What's kind of special about this volume compared with other anthologies of impossible mysteries is the fact that several stories were quite recent when published here - in fact, some were provided exclusively for this anthology. There are a few old chestnuts and classics as well, but quite a lot of stories were relatively unknown.
Mike Ashley, the editor of this huge collection of stories, is best known as an editor of SF and fantasy anthologies, but in this series of Mammoth anthologies, he also edited several books of mystery stories. There's also a second anthology of impossible crimes, and we'll return to that. But since there are so many stories here, let's just get on with this one.
Martin Edwards - Waiting for Godstow
Claire Doherty has convinced an admirer to kill her husband, but even though the admirer calls to confirm that the murder went as planned, the husband is still alive. Or so Police Sergeant Godstow says when he comes to interview her the next day...
A bit differently structured this. It's not a fair play mystery at all, more one of those ironic crime novel type things. Not my cup of tea.
Kate Ellis - The Odour of Sanctity
A school class is visiting an old museum when suddenly a scream rings out. It turns out an artist who's been working in a closed tower has fallen down - knifed in the heart.
This was much better. I liked the team of police investigating this crime, and it's a nicely clued story.
Margaret Frazer - A Traveller's Tale
Set in the 1400s, a married couple and their son are travelling together in a horse-drawn carriage. All were seen to enter, but when the carriage comes to stop both parents are dead and the young boy is unconscious. It seems there's been poison at play.
Only semi-impossible unless you automatically exclude the son. I've mentioned once or twice that I'm not overly fond of historical tales, but to be honest, the 1400s are more interesting to me than the dreaded Elizabethan and Jacobean times. And this was actually quite good, though perhaps fairly easy to see through.
John Dickson Carr - The Silver Curtain
Already discussed in this post.
Michael Kurland - The Stolen Saint Simon
A family of aristocratic Czechs report that their painting has been stolen from their apartment on the 37th floor, even though no one could have gone through the apartment door.
I liked this one too. A fairly clued impossibility where the solution is a bit on the far-fetched side, but still workable.
Edward D. Hoch - The Problem of the Crowded Cemetary
Already discussed in this post.
Lois H. Gresh & Robert Weinberg - Death Rides the Elevator
The reclusive Penelope Peters and her sidekick Sean O'Brien investigate a case where a bank manager has been killed by decapitation in an elevator where no one else was present.
The culprit is unfortunately very, very obvious. The solution is a bit on the technical side here, and doesn't feel particularly inspired. Finally, I get a bit uneasy with the whole homage to Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin shtick. Honestly, when you're going to get so close to the original, you may as well write it as a real pastiche of the real thing and keep the original names.
Lynne Wood Block & Lawrence Block - The Burglar Who Smelled Smoke
The none too scrupulous book trader Bernie Rhodenbarr is invited to a collector's home. However, the collector has a very set schedule which means that Bernie is left to enjoy himself - and boy, does he - in the house while the collector is sitting alone in his locked and sealed library. Then a fire starts in the library and the collector is found dead...
So, is this an accident or murder? Well, since it's an impossible mystery you can probably guess. The main problem here is that the culprit is super obvious. Otherwise, this is a fine story with a nice little impossibility and a pretty good murder plot.
Michael Collins - No Way Out
Hard-boiled detective Slot-Machine Kelly is hired with a team of others to guard some valuable jewels. Nonetheless, somehow the rubies are stolen even though they were watched over and there are guards present everywhere.
This was a pleasant surprise to me, since I'm generally not too interested in hard-boiled tales. Well plotted and a nice impossibility with a convincing solution.
Clayton Rawson - Off the Face of the Earth
Already discussed in this post.
Amy Myers - Murder Strips Off
Three male strippers are coerced into doing their routines for various reasons by their manageress. While they are up on the scene doing their routine, she is killed while sitting by the piano in full view of everyone present.
A pretty different and fun setting for this tale, which has a couple of false solutions before reaching the correct one. Very enjoyable.
Thomas Bailey Aldrich - Out of His Head
Already discussed in this post.
Melville Davisson Post - The Doomdorf Mystery
The titular Doomdorf is found dead in his cabin, shot with his own shotgun even though it was impossible to enter the cabin.
I kinda like the solution to this one. I'm not particularly convinced that it could actually happen like that, but I quite like it anyway. And of course, it's a classic of the genre.
C. N. Williamson & A. M. Williamson - The Adventure of the Jacobean House
Christopher Race is called in to investigate how a thief can steal personal belongings from dinner guests in a hotel even though they are sitting in a dining room in full view of everyone.
Okay, this is from the early 1900s, but that solution must have been ludicrous already by then. Not very inspiring, and worse still, it's dead easy to find the villain of the piece.
Jacques Futrelle - The Motor Boat
A motor boat comes speeding into a harbour and crashes into the dock. When people get closer, they notice that the driver is dead, and there is no identification on the boat nor on the man.
Is this really an impossible crime? I'm not sure I think it is. It's full of bizarre happenings and strange events, but that does not an impossibility make. Unfortunately, I don't particularly like Futrelle's choice of murderer, and the supposed motive is bleh.
