Category: short story

I'm pretty sure that I've read "Three Blind Mice" before. I couldn't remember any of the details but it just felt familiar, and I wasn't surprised by the ending. A blinding snowstorm was not an auspicious beginning, but Molly and Giles Davis were determined to make a go of their new guest house, but among their first guests at Monkswell Manor was a murderer. The man, or woman, had already killed one "blind mouse" and is planning on catching number two and three. Christie does an excellent job of making the atmosphere menacing. You can understand why the character's jump at every little noise, why they each suspect each other. She makes all of the people in the Manor plausible suspects,and interesting characters. It's interesting to see how they each become more and more scared, more suspicious of the others, but at the same time some enjoy the mystery, the tension, the excitement. It's a departure from the ordinary. The twist at...

I mentioned a while ago that I have developed quite a fondness for Mick and Casey McKee, a young married couple who are gunslingers in the Old West. And tend to do a bit of detecting while they're at it. Over my vacation, I read a few of the mysteries starring the pair, including the short story "Trail of the Lonesome Stickpin." The story opens with Mick waking up on the floor, half-undressed, and the memory of a pair of beautiful brown eyes and soft blond hair. His wife, by the way, has hazel eyes, brown hair, and is quite a sharpshooter. Needless to say, he's desperate to figure out what happened before he's in more trouble with Casey than he can handle. I still love this couple. They make me smile, it's that simple. Mick's the talker, the one who figures things out. Casey's more likely to shoot first and ask questions later, but she has a soft side that shows...

Right now, my problem is that I'm in the middle of Empire Falls by Richard Russo, a great book, but a slow read for me for some reason. Anyway, one day I forgot it, but had my Kindle with me  and had picked up Have Gun, Will Play by Camille LaGuire, so I started it, and I'm really getting a kick out of it, but want to finish Empire Falls first. The point is, the LaGuire book is about a couple of gun-slingers in the Old West, Mick and his young wife, Casey, great characters, so when I found "The Hoosegow Strangler" the first story featuring the couple, I had to read it. At heart, it's a locked room mystery. Mick and Casey had been hired to guard a witness, Albert Wilkins, who ends up dead. The only way into the room is through a locked door and the hallway and stairs are being guarded by Mick and Casey. They don't...

Image source: Wikipedia The air conditioner at our house doesn't work and it's hot here, but that's not why I'm participating in the Spend the Summer with Agatha Christie read-alongs. I do like the phrase "Cooling Down with AC," though. I adore Agatha Christie, and have since I discovered her in junior high. For me, she is one of the writers that made me fall in love with mysteries. Today, a read-along of "The Tuesday Night Club" is being hosted at Book Club Girl. It's the first short story written about Miss Marple and serves as the perfect introduction. A small group of individuals has gathered at Miss Marple's home, including Miss Marple, her nephew Raymond a writer, an artist, Sir Henry Clithering a former Commissioner of Scotland Yard, and a clergyman. The topic of  "unsolved mysteries" comes up and Sir Henry presents the group with a previously unsolved murder. He now knows who the killer was, but it hasn't been made public...