“Towards Zero”~Agatha Christie Book Review

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Mysteries are my favorite type of pleasure reading. Anytime I want a relaxing and delightful jaunt into the world of crime and detectives I find myself reaching for a mystery novel. Agatha Christie is among the first authors I reach for.

I appreciate her mysteries for many reasons, among them are; a fresh story every time, lovely character studies, unique plot twists, unpredictable endings, and crispy dialogue all tossed into a charming location full of deadly murder and mayhem.

She specialized in writing the “manor mystery” where a group of strange folks from all walks of life are thrown together in a location and forced to stay there. It is a common story setting and one of the best no matter whether it takes place among a group of stagecoach passengers, passengers on a ship, an island out at sea, a snowbound train depot, or the ever suspenseful English manor.

Toward Zero, is very much like that. A group of unusual characters all convene in an elderly lady’s house on seaside cliffs during the month of September, and the suspicious thoughts quickly turn into hard tension, and then murder. Everyone is a suspect. And I dare the reader to guess the culprit before it is revealed!

In reading many Agatha Christie novels I’ve thought a lot on what makes her books so appealing. I think a large portion of it can be attributed to her wide knowledge of people. From reading her books it is clear that she must have watched and studied the people around her until she had a vast resource of realistic characters. Couple that with cleverness and her excellent craftsmanship with words, and you get the people and their amusing characters that make her books stand out. When trying to solve her mysteries, it usually comes down to trying to get an understanding of personalities, how each of the people think, their reactions, and what makes them tick. If you can figure out the people, you can figure out the mystery!

Towards Zero is full of fascinating people that makes a jolly good read. Among them are:

• An 80 year old specialist of criminology, who knows too much; he could never write a memoir—and live.
• An eccentric old lady who is royalty in her own domain—the mansion. And who has a secret delight that her guests don’t realize they are fodder for…
• A flashy, stunningly beautiful girl who is dissatisfied with life and her husband. And jealous. And money hungry. Pure dynamite.
• An intelligent reader who would do anything to have some adventure or travel, but is housebound taking care of an old lady…or so she thinks until a squad of guests descend on the grounds one September.
• A handsome, athletic young man who has been trailing his old sweetheart for year after year—despite the undeniable fact that she is married.
• A quiet lady with a scar…a hidden past…a mysterious manner…a reserved passion no one would ever guess, with the one possible exception of her ex-husband
• The ex-husband. A wealthy man who has to live for two weeks in the same house with his first and second wives.
• A farmer from Malay. A quiet man with a hidden purpose…deliberate enough to cross an ocean to carry it out.
• A suicidal gent on a secret mission in South America, who just stops by to visit the place where once he tried to take his life, a man who would lose his job, wife, and friends rather than tell a lie, but who had a unique exception for one kind of deceit…

Put all of those folks together in a party, start having them be mysteriously murdered, and the result will be neither predictable nor calm!

Towards Zero is one with of her lesser-known books, it has neither of her famous detectives; Poirot or Marple, but is one of the five “Superintendent Battle” cases. It was originally published in 1944.  For a delightful couple of hours dig into this old mystery and you will be surprised at the sudden twists! Agatha Christie could make her readers sympathize with and love a character, and then turn bitterly against him in a matter of seconds. Such was her talent, and…but that is for you to find out in this classic whodunit. Below are a few quotes from the book.

 

‘I like a good detective story,’ he said. ‘But, you know, they begin in the wrong place! They begin with the murder. But the murder is the end. The story begins long before that– years before sometimes– with all the causes and events that bring certain people to a certain place at a certain time on a certain day.’

“You’ve no idea what horrors most companions are. Futile boring creatures. Driving one mad with their insanity. They are companions because they are fit for nothing better. To have Mary, who is a well-read intelligent woman, is marvelous. She had really a first-class brain–a man’s brain. She has read widely and deeply and there is nothing she cannot discuss. And she is just as clever domestically as she is intellectually. She runs the house perfectly…”“

“I suppose, like most young people nowadays, boredom is what you dread most in the world, and yet, I can assure you, there are worse things.”