Peter Tremayne - Murder in the Air
While on a flight, the stewards and stewardesses are worried when one of the bathrooms is locked and the man who entered doesn't answer their knocks. They get one of the pilots to break it down, and it turns out that the man is murdered, shot through the mouth, but no weapon can be found.
An airplane is a wonderful setting for an impossible crime, and this story is not bad at all. I do think that there is a paucity of suspects here, which is its main drawback, but on the whole I liked the story and the solution to the impossibility.
Bill Pronzini - The Pulp Connection
The Nameless detective is called in to investigate when a collector of various pop culture objects is found killed in a locked room.
Pronzini can always be relied on to provide a good impossibility and a solution that matches. And the fact that in a story about a pop culture collector, the clue that provides the killer's name is another piece of pop culture is the icing on the cake. Very nice.
Marilyn Todd - Stag Night
Claudia Seferius is invited to an admirer's home, but while there one of the young huntsmen is killed while the party is out stag hunting.
In what way is this an impossible mystery? In no way whatsoever. And it's not a particularly interesting story either, to be honest. Things just happen and no one does any detecting and then it's suddenly over.
William Brittain - Mr. Strang Accepts a Challenge
Mr. Strang is challenged by some of his pupils to apply his logic on an old case where a man was killed by a blow on the head just outside his aunts' house, though both of them were inside the house and apparently didn't have any opportunity to kill him.
This is a much better story than the previous one. Brittain's "Mr. Strang" stories are good fun. The impossibility here is pretty good with a workable solution and lots of clues.
H. R. F. Keating - The Legs That Walked
Inspector Ghote is on guard outside a tent where a ganglord is present. Even though no one enters, some time later the ganglord calls for him to come and shows him the body of a dead man with the legs missing.
I thought this was a bit on the slight side, to be honest. And since I don't particularly enjoy all the Indian trappings - I don't like the casual corruption and the attempts at a "broken Indian accent" - I had a hard time with this story.
Peter T. Garratt - The Next Big Thing
A female writer is found dead in her locked apartment, and a team of psychologists are sent in to investigate if it really was an accident or something worse.
I thought this was a bit too easily seen through. The killer is very obvious, the impossibility is hardly impossible at all, and the motive is really flimsy.
Richard A. Lupoff - The Second Drug
Abel Chase and Claire Delacroix are called in to investigate when a Hungarian count is found dead inside his padlocked dressing room.
I liked this quite a bit when I first read it, enough to order a whole collection of Lupoff's Abel Chase stories. But upon re-reading I'm not sure why. It's too obvious a pastiche of a story from the 1920s or 1930s. The solution isn't fantastic, and more importantly, I don't think it's particularly well clued.
Susanna Gregory - Ice Elation
On a research base in Antarctica, the members of a team of scientists are disappearing one by one without any trace.
Now, this is probably the best setting for an impossible murder ever. It is totally awesome, and that means that even though it's fairly easy to spot the villain, this is still a very enjoyable story. I think there could have been a bit more made out of the impossibilities, but even though it's a bit prosaic it's still good enough.
Howel Evans - The Mystery of the Taxi-Cab
Sir George Borgham enters a taxi-cab alone, but when the cab stops, he is found dead in the back seat. The Murder Club steps in to investigate the case and find the killer.
This was not my thing, really. The set-up with the whole Murder Club is a bit too outrageous and unbelievable for me. The means of murder is okay, I guess, though it's a bit too prosaic - ironic since the rest is so outré - for my tastes. The murderer took a bit of a chance...
Frank M. Robinson - Heartstopper
A man has been found dead by heart attack in his room, and the police are not sure whether it was an accident or if someone induced it.
This doesn't really feel like an impossible crime to me, because I can't find any sign that the room the victim was found in was locked or anything like that - Robinson could have easily added that without having to change the story at all. If it had been, it would have been a good one, because the solution to the murder is so very easy and convincing, though of course there's a lot left to chance by the murderer.
Edward Marston - Blind Eyes
Someone manages to steal the statue of Lord Nelson from his column in Trafalgar Square and replaces him with a statue of Napoleon Bonaparte instead.
A pretty fun story. The solution is actually quite perfect. I'm not sure of the culprit's motivation - I think Marston is having a bit of fun with that - but on the whole a really good impossible crime story.
Peter Lovesey - The Amorous Corpse
A man keels over, dead, while trying to rob the post office. But when they inform his girlfriend, she tells them that at the time he was robbing the post office, he was actually in bed with her - not leaving her until an hour later.
A good impossibility with a very easy and fitting solution, quite reminiscent of a certain Captain Leopold story by Edward D. Hoch. A good ending to this anthology of impossibilities.
Conclusion
On the whole, this is a very good anthology with several good to great stories. I do think it's a problem that as many as three or four stories aren't actually impossibilities, but otherwise I think Ashley did a fine job of curating this collection of stories.
I think the best ones, and therefore the ones I'll add to my collection of impossibilities, are: "Odour of Sanctity", "Traveller's Tale", "Stolen Saint Simon", "Burglar Who Smelled Smoke", "No Way Out", "Murder Strips Off", "Murder in the Air", "Pulp Connection", "Mr. Strang Accepts a Challenge", "Ice Elation", "Blind Eyes" and "Amorous Corpse".
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