Don't be put off by the bland cover of Best Detective Stories by Cyril Hare. There are treasures within. Thirty delicious tales of mistaken identity (and murder), legal shenanigans (and murder), slow-burning revenge (and murder), trickery (and murder), robbery (and murder). Oh, and did I mention murder?
How could I not love a book by an author with the name Cyril Hare? Actually, that is a pseudonym for British judge and crime writer Alfred Alexander Gordon Clark. He was born in 1900 and died just shy of his 58th birthday. He published nine mystery novels, one children's book, almost 40 short stories, a radio play, and two stage plays. Quite an output.
Many of his short mysteries appeared in the 1950s in London's Evening Standard. We are fortunate to have so many of them collected here.
Joan at Planet Joan put Cyril Hare on my radar. My library doesn't have a single one of his books, but I discovered a few Kindle editions on Amazon. This book of short mysteries was only 99 cents. In case you are interested, there are three of his crime novels available as ebooks as well. Two of those will run you a whopping $1.99 each. For some reason, his most famous book, Tragedy at Law, is $2.09. Still, it's a bargain.
I plan on trying one or two of his full-length mysteries. I am sure they are as entertaining as his short crime tales.
These stories are all written with a light touch. After reading the first few you know there is going to be a twist, but darned if you will be able to figure it out beforehand. Some are written in the first person and some are told by a third-person narrator. No matter who is telling the story, there is always a touch of wry humor.
These are the perfect mysteries to read at night before turning out the light.
Most of the tales in Wait For Signs are winter stories and descriptions of six-foot snow drifts and thermometer readings of ten below zero will send you scrambling for a cozy blanket to curl up under as you read them.
Craig Johnson (who I posted about here after his recent appearance at the Louisville Public Library's Author Series) is the author of these short stories and thirteen full-length mystery novels featuring his modern day Sheriff Walt Longmire of Absaroka County, Wyoming. The first story in this book, "Old Indian Trick," was written ten years ago, more or less on a dare from his wife, as an entry for the Tony Hillerman Mystery Short Story Contest.
He won.
I have read about half of the dozen stories included in this collection. I was quite taken with Mr. Johnson and his entertaining talk and have been watching the Longmire series on Netflix. I tried to read these tales as someone who wasn't familiar with the characters to see if they held up on their own. Oh, yes. They are thoughtful and funny and it is a delight to be in Sheriff Longmire's world.
Mr. Johnson has a calm or maybe I should say gentle writing style. These stories are more about character than action. Just short episodes in the day - or night - of a Wyoming sheriff.
Heck, some of the stories don't even involve a crime. Of course there are ones that do - there is the unveiling of an arsonist whose crimes have gone unsolved for decades; a Christmas Eve encounter with an old woman waiting for Jesus (lucky for her she gets Longmire instead; not so lucky for her abusive husband); and, a slick-tongued Bible salesman who tries to put one over on Longmire. You can imagine how that turns out.
Wait for Signs is a wonderful introduction to Sheriff Walt Longmire's law-and-order ways. You can consider this a Sign from me that there is no reason for you to Wait to meet him.
When I started Belle, Book, and Candle on January 1, I really had no idea where it would take me.
Oh, the places you'll go...
First, there was the Grand Southern Literary Tour in late April - a week spent visiting literary sites and bookstores and even one cemetery. I participated in a blog challenge - Paris in July - and enjoyed reading, eating, and watching all things French. In September, I created my own challenge - Oh, To Be In England - and had fun reading and reminiscing about Merry Olde.
All of those generated many books that I might have never picked up and read before starting this blog. Certainly none were on any goals list at the beginning of the year.
Although I don't want to box myself in, I think I might profit by setting one or two reading targets for 2013.
I am woefully lacking in the reading of short stories. I have never been a fan, but maybe I have given the short story a short shrift. It seems that Elizabeth Bowen and Alice Munro are mentioned often as the Grand Dames of the genre, so I will begin with them.
For a more diverse selection, I could just pick up a copy of The Best American Short Stories and The Best British Short Stories from any year and dive in.
Then there are plays. I don't think I have ever read one, but I have been following Claire at The Captive Reader as she reads A.A. Milne and today Dodie Smith. Witty Noel Coward comes immediately to mind and then maybe move on to Oscar Wilde.
I actually have a book that was my grandmother's - The Best Plays of 1941-1942. A quick look tells me there are offerings by John Steinbeck (The Moon is Down), Noel Coward (Blithe Spirit) and Maxwell Anderson (Candle in the Wind).
And finally, for some strange reason, I feel the need to read one of The Russians. I asked a friend who has read and reread them all, "If I had to pick one book by a Russian author which one would you suggest?" Without hesitation he replied, "War and Peace. It is so well written that it has spoiled me for reading anything else. Second place would be Anna Karenina." Ah, the short list.
Other than that, I will go pretty much Where My Whimsy Takes Me. I have books that I own that I will be pulling off the shelves to read and I am sure there will be a book challenge or two that I will want to participate in.
If anyone has suggestions for short stories or plays (The Russian category is closed), please drop me a comment.
