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Murder Mixture #1
Murder Mixture: An Anthology of Crime Stories
fine condition book in vg+ condition dw 1963 1st edition Elek hardcover In stock shipped from our UK warehouse
478 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1963
About the author
Elizabeth Lee
149 books36 followersPseudonym for author Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli
Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 9, 2024
This anthology was put together in 1963, featuring authors who were (mostly) alive at the time. Then-contemporary-now-dated is a peculiar vibe and it thrilled me to be holding a 60+ year old book in my hands.
The stories are organized from relative light to pretty grim. The earlier ones are more domestic and closed circle crimes and include a surprising number of the inverted type—you start out knowing who the murderer is and it's a question of why and howdunnit and whether they actually get caught.
Excellent ones
The holy well / H.C. Bailey (incredibly atmospheric)
Murder! / Arnold Bennett (satisfying ending)
By kind permission of the murdered man / Hylton Cleaver (one of the good Inverted murders—but with a twist)
Suspect unknown / Courtney Ryley Cooper (fun buildup)
The specialty of the house / Stanley Ellin (dark but terrific)
Phyllis Annesley's peril / R. Austin Freeman (stretches the imagination but excellent nevertheless)
Good ones
The clue of the red wig / John Dickson Carr (surprise criminal but annoying protagonist)
Triangle at Rhodes / Agatha Christie (how Poirot knows what's happening is a bit meh, but otherwise, great characters and a solid plot that she's repurposed many times before)
No trace / Veronica Parker Johns (interesting narrator)
Listen, listen! / R.E. Kendall (terrific ending)
The letter / Somerset Maugham (very readable, even though the murderer is treated far too leniently)
The fountain plays / Dorothy Sayers (you almost feel sorry for the murderer!)
The sleeve / L.A.G. Strong (good ending)
The stories are organized from relative light to pretty grim. The earlier ones are more domestic and closed circle crimes and include a surprising number of the inverted type—you start out knowing who the murderer is and it's a question of why and howdunnit and whether they actually get caught.
Excellent ones
The holy well / H.C. Bailey (incredibly atmospheric)
Murder! / Arnold Bennett (satisfying ending)
By kind permission of the murdered man / Hylton Cleaver (one of the good Inverted murders—but with a twist)
Suspect unknown / Courtney Ryley Cooper (fun buildup)
The specialty of the house / Stanley Ellin (dark but terrific)
Phyllis Annesley's peril / R. Austin Freeman (stretches the imagination but excellent nevertheless)
Good ones
The clue of the red wig / John Dickson Carr (surprise criminal but annoying protagonist)
Triangle at Rhodes / Agatha Christie (how Poirot knows what's happening is a bit meh, but otherwise, great characters and a solid plot that she's repurposed many times before)
No trace / Veronica Parker Johns (interesting narrator)
Listen, listen! / R.E. Kendall (terrific ending)
The letter / Somerset Maugham (very readable, even though the murderer is treated far too leniently)
The fountain plays / Dorothy Sayers (you almost feel sorry for the murderer!)
The sleeve / L.A.G. Strong (good ending)
near-completion
December 20, 2024Read so far:
The holy well / H.C. Bailey --3
Murder! / Arnold Bennett --3
Murder for posterity / Margot Bennett (NA)--
Aren't our police wonderful? / Christianna Brand --2
The clue of the red wig / John Dickson Carr --3
Triangle at Rhodes / Agatha Christie --2
By kind permission of the murdered man / Hylton Cleaver --3
Suspect unknown / Courtney Ryley Cooper --3
Recipe for murder / C.J. Donnel --2
*The empty house / Arthur Conan Doyle --
The specialty of the house / Stanley Ellin --2
The letters in evidence / C.S. Forester --2
*Phyllis Annesley's peril / R. Austin Freeman --
No trace / Veronica Parker Johns --3
Listen, listen! / R.E. Kendall --
*A roof in Manhattan / Hilda Lawrence (NA)--
Ten o'clock / Philip Macdonald --2
*Wilful murder / H.A. Manhood --
The letter / Somerset Maugham --4
The murder in the fishing cat / Edna St. Vincent Millay --2
He got what she wanted / Nigel Morland --1
In the dark / E. Nesbit --3
The undiscovered murderer / E. Phillips Oppenheim --2
The murders in the Rue Morgue / Edgar Allen Poe --3
Sense of humour / Damon Runyon --3
The fountain plays / Dorothy Sayers --2
The sleeve / L.A.G. Strong (NA)--
The rubber trumpet / Roy Vickers --2
Being a murderer myself / Arthur Williams --3
The boat race murder / David Winser --2
Inquest / Loel Yeo--3
The holy well / H.C. Bailey --3
Murder! / Arnold Bennett --3
Murder for posterity / Margot Bennett (NA)--
Aren't our police wonderful? / Christianna Brand --2
The clue of the red wig / John Dickson Carr --3
Triangle at Rhodes / Agatha Christie --2
By kind permission of the murdered man / Hylton Cleaver --3
Suspect unknown / Courtney Ryley Cooper --3
Recipe for murder / C.J. Donnel --2
*The empty house / Arthur Conan Doyle --
The specialty of the house / Stanley Ellin --2
The letters in evidence / C.S. Forester --2
*Phyllis Annesley's peril / R. Austin Freeman --
No trace / Veronica Parker Johns --3
Listen, listen! / R.E. Kendall --
*A roof in Manhattan / Hilda Lawrence (NA)--
Ten o'clock / Philip Macdonald --2
*Wilful murder / H.A. Manhood --
The letter / Somerset Maugham --4
The murder in the fishing cat / Edna St. Vincent Millay --2
He got what she wanted / Nigel Morland --1
In the dark / E. Nesbit --3
The undiscovered murderer / E. Phillips Oppenheim --2
The murders in the Rue Morgue / Edgar Allen Poe --3
Sense of humour / Damon Runyon --3
The fountain plays / Dorothy Sayers --2
The sleeve / L.A.G. Strong (NA)--
The rubber trumpet / Roy Vickers --2
Being a murderer myself / Arthur Williams --3
The boat race murder / David Winser --2
Inquest / Loel Yeo--3
December 19, 2024
Wonderful if uneven selection of mysteries, some very difficult to find elsewhere.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews