William F. Smith - An Almost Perfect Crime
The police are called in to investigate the death of a man inside a telephone booth at a petrol station which was in view of other customers the entire time.
A good impossible situation with a somewhat technical, but probably workable solution. A fine start to this anthology.
Joseph Commings - The X Street Murders
Previously discussed in this post.
Mary Reed & Eric Mayer - Locked in Death
In a Mongolian circus, the owner is found strangled, and it seems the only one who could have done it is the already dead lion tamer.
With such a setup, I really wish that I could say that I liked this story better. What goes for a solution is a bit on the silly side, and nothing is truly resolved either.
Gillian Linscott - Wingless Pegasus
Sir Percy Whitton has been out riding and is found dead on a small island on his estate. To begin with, everyone believes it was an accident, but there are signs that something more sinister may have happened.
Another story that really doesn't seem like an impossible crime to me, no matter how hard I try. Nor is it a particularly inspired story.
Vincent Cornier - Duel of Shadows
Previously discussed in this post.
Peter Crowther - The 45 Steps
Several people are enjoying dinner at the Conservatives' Club. A male dinner guest goes to the bathroom, but doesn't return for quite some time. It turns out that he's been killed inside the locked bathroom cubicle.
A pretty clever and very different murder method, but this wasn't really the kind of stuff I like. It's not really a fair play mystery and things are just revealed as the story meanders along.
Douglas Newton - Contrary to the Evidence
A young man is visiting his uncle and when he enters his room, the uncle gets up, waving for him to get out again, but then he suddenly keels over, dead.
There's never much doubt about who the culprit is, the main thing is how'd-he-do-it. A fairly clever murder method, but I never really felt any particular surprise while reading the story. If an impossible murder can ever be said to be run-of-the-mill, this is it.
William Brittain - The Impossible Footprint
One of a group of hunters is found dead in the middle of the snow with his right leg cut off, stuck in a bear trap several yards away. And yet that right leg has left a footprint just next to the body...
An interesting setup with a workable solution, if perhaps a bit far-fetched. Enjoyable stuff as always from Brittain.
Laird Long - Three Blind Rats
A career criminal is found dead in a waterfilled bathtub with his head bashed in. And yet he is seen on camera several hours later, robbing a jewellery store.
This relies a bit too heavily on technology to satisfy me fully, but it's an interesting tale and the author is clearly having fun here.
John Basye Price - Death and the Rope Trick
A magician claims that he can perform the Indian rope trick and claim a reward for doing so, but though the young boy climbing the rope does vanish, he turns up some time later in the ocean some distance away.
Now, this I liked. The trick is great, and even though I think the solution is just a tad too unbelievable to work I liked the audacity of the whole thing.
Edward D. Hoch - The Problem of the Black Cloister
To be honest, I've skipped reading this because I want to wait until the fifth and final Hawthorne collection comes out through Crippen & Landru.
Edward D. Hoch - A Shower of Daggers
Susan Holt, promotions coordinator, is in a new town for the opening of a new branch of the store she's working with. She is invited into the apartment of the woman she is coordinating with, but while the latter is taking a shower, she is somehow stabbed even though there's no one else in the bathroom.
Since there is another Hoch story in this anthology I didn't feel I missed anything by skipping the former story for now. Because this is another wonderful story by one of the masters. A terrific setup with a great solution that is really satisfying.
Robert Randisi - The Hook
Bat Masterson investigates a serial killer who's murdered three women in a way that no one understands - the murder method is not easily ascertained.
Not being American, I have no real knowledge (or much interest) in who Masterson was, and when the rest of the story is a real snoozefest that's just icing on the cake.
Max Rittenberg - The Mystery of the Sevenoaks Tunnel
Forensic expert Magnum investigates a case where a man, alone in his train compartment, has somehow fallen out of the train and then been run over by another passing train.
This is kind of a variation of "The Speckled Band" by Arthur Conan Doyle, and since that's not my favourite solution, you can imagine that I wasn't too impressed with this either.
William Le Queux - The Red Ring
A member of the Secret Service is found by a colleague in a private room in a small hotel even though the door was locked from the inside.
The explanation behind the locked door is impossible in every way, because the author neglects to tell the reader what's necessary to know how it worked. So, a poor impossibility, and the rest of the story isn't much good either.
