Category: Mystery & Suspense

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Books & Novels Mystery & Suspense

MURDER AT THE FBI

Written by Margaret Truman

SUMMARY:

Ballantine Books / Fawcett Crest first published this stand-alone whodunnit in 1985; its sixteenth printing occurred in 1992.  At Washington D.C.’s J. Edgar Hoover Building, in front of two hundred shocked tourists, a routine FBI target range demonstration reveals the perforated corpse of Special Agent George Pritchard.  It appears that Pritchard had been murdered sometime overnight and was then left hung on an overhead trolley behind the range’s paper target. 

Seeking to quickly end this ultra-embarrassing PR scandal inside its own headquarters, the Bureau’s upper command assigns Pritchard’s immediate subordinate, Special Agent Ross Lizenby, to find answers.  Reluctantly heading up the investigative team, a slick Lizenby understands what murky rules his superiors want him to play by.

Assigned to Lizenby’s squad, Special Agent Christine Saksis finds their discreet romance compromised by a necessary yet increasingly intense probe into a hive of sordid Bureau secrets.  The deadly conundrum Saksis & Lizenby soon face is whether or not the unsavory truth behind Pritchard’s death supersedes protecting the Bureau’s reputation.      

REVIEW:

Even if Murder at the FBI is a formulaic potboiler, author Margaret Truman still devises a taut read.  Awaiting patient fans are some well-played twists that spell out why this storyline doesn’t need sequels.  Headlined by the intriguing Saksis-Lizenby duo, Truman’s plot exudes welcome potential for a film adaptation.  As a sampler for other titles in Truman’s repertoire of Washington, D.C. whodunnits, Murder at the FBI is a solid find for adult mystery afficionados.        

ADDITIONAL FEATURES:

A brief author bio is included.

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                         6 Stars

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HERCULE POIROT: DEAD MAN’S FOLLY (1986 TV Film)

SUMMARY:                     RUNNING TIME: 94:00 Min.

Adapting Agatha Christie’s same-named 1956 Hercule Poirot novel, CBS-TV first broadcast this Warner Bros. Television film on January 8, 1986.  Set in the present-day, acclaimed British mystery novelist Ariadne Oliver (Stapleton) is commissioned to devise a mock ‘Murder Hunt’ for a Devon village’s community fair. 

With the fair set up at the posh Nasse House estate, Oliver invites the esteemed Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot (Ustinov), to attend as her guest consultant.  Yet, the event’s macabre fun turns shockingly real when the supposed teenage victim is indeed murdered in the secluded boathouse. 

Further complicating the crime, the estate’s owner (Pigott-Smith) discovers that his reclusive wife (Sheridan) has ominously vanished.  Soon afterward, an inebriated third victim drowns due to the elusive culprit.  It’s up to Poirot, along with Mrs. Oliver and his trusted associate, Hastings (Cecil), to unravel the sordid truth behind the nefarious events plaguing Nasse House.

Hercule Poirot: Peter Ustinov

Ariadne Oliver: Jean Stapleton

Capt. Arthur Hastings: Jonathan Cecil

Sir George Stubbs: Tim Pigott-Smith

Hattie Stubbs: Nicollette Sheridan

Amy Folliat: Constance Cummings

Detective Inspector Bland: Kenneth Cranham

Police Constable: Jack Ellis

Alec Legge & Sally Legge: Christopher Guard & Caroline Langrishe

Michael Weyman: Ralph Arliss

Amanda Brewis: Susan Wooldridge

Marilyn Gale: Sandra Dickinson

Mr. & Mrs. Tucker: Leslie Schofield & Marjorie Yates

Marlene Tucker: Pippa Hinchley

Marilyn Tucker: Vicky Murdock

Eddie South: Jeff Yaegher

Merdell: Jimmy Gardner

Boatman: Alan Parnaby

Hostel Girl: Siv Borg

Unnamed Women: Dorothea Phillips, Joanna Dickens, & Fanny Carnaby

Unnamed Men: James Gaddas & Cyril Conway

Fair Attendees: Uncredited

Note: This film would be Ustinov’s fourth of six Poirot films (three of which were released theatrically).

