Alfred Hitchcock Presents: A Month Of Mystery

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

by Alfred Hitchcock (Editor)

Here is a selection of the widest possible assortment of reading pleasure for the mystery reader. It is broken down into : A Week of Crime, A Week of Suspense, A Week of Detection, A Week of the Macabre, A Short Week of Long Ones. — The thirty-one selections include fascinating stories guaranteed to keep the reader pleasantly diverted, puzzled, or terrified, depending on which week he has chosen from.

Mr. Hitchcock, in his own words offers his views of the ideal setting and time for reading: "I feel that evening is the best time to approach the stories I have gathered together. An easy chair, a darkened room and a pool of light to read by offer the ideal setting in which to enjoy the varied attractions of these tales. If at all possible, avoid sharing the room with a teen-ager playing records that thump, shriek and wail at you. This is bound to be distracting. Unless of course, you are a teen-ager yourself. But if you are a teen-ager, what are you doing reading this book? Shouldn't you be out organizing a protest against something?"

"So much for that. This time, as you will see, I have assembled a sample of stories embracing many aspects of the mystery tale. There are thirty-one of them. If you ration yourself and read one each night, they will last you exactly a month. Of course, you will have to pick a month with thirty-one days and start on the first. But this is for perfectionists only. I don't insist. I am an advocate of the permissive school of reading."

"Start anywhere and read as fast as you please. Now I must get back to the laboratory. There's work to be done."

the dusty drawer by: Muheim
drum beat by: Marlowe
south of the market by: Gores
the uses of intelligence by: Gant
love will find a way by: Alexander
retribution by: Zuroy
the queen's jewel by: Holding
pool party by: Benedict
that touch of genius by: Sambrot
the crooked road by: Gaby
a taste for murder by: Ritchie
the twelve hour caper by: Marmer
the amature by: Gilbert
death wish by: Block
the singing piegon by: MacDonald
justice magnifique by: Treat
the white hat by: Rohmer
hard shell by: Rice
greedy night by: Bentley
a twlight adventure by: Post
murder matinee by: Masur
a humanist by: Gary
the oblong room by: Hoch
love me love me love me by: Waddell
special handling by: Keefauver
dead man's story by: Rigsby
the leagend of joe lee by: MacDonald
crooked bone by: Kersh
the janissaries of emilion by: Copper
chinoiserie by: McCloy
soldier key by: Lanier

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies

428 pages, Hardcover

First published October 22, 1969

About the author

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (1899-1980) was an iconic and highly influential film director and producer, who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres.

Following a very substantial career in his native Britain in both silent films and talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood and became an American citizen with dual nationality in 1956, thus he also remained a British subject.

Hitchcock directed more than fifty feature films in a career which spanned six decades, from the silent film era, through the invention of sound films, and far into the era of colour films. For a complete list of his films, see Alfred Hitchcock filmography.

Hitchcock was among the most consistently recognizable directors to the general public, and was one of the most successful film directors during his lifetime. He continues to be one of the best known and most popular filmmakers of all time.

Reviews

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thirty-one short stories divided up into sub-categories. We have (in order) a week of crime, a week of suspense, a week of detection, a week of the macabre, and "a short week of long ones." My biggest complaint about the collection is that too many of the stories leave the reader in suspense. Does the criminal get what's coming to him (whether that be a proposed death or jail time)? We'll never know. I do like my stories to have a good solid resolution. And some of the stories really aren't mysteries at all, so we really don't get a whole month's worth of mystery.

As with all collections, this is a mixed bag. The pick of the stories as far I'm concerned are "The Dusty Drawer," "Drum Beat," "The Queen's Jewel," "The Twelve-Hour Caper," and "The Amateur. A decent selection of stories, but nothing that really just knocked my socks off.

Full review (with story synopses) may be found at my blog My Reader's Block.

