Wells wrote reams of popular books - some for girls, YA fiction (her Patty series is excellent), many detective stories, but she was best as a parodist. She was genuinely witty. All this in an era when young ladies only appeared twice in print: when they married and when they died.
Read
August 19, 2022I stopped a little over half way through as it had started to wear on me.
October 3, 2019
Disappointing. Full review at classicmystery.blog
June 11, 2021
Lacklustre? Insipid?
Or maybe it's just an antiquated style of writing.
The predictable end was almost comical with the spooky attempt
Or maybe it's just an antiquated style of writing.
The predictable end was almost comical with the spooky attempt
April 23, 2019
This cosy Golden Age detective story starts promisingly with a collection of reasonably interesting characters and a puzzling murder in, of course, an antiquarian bookshop. The fact that book-sellers, book-collectors and books play a large part in the story are an initial attraction and the opening chapters tackle the murder investigation reasonably efficiently.
Alas, it all goes downhill from there. The heroine is kidnapped and there is a ridiculous interlude with both her and the detective locked up in a mysterious house which reminded me of something out of the Secret Seven. It seems to me that the Detection Club banned this sort of thing from their tales for good reason - the minute the detective story writer strays into the territory of masked gangs and their lairs, quality tends to drop quite sharply. Even Agatha Christie tended to come undone over gangs. The author of this book never looks remotely like salvaging the situation - writing quality and characterisation start to fall apart along with the plot and I was barely able to finish it.
It reminded me of when children start out writing stories and they write an exciting beginning but then can't come up with an ending and simply give up. Very disappointing.
Alas, it all goes downhill from there. The heroine is kidnapped and there is a ridiculous interlude with both her and the detective locked up in a mysterious house which reminded me of something out of the Secret Seven. It seems to me that the Detection Club banned this sort of thing from their tales for good reason - the minute the detective story writer strays into the territory of masked gangs and their lairs, quality tends to drop quite sharply. Even Agatha Christie tended to come undone over gangs. The author of this book never looks remotely like salvaging the situation - writing quality and characterisation start to fall apart along with the plot and I was barely able to finish it.
It reminded me of when children start out writing stories and they write an exciting beginning but then can't come up with an ending and simply give up. Very disappointing.
August 8, 2021
When a book collector is murdered in a bookshop, suspicion instantly falls on his assistant: the only other person in the shop at the time. However, not all may be as it seems. This book had quintessential cosy murder mystery vibes to it – ideal for curling up under a blanket with rain buffeting the windows. It is older-fashioned in style (it was first published in the 1930s), particularly in the pacing and language used, but is still enjoyable to read in this day and age, and wasn’t a mystery to which I easily guessed the solution. I think it is probably more of a book for the colder and darker months than the recent sunshine weather we’ve had.
July 12, 2019
Well, this was... boring! So very, very boring! It started off great - perfect setting, nice fluent writing and everything else you need for a cozy little murder mystery - but it all went downhill from there. I knew who the murderer was halfway through and if you have read a few whodunits already, you too will have no problem to figure out who the culprit is here. The lame plot is only topped by the even lamer detective, who doesn't even show the slightest bit of charisma or inventiveness. B-O-R-I-N-G!
February 1, 2019
I found this hard going - I couldn’t hear the different characters in my head as I read - and the use of surnames all the time meant I struggled to remember who was who.
As a result, I didn’t really warm to the main characters, and found them quite two dimensional.
I also found the denouement a little disappointing - I saw the twist and felt that the earlier misdirection was a little unfair when the culprit was revealed
Just not my thing
As a result, I didn’t really warm to the main characters, and found them quite two dimensional.
I also found the denouement a little disappointing - I saw the twist and felt that the earlier misdirection was a little unfair when the culprit was revealed
Just not my thing
April 22, 2019
Not very sharply written. The handling of the private detective versus the police was dull. Did none of this period's writers inform themselves of police procedure? Actions of the police seem ridiculous and illogical. It seems from my recent reading of 1920-1930s mysteries lately that they must have a damsel in peril in the third act, so damsel in peril in third act. One of the unbreakable alibi type although the method is now, and probably even then was shopworn.
January 29, 2020
An objectively weak attempt to replicate Poe’s tales of ratiocination. To call the dialogue “wooden” would be a kindness.
October 20, 2022
The first half of the book is wonderful, if you suffer from insomnia. My goal over the last three weeks was to finish a chapter before I fell asleep but never did I accomplish that task. A few chapters linger on past two nights.
This book was headed to my DNF shelf but Carolyn Wells wrote 170 books and I thought why can’t I just read one? Maybe I should have tried another as I dove right into the middle of her 61 book Fleming Stone series. But I persevered and read on.
Based on this aforementioned struggle one would think this was destined to a meh rating. Even at the 60% mark the plot had hardly moved and the characters remained stiff and unremarkable to me.
Published in 1936 by a prolific author who is well regarded so I wanted finish at least one of her books. Finish it I did. She published four books that year, while in her 70s, and another sixteen before her death 6 years later.
What did I get out of it? First, an appreciation for character development and the authors who excel in this regard. I’m thinking of Daniel James Brown or Larry McMurtry and their writings.
Secondly, the language of the era and words lost to common use. That’s easy to see between say the 1970s and today as I’ve lived these eras. At the risk of showing my ignorance, words like moiling, were new to me.
Beyond the slowly evolving plot was the noticeable chauvinistic attitude of the characters towards woman. Perhaps germane to the time, or intentional by the author, but why would a female writer write in this manner? Regardless, I found it off putting.
This book didn’t age well and it left me pondering the fate of today’s publications. How will they be regarded a century from now?
This book was headed to my DNF shelf but Carolyn Wells wrote 170 books and I thought why can’t I just read one? Maybe I should have tried another as I dove right into the middle of her 61 book Fleming Stone series. But I persevered and read on.
Based on this aforementioned struggle one would think this was destined to a meh rating. Even at the 60% mark the plot had hardly moved and the characters remained stiff and unremarkable to me.
Published in 1936 by a prolific author who is well regarded so I wanted finish at least one of her books. Finish it I did. She published four books that year, while in her 70s, and another sixteen before her death 6 years later.
What did I get out of it? First, an appreciation for character development and the authors who excel in this regard. I’m thinking of Daniel James Brown or Larry McMurtry and their writings.
Secondly, the language of the era and words lost to common use. That’s easy to see between say the 1970s and today as I’ve lived these eras. At the risk of showing my ignorance, words like moiling, were new to me.
Beyond the slowly evolving plot was the noticeable chauvinistic attitude of the characters towards woman. Perhaps germane to the time, or intentional by the author, but why would a female writer write in this manner? Regardless, I found it off putting.
This book didn’t age well and it left me pondering the fate of today’s publications. How will they be regarded a century from now?
June 29, 2020
There are two stories in this book, with Murder in the Bookshop being the main story and The Shakespeare Title-page Mystery being the short story by the same author. I enjoyed the short story better than the main story. And I'll tell you why.
For one, the main story could've been written without so much talking and dilly-dallying. Much of the talk were of the same things, over and over again, just in different wordings. Then entered Fleming Stone, who was shoved upon us to be the Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot of the story. But he wasn't as great as he'd like us to believe, especially not if he kept on insisting that this was such a great case he'd ever encountered.
Don't get me wrong, I loved the whole idea of a murder in the bookshop, and that rare editions could be so valuable that people could literally kill for it. But the mystery fell short in so many ways. The insistence of Stone that the most obvious suspect was innocent in the first place - because why? There didn't seem to be any fair reason to give the suspect a special treatment.
And then there was the superiority that the civilian detective could have over the policemen. How could that even fly? Why would he get to give orders and somehow have authority to get access to places that normal people wouldn't get to?
I usually don't like to nitpick because the experience would be much sweeter if I didn't but these were all harder to ignore, they stood out like a sore thumb. That being said though, I did enjoy it because it was relatively an easy read. Yet I couldn't help but wonder if it was really written by a known writer of the old days or if it was really ghostwritten by today's unknown writers with Carolyn Wells' name slapped on the cover, with a brief retelling of her history inside...
For one, the main story could've been written without so much talking and dilly-dallying. Much of the talk were of the same things, over and over again, just in different wordings. Then entered Fleming Stone, who was shoved upon us to be the Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot of the story. But he wasn't as great as he'd like us to believe, especially not if he kept on insisting that this was such a great case he'd ever encountered.
Don't get me wrong, I loved the whole idea of a murder in the bookshop, and that rare editions could be so valuable that people could literally kill for it. But the mystery fell short in so many ways. The insistence of Stone that the most obvious suspect was innocent in the first place - because why? There didn't seem to be any fair reason to give the suspect a special treatment.
And then there was the superiority that the civilian detective could have over the policemen. How could that even fly? Why would he get to give orders and somehow have authority to get access to places that normal people wouldn't get to?
I usually don't like to nitpick because the experience would be much sweeter if I didn't but these were all harder to ignore, they stood out like a sore thumb. That being said though, I did enjoy it because it was relatively an easy read. Yet I couldn't help but wonder if it was really written by a known writer of the old days or if it was really ghostwritten by today's unknown writers with Carolyn Wells' name slapped on the cover, with a brief retelling of her history inside...
July 2, 2019
Overall, I’m glad I read this fun but forgettable pulp detective novel. It is a pretty quick read and, for the most part, has enough going on to keep you interested.
The book is very much ‘of its time’ and contains a huge amount of casual and laughable sexism. From the sender of the ransom letter being suspected to be a woman because pasting the letters on is a delicate womanly activity, to the ransom letter finally being attributed to a man because the content was too logical for a woman to have written it.
There are a few too many awkward conversations and decisions made in order to further the plot without giving away too much of the mystery. This is especially true in the set-up at the beginning. It feels as though if the author had taken a little more time with the plotting some of these clunky elements could have been a little more smooth.
I think the biggest disappointment was Fleming Stone, the hotshot detective. I like the detective to be the most interesting and ‘special’ character in a detective novel, with the skills and brain power to make him stand out as the man to call. Stone didn’t really have anything to distinguish him from any of the other police or side characters who helped in the investigation.
Having said all that, it was a fun romp and a good way to spend a couple of hundred pages. The concept of the crime was interesting and it wasn’t easy to guess the criminal but also wasn’t so difficult as to be frustrating or impossible for the reader to puzzle out.
The book is very much ‘of its time’ and contains a huge amount of casual and laughable sexism. From the sender of the ransom letter being suspected to be a woman because pasting the letters on is a delicate womanly activity, to the ransom letter finally being attributed to a man because the content was too logical for a woman to have written it.
There are a few too many awkward conversations and decisions made in order to further the plot without giving away too much of the mystery. This is especially true in the set-up at the beginning. It feels as though if the author had taken a little more time with the plotting some of these clunky elements could have been a little more smooth.
I think the biggest disappointment was Fleming Stone, the hotshot detective. I like the detective to be the most interesting and ‘special’ character in a detective novel, with the skills and brain power to make him stand out as the man to call. Stone didn’t really have anything to distinguish him from any of the other police or side characters who helped in the investigation.
Having said all that, it was a fun romp and a good way to spend a couple of hundred pages. The concept of the crime was interesting and it wasn’t easy to guess the criminal but also wasn’t so difficult as to be frustrating or impossible for the reader to puzzle out.
July 22, 2020
This was not as good as I was hoping but it being an older mystery story, I think I should have measured my expectations better. The writing is very ordinary and, as usual, quite a few of the facts learnt by the detective, a Mr. Fleming Stone, are only revealed at the end. What I really didn't like was that often the plot or characters contradicted themselves or the narrator. I like the fact that, in Christie mysteries for example, the devil is in the details; but the amount of times I flicked back to confirm a hunch that this character or the plot had actually stated something completely different to what I was currently reading was rather too many for my liking. However, there were some nice moments, though oft predictable because they were tools used in many crime TV shows and books these days. My main issue with the story is that when Mr. Stone reveals at the end that he discovered a key piece of information really early on when he visited the hometown of the victim's wife but it clearly stated that he "had gained nothing from his trip save a knowledge that there was nothing to be gained in the mildly pretty village of Trentwood." In actual fact, he had discovered a huge motive for the person who ended up being the murder... Guess she couldn't make it too obvious but I hate for the detective to be so misleading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2020
In keeping with 2020 I spent about 10 years reading this book, more correctly wasting my reading this book. It's a vintage mystery by a writer of the 'Golden Age" of mysteries. I know now why this author isn't in that hall of fame of authors. I'm always intrigued by books that take place in/feature bookstores and the dust jacket was nice. The dust jacket may have been the best part of the book. The characters were 1 dimensional at best, opaque at worst. The plot crawled along at a glacial pace. It finally picked up in the last 50 pages by which time I really didn't care "who done it". I always wonder why I continue to read books that have no redeeming value - but there you are.
One thing that was interesting and which I thought would have a role in the plot was a book supposedly owned by and signed by a signer of the Declaration of Independence who was killed in a duel a year later - so 1777. The book was titled "Taxation Laws of Great Britain and the U.S.A." The term USA wasn't used until 1776 and there certainly wouldn't have been country specific taxation laws at that time - it was still a British colony - I thought there would be plot lines regarding authenticity, forgery, etc. No - pretty sure it was just an author and editor who didn't pay attention to details. It figures, it's 2020!
One thing that was interesting and which I thought would have a role in the plot was a book supposedly owned by and signed by a signer of the Declaration of Independence who was killed in a duel a year later - so 1777. The book was titled "Taxation Laws of Great Britain and the U.S.A." The term USA wasn't used until 1776 and there certainly wouldn't have been country specific taxation laws at that time - it was still a British colony - I thought there would be plot lines regarding authenticity, forgery, etc. No - pretty sure it was just an author and editor who didn't pay attention to details. It figures, it's 2020!
October 21, 2022
Not going to finish this one. I've been reading a lot of classic mysteries, including Christie and Sayers, but I really couldn't get into this. The writing didn't compare at all.
I read a few chapters, but the characters seemed flat, unemotional, and uninteresting, and events just felt ridiculous.
The shop owner wasn't immediately outraged that his "friend" was breaking into his shop?
He was fine with an extremely valuable item being picked up because it was meant for the thief anyway?
Something valuable is stolen from the shop, and the police don't immediately search everyone? Or at least the man caught there with a dead body? Or the dead man?
And the wife and son of the dead man are at odds about their expectations of who will inherit. But she's ok with him immediately moving into the house, to her dead husband's room.
The fact that the librarian called the police without a second thought when he was caught in such a compromising position seemed unbelievable; and the fact that he didn't seem at all worried about how this was going to look was even more so. The police really didn't seem to worry anyone, and didn't feel in control of the situation at any time.
Moving on to something else!
I read a few chapters, but the characters seemed flat, unemotional, and uninteresting, and events just felt ridiculous.
The shop owner wasn't immediately outraged that his "friend" was breaking into his shop?
He was fine with an extremely valuable item being picked up because it was meant for the thief anyway?
Something valuable is stolen from the shop, and the police don't immediately search everyone? Or at least the man caught there with a dead body? Or the dead man?
And the wife and son of the dead man are at odds about their expectations of who will inherit. But she's ok with him immediately moving into the house, to her dead husband's room.
The fact that the librarian called the police without a second thought when he was caught in such a compromising position seemed unbelievable; and the fact that he didn't seem at all worried about how this was going to look was even more so. The police really didn't seem to worry anyone, and didn't feel in control of the situation at any time.
Moving on to something else!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2024
The first book I've read by prolific Golden Age crime author Carolyn Wells, one featuring her popular character private detective Fleming Stone. The first death did occur in a bookshop, and the insight into rare bookselling - and that world with private libraries and rich collectors and such was fabulous. The whole book was very cinematic; I could see it as a wonderful film. I did suspect who did it, and I was right, but the rigmarole getting there was something I didn't see coming. Lots of twists and turns to enjoy. The introduction by Curtis Evans (written in 2018) was excellent, and there was a bonus short story called The Shakespeare Title-Page Mystery, another fun bibliophile mystery.
September 30, 2024
Would say 3.5. It's certainly a puzzler. And in this story Fleming Stone arrives fairly early and we get to go along detecting with him. The ending though feels different than other Fleming Stone mysteries as he knows who (doesn't tell us) who the guilty one is - but needs to basically do some drastic things to 1. save someone & 2. escape & 3 try not to die. There are some some from today's POV, a bit over the top shenanigans. But it works. I know that it may have not felt over the top in the year this book was written.
But overall an enjoyable read. I do like Carolyn Wells' writing. It tends to be very smooth and touches upon some of the class system that was also part of the 1930's. There is a kindle book of this story if you're looking for it.
But overall an enjoyable read. I do like Carolyn Wells' writing. It tends to be very smooth and touches upon some of the class system that was also part of the 1930's. There is a kindle book of this story if you're looking for it.
August 11, 2020
I thought the title and the cover were great and pretty much the reason why I bought the book. Unfortunately the story didn’t live up to my expectations. The plotting was messy, the characters weren’t consistent and the although the villain was who I thought it would be, the reveal was slap dash.
It wasn’t an absolutely awful book by any means but I won’t be rushing out to find more books by the author.
It wasn’t an absolutely awful book by any means but I won’t be rushing out to find more books by the author.
April 24, 2022
Carolyn Wells belongs to the age of Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and other "golden age" authors, but her mysteries, while popular, are now exceedingly hard to come by. Of her 82 detective novels, published between 1909 and 1942, 61 of them feature her private investigator, Fleming Stone.
I did find the story a little hard to get into. The first few chapters seemed formal, contrived, and stilted. The last third of the book, though, was quite exciting and filled with adventure. I also found the "right person" got murdered, Philip Balfour, because he was the least likeable of all the characters (not that I was totally enamored of any of them), so we could not regret being rid of him. The murderer is quite devious and certainly least expected, even though some well-disguised hints are in the story early on.
I would like to read a second book by Wells, preferably another one featuring Fleming Stone, so I could get a feel for the overall oeuvre.
I did find the story a little hard to get into. The first few chapters seemed formal, contrived, and stilted. The last third of the book, though, was quite exciting and filled with adventure. I also found the "right person" got murdered, Philip Balfour, because he was the least likeable of all the characters (not that I was totally enamored of any of them), so we could not regret being rid of him. The murderer is quite devious and certainly least expected, even though some well-disguised hints are in the story early on.
I would like to read a second book by Wells, preferably another one featuring Fleming Stone, so I could get a feel for the overall oeuvre.
December 14, 2023
I learned of Carolyn Wells, and shortly after, found her book in the bookstore, so of course I had to purchase it. It is a bit outdated, in a similar fashion as an Agatha Christie novel-- although this series had started before Agatha's. I overall enjoyed it and got through it fairly quickly. There were a few things that gave me pause, but understanding the history behind it's creation and it's author made this a delight to read!
September 4, 2022
I enjoy a good old fashioned mystery, and this one fills the bill. It's the first I've read by this author although it's apparently the 41st about this detective. It's definitely a creation of its time, but I'm not holding that against it. There are a lot of characters living a lifestyle that isn't very familiar to those of us living in the 2000's, but it's fun to read about. 3.5 stars
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