REVIEW:

Reasonably faithful to Agatha Christie’s source material, this decent adaptation recognizes that its storyline is indeed TV-caliber, as compared to Peter Ustinov’s ultra-scenic Death on the Nile and Evil Under the Sun.  Populated by a good cast, the highlight is Ustinov & Jean Stapleton’s entertaining chemistry, with some third-wheel help from Jonathan Cecil, giving all three of them amusingly comical quirks. 

As to the mystery itself, Christie’s novel isn’t among her best Poirot whodunnits, but the plot still makes for watchable mainstream television.   

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                                    5½ Stars

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VERONICA MARS: THE THOUSAND DOLLAR TAN LINE

Written by Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham

SUMMARY:

Released in 2014 by Vintage Books, Veronica Mars series creator Rob Thomas teams up with author Jennifer Graham to concoct an immediate 324-page sequel to the Kickstarter-funded feature film. 

Set a few months later, 28-year old Veronica has resettled in Neptune, California, as her father, Keith, recuperates from a near-fatal vehicular assault.  Keith uneasily supports his daughter’s presence, but he would much prefer Veronica returning to a play-it-safe-life in New York City as an attorney. Running a struggling Mars Investigations with her receptionist/hacker, Mac, Veronica accepts a high-profile case from the city to locate college co-ed Hayley Dewalt, who ominously vanished during a riotous Spring Break party.

Veronica’s instant suspects include a disgruntled ex-boyfriend and even Hayley’s jealous older brother.  Worse yet, the blonde sleuth discovers that the illicit party hosts are really heirs to an ultra-dangerous Mexican drug cartel.  Then, another bombshell drops: a second party girl vanishes; only it turns to be Veronica’s previously unknown, 16-year old step-sister.  Hence, Veronica’s dual cases are rocked by the re-appearance of her long-estranged mother, along with a step-father and much younger half-brother that she never knew of.    

Shocking revelations are pushed into the light, as Veronica seeks out the truth.  Still, there’s the potentially fatal reality that, with her father physically unavailable and boyfriend Logan overseas in the U.S. Navy, she has no back-up this time.

Notes: Sprinkled in the text are occasional F-bombs.  The second (and presently last) novel in this series is titled Veronica Mars 2: Mr. Kiss and Tell.

REVIEW:

Very slickly written, this Veronica Mars caper is far superior to bare-bones movie novelizations. Painting boozing Spring Break college co-ed stereotypes with an unflattering wide paintbrush, the novel’s mystery initially delivers on its ominous premise.  Yet, upon conveniently adding Veronica’s mother and her new family to the plot, subsequent twists revert The Thousand Dollar Tan Line to a somewhat clichéd “this only happens in movies and television” vibe.

Staying plot-focused, co-authors Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham still effectively resurrect Veronica Mars, making it easy to visualize Kristen Bell, Enrico Colatoni, and Percy Daggs III reprising their roles.  The plotting, in that sense, is faithful to the TV show’s style of gimmickry rather than merely phoning in a blatant cash grab.  

Thomas & Graham’s concerted effort at devising necessary depth makes their mystery both stylish and multi-layered. The reader’s subsequent payoff is a solid finish worthy of the TV series. Hence, for stalwart fans, Veronica Mars: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line becomes the next best thing to a filmed sequel to the 2014 film.   

ADDITIONAL FEATURES:

The first page provides thumbnail bios and photos of the co-authors.  There’s also a brief dedication to fans.

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                 7 Stars

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SLIMER AND THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS: ELEMENTARY, MY DEAR WINSTON (Season 5, Episode 4)

SUMMARY:                 RUNNING TIME: 22:00 Min.

First aired on ABC-TV on September 16, 1989, this early Season 5 episode was directed by Will Meugniot.  With New York City readily emanating evil, the apparitions of Professor James Moriarty and a monstrous (dragon-like) Hound of the Baskervilles arise to collect enough evil supernatural power to bring Moriarty back to ‘life.’   Courtesy of a primitive-looking automobile, the ghostly duo of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John H. Watson subsequently chase their foes across the city. 

Aiding Holmes in his rescue of an abducted Watson, only Winston Zeddemore initially senses the Ghostsbusters’ true foes in this odd skirmish.  Worse yet, upon invading the Ghostbusters’ HQ, Moriarty intends to feed off the captured ghosts held in their containment chamber to make himself unstoppable.    

Note: Egon speculates that, though Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters are indeed fictional, their ‘ghosts’ somehow manifest themselves because mass audiences firmly believe in them.  Hence, Doyle’s characters exist in their own ‘quasi-reality.’ 

Dr. Peter Venkman: Dave Coulier

Dr. Raymond Stantz, Slimer, Hound, & Miscellaneous Voices: Frank Welker

Winston Zeddemore: Buster Jones

Janine Melnitz: Kath Soucie

Dr. Egon Spengler & Dr. John H. Watson: Maurice LaMarche

Sherlock Holmes: Alan Shearman

Louis Tully & Professor James Moriarty: Rodger Bumpass

REVIEW:

Aside from a nice homage referencing the original film’s library sequence, this episode doesn’t age well.  Courtesy of a blah script geared towards first-graders with, at most, a rudimentary idea who Sherlock Holmes is, adults expecting little won’t be surprised.  While it is fun seeing Winston essentially take command of the team, the flimsy plotting (much like the animation) won’t likely impress anyone.

More so, Dave Coulier’s annoying take on Venkman makes the show’s lead character sound as dim-witted as John Travolta’s Vinnie Barbarino on Welcome Back, Kotter.  Let’s just say Venkman’s dubious contributions to this episode become an unwelcome distraction.  Despite entertaining its undemanding target audience for twenty minutes, the content of “Elementary, My Dear Winston,” clearly falls short of its intriguing premise. 

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                     3½ Stars

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POIROT: THE ADVENTURE OF JOHNNIE WAVERLY (Season 1: Episode 3)

SUMMARY:                  RUNNING TIME: 51:00 Min.

First broadcast on January 22, 1989, Renny Rye directed this early episode that Clive Exton adapted from Agatha Christie’s 1923 short story.  Both Scotland Yard and Poirot are baited ahead of time daring them to prevent the abduction of a country squire’s young son from his own home.  Despite Poirot and the police’s best efforts, young Johnnie Waverly still mysteriously vanishes. 

It’s up to Poirot and Hastings to track down the enigmatic kidnapper (or, quite possibly, kidnappers) to save the young boy. 

Hercule Poirot: David Suchet

Capt. Arthur Hastings: Hugh Fraser

Chief Inspector James Japp: Philip Jackson

Felicity Lemon: Pauline Moran

Ada Waverly: Julia Chambers

Johnnie Waverly: Dominic Rougier

Marcus Waverly: Geoffrey Bateman

Jessie Withers: Carol Frazer

Tredwell: Patrick Jordan

Miss Collins: Sandra Freeman

Police Sergeant: Phillip Manikum

Policemen: Jonathan Magnanti & Jona Jones

Hughes: Patrick Connor

Rogers: Robert Putt

Barmaid: Samantha Beckinsale

REVIEW:

Remaining faithful to Agatha Christie’s weak source material invariably backs this TV adaptation into a corner.  In spite of an initially ominous premise, the plotting then deteriorates into a rather flimsy excuse for a mystery.  Still, Poirot’s production values are stellar, even if this particular storyline is easily forgettable.

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                   5½ Stars

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POIROT: THE DREAM (Season 1: Episode 10)

SUMMARY:         RUNNING TIME: 50:00 Min.

