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Mark Twain Mysteries #5
The Mysterious Strangler
A trip to sunny Florence following a long lecture tour in England brings unexpected surprises for literary legend Mark Twain and his assistant, Wentworth Cabot, when they find themselves investigating the theft of a recently discovery Raphael masterpiece and the disappearance of a mysterious young woman. Original.
- GenresMystery
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 2000
1 person is currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
Peter J. Heck
109 books12 followersPeter Jewell Heck (born Chestertown, Maryland) is an American science fiction and mystery author. His books include the "Mark Twain Mysteries"—historical whodunits featuring the famous author as a detective—and the "Phule's Company" series, in collaboration with Robert Asprin, best described as "F-Troop in space".
Heck has also been an editor at Ace Books (where he edited Lynn S. Hightower and Robert J. Sawyer, among others), and created the SF newsletter Xignals and its mystery equivalent Crime Times for the Waldenbooks chain. He is also a regular reviewer for Asimov's Science Fiction and Kirkus Reviews.
In 2007, Heck began working as a reporter at the Kent County News in Chestertown, MD, where he and his wife moved after a number of years in Brooklyn, NY. His work for the paper includes articles on local government and history and coverage of the arts. He also plays guitar and banjo in a local band, Col. Leonard's
Heck has also been an editor at Ace Books (where he edited Lynn S. Hightower and Robert J. Sawyer, among others), and created the SF newsletter Xignals and its mystery equivalent Crime Times for the Waldenbooks chain. He is also a regular reviewer for Asimov's Science Fiction and Kirkus Reviews.
In 2007, Heck began working as a reporter at the Kent County News in Chestertown, MD, where he and his wife moved after a number of years in Brooklyn, NY. His work for the paper includes articles on local government and history and coverage of the arts. He also plays guitar and banjo in a local band, Col. Leonard's
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 27, 2008
This is the 5th in the series of murder mysteries by Peter J. Heck featuring Mark Twain and his long suffering secretary, Wentworth Cabot.
On the upside you get a pretty good rendition of Twain and his sensibilities and a fair amount of local color and history. On the downside the wit between the two protagonists never approach the level of Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe, one of the templates for this series.
Minor quip for Twain geeks like me; while the title is a nice enough pun on Twain's last published full length novel - it more or less stops there. Nothing about printers or printer's devils or Satan or angels or the other things Twain's MYSTERIOUS STRANGER concerns itself with. There are some missed opportunities to establish stronger links with Twain's work in this series. But a pleasant enough diversion, nevertheless.
On the upside you get a pretty good rendition of Twain and his sensibilities and a fair amount of local color and history. On the downside the wit between the two protagonists never approach the level of Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe, one of the templates for this series.
Minor quip for Twain geeks like me; while the title is a nice enough pun on Twain's last published full length novel - it more or less stops there. Nothing about printers or printer's devils or Satan or angels or the other things Twain's MYSTERIOUS STRANGER concerns itself with. There are some missed opportunities to establish stronger links with Twain's work in this series. But a pleasant enough diversion, nevertheless.
June 20, 2015
I loved all the Mark Twain mysteries by Peter Heck. All are written from the view of his secretary, Cabot, who usually travels with Twain. This time they are in Florence Italy when a Raphael masterpiece and a young lady disappear. Lots of history and location information plus a dashing good story!
October 5, 2009
A very good book it is like a mystery Mark Twaiin and his employer are the ones solving the murder of a lady that gets killed.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews