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SUMMARY:
Published by Avon Books, Inc. in 2000, this short story anthology’s 214-page ninth installment has a decidedly British flavor. Consisting of fourteen original tales, most of them either play off an Agatha Christie title or offer her some form of homage. Mystery author Joan Hess provides an introduction.
Leading off with a classic Parker Pyne reprint, the mayhem is as follows:
- “The Case of the Discontented Soldier,” by Agatha Christie (1932). Upon hiring Parker Pyne, a retired soldier finds himself rescuing a damsel-in-distress from a nefarious criminal gang.
- “Nothing to Lose,” by Robert Barnard. A British retirement facility’s daily bliss is threatened by a self-righteous newcomer, who is accustomed to playing troublemaker to get her overbearing way.
- “The Man in the Civil Suit,” by Jan Burke. The demise of local eccentric Pythagoras Peabody and his fascination with the Museum of Natural History is recounted by his sister’s long-suffering suitor.
- “The Murder at the Vicarage,” by Kate Charles. Guilt-ridden by her own conflicted emotions, British cozy mystery author Margo St. James ponders the murder (many times over) of her rural village’s vicar.
- “Peril at Melford House,” by Marjorie Eccles. In 1948, at an English country home, an elderly heiress suffers a fatal household mishap. Her college-age niece ponders if there is something more insidious to this tragedy.
- “Drawing to a Close,” by Teri Holbrook. In a rundown post-war London hotel, an introverted cartooning student suspects that she has inadvertently overheard a murder conspiracy. Yet, she only has her imagination and a drawing pad to decipher what two supposed suspects even look like.
- “The Dark Tower,” by Gwen Moffat. Along with amateur sleuth Miss Pink, a wealthy British mystery novelist’s assistant worries that someone in the household may soon incur a fatal ‘accident.’
- “Conventional Wisdom,” by Marcia Talley. As guest presenters for San Diego’s MysteryCon, two of Tommy & Tuppence Beresford’s adult grandchildren: twins Stephen and Caroline Greene, witness a murder.
- “What Mr. MacGregor Saw,” by Dorothy Cannell. A young British couple visits a hotel to confront a horrific childhood nightmare haunting the wife.
- “The Man Who Never Was,” by Charles Todd. World War I battlefield investigator Ian Rutledge must unravel a dead soldier’s hidden true identity.
- “Murder at Midday,” by Ann Granger. A middle-aged British female artist probes the death of her village’s resident busybody.
- “A Mishap at the Manor,” by Walter Satterthwait. The literary worlds of Christie and Edgar Rice Burroughs wildly converge, as the British police contends with some unwanted amateur competition solving the homicide of publisher Lord Greystoke.
- “Oh, To Be in England!” by Carolyn Wheat. A British tour bus conductor finds herself up against a serial killer preying upon her unruly passengers.
- “Oliphants Can Remember,” by Susan Moody. After the suspicious death of a fellow hotel guest, British mystery novelist Antigone Oliphants does some sleuthing into the past of the scandal-plagued, high-profile victim.
Note: All the original stories are copyrighted as of 2000.
REVIEW:
Virtually all of these tales merit multiple reads, if only to pick up scattered clues one didn’t spot before. Hence, an unusual aspect of this compilation is not all the endings divulge a clear-cut culprit or resolve lingering plot holes. Wisely selected as the opener, Christie’s underrated Parker Pyne appears in one of his best outings. While there aren’t any surefire original gems, “Oh, To Be in England!,” “Peril at Melford House,” and “The Man Who Never Was,” merit consideration as this anthology’s best capers.
Others, such as “Nothing to Lose,” “The Dark Tower,” “Conventional Wisdom,” “Murder at Midday,” and “Drawing to a Close,” won’t likely dazzle anyone, but they deliver some entertaining fare. In terms of wacky comedy relief, “Mishap at the Manor” serves up this book’s most outrageous effort.
Hampered by far too many deliberate Christie references, “Oliphants Can Remember” is still a decent mystery meant to be reminiscent of Christie’s Ariadne Oliver and Murder, She Wrote’s Jessica Fletcher. It’s not likely a coincidence that three of this compilation’s stories feature cozy mystery novelists as sleuths. To each author’s credit, all three tales are sufficiently well-played.
The same applies to Marcia Talley conjuring up a plausible MysteryCon whodunnit hosting two of Tommy & Tuppence Beresford’s grown grandchildren. Yet, Walter Satterthwait’s wacky send-up of the mystery publishing industry leaves a last impression for its sheer audacity.
Frankly, that’s where two vastly different tales offer extremes within Malice Domestic 9. The morose “What Mr. MacGregor Saw” explores a domestic violence-related plot that is tough to plow through. If any of this book’s tales isn’t worth revisiting, make it this one. In contrast, “A Mishap at the Manor” darkly skewers some of detective fiction’s best-known sleuths, and, for good measure, Burroughs’ Tarzan. Imagining Satterthwait’s macabre parody along the lines of Neil Simon’s Murder By Death film would be its best comparison.
Unlike some hit-or-miss volumes in this series, the content of Malice Domestic 9 is consistently on its game. As all but one of its fifteen stories is average or better, this collection makes an ideal fireplace-style read. By creatively updating some of Christie’s concepts, Malice Domestic 9 impressively invites casual fans. Most significantly, this anthology is an ideal sampling of some of the mystery genre’s better talents.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES:
After the table of contents, the insipid foreword entitled “The Four H’s: Hearth, Health, Home, and Homicide” is written by Joan Hess. Concocted as a mock e-mail exchange with a buffoonish fan, her intro, unfortunately, proves a waste of time. Each tale offers a mini-bio introducing its author.
BRIAN’S ODD-MOON RATING: 8 Stars
