What do you think?
Rate this book
Sir Henry Merrivale #23
Merrivale, March and Murder
Book by Carr, John Dickson, Greene, Douglas G.
- GenresMystery
408 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1991
100 people want to read
About the author
John Dickson Carr
428 books502 followersAKA Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson and Roger Fairbairn.
John Dickson Carr was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1906. It Walks by Night, his first published detective novel, featuring the Frenchman Henri Bencolin, was published in 1930. Apart from Dr Fell, whose first appearance was in Hag's Nook in 1933, Carr's other series detectives (published under the nom de plume of Carter Dickson) were the barrister Sir Henry Merrivale, who debuted in The Plague Court Murders (1934).
John Dickson Carr was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1906. It Walks by Night, his first published detective novel, featuring the Frenchman Henri Bencolin, was published in 1930. Apart from Dr Fell, whose first appearance was in Hag's Nook in 1933, Carr's other series detectives (published under the nom de plume of Carter Dickson) were the barrister Sir Henry Merrivale, who debuted in The Plague Court Murders (1934).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 19, 2018
You know that feeling when something you've really been looking forward to ends up, for various reasons, being a slight disappointment, and therefore colouring your entire view of the whole transaction? In this case, there's nothing overtly wrong with this 1991 outing from the now-demised International Polygonics, Ltd., Merrivale, March, and Murder, except for... well, except for the thing that is wrong with it. The volume collects the only two short stories penned by Anglo-American detective novelist John Dickson Carr about the grumpy Sir Henry Merrivale, as well as the entirety of the stories of "The Department of Queer Complaints," featuring Colonel March, and, as an added bonus, a grouping of uncollected short stories (including one published in book form for the first time in this volume), and a single radio script from Carr's work on the BBC's "Appointment with Fear" (others appear in earlier collections, including The Dead Sleep Lightly).
The problem with this volume, which is now usually fairly expensive if you can put your hands on a copy (usually upwards of $75 for a book that in '91 cost $22.95), is the number of typos. They range from the small (failure to capitalise, or just the wrong word), to a massive blunder that stretches over pages 176 to 178, and involves the loss of about seven lines of text (they're just completely gone), along with the repetition of another seven lines of text about a page later. Fortunately, in my case, I have an old paperbound edition of the original collection of The Department of Queer Complaints (it lacks two of the stories, which is why this volume is otherwise essential), and was therefore able to reconstruct the text for my own reading. But this little kerfuffle makes "Death in the Dressing-Room" rather more difficult to understand than it need be, and is the sort of error which should definitely have been caught by an editor. While not as egregious as the errors one can spot in various volumes published by Rue Morgue, for example, it was still deeply disheartening. It was also atypical, as far as I can recall, of IPL releases generally; indeed, the Wodehouse volume of crime stories published by IPL and which I just read didn't present any noticeable errors.
So perhaps this was a fluke. If so, it was a fairly bad one, but if you have this lurking on your shelves, or are a Carr completist and have some ready cash to hand, there are some excellent stories here, and none of them are particularly thundering bores. But be prepared for some choppy waters, and not just if you're reading "Lair of the Devil Fish." Hopefully, the other contemporary collection, Fell and Foul Play, avoids these pitfalls: I will report back once it comes up in the reading rotation.
The problem with this volume, which is now usually fairly expensive if you can put your hands on a copy (usually upwards of $75 for a book that in '91 cost $22.95), is the number of typos. They range from the small (failure to capitalise, or just the wrong word), to a massive blunder that stretches over pages 176 to 178, and involves the loss of about seven lines of text (they're just completely gone), along with the repetition of another seven lines of text about a page later. Fortunately, in my case, I have an old paperbound edition of the original collection of The Department of Queer Complaints (it lacks two of the stories, which is why this volume is otherwise essential), and was therefore able to reconstruct the text for my own reading. But this little kerfuffle makes "Death in the Dressing-Room" rather more difficult to understand than it need be, and is the sort of error which should definitely have been caught by an editor. While not as egregious as the errors one can spot in various volumes published by Rue Morgue, for example, it was still deeply disheartening. It was also atypical, as far as I can recall, of IPL releases generally; indeed, the Wodehouse volume of crime stories published by IPL and which I just read didn't present any noticeable errors.
