Gerald Verner - The Grim Joker (Kindle Edition)

 

Gerald Verner - The Grim Joker - Kindle Edition 

Robert Budd Mystery Number 1

Gerald Verner was one of a number of pen-names used by John Robert Stuart Pringle (31 Jan 1897-16 Sep 1980). Other names used by the multipseudonymous Mr Pringle include Derwent Steele, Donald Stuart and Nigel Vane.

First published in 1936, this is the first of quite a lengthy series of books featuring central character Supt Robert Budd. 

I would say it is intelligently plotted, written in an engaging style and is likely to satisfy all but the most demanding of afficionados of detective fiction of that era. 

Budd is an interesting and, mostly, engaging character. Known as `Rosebud` by his subordinates due to his interest in gardening, he is obese and cultivates a sleepy demeanour which hides an incisive mind. 

His tendency to be abrasively rude to any Officer who he perceives as negligent, even when this does not seem to actually be the case, will not sit well with the modern reader and I am not sure why it is there. 

It does occur to me that Mr Verner may have been influenced by Frank Froests` The Rogues` Syndicate, which first appeared in 1930 and also featured a detective, Weir Menzies, whose hobby is gardening and who can be forceful in his criticisms of slipshod officers. Menzies, however, is portrayed as a kindly, though forceful, man who  does this as an alternative to disciplinary action and in the hope the erring officers will remember and improve. Robert Budd does not appear to have a comparable motivation at all.  

I worked out part of the plot before I reached the end, but not all of it by any means. 

Would recommend this book to others with a taste for this sort of thing and it`s my intention sometime soon to move on to the second of the Robert Budd mysteries, which I believe is called The Jockey.  

 

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V J Banis - The Mystery of Bloodstone - Linford Mystery Library

 

V J Banis - The Mystery of Bloodstone  - Linford Mystery Library - Date uncertain

V J Banis is best remembered as a writer on gay issues but had an interesting sideline as the author of a number of gothic novels. 

These sounded tremendous fun so I enlisted the help of my local library service to give one a try.  

One of his works involved a man who finds a skeleton with a stake where its' heart used to be.  That sounded intriguing but unfortunately Derbyshire Library Service were unable to provide a copy. 

Undaunted, I opted for this one. 

The plot sounded promising enough, involving a young woman who feels compelled to revisit Bloodstone Manor, the house in which she grew up, which overlooks a village named Skull Point. 

Accordingly, she sets sail during a raging storm (not just an ordinary storm) accompanied by a servant who is soon found spending her nights attempting to make contact with the deceased.  

Promising enough, and our heroine is soon plunged into a variety of unnerving and ambiguous scenarios, leading her to question the motivations of almost everyone she meets. 

Unfortunately, while the author hints at a variety of promising directions for the story to take, there is a sense that the story gets away from him and the eventual ending is unsatisfying and doesn't make a lot of sense.  

I may well try another of the authors' gothic novels at some point but despite my initial enthusiasm I'd have to say that for me it didn't live up to it's initial promise.  

 

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George Bellairs - A Surfeit of Suspects - Charnwood - 2022

 

George Bellairs  - A Surfeit of Suspects - Charnwood  - 2022

2022 reprint of book first published in 1964

George Bellairs was a pseudonym used by Harold Blundell (1902-1982)

Harold Blundell aka George Bellairs was never a professional writer despite having 58 novels and a number of articles published. Instead he stayed in his post as bank manager in Rochdale and pursued writing as a paying hobby. 

It's often said that many writers of classic detective fiction treated their stories as a kind of puzzle to be solved, and often seemed set in a kind of hermetically-sealed bubble, divorced from most people's reality. 

This story is nothing like that, with much of the plot centring around  a joinery business in the fictitious manufacturing town of Evingdon which has been hovering on the brink of bankruptcy for some time.  

The author makes great play of the contrast between the expanding new town and the less salubrious old town with it's inadequately lighted streets and rows of terraced houses. 

He also draws on his experience in banking to set out the elaborate scam run by one group of characters, with one company belonging to another company which in turn belongs to yet another as they try to hide the identity of those in charge. 

