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  Once more I have been lucky to receive a book from the Crime Classics Review Club to review. This time it is Who’s Calling by Helen McCloy. It is published by Agora Books in the series Uncrowned Queens of Crime. It is a Dr Basil Willing Mystery - number 4 in the series. Frieda Frey is a singer in a night club and recently engaged to Archie Cranford. Archie’s mother Eve lives in Willow Spring, and Frieda and Archie are going  for a visit to introduce Frieda to Archie’s mother. Shortly before leaving Frieda gets an anonymous call warning / threatening her  not to go. Arriving at Willow Spring supernatural things begin to take place and later on a murder. Dr Basil Willing is summoned to investigate. The murder takes place at a dance held by Eve’s friends. They are Mark Lindsey (senator), his wife Julia- their young son Ted -  and Ellis (a niece) . A cousin Chalkey and his bodyguard Ernesto turn up just before they are leaving for the ball. It is among this little grou...

  Cue for Murder by Helen McCloy is the fifth in the Dr. Basil Willing series. Willing finds himself in a complicated case, when a murder is committed on stage in the Royal Theater in full view of the audience. At the beginning there are no alibis,  no fingerprints, no motives, no tell-tale looks or gestures. The only clues are a canary and a fly. Basil Willing needs his psychological insight, his keen eye and his deductive abilities. It is a well written crime novel in the classic English tradition, and I enjoyed the reunion with Dr. Basil Willing very much! I got this e-book from Crime Classics via NetGalley. It is published in the series from  Agora Books called Uncrowned Queens of Crime.

  Death of a Tin God by George Bellairs This is number 36 in the  Chief Inspector Littlejohn series. It is a lovely reunion with the Isle of Man and the South of France, and also with  archdeacon Kinrade and the french inspector Dorange.  After being in Dublin on a missing person case, Littlejohn is visiting his old friend Caesar Kinrade on the Isle of Man. This short holiday is interrupted when the famous actor Hal  Vale, is electrocuted in his hotelroom. The local Inspector Knell asks Littlejohn for help. There are  lots of theater people staying in the hotel, and also his co star Monique Dol., who was to be his fourth wife. She has however fled the hotel and the search for her takes Littlejohn to the French Riviera and his old friend and colleague Inspector Dorange.  In France very important people are involved and lives are at risk, when they clear up the crime. It is a very entertaining and amusing crime novel with dangerous confrontations. I enjo...

The Man Who Wasn't There by Henrietta Hamilton I got to review from Agora Books. It is a book in the series of Uncrowned Queens of Crime and this one is in the series : A Sally and Johnny Heldar Mystery. It starts with an introduction by  Nick Shepherd. The author was his aunt and after her death he and his brother found 13 books never published. Among these four Sally and Johnny Helder mysteries.  The Man Who Wasn't There being one of them. That was a treat to receive as I liked the other in the series, so nice to renew the acquaintance.   Sally and Johnny are in their cottage when Tim (Johnny's cousin)comes to visit asking for help. He is in love and wants to get married. The problem is that his girlfriend Prue is in trouble, but refuses to tell him what is wrong. She was a secretary for a very unsympathetic employer called Frodsham. He is found shot. There are many suspects and motives such as blackmail, jealousy and treason. A difficult case and hard for the Helders t...

  The Daffodil Affair by Michael Innes is number 8 in the Sir John Appleby series. This novel was a bit of a disappointment, although I am rather a fan of books by Innes.  Appleby is summoned to find his aunt’s horse (a horse of little value) and at the same time Superintendent Hudspith must find a young girl who has disappeared. A house in London said to be haunted has also disappeared. Stolen amidst various air raids during WW2.  The search brings them to a desolate place in South America where a Mr. White has gathered various people with supernatural abilities and some fraudsters as well. His aim is to overtake world domination when people after the end of the war will crave miracles. Appelby and Hudspith succeed in obtaining an invitation to White’s islands. The problem is getting away from the islands alive. The plot was too imaginative and improbable for my liking.

  The Deadly Truth is the third in the Dr. Basil Willing series. I have previously read Dance of Death, which is the first in the series, and was looking forward reading this one. I was not disappointed. It is a classic crime written in 1941. The story takes place at Blessingbourne. The owner is Claudia Bethune. She is married to handsome Mike (aspiring writer). Claudia has invited guests:  Dr Roger Slater- a scientist researching a truth serum Charles Rodney - president of Renfrew Textile Mills (majority owned by Claudia) Phyllis Bethune - Mikes former wife Margaret Titus - a young girl acquainted to the Bethunes Basil Willing is renting a shack on the beach at Blessingbourne. Claudia steals some of the truth serum from Roger Slaters lab and mix it in drinks served for her guests. This leads to murder and as Basil Willing is first at the crime scene he is helping the police. It is a classic whodunnit and I enjoyed reading it very much. I received this e-book from Crime Classi...

  Hare Sitting Up by Michael Innes This is number 18 in the Sir John Appleby series The story takes place during the Cold-war. In part one a discussion about war, the atom bomb and bacteriological warfare takes place between headmaster Miles Juniper and five young people in a train compartment. In part two Miles Juniper is visited by John Appleby. The reason is the disappearance of his twin brother Harold. He is a germ-warfare expert and no one knows if he has been kidnapped, gone mad or just run away. As it is of national interest Appleby persuades Miles to impersonate him while they try to find him. This takes Appleby to a bird fanatic earl, and a remote Atlantic rock before solving the case. I was very well entertained. It was a both funny and intriguing story, and thanks to Crime Classics review and NetGalley I got to read one more novel in one of my favourite series.

  The Two Hundred Ghost by Henrietta Hamilton Sally Merton is working in an antiquarian bookshop at 200 Charing Cross road. It is an old building and the rumor is that there is a ghost due to a murder long ago. It seems the ghost has returned and is seen by some of the employees. Sally is fond of her job in the Heldar family’s shop, but not of the rude, inappropriate mr. Butcher. He is not very popular and is later found stabbed in his office and Scotland Yard is called.  Sally and Johnny Heldar (junior partner) start their own investigation to solve the murder and the ghost story. I enjoyed reading this novel very much. It is a novel from the Golden Age of  Detective Fiction published in the “Uncrowned Queens of Crime Series”. The setting in an antiquarian bookshop is interesting and the various people employed there are described very well, and the plot was exciting. It was a great reunion with Sally and Johnny, who also solved the murder case in Answer in the Negative....

  Dance of Death by Helen McCloy I received this e-book from Crime Classics via NetGalley. It is published in the series from Agora Books called Uncrowned Queens of Crime.  It’s very nice to get to know other writers who have written classic crimes, and I have thus been inspired to read authors unknown to me before. In this novel a young debutante is found dead buried in snow. Although she is covered in snow her body temperature is high and the cause of death resembles a heat stroke.  It is not a heat stroke but she has been poisoned with an overdose of a diet drug.   In charge of the investigation is Inspector Foyle with the help of psychiatrist Dr Basil Willing. Foyle and Willing have different ways of solving cases, and Willing tries to convince Foyle about the value of psychology in criminal investigation. He states that a blunder is the one form of clue a criminal can neither remove, conceal nor destroy - the one clue that is entirely beyond his conscious c...

  The Ghost It Was by Richard Hull is a crime novel I have received from Agora Books via NetGalley to review.  I haven't read anything from this author before, but he writes in the classical British crime genre and with a lovely dry sense of humor. James Warrenton (uncle James) has bought Amberhurst Place, because it is said to house a ghost, and he is interested in spiritism.  He has 4 nephews and a niece. None of them specially interested in ghosts, but  some of them rather interested in Uncle James' money.    The niece (Emily) and nephew (Henry Malcolm) both live with and work for the uncle.   Two nephews live with their mother not far from Amberhurst Place. The eldest (Arthur) is a solicitor, and the other (Christopher) is a poet. The last nephew is  the charlatan Gregory Spring-Benson, who appears at the manor hoping to get hold of some money, as he is nearly bankrupt.  One of the nephews are killed and later yet another murder...

Dead March for Penelope Blow by George Bellairs is number 18 in the Chief Inspector Littlejohn series. A frail old lady (Penelope Blow) comes to Scotland Yard several times to speak to Inspector Littlejohn, but he is away on a murder case. She will not speak to anyone else. When Littlejohn returns he hears that Penelope Blow has died in a fall from an upstairs window. Littlejohn is not convinced it is an accident and begins investigating the matter. That is not an easy task. The Blow family denies him access to the house and he and Cromwell must seek help from the servants. A story of family secrets, madness, hatred and jealousy soon unravels.  As always it has been a joy and pleasure to read a Littlejohn mystery. It is a classic British detective story written with wit and interesting characters and settings. Well worth a read! I got this book to review because I have joined Crime Classics Advanced Readers Club. Thanks - I enjoyed it very much.

He'd Rather Be Dead by George Bellairs is number eight in the Chief Inspector Littlejohn series. I received it for review from George Bellairs Literary Estate via NetGalley.   Sir Gideon Ware - the mayor of Westcombe is murdered during the annual lunch he is holding for Boroug officials.   He is a man making enemies everywhere, and no one grieves his death (apart from his wife), when he is murdered during the lunch. He is poisoned, but it seems nobody has been able to administer the poison. Everyone attending the lunch are suspects, and in the beginning it was rather a lot of people to keep track of. As the Chief Constable  Mr. Boumphrey  is afraid to be unpopular among the distinguished  guests at the lunch, he asks for Scotland Yards help, and Littlejohn comes to help. He succeeds in solving Wares murder and yet another one committed during his investigations.  It is a well told story. Bellairs is rather good at describing the various people and...

Murder to Music by Margaret Newman A book in the Uncrowned Queens of Crime series. I got this thanks to Agora Books to review. It’s nice these crime novels are being published again. It was first published in 1959 but it is still worth a read. Detective superintendent Simon Hudson is attending a Metropolitana Choir concert, where his girlfriend Delia  is singing in the choir. The assistant director Owen Barr is shot after conducting Mr. Tredegar’s Mass. Owen has a capacity for taking and giving offence and since he was appointed assistant director the meetings and choir practices has not been very harmonic ones. Shortly after his death the Italian tenor Mr. Cassati disappears and another murder is attempted. The members of the Metro’s Managing Committee responsible for the concert are all under suspicion. Simons girlfriend, Delia is also a member and helps Simon investigate. I enjoyed reading the story - entertaining and well written. The ending was a surprise to me. ...

I got this book via George Bellairs Literary Estate and Agora Books to review. I have enjoyed quite a few of Bellairs books and especially Chief Inspector Littlejohn. This is however not in the Littlejohn series, and I missed him and Sergeant Cromwell. The story takes place in Swarebridge during WW2, where two murders are committed. The senior deacon of the chapel of Zion is giving his annual performance as leader in follow-the-leader at the  Anniversary Tea Party. He falls through a trapdoor and is stabbed to death. The sympathetic Superintendent Nankivell is head of the investigation, but before he succeeds in finding the murderer, another murder is committed. I found the description of people in the community very good  and often very funny, and Bellairs i s also a master at creating the sometimes claustrophobic atmosphere in the close religious society of Zion. The plot was a bit weak and not very exciting.

Agora Books has put focus on uncrowned, female  writers from The Golden Age of Detective Fiction. This resulted in me getting Answer in the Negative to review. Henrietta Hamilton was an English writer known for her stories about amateur sleuths Sally and Johnny Helder. I haven’t been able to find much about the writer but she is the author of: The Two Hundred Ghosts (1956) Death at One Blow (1957) Answer in the Negative (1959) A Night to Die (1959) In Answer in the Negative the archive assistant at National Press Archives - Frank Morningside - has been the receiver of poison pen letters and practical jokes. At first not so bad, but it evolves and gets nasty. That makes his superior Toby call on his friends for help. His friends are the married couple and amateur sleuths Sally and Johnny Helder. Johnny reluctantly offers to help and they start inquiries at the archive pretending to be researchers. While investigating two murders take place before Johnn...

From Crime Classics I was lucky to be sent a free copy of Michal Innes book The Long Farewell. It is number 17 in the Sir John Appleby series. The story starts in Italy, where Appleby and his wife are on vacation . He visits one of his acquaintances - Lewis Packford - who for a period of time lives at the Garda. He is a literary detective and very interested in Shakespeare and on the verge of new discoveries. They have long  discussions on litterature and Appleby tries to find out what it is Lewis is on to, but with no succes. After dinner they part, and it is the last time Appleby sees him alive. Later back in England he attends Lewis' funeral and speaks with his lawyer Mr Rood. Rood is not satisfied with the verdict of suicide, and asks Appleby to look into the matter. This takes Appleby to Lewis' home - Urchins. Here he finds a mixed bag of scholars, collectors two wives and a brother all with a possible motive for murder. As always in the company of Appleby you are ...

From George Bellairs Literary Estate I was fortunate to receive number 24 in the Chief Inspector Littlejohn series to review on Amazon. (e-book via NetGalley) This is one of my favorite English Crime series, and it was a very nice read. Inspector Littlejohn and  his wife Letty are on vacation at the French Riviera. The vacation comes to an abrupt halt when a compatriot is murdered  nearby. Alderman Dawson is stabbed to death and Littlejohn is asked to help the French police. Dawson was on a coach tour along with other residents from Bolchester. Dawson had been in the maquis during the war, fell in love with a woman and betrayed the group. The murder could be revenge from wartime or the murderer could be one of the participants in the bus tour. To find out more about the group  and the victim, Littlejohn has to go back to England and visit Bolchester, While he is away other murders take place. I enjoyed reading it - nice French settings around Cannes, and interesti...

I recently discovered three authors of classic English crime novels of which I am a huge fan. It is Michael Innes, George Bellairs and Edmund Crispin. I have already read quite a number with great pleasure and it was a real treat to be given this novel to review. It got it from Crime Classics to download via NetGalley. This novel  is number 16 in The Sir Appleby series . David Henchman is a student attending a reading party supervised by old Pettifor. He goes for a days outing and sees a smoke on top of Knack Tor. He climbs to the top and finds a dead body very shortly after he has heard a shot. This results in a thrilling run for his life and at some point Appleby appears in the story. Telling more about the plot would be a spoiler. It is a very well told and exciting story with plenty of action, humor and suspense. I really enjoyed it.

From Crime Classics Review Club I have been lucky to receive a collection of short stories by Margery Allingham. It is a collection of very different short stories. Some are  crime stories, other  ghost / super natural stories, and then  again  some are essays. Some of the stories bring a revisit with Allingham's famous detective: Albert Campion and that is always enjoyable. One of these stories I had read previously: The Man with the Sack, as it also occurs in Campion at Christmas (The Case of the Man with the Sack). The book starts with a short article about the writer and is followed by a tribute to her and her work written by another of the great classic crime writers:  Agatha Christie The tribute is well deserved, and this is a collection of very well written short stories all worth reading.

A Knife for Harry Dodd by George Bellairs This time I was given number 21 in the Chief Inspector Littlejohn mysteries from the George Bellairs Literary Estate for a review. It was a fine reunion with Littlejohn and Cromwell. The story takes place in rural England in the 1950s. Harry Dodd is stabbed on his way home from the pub. He is an unobtrusive man, who now lives with his mistress and her mother. The family forced a divorce after his digression and apart from his former wife there is no love lost between them. In the beginning Littlejohn and Cromwell have very little to go by, but gradually Harry's whereabouts unfolds and also who his enemies and friends are. More murders take place before they succeed in solving the crime. It is a very well told story with a good plot, which was difficult to guess. And as always a lot of fun characters. The teamwork between Littlejohn and Cromwell delightful - so jet another well written mystery by George Bellairs. I have prev...