Will Murray - Observable Justice
A man is found dead in his locked hotelroom from what looks like natural causes. But Detective Murex suspects foul play when he finds connections to a bunch of psychic explorers.
This is utter and complete crap.
J. A. Konrath - On the Rocks
Detective Lieutenant Jack Daniels investigates a case where a woman has been found dead inside her locked apartment, with a sofa shoved up against the door.
Okay, after several duds in a row it was a relief to get to this story, because this ticks all the boxes. A great impossibility with an explanation that really works. A top story.
H. Edward Hunsberger - Eternally Yours
A commercial painter has recently moved into a new apartment. The previous tenant died inside it, with the door locked, but somehow he continues to play chess by mail with a pen-friend.
I liked this as well. We get another fine impossibility with a good solution, if somewhat on the obvious side.
Lois Gresh & Robert Weinberg - Murder in Monkeyland
Nero Wolfe copy Penelope Peters investigates a case where a research scientist has been found dead in a locked and sealed concrete laboratory.
Okay, this might be technically possible to do, but I have to say that I rolled my eyes when I read the explanation for this one. And my caveat about this Nero Wolfe copy still holds.
Arthur Porges - No Killer Has Wings
Previously discussed in this post.
Richard A. Lupoff - Benning's School for Boys
In an army camp, a corporal has been killed inside a closed and locked safe room. Former policeman Nick Train has to investigate how someone could have reached the man to kill him.
I found this a bit meh. The impossibility was fine, but I just didn't think the explanation caught hold of me the way it should. Well, at least someone gets his just deserts in the story.
C. Daly King - The Episode of the Nail and the Requiem
Previously discussed in this post.
William Krohn - The Impossible Murder of Dr Satanus
Magician Dr. Satanus is seen going into an elevator which descends to the ground floor, and when the doors open he is found dead inside.
This is top stuff. Really, really great. A great impossibility and a terrific explanation that really works.
Peter Tremayne - The Stuart Sapphire
Someone has stolen the titular jewel from an apartment without leaving any traces of breaking in. The Papal bodyguard, Count Volpe, needs to find the culprit before scandal ensues.
As you will all know by now, I'm quite disinterested in all these historical court intrigues and hijinx. And the solution to the impossibility is dead boring as well. A real dud.
Peter Godfrey - The Flung-Back Lid
Previously discussed in this post.
Forrest Rosaire - The Poisoned Bowl
A baby is handed in at the welfare office, and then a Chinese man enters with a story of a young lady cousin who has gone missing. When he leaves, he leaves an envelope containing sulphuric acid behind which ends up wounding the baby badly. And then the employer of the young lady cousin dies from poisoning that no one could have administered to him.
Okay, if you're a bit bewildered by that description of the plot, that's nothing compared with how I felt while reading the story. It's bonkers. The impossibility is fine and actually has a pretty interesting solution, but the whole thing is just so pulpy and crazy that I just couldn't enjoy it very much.
Bill Pronzini - Proof of Guilt
Previously discussed in this post.
Barry Longyear - Slaughterhouse
A man has killed his wife in a way that the police just cannot prove that he was the man behind it. He is invited to a secret club with members who are all impressed with his cleverness and issue a challenge that they cannot work out how he did it.
Okay, the main plot of this thing is dead easy to see through. And the solution to the impossibility isn't fantastic either.
Bernard Knight - The Birdman of Tonypandy
A birdlover kills his wife. But even though she reported to the police just a few days before that she was expecting him to do so, they just cannot prove that the death was murder.
This is not a fairplay mystery, but rather one of those ironic tales with a twist in its tail. I thought the murder method was rather good, but would have enjoyed it more if it were written as a true mystery instead.
Conclusion
On the whole, I don't think the quality of this second volume holds up to the first one. Too many of the specially written stories are pretty bad, to be honest. There are clearly exceptions from that - some of the stories are of the very best quality indeed. And therefore I'd still recommend this book to all impossible mystery fiends.
The ones I found good and worthwhile enough to include in my own impossible project are: "Almost Perfect Crime", "Death and the Rope Trick", "Shower of Daggers", "On the Rocks", "Eternally Yours" and "Dr Satanus". I'm on the fence about "The Impossible Footprint", but am leaning towards including it as well.
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