二壜の調味料

by Lord Dunsany

調味料のセールスをしているスメザーズが同居することになったリンリーという青年は、きわめて明晰な頭脳の持ち主だった。警察に依頼されて怪事件の調査をはじめたリンリーは、スメザーズの手を借りながら、数々の事件の真相を明らかにしていくのだった。エラリイ・クイーンと江戸川乱歩が絶賛した表題作をはじめ、探偵リンリーが活躍するシリーズ短篇9篇を含む全26篇を収録。忘れがたい印象を残す傑作ミステリ短篇集!

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Short Stories, Horror, Mystery Thriller

441 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1952

About the author

Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, eighteenth baron of Dunsany, was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist, notable for his work in fantasy published under the name Lord Dunsany. More than eighty books of his work were published, and his oeuvre includes hundreds of short stories, as well as successful plays, novels and essays. Born to one of the oldest titles in the Irish peerage, he lived much of his life at perhaps Ireland's longest-inhabited home, Dunsany Castle near Tara, received an honourary doctorate from Trinity College, and died in Dublin.

Reviews

[Milo Dring · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m sorry, JD - it wasn’t for me.

The first and last stories were quite good, but the rest didn’t make a lot of sense and were too short to have any substance.

It’s nothing personal, but I didn’t enjoy it x

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Locked Room Mystery #4: The Two Bottles of Relish
The Crime: 3 stars=A young lady is missing/murdered.
Solution=5 stars. The solution itself is original but, oh, the way the resolution is written is truly breathtaking. If you like this genre, you must read this!
Summary: 4 stars. And if I could meet this author, I'd have quite a list of questions.

[Gert De Bie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Onlangs lazen we een boek waarin de auteur refereerde aan Lord Dunsany en specifiek aan zijn verhaal 'Two Bottles of Relish'. We breken ons al enkele weken het hoofd welk boek en welke auteur dat was, maar geraken er voorlopig niet uit. (Iemand?)

'Two Bottles of Relish' bevat 26 misdaadverhalen waarbij de auteur zijn lezers steeds moorden of misdaden voorschotelt die schijnbaar onmogelijk zijn, maar dan toch op ingenieuze wijze uit de doeken gedaan worden. De eerste negen verhalen worden verteld door Smethers, een handelsreiziger in Numnumo (een pickles-achtige saus: relish) die toevallig een appartement deelt met Mr. Linley, een gedreven schaker die er - op aangeven van Smethers - ook zijn hand niet voor omdraait om moordmysteries op te lossen.

De meeste verhalen zijn prima van kwaliteit, slepen je mee zitten goed in elkaar: zelden konden we het mysterie zelf eerder dan de personages uit de doeken doen. Het titelverhaal beloofde meteen al veel goeds en we lagen in een deuk toen een personage door de politie verdacht werd om geen andere reden dan dat hij vegetarisch was. Charmant, zo'n 70 jaar oude verhalen lezen.
Een aangename leeservaring en prima, amusant en fascinerend leesmateriaal, al hadden we het na 26 mysteries ook wel even gehad.

[Cameron Trost · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exceptional collection of short stories, all mysteries of one kind or another with one (The New Master) also crossing over into science-fiction and another (The Shield of Athene) into fantasy. While by no means perfect, and with some clumsy prose and not always entirely convincing characters, the sheer originality and entertainment value of this anthology makes it one you'll never forget. More importantly, however, is the fact that Lord Dunsany was somewhat of a criminal mastermind...on paper, that is. Most of these stories are a study in how to get away with murder, and the methods used by his villains rival those used by Sherlock Holmes' most brilliant adversaries. The title story is Lord Dunsany's most famous and it certainly leaves the reader feeling uneasy, to put it mildy, but the highlights for me were: The Shooting of Constable Slugger, The Clue, A New Murder, Murder by Lightning, The Speech, The New Master, A Tale of Revenge, The Unwritten Thriller, and In Ravancore. 4.5 stars, with half a star withheld because of the inclusion of a handful of weaker tales among the gems.

[Anjan Das · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very creepy

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Two,Bottles of Relish” is a collection of 26 crime/mystery stories by Lord Dunsany. The first nine form a series dealing with Linley and Smithers beginning with the title story which is the most well-known. The eight sequels vary considerably in quality and many might find them disappointing. One, “The Two Assassins” has a plot similar to a very popular TV series at the moment. It deals with the problem of finding two assassins hiding among a group of innocent individuals.

The remaining 17 tales were written over many decades and there are references to both of the World Wars. Some of these entries have clever twists but a few are overlong and others inconclusive. There is an introduction by Ellery Queen and a brief comment about the book and the author at the end.

Dunsany was clearly at his best in Fantasy. These tales are a cut below the “Pegana” series or the fantasy tales and novels. Still, some may enjoy having these stories but as far as I know none of the standard collections of Dunsany include them. It would be a good idea to have a Delphi edition which includes all these mystery stories, biographical material and some reviews.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 2016, 'Two Bottles of Relish' was first published in 1952 under the title 'The Little Tales of Smethers', and consists of 26 short crime/mystery stories some of which cross genres into sf and fantasy. Actually, only the first 9 stories are the 'Tales of Smethers', followed by a more random selection. A small number are deeply flawed, but most of them are excellent and make for a enjoyable read quite different from may that you might come across.

[Julio The Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title story was a personal favorite of Alfred Hitchcock's, who lamented he could never have it on his TV show, ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS. I won't reveal the gruesome plot, let's just say it has much in common, especially the ending, with those HITCHCOCK classics that did air, "Arthur" and "Lamb to the Slaughter". Hitch did get those two past the censors and sponsors. Oh, and don't forget "Specialty of the House".

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed bag of tales and probably requires a very specific reader.
Peculiar characters and thrillers from the early half of last century it's as interesting for attitudes of the time as it is for the stories

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of cozy/locked room/howdunnit mystery stories that are mostly told in the same format and read like condensed Sherlock Holmes knock-0ffs. Dunsany's ideas are clever enough but most of these stories end abruptly and feel somewhat repetitive by the end.

[Adia · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Review is only for the titular story)

Two Bottles of Relish is a kind of locked room mystery: a girl goes missing from a cabin under constant supervision, and she hasn't been buried, burned, or put down the drain. there is also the puzzle of the potential murderer's strange habit of chopping wood...
a rather gruesome, if predictable, solution. i kept hoping throughout the story that i was wrong about the answer...unfortunately i wasn't.

[Forked Radish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relish it.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

The latter stories in this volume seem to be rather more developed and I prefer their style.