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Anna Hoyt #4 (Declaration)
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
In this month’s issue of page-turners, you’ll have a chance to reconnect with a few series characters, like Dana Cameron’s colonial-Boston innkeeper Anna Hoyt, who treads lightly around extreme violence in an attempt to escape with her reputation, her business, and her life (“Declaration”). Master Chef Auguste Didier returns too, and once again finds himself in the presence of murder, this time at a glamorous dinner party (“Murder and the Golden Slipper” by Amy Myers).
Another character you might know—the eponymous star of Michael Guillebeau’s novel Josh Whoever—shows up as a young man coming of age and coming to terms with the social and familial realities of his life as a fisherman’s son in North Florida (“Crimes of Passion”). He’s not the only young protagonist in these pages, as two more fight against quietly deadly foes, one at school (“Ash” by Arthur Piper) and one in his own neighborhood (“Neighbor” by David Dean).
In the chilling and poignant “Cold Island” by Brendan DuBois, a defense lawyer is particularly suited to coax a wanted man from a deserted winter cabin. To warm up, we have “Two for the Price of One” by Belinda Bauer, a charming tale about a couple who become particularly enamored with one of their customers. And you won’t want to miss our two puzzle mysteries: “The Ghost of the Badminton Court” by Szu-Yen Lin and “Death in the Pasig,” a special Black Mask story by Raoul Whitfield, writing as Ramon DeColta.
Another character you might know—the eponymous star of Michael Guillebeau’s novel Josh Whoever—shows up as a young man coming of age and coming to terms with the social and familial realities of his life as a fisherman’s son in North Florida (“Crimes of Passion”). He’s not the only young protagonist in these pages, as two more fight against quietly deadly foes, one at school (“Ash” by Arthur Piper) and one in his own neighborhood (“Neighbor” by David Dean).
In the chilling and poignant “Cold Island” by Brendan DuBois, a defense lawyer is particularly suited to coax a wanted man from a deserted winter cabin. To warm up, we have “Two for the Price of One” by Belinda Bauer, a charming tale about a couple who become particularly enamored with one of their customers. And you won’t want to miss our two puzzle mysteries: “The Ghost of the Badminton Court” by Szu-Yen Lin and “Death in the Pasig,” a special Black Mask story by Raoul Whitfield, writing as Ramon DeColta.
112 pages, Unknown Binding
Published August 1, 2014
About the author
Janet Hutchings
240 books16 followersEllery Queen's Mystery Magazine editor 1991-present.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 15, 2021
I don't much like either of the two traditional here-are-clues-who-is-the-murderer stories in this issue. "The Ghost of the Badminton Court" by Szu-Yen Lin is a "Passport to Crime" tale, written in China and translated and adapted by John Pugmire. This is part of a series featuring Ruoping Lin, who, in this story, at least, solves the mystery by just hearing the crime described. The solution is quite far-fetched.
Amy Myers' "Murder and the Golden Slipper" is also part of a series. Auguste Didier is a French chef working in England in the 1890s. A man dies after drinking champagne from his fiancée's shoe. Didier is right there and, of course, suggests a solution.
"Death in the Pasig" is labeled as a "Black Mask" story, indicating that it is the kind of tough mystery that used to appear in the old Black Mask pulp magazine. This is actually a reprinted old story by Raoul Whitfield, which originally appeared credited to Whitfield's pseudonym Ramon DeColta. This is also part of a series, about Jo Gar, a detective in the Philippines. The introduction to the story here says that Gar was "one of the earliest Asian detectives in American literature." Gar is involved in a case in which it seems that the murderer is a startling look-alike to the man first suspected. This is not so much a tough story as a clever one.
Belinda Bauer's "Two for the Price of One" is far from a Black Mask type of story. A married couple of Italian ancestry run a dry cleaning establishment in England. One of their regular customers is a police officer, Detective Constable Gold. At first the husband is dismayed by his wife's concern for the officer, but then he begins to share it, bringing the couple closer together. This is really in no way a mystery, but nonetheless it is perfectly appropriate for inclusion in EQMM.
Brendan DuBois frequently sets his stories in New England. "Cold Island" takes place in a frigid New Hampshire winter. A wanted killer is located on an island surrounded by a frozen lake. He is also surrounded by police officers. A female attorney known to the fugitive goes to talk to him.
Dana Cameron wrote a highly-regarded series about Anna Hoyt, a widowed tavern owner in colonial Boston. In "Declaration," some one has broken in and vandalized Hoyt's distilling shed. She must ascertain who did the damage and make sure nothing more occurs. She has more than one suspect, however, two of whom plainly wish her ill. Her investigation leads to some very well portrayed violence.
"Neighbor" by David Dean is one of three stories here with a teenage boy as the protagonist. One of the neighborhood boys, the central character in the story, has a new neighbor right next door, who seems to be somewhat hostile. Two friends of the main character on a whim destroy flowers in that neighboring man's yard. His revenge is extreme. Matters escalate - terribly.
"Ash" by Arthur Piper is designated as a "First Story," meaning that it is the author's first paid professional publication of a mystery short story. Students hate their mathematics teacher, Mr. Manders, "Head of maths at Smith's High" in England. Manders, to whom they refer as "Mandy," is "bullying, arrogant, and cruel." The first paragraph of the story, narrated by one of the students, prepares the reader for what is to come:
On a good day, it creases me up to think how easy it was. Mandy had it coming. Simple as. After the arguing, the planning, the sleepless nights, killing him was a doddle.