So perhaps this was a fluke. If so, it was a fairly bad one, but if you have this lurking on your shelves, or are a Carr completist and have some ready cash to hand, there are some excellent stories here, and none of them are particularly thundering bores. But be prepared for some choppy waters, and not just if you're reading "Lair of the Devil Fish." Hopefully, the other contemporary collection, Fell and Foul Play, avoids these pitfalls: I will report back once it comes up in the reading rotation.
December 18, 2012
If, like me, you are a fan of detective fiction of the so-called Golden Age of the genre, the 1930s and the 1940s, I think you'll enjoy this book. It's a selection of short stories (a script for a short radio drama written by the author is also included) from the pen of one of the best ever practitioners of crime fiction, John Dickson Carr (who also wrote under the name of Carter Dickson).
Carr/Dickson was an American who married an English woman and who settled in Britain after his marriage. He specialised in the writing of locked-room mysteries, i.e. those in which a seemingly impossible crime takes place in a very closed environment. Almost all of his numerous novels are of that kind, as are many of his short stories (including the bulk of those featured in "Merrivale, March and Murder"). His stories are ingenious, complex and atmospheric, and that is the case with most of those in this very entertaining collection. Unsurprisingly, the quality varies. My particular favourite is "The House in Goblin Wood", the first story in the collection, which concerns a woman at a picnic who seemingly disappears unnoticed by those around her. This is a fiendishly clever tale that had me purring in admiration when the "solution" to the mystery is revealed. I also liked the story that involved a dead body on a beach that is surrounded by untrammelled sand and the one that concerns a woman who is found dead out of doors and who is wearing only her underwear, with her remaining clothes folded tidily beside her. What possible explanation could there be for such an odd scenario? Some of the stories do not work as well. That is most certainly the case with "Lair of the Devil-Fish", one of the scripts that Carr wrote for the British radio series "Appointment with Fear". I have always had some difficulty with reading plays (including those by Shakespeare!). They simply do not come across well on the printed page, and that applies in this instance.
"Merrivale, March and Murder" takes its name from the two detectives that feature in most of the stories in the collection - Sir Henry Merrivale and Colonel March. It is a most enjoyable book, although it might be best to dip into it at intervals. This is because many of the stories are similar in nature and, however good they are, they are likely to pall if read in quick succession. I chose to read the book over a period of 3-4 months. I visited it on an occasional basis in between reading a variety of novels. I think that that approach greatly enhanced my enjoyment and appreciation of what is undoubtedly a very diverting collection of stories. "Merrivale, March and Murder" is well worth reading. 8/10.
Carr/Dickson was an American who married an English woman and who settled in Britain after his marriage. He specialised in the writing of locked-room mysteries, i.e. those in which a seemingly impossible crime takes place in a very closed environment. Almost all of his numerous novels are of that kind, as are many of his short stories (including the bulk of those featured in "Merrivale, March and Murder"). His stories are ingenious, complex and atmospheric, and that is the case with most of those in this very entertaining collection. Unsurprisingly, the quality varies. My particular favourite is "The House in Goblin Wood", the first story in the collection, which concerns a woman at a picnic who seemingly disappears unnoticed by those around her. This is a fiendishly clever tale that had me purring in admiration when the "solution" to the mystery is revealed. I also liked the story that involved a dead body on a beach that is surrounded by untrammelled sand and the one that concerns a woman who is found dead out of doors and who is wearing only her underwear, with her remaining clothes folded tidily beside her. What possible explanation could there be for such an odd scenario? Some of the stories do not work as well. That is most certainly the case with "Lair of the Devil-Fish", one of the scripts that Carr wrote for the British radio series "Appointment with Fear". I have always had some difficulty with reading plays (including those by Shakespeare!). They simply do not come across well on the printed page, and that applies in this instance.
"Merrivale, March and Murder" takes its name from the two detectives that feature in most of the stories in the collection - Sir Henry Merrivale and Colonel March. It is a most enjoyable book, although it might be best to dip into it at intervals. This is because many of the stories are similar in nature and, however good they are, they are likely to pall if read in quick succession. I chose to read the book over a period of 3-4 months. I visited it on an occasional basis in between reading a variety of novels. I think that that approach greatly enhanced my enjoyment and appreciation of what is undoubtedly a very diverting collection of stories. "Merrivale, March and Murder" is well worth reading. 8/10.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews