Penzler has told me in interviews that for him the entrance into his passion for the genre began when he read Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories and the one that really did it for him was “The Hound of the Baskervilles.” He recalls that when it was revealed the victim had died from wounds inflicted by a massive hound that the hairs stood up on the back of his neck. Wow.
There are many gems in this new collection. I have so many favorites here and in the rare instances when a story wasn’t really working for me I could flip forward a few pages to the next one and usually find instant delight again. Here are some that really impressed me:
“Persons or Things Unknown” by John Dickson Carr (1938). This is a classic locked room mystery. Guests at a dinner party discuss a diary that provides clues about a sensational murder which took place in that house many years before. There was blood everywhere, the victim had been stabbed repeatedly. The man and woman who had been there when it happened claim to know not what occurred, and there was no murder weapon to be found.
“Death on Christmas Eve” by Stanley Ellin (1950). A lawyer visits a house where a murder has taken place. The man and woman who live there are grappling with this event. This one has an incredible twist at the end. Ellin wrote stories that Alfred Hitchcock adapted for his TV show-this story has a definite Hitchcockian vibe.
“Dead on Christmas Street” by John D. MacDonald (1952). This one opens as a woman has just jumped from a high building. Or was she pushed? MacDonald sets the scene: “a vast mechanical Santa rocked back and forth, slapping a mechanical hand against a padded thigh, roaring forever, ‘Whaw haw ho ho ho.”
“The Butler’s Christmas Eve” by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1944). This heartwarming tale of the friendship between a long-time domestic servant and his elderly, increasing infirm employer suddenly turns into a thrilling espionage story. Truly fabulous.
Some years ago Otto Penzler auctioned off what had to be the most comprehensive collection of mysteries anywhere. He had nearly 60,000 books. The man knows his mysteries.
Open book, lean back-recline, the cat is purring now, the fire is warm: heaven!
Vick Mickunas of Yellow Springs interviews authors every Saturday at 7 a.m. and on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. on WYSO-FM (91.3). For more information, visit wyso.org/programs/book-nook. Contact him at vick@vickmickunas.com.
About the Author