First broadcast on March 19, 1989, Edward Bennett directed this early episode that Clive Exton adapted from Agatha Christie’s 1937-38 short story.  Poirot is cryptically summoned by reclusive London manufacturing tycoon Benedict Farley as a consultant for a strange recurring dream Farley experiences.  Specifically, this ominous dream compels him to violently commit suicide in his locked office. 

Failing to appease an irritable Farley, Poirot is soon alerted that Farley’s dream was indeed a grim premonition.  Considering others in Farley’s proximity would gladly benefit from his sudden death, Poirot senses that all isn’t what it seems.    

Hercule Poirot: David Suchet

Capt. Arthur Hastings: Hugh Fraser

Chief Inspector James Japp: Philip Jackson

Felicity Lemon: Pauline Moran

Joanna Farley: Joely Richardson

Benedict Farley / Hugo Cornworthy: Alan Howard

Mrs. Farley: Mary Tamm

Dr. Stillingfleet: Paul Lacoux

Herbert Chudley: Martin Wenner

Mr. Tremlett: Christopher Saul

Newsreel Voice: Neville Phillips

Workmen: Fred Bryant & Tommy Wright

Bandmaster: Christopher Gunning

Mayor: Donald Bisset

Fencing Instructor: Arthur Howell

Note: Series composer Christopher Gunning makes a cameo appearance in an appropriate role. 

REVIEW:

Effectively expanding upon Christie’s source material, padding this adaptation of “The Dream” with a youthful romance proves well-played.  Like the original short stories, “The Dream” surpasses “Four and Twenty Blackbirds” (also adapted in this same season), in terms of relying upon the same plot device.  This episode is very watchable!   

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                7 Stars

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POIROT: PROBLEM AT SEA (Season 1: Episode 7)

SUMMARY:             RUNNING TIME: 51:00 Min.

First broadcast on February 19, 1989, Renny Rye directed this early episode that Clive Exton adapted from Agatha Christie’s 1936 short story.  On a Mediterranean cruise, Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot and his best friend, Captain Arthur Hastings, are among the passengers uneasily witnessing turbulence in the Clapperton marriage. 

Having gone ashore with two sympathetic female companions, Col. Clapperton later returns to shockingly discover that his wealthy spouse has been murdered inside their locked cabin.  Poirot and Hastings realize that that something beyond a random jewel theft is the true motive precipitating Mrs. Clapperton’s homicide.  

Hercule Poirot: David Suchet

Capt. Arthur Hastings: Hugh Fraser

Col. John Clapperton: John Normington

General Forbes: Roger Hume

Capt. Fowler: Ben Aris

Mrs. Clapperton: Sheila Allen

Ellie Henderson: Ann Firbank

Nelly Morgan: Dorothea Phillips

Emily Morgan: Sheri Shepstone

Kitty Mooney: Melissa Greenwood

Ismene: Louise Jones

Pamela Cregan: Victoria Hasted

Mr. and Mrs. Tolliver: Geoffrey Beevers & Caroline John

Mr. Russell: James Ottaway

Skinner: Colin Higgins

Bates: Jack Chissick

Photographer: Giorgos Kotanidis

Note: For historical purposes, Christie’s plot, intentionally or not, resembles her middling 1933 Parker Pyne short story, “Death on the Nile,” which utilizes a similar premise and locale.  By comparison, “Problem at Sea” is a more satisfying mystery.

REVIEW:

High-caliber production values (spot-on acting, terrific location filming, etc.) easily surpass an average mystery that resorts to an eye-rolling gimmick for the ‘big reveal’ sequence.  Still, none of this faithful episode’s storytelling flaws ought to be attributed to this otherwise well-played production.  It simply conveys a decent Poirot tale making the story look better than Christie’s source material actually is.

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                    6 Stars

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POIROT: TRIANGLE AT RHODES (Season 1: Episode 6)

SUMMARY:                RUNNING TIME: 50:00 Min.

First broadcast on February 19, 1989, Renny Rye directed this early episode that Stephen Wakelam adapted from Agatha Christie’s 1936 short story.  On holiday at the scenic Greek island of Rhodes, Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot reluctantly observes marital troubles flaring up between two vacationing couples: the Chantrys and the Golds. 

Poirot’s stern effort at intervention to avert imminent tragedy fails once the glamorous Mrs. Chantry is fatally poisoned.  With Mrs. Chantry’s rumored lover, Douglas Gold, arrested for her murder, Poirot senses a more sinister outcome has now been set in motion.  

Hercule Poirot: David Suchet

Pamela Lyall: Frances Low

Douglas Gold: Peter Settelen

Marjorie Gold: Angela Down

Commander Chantry: Jon Cartwright

Valentine Chantry: Annie Lambert

Major Barnes: Timothy Kightley

Police Inspector: Al Fiorentini

Skelton: Anthony Benson

Hotel Manager: Patrick Monckton

Young Greek Girl: Georgia Davis

Older Greek Woman: Sofia Olympiou

Cashier: Dimitri Andreas

Policeman: Stephen Gressieux

Ship Purser: Giannis Hatzgiannis

Customs Officer: Tilemanos Emanuel

Note: For historical purposes, “Triangle at Rhodes” predates Christie’s similar Poirot novel, Evil Under the Sun, by five years.

REVIEW:

The Poirot TV series faithfully adapts “Triangle at Rhodes” with welcome precision (i.e. beautiful scenic locations, superb acting, etc.).  Even better is that the script smartly expands upon Christie’s source material in the right places.  For instance, David Suchet’s on-screen chemistry with Frances Low’s Pamela Lyall and Timothy Kightley’s Barnes as his temporary crime-solving partners is well-played. 

Though “Triangle at Rhodes” is a relatively obscure mystery, its TV adaptation certainly merits re-discovery. 

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:               7½ Stars

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HERCULE POIROT: LORD EDGWARE DIES (1934 Film)

SUMMARY:        RUNNING TIME: 80:00 Min. (Black & White)

Released in 1934, through Radio Studios, this British film (directed by Henry Edwards) is Twickenham Film Studios’ adaptation of Agatha Christie’s same-named suspense novel.  At the behest of a glamorous actress, Belgian private detective Hercule Poirot and his associate, Captain Hastings, attempt to persuade her far-older husband, Lord Edgware, to consent to a divorce in order for her to marry another British aristocrat. 

Shortly thereafter, Edgware’s brazen homicide in his own home leads Poirot and Hastings to suspect that someone is cleverly framing his estranged wife, in spite of her well-established alibi at an opulent dinner party.  The question becomes: who, in fact, murdered the snobbish Edgware?  And why?  Worse yet, an unremorseful culprit is liable to strike more than once.

Hercule Poirot: Austin Trevor

Capt. Hastings: Richard Cooper

Lady Edgware (aka Jane Wilkinson): Jane Carr

Bryan Martin: Leslie Perrins

Inspector Japp: John Turnbull

Geraldine Edgware: Sophie Stewart

Lord Edgware: C.V. France

Duke of Merten: P. Kynaston Reeves

Alice: Phyllis Morris

Other Credited Cast Members: Brenda Harvey; S. Victor Stanley; Hargrave Pawson; Conway Dixon; &

Quenton McPherson

Notes: This movie would be Trevor’s third and final cinematic appearance as Poirot.  The novel’s alternate American title is Thirteen at Dinner (which was utilized for Peter Ustinov’s 1985 TV movie adaptation co-starring Faye Dunaway).

REVIEW:

Admirably, the film’s script adheres close to Christie’s source material.  This same observation extends to a decent supporting cast inhabiting the plot’s various suspects and witnesses.  The actors chosen to convey Poirot’s most well-known associates: Captain Hastings and Scotland Yard’s Inspector Japp are bland, but they hardly impact this film’s quality.    

The insurmountable liability, however, is Austin Trevor’s miscasting as the impeccable Belgian sleuth.  Glaringly missing Poirot’s trademark moustache, the tall and dapper Trevor far closer resembles a generic Sherlock Holmes.   Ironically, the actor portraying Hastings is nearly a visual match (aside from being slimmer) to the literary Poirot. 