[Serena · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7 stars

the Dusty Drawer by Harry Muheim ****
Chester Drum] Drum Beat by Stephen Marlowe ***
South of Market by Joe Gores ****
the Uses of Intelligence by Matthew Gant ****
Love Will Find a Way by David Alexander ***
by Michael Zuroy ****
the Queen's Jewel by James Holding ****
Pool Party by Andrew Benedict ****
That Touch of Genius by William Sambrot ****
the Crooked Road by Alex Gaby ****
A Taste for Murder by Jack Ritchie ***
the Twelve-Hour Caper by Mike Marmer ****
the Amateur by Michael Gilbert ****
Death Wish by Lawrence Block ****
the Singing Pigeon by Ross Macdonald ***
Justice Magnifique by Lawrence Treat ***
the White Hat by Sax Rohmer ****
Hard Sell by Craig Rice ****
Greedy Night by E.C. Bentley ***
A Twilight Adventure by Melville Davisson Post ***
Murder Matinee by Harold Q. Masur ****
A Humanist by Romain Gary ****
the Oblong Room by Edward D. Hoch ***
Love Me, Love Me, Love Me by M.S. Waddell ***
Special Handling by John Keefauver ****
Dead Man's Story by Howard Rigsby ****
the Legend of Joe Lee by John D. MacDonald ****
Crooked Bone by Gerald Kersh *****
the Janissaries of Emilion by Basil Copper ****
Chinoiserie by Helen McCloy ****
Soldier Key by Sterling E. Lanier ****

My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant foray into short fiction. Bearing the name of Alfred Hitchcock, this collection (as the title suggests) contains 31 short stories, intended to be read one per day over a whole month, with each week aiming for a different tone. In the Week of Crime, a young pair of brilliant children are too smart for their own good. From the Week of Suspense, we get a story of criminals who underestimate their old friend's girl and her swimming pool. The Week of Detection brings a girl who keels over during a movie matinee, and an investigator who followed her in. Finally, in the Week of the Macabre, a mailman tries to convince himself that the last house on his route isn't shrinking; but isn't it?

These and more stories give the reader a few good thrills and chills. Though to be fair, the mysticism seemed out of place for the Master of Suspense. Hitchcock himself didn't dabble into the supernatural. Outside of Rebecca or The Birds, his tales were all explainable without resorting to The Unknown. Still, the wide variety of concepts and settings give light to enjoyable quick reads.

Recommended for people who want to fill a month.

[Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

1/ The Dusty Drawer: 7.5/10
2/ Drum Beat: 3/10
3/ South of Market: 4.5/10
4/ Use of Intelligence: 7/10
5/ Love will find a way: 8/10
6/ Retribution: 7/10
7/ The Queen’s Jewel: 7.5/10
8/ Pool Party: 7/10
9/ That touch of genius: 7.5-8/10
10/ The Crooked Road: 7-7.5/10
11/ A taste for murder: 7.5/10
12/ The Twelve-Hour Caper: 8/10
13/ The Amateur: 4/10
14/ Death Wish: 7.5-8/10
15/ The Singing Pigeon: 7-7.5/10
16/ Justice Magnifique: 5.5/10
17/ The White Hat: 7-7.5/10
18/ Hard Sell: 5.5-6/10
19/ Greedy Night: 3.5/10
20/ The Twilight Adventure: 5/10
21/ Murder Matinee: 6-6.5/10
22/ A Humanist: 2.5/10
23/ The Oblong Room: 6.5/10
24/ Love Me, Love Me, Love Me: 5/10
25/ Special Handling: 6/10
26/ Dead Man’s Story: 8/10
27/ The Legend of Joe Lee: 4.5/10
28/ Crooked Bone: 2/10
29/ The Janissaries of Emilion: 7/10
30/ Chinoiserie: 4.5/10
31/ Soldier Key: 8.5-9/10

Honestly it was an okay collection of stories. Most of them were okay at best. The last story was the best one for sure.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

#33 of 120 books pledged to read during 2018

[Jersey Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of old [1960's and earlier] mystery, macabre, and just plain odd stories of varying length. Of particular interest is one of my personal favorites of all time, 'The Amateur.'

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully charming little tales of mystery & suspense with a grimly hilarious preface by the Editor.

Standout stories (either by virtues of content or writing) style include:
The Dusty Drawer
South of Market
The Uses of Intelligence
Love Will Find A Way
Retribution
The Pool Party
The 12 Hour Caper
A Humanist
Love Me Love Me Love Me
Dead Man's Story
The Janissaries of Emilion
Soldier Key

[Craig Nybo (Author of Allied Zombies for Peace) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story anthology. I enjoyed it. Some stories were better than others. This is an old book that uses an old style of writing. More fluff and more inert description than I am used to with fast-paced modern fiction.

[Amy Mawdsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was really scary! The man was twisted.

[Tatiana Richards Hanebutte · Rating 4 out of 5]

i would LOVE to buy a copy of this book