Dear Dead Days: 1972 Mystery Writers of America Anthology

by Edward D. Hoch (Editor), Robert Bloch (Contributor), Stanley Ellin (Contributor)

243 pages, Unbound

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Edward D. Hoch is one of the most honored mystery writers of all time.

* 1968 Edgar Allan Poe Award (Mystery Writers of America): "The Oblong Room", The Saint Mystery Magazine, July 1967
* 1998 Anthony Award (Bouchercon World Mystery Convention): "One Bag of Coconuts", EQMM, November 1997
* 2001 Anthony Award (Bouchercon): "The Problem of the Potting Shed", EQMM, July 2000
* 2007 Ellery Queen Readers Choice Award (awarded 2008): "The Theft of the Ostracized Ostrich", EQMM, June 2007
* Lifetime Achievement Award (Private Eye Writers of America), 2000
* Grand Master (Mystery Writers of America), 2001
* Lifetime Achievement Award (Bouchercon), 2001

Reviews

[Benjamin Uke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another Philip Marlowe Noir tale.

The plot hook: Imagine going broke rather than getting your wife psychotic treatment.

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

BOTTOM LINE: 1972 Mystery Writers of America short story anthology, this one edited by Edward D. Hoch. Fifteen interesting stories, published from ~1940 to ~1970 but arranged by date of setting (from prehistoric times to 1942).

The best IMO include “(1861) Chinoiserie”, Helen McCloy, 1946; “(1901) The Ripper of Storyville”, Edward D. Hoch, 1963, “(1932) The Legacy”, Clayton Matthews, 1968. Also includes stories by Eric Ambler, Jon L. Breen, John Dickson Carr, Miriam Allen DeFord, Lillian de la Torre, Robert L. Fish, Joe Gores, Morris Hershman, Bill Pronzini, Ellery Queen, Jaime Sandaval, Henry Slesar.


Prehistory: Miriam Allen DeFord, “The Ptarmigan Knife”, 1968
— nicely quirky murder story, cavemen and shaman, friends and foes

1593: Joe Gores, “A Sad and Bloody Hour”, 1965
— Kit Marlowe is dead, is it murder? Shakespearian bon-bon, not my cuppa

1699: Lillian De La Torre, “A Fool for a Client”, 1949
— tricky court case, much more enjoyable than her Dr. Sam stories

1861: Helen McCloy, “Chinoiserie”, 1946
— a sweet Russian girl goes missing in The Old City of Pekin
quietly, carefully, darkly evocative, and deservedly multi-Award winning

1880: Bill Pronzini, “Decision”, 1971
— battered wife syndrome, western-style, crisp and sharp

1892: John Dickson Carr, “The Other Hangman”, 1940
— creepy, dark and sad tale of small town justice

1897: Henry Slesar, “A Note on American Literature by My Uncle..., 1963
— love and marriage, twisted literary style

1901: Edward D. Hoch, “The Ripper of Storyville”, 1963
— superb tale of a western PI, death, sex, and money

1915: Morris Hershman, “Proposal Perilous”, 1949
— nifty little take on brides in the bath...

1919: Jaime Sandaval, “All the Way Home”, 1965
— coming of age, darkly; sad, beautifully twisted

1926: Eric Ambler, “Belgrade 1926", 1939
— spy vs. spy, smooth but slow

1929: Jon L. Breen, “The Austin Murder Case”, 1967
— Philo Vance parody; couple of good hits, but vanDine himself was more fun...

1932: Clayton Matthews, “The Legacy”, 1968
— a wifebeater, a sad little wife, a son, a farm; hope, money, hate

1938: Ellery Queen, “The Gettysburg Bugle”, 1951
— deaths of three very old men, and money; endlessly anthologized, superb

1942: Robert L. Fish, “The Adventure of the Double-Bogey Man”, 1961
— nifty pastiche, Holmes and Ike and “sports”

[Jameson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Real hit or miss for me. Like most anthologies, I guess. I got it for the Hoch story as I'm a big Carr fan and indeed his story was my favorite. Future me, don't worry about tracking this one down again.