Effectively ruining this movie, the most tone-deaf aspect of Trevor’s performance is his phony and virtually non-intelligible accent (something haplessly trying to convey French/Belgian/German).  Suffice to say, his squeaky-sounding effort will quickly grate any viewer’s nerves. 

By comparison, in the Pink Panther film series, Peter Sellers deliberately played up Inspector Clouseau’s garbled French accent for laughs.  Trevor’s snooze-fest as Poirot, unfortunately, does not, which makes for a long seventy-five plus minutes.  One is left wishing Lord Edgware Dies had been a silent movie where dialogue cards would substitute for Trevor’s voice, so this film would be at least watchable.    

It’s a shame, too.  This rudimentary adaptation had potential to be an early pinnacle in Poirot storytelling on film, at least prior to 1974’s Murder on the Orient Express starring Albert Finney.

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                  3 Stars

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THE MALTESE FALCON

Written by Dashiell Hammett

Cover Art by George Rozen (upper half) & John Drew (lower half)

SUMMARY:

First published in 1929-1930, Vintage Crime/Black Lizard issued this 218-page paperback reprint in 1992.  In San Francisco, cynical private detectives Sam Spade and Miles Archer, despite scanty details, take a well-paid surveillance case for their new client, a ‘Ms. Wonderly.’  Before the night is over, two homicides has Spade under investigation for murder – one of which is their client’s nemesis, Floyd Thursby.  With the police pressing him for answers, Spade also tries untangling himself from an ongoing extramarital affair with his partner’s wife.

Spade soon confirms that ‘Ms. Wonderly’ is just one of many aliases for an enigmatic Brigid O’Shaughnessy, who still desperately seeks his world-weary help.  From the get-go, he realizes that Brigid has mastered the art of evasive answers hidden within her sob stories.  Succumbing to Brigid’s flirtations, Spade finds himself entangled in her deadly tug-of-war over a priceless black metallic statue dubbed ‘The Maltese Falcon.’ 

Among the shadowy threats chasing after ‘The Bird,’ are an effeminate young thug, Joel Cairo, and his ultra-smug boss, the corpulent Caspar Gutman.  As savvy as Spade is, he is now in the crosshairs of three equally dangerous grifters, who will stop at nothing from letting this elusive treasure slip from their grasp.    

REVIEW:

As much as Humphrey Bogart visually defines Spade, one might even imagine an Americanized Sean Connery in his James Bond prime the roguish way Dashiell Hammett describes Spade.  Like its 1941 cinematic adaptation, much of Hammett’s source material is indoor talk, whether it be Spade’s office, Gutman’s residence, Cairo’s place, or Brigid’s rental.  For what little action takes place, Hammett compensates with crackling dialogue that practically invented the genre.

Ironically, that’s the problem entrenching one’s self in Spade’s world of intrigue and insatiable greed.  The Maltese Falcon is fun to read mostly when catching why it has been so often imitated or, in other instances, parodied.  Hence, what were provocative characterizations at the time of initial publication have long since faded into gumshoe caricatures where savvy readers sense what is coming. 

More specifically, Hammett risks creating too few likable characters to sympathize with.  As much as Spade’s snarky mercenary personality one might relate to, should readers even care about his ultimate fate?  The answer would be ‘yes,’ if only because his supporting cast (aside from Spade’s loyal secretary) proves even more self-important and ruthless than he is.  That’s where Hammett’s plot twists become ingenious, as far as plausibly juggling who, in the end, successfully outwits their competition for the prized Falcon.     

For mystery buffs exploring Bogart’s most famous alter ego, then The Maltese Falcon still exudes its hard-boiled charms.  Other contemporary readers, however, may find treasure-hunting with Sam Spade something of a bore.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES:

The first page is a brief bio on Hammett, with the final page offering premises for some of Hammett’s other crime fiction.

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                         6 Stars