Status Updates From Serpents in Eden: Countrysi...

13. Our Pageant *** by Gladys Mitchell (1901-1983). A murder occurs within a group of Morris dancers at a village fair. Originally published in the Evening Standard in the 1950s, collected in Sleuth’s Academy: Cases of Mrs. Bradley and Others (2005).

12. Clue in the Mustard **** by Leo Bruce (1903-1979). Sergeant Beef deduces that a murder has been committed due to the sprouting of mustard seeds in a greenhouse. Original publication probably London Evening Standard 1950-56, collected in Murder in Miniature: The Short Stories of Leo Bruce (1992).

All the same, it was an interesting case. What you’d call mackayber …” “Mack …?”
“You know, gruesome,” explained Beef impatiently.
“Oh, macabre.”
“That’s it.”
I knew better than to underrate Sergeant Beef because of a little eccentricity in pronunciation.

11. The Scarecrow *** by Ethel Lina White (1876-1944). A woman had escaped being murdered by a crazed former boyfriend and now lives at her mother’s farm where the sight of a scarecrow in a field disturbs her. Meanwhile, the former boyfriend has escaped from prison. First published in Pearson’s in November 1928. No information on any previous collection. incl. Write Your Own Ending Alert™

10. Inquest *** by Leonora Wodehouse (1904-1944). A doctor is on a train journey and recognizes his compartment companion as a lawyer who had also testified at an inquest that they both attended years before. The truth behind the death is finally revealed. First published in the Strand Magazine in 1932 under the penname Loel Yeo. No information on any previous collection.

Roger stepped forward. “Good afternoon. Did you have a good run up from Dorset?”
The girl stared at him. “How did you know I had come up from Dorset?”
“I was doing the Sherlock Holmes stuff,” Roger explained, not without pride. “I’ll do some more of it if you like. You run a Morris Oxford saloon; your hobby is tennis; and you live within easy reach of the sea. How’s that?”

9. Direct Evidence **** by Anthony Berkeley, (1893–1971). Roger Sheringham is asked to prove the innocence of a man who was seen shooting his lover by several witnesses. Collected only in the rare The Roger Sheringham Stories (95 copies - 1994). It is an early version of Double Bluff, collected in The Avenging Chance and Even More Stories, but has a different ending.

8. A Proper Mystery ** by Margery Allingham (1904-1966). A herd of cows get loose and trample the exhibits for a country fair. There is suspicion as to how the cows got loose. More of a farmers’ squabble than a crime story. This previously uncollected story was first published in The Lights of Essex magazine in May 1942.

7. The Naturalist at Law *** by R. Austin Freeman (1862-1943). Dr. John Thorndyke is called in on a case to prove that an apparent accidental drowning was not a suicide. Thorndyke suspects that it was actually a murder. First published in Flynn’s Weekly December 11, 1926 and later collected in The Famous Cases of Dr. Thorndyke (1929).

6. The Long Barrow **** by H.C. Bailey (1878-1961). Police consultant Dr. Reggie Fortune is called in when an archeologist and his secretary are being pestered by locals who resent the excavation of an ancient burial mound. Fortune suspects there is something more sinister going on. First publication in London Magazine January 1925, later collected in Mr Fortune's Trials (1925).

5. The Glyston Slander *** by Herbert George Jenkins (1876-1923). Investigator Malcolm Sage is called in to solve a case of poisoned pen letters in the village of Glyston. The seemingly obvious culprit is arrested until Sage reveals the true writer. First publication is not identified but was collected in Malcolm Sage, Detective (1921).

4. The Genuine Tabard **** by E.C. Bentley (1875-1956). Amateur detective Philip Trent suspects a fraud when a rich American couple show him a supposed authentic tabard that they purchased from a country vicar. Further investigation unveils a larger con-game. First publication is not identified but was collected in Trent Intervenes (1938).

3. The Fad of the Fisherman ** by G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936). A rather shady character is murdered while fishing on his estate and all the manor guests are suspects, but Horne Fisher reveals the surprising killer. Overwritten (old style) and had unsatisfactory elements. First published in June 1921 and then collected in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1922).

2. Murder by Proxy **** by M. McDonnell Bodkin (1850-1933). Squire Neville is shot dead by a muzzle pistol, but no murderer is found in the room. The heir to the Manor is suspected, but at the inquest the true murderer is revealed by Beck. First publication not given, but was collected in Paul Beck: The Rule of Thumb Detective (1898).

1. The Black Doctor **** by Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930). A dark-hued doctor is apparently murdered and the vindictive brother of his jilted bride is arrested for the crime. But at the court trial a surprise witness appears for the defense. First published in The Strand Magazine 1898.

More than half a century later, W.H. Auden went so far as to say, in his essay “The Guilty Vicarage” that he found it “very difficult, for example, to read [a detective story] that is not set in rural England.” ... “Nature should reflect its human inhabitants, i.e., it should be the Great Good Place; for the more Eden-like it is, the greater the contradiction of murder. The country is preferable to the town…”

I gave up after trying three or four stories and not enjoying them.

I liked the story by Arthur Canon Doyle even if it used the lame clue of twins and mistaken identity. The Fad of the Fisherman by Chesterton was not clear to me at all—confusing and not entertaining. I may try a few others.