“It’s extraordinary, the amount of misunderstandings there are even between two people who discuss a thing quite often – both of them assuming different things and neither of them discovering the discrepancy.”

 

This book is very entertaining and fun (Does anyone else relish the descriptions of the guests rooms, wardrobes, and the state of neatness or disarray like I do? I love it when detectives search a room, and Agatha Christie catches all the details that would be the logical state considering that persons mind, worldview, and character, for one’s mind does affect one’s room…) 

For a chilly fall evening nothing beats a good mystery and a steaming cup o’ tea. Treat yourself to a couple of Agatha Christie’s books this autumn season and give your deducing powers a little exercise! It might make you want to don your suit and hat for a visit to an old country house…

Have you read Towards Zero or any of the Superintendent Battle series? Let me know in a comment below!

Towards Zero is currently available in the shop HERE!

This review was written for The Agatha Christie Blogathon hosted by Christina Wehner and Little Bits of Classics

Vintage Book Review~David Harum

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David Harum

By E. N. Westcott

John Lenox, a promising man in his 20’s, is suddenly cast into two life-changing situations. His father dies, and with his passing John no longer has any money with which to live on or to pursue his training as a lawyer. The second situation is more pleasant, but even more difficult; John has fallen in love with a sweet girl—but does not have the finical means to offer her marriage even if he could otherwise make a successful winning of her heart.
This story follows his trials and moral tests of character through 6 years in New York State.

The title of the book; “David Harum”, comes from the employer and mentor of John— Mr. David Harum, an old country banker and sharp horse-trader who is filled with stories of his own life and struggles which he willingly shares with all who are interested. He’s a likable old fellow and has every bit as much (if not more) to do with the story than John himself. As the book progresses he becomes a mentor type of figure in John’s life…

I found this book to be quite enjoyable and a charming story. It is, a story of American life in New York during the 1800’s and also a character study of an old banker. And what makes it so fascinating is when in was written. It’s not some modern fiction set back in history, but is a fictional story written about the times that the author lived in and experienced first hand. The author, Westcott, wrote the book and finished it while on his deathbed. It was published posthumously that same year: 1898.

The characters and dialogue are quite real and show that the author understood human nature well; and the story, while moving at a slightly slower pace in some parts, manages to stay interesting throughout and leave you quite interested in how everything will turn out in the seemingly unsettling end.

The book in these photos is from 1898, the original publication year, and is a fine hardcover with a frontice-piece by an uncredited artist (although you can almost make out his signature in the corner…).

I currently have an 1898 copy available for purchase in the shop here!

If you’ve read David Harum, drop me a comment and let me know your thoughts on the book!

Vintage Book Review~West Is West by Eugene Manlove Rhodes

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West Is West by Eugene Rhodes

Published in 1917 by Grosset & Dunlap, this is one of the vintage books written by the renown western author Eugene Manlove Rhodes.

West is West is a collection of 8 short stories that are loosely tied together—they all take place on roughly the same range land, with many of the same characters. The stories are as follows:

Prologue

A range war is at a momentary standoff between Ben Morgan and Clay Mundy, when MacGregor, a man on the run from the law, stops in to hide at Clay Mundy’s spread. He stays on as a hand and starts finding out that fishy things are happening between enemies Clay Mundy and Ben Morgan’s daughterr–and he feels it necessary to intervene.

Once Upon A Time

Emil James, the main character of this story, takes a young tenderfoot (John Sayles) on a journey across the Malibu Flat and through the mountains, to reach the N 8 ranch. Emil tells the history of the land—the stories of the conquistadors to the young man–meanwhile several key bits of information for later stories in the book are exposed.

The Spring Drive

John Sayles is now a full-fledged cowboy on the N 8 spread. One day an old family friend and ex-cowboy drops by to take John back east so he will stop “wasting” his life on the range when he could be getting rich. What follows are some lively and interesting debates between the two about the character, habits, work ethic, and prospects of the range man vs. the “business” man— which lead to an interesting discovery of his friend’s past, which in turn, is put to the test in a life-or-death test of moral courage.

Meanwhile a cowboy’s humorous and wise ways of dealing with unpractical and slightly corrupted government officials like tax collectors, inspectors and such is portrayed as Steve comes head to head with various officials and try to make their points about freedom and reasonableness.

The Fool’s Heart

This story’s name fits perfectly. A man’s character is put to the test when a perfect opportunity arises for him to “bump off” a man and take his fortune with no consequences or chance of discovery. Cleverly woven, this tale is one of the best in the book and has a predictable, yet masterful ending.

I love stories that end with a short, meaningful last sentence.

Crooknose

This is a tale of Crooknose, an unlikely looking character, who, under his rough exterior is a man of honor who fights injustice, defends the innocent and sets wrongs right wherever he comes across them. An observant man with a hatred of those who take advantage of folks, he ends up in quite a few scrapes in all manner of places– from a gambling hall to a brothel.

Dick

A crooked scheme by the main stockholders of a mine is taking place in the town where Dick Rainboldt lives. This story introduces the bad men of the scheme, Dick Rainboldt, and the girl he loves; Judith Elliot. It is practically a “part one” of the next story: The Bells of San Clemens.

The Bells Of San Clemens

This story tells of the big crooked mine scheme and how Dick Rainboldt started out to solve the mystery and get proof against the thieves. Using cleverness he tackles the job in a difficult and surprising way…

Over On The Malibu

A railroad is coming through, and with it come the main characters in a finale as the loose ends get wrapped up, and we bid farewell to the folks in the lovely valley and mountains.

Although West Is West is a fun book, the stories and characters are slightly hard to keep up with, which can make it difficult to read.

It is not an exceptional book in that sense, but for any Gene Rhodes fan (like myself) it is a treasure and well worth adding to your collection. It has one black and white illustration by Harvey Dunn, which is is poorly done, and it does not match the story, as the girl in it not only looks terrible, but also doesn’t even have the slightest resemblance to a western girl or any of the characters in the story. She would look more at home in ancient Greece or Rome. The cowboy in the illustration looks alright, but in general it is poor art. There is a lovely little cactus silhouette on the spine!

Below are a few excerpts of dialogue from the book to whet your appetite and give you a taste of his writing style:

On a cowboy’s work ethic…

“That is exactly the point. These fellows [cowboys] sacrifice everything else so that they can go their own way just as they please and keep their so-called ‘independence’–with no provision for the future. They will not accept orders—.”

“I have been here two months and I have not heard an order given yet,” said John Sayles dryly. “Every man knows what to do and when to do it. He does it without orders. And every man-jack of them tries to do it first! Is that a fault? Why, if you had men who would do that, you would hold them invaluable. And Independence? Since when has that been a crime? Isn’t self-respect — even exaggerated self-respect — better than the cringing obsequiousness of our tip-takers?

On keeping the law…

“You’ll get yourself in trouble, Steve,” warned the inspector. You don’t want to defy the law. A good citizen ought to uphold it.”

“Don,” said Steve, more seriously, “a man that keeps a foolish law is only a fool—but a man who doesn’t break a wicked law is a knave and coward, or both, and a fool besides.”

A humorous meeting of a girl and a cowboy meeting out in the middle of nowhere…

“And you’ve had an accident ? Not hurt I hope?” he held out the canteen, first unscrewing the top.

“Thank you. No, I’m not hurt a bit. Except my feelings. They’re ruined. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll drink first and tell you afterward. Dear me, what a jerky conversation!”

That’s because I’m afraid– my part of it,” said Dick gravely. “Not of you, you know. Of girls.” He waved a hand to explain. “Any girls. All girls. I suppose you’re afraid of men. Girls are.”

“Not!” supplemented the girl, and wrinkled her nose at him. Then: “Oh, my soul!” she sighed. “What would poor, dear mamma say if she knew I’d make a face at a perfect stranger?”

“Me, too,” echoed Dick, mournfully sympathetic. “I’ve never behaved this way before. I don’t know what is getting to be the matter with me—unless, as Topsy said, it’s my wicked heart. But my perfection was not shocked when you made the face. It was very effective. Not the nose so much– the dimples.”