Style-wise, George Bellairs is usually regarded as an unpretentious writer of rather low-key novels, probably to be found at the lighter end of the crime fiction spectrum. 

I'd agree that Surfeit of Suspects is an easy read, but on this showing, it would be a mistake to underestimate this author. 

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Leonard Gribble - Notorious Crimes - Guild - 1985

Leonard Gribble  - Notorious Crimes - Guild Publishing  - 1985

Leonard Gribble was an author and editor who wrote under a number of names, including Leo Grex and Bruce Sanders. 

This true crime collection features lucid and readable accounts of a dozen cases, many of them I suspect largely forgotten now.  

The book held my attention throughout and I would happily read another similar volume.  

There are a number of minor errors, generally unimportant in themselves but notable for their frequency.  Generally these are just grammatical errors. 

One more perplexing error comes in Chapter 6, 'One Way Ride in Essex'. In this case it is explained that, under interrogation, a suspect was unable to write out an address another man had previously given him, presumably some days earlier.

The author states that "the inference was very clear to the police" , but it is not so clear to the reader. Given that the suspect was American, the address, that of the Provost Marshall in London, would be one he might have problems with. Neither is  it clear why he had been given that address, or what bearing it had on the case.

However, that is really an isolated instance and elsewhere matters are generally explained fully and the writing style is quite accessible.

Overall, I enjoyed this very much and would recommend it to others. 

 

 

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J S Fletcher - The Lost Mr Linthwaite -

 

J S Fletcher - The Lost Mr Linthwaite

I am a big fan of J S Fletcher but I must admit The Lost Mr Linthwaite is not destined to become a personal favourite.

The plot of the story is actually pretty good, but somehow neither the characters or the location really come to life in this one.   

Very often, I encounter books/short stories from the `20s, or indeed from later eras, where there is no real need for much character development/background and/or too much description of locations. I`m thinking here of the works of E Phillips Oppenheim or some of the Sexton Blake Library stories. 

In my personal opinion, this story really could have done with some of those things to give it a bit of zing.

As it is, JSF has written a quite agreeable story but not a gripping one.

I would mention that my download of this (see picture) has a number of typos. They didn`t really bother me, but I do notice that Black Heath Crime have re-issued it recently and their version might be a better bet. 

   

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Gerald Verner - The Vampire Man - Linford - 2018

 

Gerald Verner  - The Vampire Man - Linford  - 2018

2018 reprint of book first published in 1940

Gerald Verner (1897-1980) also wrote using a variety of pen-names, including Derwent Steele, Nigel Vane and Thane Leslie. He wrote a number of Sexton Blake stories under the name Donald Stuart. 

I don't suppose anyone believes that Gerald Verner aspired to literary greatness, but in the early part of this book, some of the writing was so bad I wondered whether to persevere.

I'm glad I did however, as once I got into it I found The Vampire Man an absorbing and enjoyable read.  

The story is an old-fashioned murder mystery, with our intrepid sleuth, amateur criminologist Conway Jackson, seeking the explanation for a number of killings but also, as the title implies,  investigating the nature of the person, or creature,  committing the crimes. 

Some might say that aspects of the story are a bit daft but for me personally, I  read these things primarily for enjoyment and I'm prepared to make allowances. 

At the end of the book I was  seriously interested in reading another book featuring Conway Jackson, but as far as I can tell, this is Mr Verner's only novel to feature this character.

 If there are any others, I'd be interested to hear of them. 

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Leonard Gribble - Fanous Mysteries of Modern Times - Muller - 1976

 

Leonard Gribble - Famous Mysteries of Modern Times - Muller - 1976

This followed the same authors` Famous Historical Mysteries and More Famous Historical Mysteries (both of which I have, but have not read yet), and was intended as a supplement to them. 

I did wonder if this might mean it was hastily cobbled together in order to cash in on the success of its` predecessors, but this does not seem to be the case. 

I would query whether all of the cases discussed here really qualify as `mysteries`, but let`s not worry too much about that. Generally, the book is an absorbing read and does feature a number of intriguing mysteries, some of which were new to me despite my long-standing fondness for such things. 

There were some points where I felt like the book could have been edited more thoroughly (did the author really intend to say that the inhabitants of Kirkwall were "understandably inbred" ?), but this is not a huge problem overall. 

Recommended reading, but not for mystery-loving perfectionists.

     

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Bruce Sanders - Deadly Jade - Herbert Jenkins - 1st/1st - Undated - 1947? - Leonard Gribble, Leo Grex, Dexter Muir, Piers Marlowe

 

Bruce Sanders - Deadly Jade - Herbert Jenkins - 1947?

`Bruce Sanders` was one of a number of pen-names used by Leonard Gribble, a writer best remembered for his many true crime and crime fiction titles.

Set in the immediate post-war period, stylistically this seems very much like something from between the wars.

Initially I was unsure if I was going to warm to this tale of the experiences of central character Simon and his business partner/ex-wife Hilda. However, the story improves with the introduction of two very strong characters, sassy modern girl Carol and her admirer, the charismatic Charles `The Duke` Bastion, reputed to be a figure from the world of organised crime.

These two act as catalysts for a string of events held together by an intriguing, if occasionally muddled, plot.

If the book has a weakness, it`s that it`s `neither fish nor fowl`. There is no puzzle that the reader can have any hope of solving, and neither is it a thriller in the usual sense. 

While there is action (two murders, one attempted murder and an accidental death) , these events are not recounted in the book, but become apparent when a body is discovered, or, more frequently, when one character simply tells another about it. 

This does result in a certain loss of momentum as the book proceeds, particularly since there is a great deal more conversation than action. 

The role of Simon seems to be that he is constantly baffled, misled or mistaken, probably in order to ensure that the more intelligent Carol and Duke are shown to good effect, but in scenes where they are elsewhere, their absence is certainly felt. 

Overall, I would say I enjoyed this book, but it is not going to be to everyone`s taste.      

    

 

 

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Piers Marlowe - Promise to Kill - Thriller Book Club - 1965 - Leonard Gribble, Leo Grex, Louis Grey, Landon Grant, Dexter Muir, Bruce Sanders

 

Piers Marlowe* - Promise to Kill - Thriller Book Club - 1965

*Piers Marlowe is one of a number of  pseudonyms used by the writer Leonard Gribble, best remembered for his true crime and crime fiction titles.

First, a quick grumble. 

At the start of this book, a man is walking through the countryside with a shotgun. His intention is to kill another man.  He stops to watch a bird of prey hunting. It seems a funny moment for nature appreciation but as he`s a character in a novel and is himself hunting prey of his own, we`ll let it pass. 

Musing on life some more, his thoughts turn to industrial relations. It seems wholly unlikely that such considerations would occupy his mind at that moment. 

In my personal view, it can be unwise to introduce social/political concerns into the thoughts/speech of a fictitious character. If, as I suspect, the intention is to show that this particular character is a bit `different between the ears` then it seems to me that the result is just to confuse the reader. 

If the intention is either to promote or disparage the views expressed, then putting them into the thoughts of a fictitious character is still likely to leave the reader unclear about the authors` intentions, especially if the characters` motivations are to say the least ambivalent. 

Anyway, we`ll move on from that.

The problem with this book is not the underlying story, which is actually a particularly strong one. The problem is that the story is badly told.  

I did not expect to be saying that about a book written by Leonard Gribble, a writer  who is widely respected and to whom I am generally well-disposed, but there it is. I actually came to wonder whether it was correct that Piers Marlowe and Leonard Gribble were one and the same person, but apparently this is the case.  

Ultimately, if you are tempted to sample some of Mr Gribbles` fiction, I would suggest you search around, perhaps try reading a couple of online reviews before making your selection (there are a few very interesting ones on a blog named `Mysteries Ahoy !` that you may find helpful).   

Strangely, despite his considerable experience as a writer, Mr G/Marlowe emerges as a man with a story to tell, but in this instance I cannot claim that he tells it well. 

He is a writer with many better books to his credit and I`d suggest seeking out one of the others and giving this one a miss.