The introduction to Michael Guillebeau's "Crimes of Passion" states that Josh, the central character in this story, later appeared in Guillebeau's novel Josh Whoever. In this story, Josh is one of three teenage friends living in the Florida Panhandle at a time when that area was mostly poor. Josh's friends, a boy and a girl, are both from wealthy families, however. They come across a dead man floating in the water. Josh and the other boy discover that the corpse has a pocket full of fifty dollar bills. Josh thinks that taking the money would be stealing; his friend has no such compunction. Later someone involved in the man's death finds out who has the money and wants it back - no matter what he has to do to get it. He also wants Josh's female friend.
Bill Crider recommends five mystery blogs in his "Blog Bytes" column.
Steve Steinbock reviews eight books in his "The Jury Box" column. He awards four (out of a possible maximum of five) stars to Murder in Pigalle by Cara Black, No Stone Unturned by James W. Ziskin, and Invisible City by Julia Dahl. Steinbock gives five stars to Wolverine Bros. Freight & Storage by Steve Ulfelder.
Interior artwork is by Allen Davis, Jason C. Eckhardt, and Mark Evan Walker. The striking black and white cover photograph is credited to RetroAtelier/iStockphoto.com.
Since I started this review by mentioning stories that I did not like, why am I giving a five star rating to this issue? Because all of the other stories are good, some very much so. I especially enjoyed "Declaration," "Crimes of Passion," "Neighbor," and "Ash."
Amy Myers' "Murder and the Golden Slipper" is also part of a series. Auguste Didier is a French chef working in England in the 1890s. A man dies after drinking champagne from his fiancée's shoe. Didier is right there and, of course, suggests a solution.
"Death in the Pasig" is labeled as a "Black Mask" story, indicating that it is the kind of tough mystery that used to appear in the old Black Mask pulp magazine. This is actually a reprinted old story by Raoul Whitfield, which originally appeared credited to Whitfield's pseudonym Ramon DeColta. This is also part of a series, about Jo Gar, a detective in the Philippines. The introduction to the story here says that Gar was "one of the earliest Asian detectives in American literature." Gar is involved in a case in which it seems that the murderer is a startling look-alike to the man first suspected. This is not so much a tough story as a clever one.
Belinda Bauer's "Two for the Price of One" is far from a Black Mask type of story. A married couple of Italian ancestry run a dry cleaning establishment in England. One of their regular customers is a police officer, Detective Constable Gold. At first the husband is dismayed by his wife's concern for the officer, but then he begins to share it, bringing the couple closer together. This is really in no way a mystery, but nonetheless it is perfectly appropriate for inclusion in EQMM.
Brendan DuBois frequently sets his stories in New England. "Cold Island" takes place in a frigid New Hampshire winter. A wanted killer is located on an island surrounded by a frozen lake. He is also surrounded by police officers. A female attorney known to the fugitive goes to talk to him.
Dana Cameron wrote a highly-regarded series about Anna Hoyt, a widowed tavern owner in colonial Boston. In "Declaration," some one has broken in and vandalized Hoyt's distilling shed. She must ascertain who did the damage and make sure nothing more occurs. She has more than one suspect, however, two of whom plainly wish her ill. Her investigation leads to some very well portrayed violence.
"Neighbor" by David Dean is one of three stories here with a teenage boy as the protagonist. One of the neighborhood boys, the central character in the story, has a new neighbor right next door, who seems to be somewhat hostile. Two friends of the main character on a whim destroy flowers in that neighboring man's yard. His revenge is extreme. Matters escalate - terribly.
"Ash" by Arthur Piper is designated as a "First Story," meaning that it is the author's first paid professional publication of a mystery short story. Students hate their mathematics teacher, Mr. Manders, "Head of maths at Smith's High" in England. Manders, to whom they refer as "Mandy," is "bullying, arrogant, and cruel." The first paragraph of the story, narrated by one of the students, prepares the reader for what is to come:
On a good day, it creases me up to think how easy it was. Mandy had it coming. Simple as. After the arguing, the planning, the sleepless nights, killing him was a doddle.
The introduction to Michael Guillebeau's "Crimes of Passion" states that Josh, the central character in this story, later appeared in Guillebeau's novel Josh Whoever. In this story, Josh is one of three teenage friends living in the Florida Panhandle at a time when that area was mostly poor. Josh's friends, a boy and a girl, are both from wealthy families, however. They come across a dead man floating in the water. Josh and the other boy discover that the corpse has a pocket full of fifty dollar bills. Josh thinks that taking the money would be stealing; his friend has no such compunction. Later someone involved in the man's death finds out who has the money and wants it back - no matter what he has to do to get it. He also wants Josh's female friend.
Bill Crider recommends five mystery blogs in his "Blog Bytes" column.
Steve Steinbock reviews eight books in his "The Jury Box" column. He awards four (out of a possible maximum of five) stars to Murder in Pigalle by Cara Black, No Stone Unturned by James W. Ziskin, and Invisible City by Julia Dahl. Steinbock gives five stars to Wolverine Bros. Freight & Storage by Steve Ulfelder.
Interior artwork is by Allen Davis, Jason C. Eckhardt, and Mark Evan Walker. The striking black and white cover photograph is credited to RetroAtelier/iStockphoto.com.
Since I started this review by mentioning stories that I did not like, why am I giving a five star rating to this issue? Because all of the other stories are good, some very much so. I especially enjoyed "Declaration," "Crimes of Passion," "Neighbor," and "Ash."
Displaying 1 of 1 review