“Upon my word!” said the young lady.

“Why don’t you drink? You must be thirsty/”

“Look the other way, then. I haven’t learned to drink from a canteen yet—not gracefully.”

Dick looked the other way. “Why, drinking from a canteen is easy,” he said. “The first rule is, you mustn’t laugh–.”

The girl laughed promptly, with disastrous results. There was a sound of spluttering and gurgling and of splashing water. “There! See what you’ve done! You made me choke myself—you made me spill it!”

“I didn’t want to do it.” observed Dick, with a decidedly musical effect.

The young lady shot a suspicious glance at him, and frowned slightly; but the young man’s eyes were fixed on a distant hill with a gaze so innocent, so guileless, and so unswerving straightforward that she broke out into dimples again.

“That wasn’t a song, however it sounded,” she remarked. “Now you keep still till I drink.”

(for the 21st century folks who don’t know, the last couple of sentences are making reference to the 1913 hit song by Al Jolson “You Made Me Love You” that was wildly popular at the time)

Gene Rhodes had an excellent way of capturing his way of life on the range for us all with such realistic characters and dialogue that can never be equaled for authenticity by most other western writers. He also had a strong code of honor and firmly held principles that always show up in his stories—sometimes obviously in the print, and at other times hidden under the surface and not directly visible. He was not a man to change those deeply held principles for a story, as was evidenced when he turned down a handsome offer as a scriptwriter in Hollywood because he wouldn’t write a scene the Script Department insisted upon.¹ 

His love for the land and culture of the south-west, and the personality of the people permeates his writing. If any man had a first hand knowledge of the territory and land, it was Gene Rhodes. When he writes about the land out west, it is as if you were writing about your own backyard. He knew every mountain, every waterhole, every hidden valley, every town . . .and by reading his works you can feel in his descriptions that he has touched the mesa, tasted the dust, and been down the adobe streets of the town and knows them with the same familiarity that you have for your house and garage.

The realistic-ness of Rhodes books are unequaled in western fiction to my knowledge, and a real store of wealth to be treasured and savored.

¹ Cleavland, Agnes Morley, No Life For A Lady University Of Nebraska Press ©1977

“In The Camp of the Black Riders” by Capwell Wyckoff ~Review

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Synopsis:  Ted and Buck are a couple of “clean cut, manly boys” who agree to go on a month long camping trip with 18 younger boys.  Stepping up to their responsibilities manfully they come across some mysterious doings that calls out their resourcefulness.  Camping in the middle of nowhere, on a historic piece of land where a group of Patriot guerrilla fighters once met clandestinely during the Revolutionary War. They come across many unusual occurrences and become the victims of some “haunted” tricks by an unknown antagonist. Then the tricks become more than play and start to become dangerous…and if that weren’t enough, one of the boys in their group is becoming hard to handle…

This little-known book was written by Campwell Wyckoff (1903-1953), author of the Mercer Boys series. It is a children’s mystery story probably aimed at the age range of 10-15 year-olds, though younger boys may enjoy it just as much. It follows the tradition of the Hardy Boys series and the countless others of the time: a simple clean mystery, with manly boys who shoulder responsibility, take risks, and whose ingenuity and braveness pulls them out of many a scrape.

Title: In The Camp Of The Black Riders

Publisher: The Saalfield Publishing Company

Original Publication Year: 1931

It’s a fun, lighthearted story that would make a nice gift to your little man (and help him start a fine antique library), a easy-to-read story to pull out on his sick days, or a great book for summer reading in the tree-house.

It’s Currently Available in the Shop! In The Camp of The Black Rider

The Best Sherlock Holmes Book Edition (for any true Sherlock aficionado)

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If you’re looking for the best Sherlock Holmes book and are overwhelmed by the choices, here’s my advice from 6 years of dedicated treasure hunting in bookshops.  As you probably know, many of the great books of yesteryear have fallen out of copyright and are published by in countless editions (almost 4 and 1/2 thousand of Sherlock Holmes according to Goodreads), many of them cheaply done in mass paperback printings. But this post isn’t about those, it’s about the best volume for the Holmes aficionado.

Here it is: The Complete Sherlock Holmes, published by Doubleday & Company Inc.

Yes, that’s my cherished antique copy in the above photo. Hidden underneath the rather ordinary dust-jacket is a perfectly handsome, deep-dark navy, cloth-bound hardcover with lovely gold lettering on the spine.

Here’s what makes it so grand:

• It’s a COMPLETE collection. When I love a character I want to read every single story he’s in. And when there are over 50, as in the case of Holmes, it can be quite trying to  search out every single last one~especially as so many of the books overlap stories or publish only the popular titles… Here in one volume are all four full length novels and all 56 short stories.  You can rest assured that you are not missing out on even one adventure Sir Arthur Connan Doyle penned about the detective.
• It’s not abridged! Need I say anything else? Not a speck has been edited or changed from the originals.
• The mysteries are not loose or randomly ordered, but rather arraigned by book, as they were originally grouped when published (eg. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, Return of Sherlock Holmes, etc.)
  
• It is a handsomely bound book. Aesthetics are important. This book, especially when devoid of the dust jacket,  is beautiful, dark, and rich, with gilt letterning that gleams when it catches a ray of light. Even when not being read it enriches a room merely by it’s visual addition to the decor.
• It’s an antique, a vintage book from the past, you wonder who has held it and where it has been. In short, mystery shrouds the very volume you hold–filling the imagination with delightful possibilities of it’s history…
• Quality. Printed in the United States of America. Soundly bound and a sturdy hardcover that was published by arrangement of “the Estate of Sir Arthur Connan Doyle” itself!

Now for the technical details:

1,122 pages

Published by Doubleday & Company Inc.

Forward written by Christopher Morley

Measures 9.5″ x 6.5″ x 2.25″

One Note of warning: this book was published many different years and all of them don’t have the same cover under the dust-jacket. So make sure you see a photo of the actual book cover to be sure you like it.  Not all of them look like mine. 🙂

Now to the true Homes collector more Sherlock may be added to your shelves, I have quite a few others myself. Just because I have THE Sherlock Holmes book doesn’t mean that I’m adverse to owning a leather bound Hound Of Baskervilles novel. Such books have their time and place and are perfect for loaning to friends or slipping into your suitcase on your next trip, especially when visiting a majestic old mansion in the country for one night and you don’t want to lug around the weight of a large collection. 

However this Complete Sherlock Holmes cannot be topped for true fans who want all of the mysteries. It makes a grand gift.

This book can be found many other places ~ it just takes a little sleuthing to find a really nice antique copy. This very same book is nowadays published in a paperback, but there is a fine leather edition that looks quite stunning.

What do you think? Do you have any favorite editions of Sherlock stories? I’d love to hear about them!

The Comings Of Cousin Ann By Emma Speed Sampson

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This is such a sweet story! I found a copy of this book in an old bookshop and purchased it, eventually I picked it up and started reading and I am so glad I did.

In many ways it reminded me of the book “Mother” by Kathleen Norris, not in the message for this one is not about motherhood, but in the way that it was a charming book with several good lessons strongly woven into a delightful story. The lessons of this volume are are based on the theme of elderly relations and old age. It covers many points, some of them being: idleness and life of leisure in aged folks vs. industry, work, and dominion. The duty towards, and honor for an elderly relative that folks have. The BEAUTY of old age, and of acting one’s age and part in life. And the list goes on…all of it told within a fun story!

There are some words used in this book that have changed meaning since the days of this book that are nowadays considered derogatory and offensive to some, but to lovers of history and old books who understand the days gone by and the etymology of the times it will constitute no problem whatsoever. 🙂

This book is finding a permanent home on my shelves and I would highly suggest that you find an antique copy for your reading list! A delightful tale of generations learning to work together!

~Written by Emma Speed Sampson (who also wrote under the pseudonym of Nell Speed)

~Originally published in 1923 by Rilley & Lee