Whose Body? Again....

 Whose Body? (1923) by Dorothy L. Sayers (read by Ian Carmichael)

Yes...I've read and listened to Whose Body? many times before. I've reviewed it in depth (HERE) and I've reviewed audio versions by both David Case  and Nano Nagle. And all I've got to say about those is: Thank goodness for Ian Carmichael. There is nothing like listening to him read the LPW stories and I'm glad that I've been able to get hold of most of the audio versions he did (I'm still missing a few and hope to complete the set without investing too much money. But Carmichael seems to be a hot commodity on eBay at the moment). 

This particular outing with Carmichael as Lord Peter was a comfort read, plain and simple. It's been a rough couple of years at the Hankins homestead and I've had a bit of trouble lately settling down with new books. The concentration just isn't there what with husband's medical issues and the life in general here in the good ol' U S of A. I decided that I just needed to sit and let Carmichael say "pretty things" to me. [That's a paraphrase of a moment late in the book, by the way....] And I enjoyed it thoroughly. So...I'm afraid that I have no deep textual analysis or real review of any sort. But I did have a good time visiting with LPW, Bunter, Parker, and the Dowager Duchess. 

First lines: "Oh, damn!" said Lord Peter Wimsey at Piccadilly Circus. "Hi, driver!" 

Last line: "The Napoleon brandy."
******************

Deaths = 2 (one hit with poker; one traffic accident)

The Rewind

 The Rewind (2022) by Allison Winn Scotch

Synopsis (from the back of the book): Two exes wake up together with wedding bands on their fingers--and no idea how they got there. They have just one New Year's Eve at the end of 1999 to figure it out in this big-hearted and nostalgic rom-com from New York Times bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch.

When college sweethearts Frankie and Ezra broke up before graduation, they vowed to never speak to each other again. Ten years later, on the eve of the new millennium, they find themselves back on their snowy, picturesque New England campus together for the first time for the wedding of mutual friends. Frankie's on the rise as a music manager for the hottest bands of the late '90s, and Ezra's ready to propose to his girlfriend after the wedding. Everything is going to plan--they just have to avoid the chasm of emotions brought up when they inevitably come face to face.

But when they wake up in bed next to each other the following morning with Ezra's grandmother's diamond on Frankie's finger, they have zero memory of how they got there--or about any of the events that transpired the night before. Now Frankie and Ezra have to put aside old grievances in order to figure out what happened, what didn't happen...and to ask themselves the most troubling question of all: what if they both got it wrong the first time around?

So....I picked this out because I needed a plot that took place in a single day for a reading challenge. And the synopsis sounded pretty interesting (especially in contrast to some of the others I investigated). But honestly, this really wasn't my kind of book. I thought that there might be a more intriguing answer to what happened on the night that Frankie and Ezra couldn't remember. But it just wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped for. And honestly, I really didn't care much whether they got back together or not. Their story didn't grab me and make me in any way invested in these people. At times, they annoyed me and I found it hard to believe the ending in the way it was handled. I will say SPOILER....

that I was glad to see Mimi (Ezra's current girlfriend) exit the stage. She was pretty manipulative and got Ezra into the relationship based on a lie--that did not go down well at all. 

If you like relationship stories that go from hate to love in a fairly quick, pretty unrealistic way...then this might be right up your alley. ★★

First line (Prologue): Frankie Harriman took a long last look in the mirror on the back of the bathroom door of her decently appointed hotel room.

First line (1st Chapter): Frankie awoke to a headache that felt akin to a leech sucking the blood straight from her spinal chord.

Last line: And then, in what felt like a small miracle given how far they'd come, he pressed PLAY.

Sweet Poison

 Sweet Poison (2001) by David Roberts

August 1935, in the shadow of the coming world war. Gerald, the Duke of Mersham is one of many British aristocrats who are are trying to fend off another blood bath by bringing together influential men who might help improve the relations between Britain and Germany. He has planned a dinner with Lord Weaver, a newspaper tycoon (with his wife and stepdaughter); General Sir Alistair Craig, a distinguished retired soldier; Peter Lamore, a rising politician (and wife); Cecil Haycraft, the Bishop of  Worthing and a loud supporter of pacifism (and wife); and Baron Helmut von Friedberg of the German Embassy, a man said to have the ear of the new Chancellor Adolf Hitler. The Duke presses his younger brother, Lord Edward Corinth to join the party--to take the place of Hermione Weaver's young man at table. The ill-mannered young cub (Gerald's point of view) has cried off at the last minute.

This type of gathering is the last place Edward wants to be--both because he would rather not be plopped in the middle of the polite bickering sure to result when you mix the general, the pacifist bishop, and the German all together and because he has an important cricket match that same afternoon that he refuses to miss. The cricket match will force him to drive even more rapidly than normal if he's going to be on time. Spoiler--he isn't. After a couple of mishaps, he winds up riding with a Miss Verity Browne, reporter, who is also on her way to Mersham Castle to interview the Duchess the next day for a story. The two arrive at the castle just in time for a late supper (the guests are long done), port...and to watch General Craig die from a dose of cyanide in his glass.

When it's learned that Craig had inoperable cancer, there is a suspicion of suicide--though why choose the Duke's dinner party to do it? But the general consensus (even by the police) is that it will be chalked up as an accident at the inquest...unless further evidence is found to suggest otherwise. Neither Edward nor his new-found partner in detection, Verity Browe (a Communist of all things!) believe it to be suicide or accident. Which leaves murder? But who would want to murder Craig? He hadn't met most of the guests before. Or had he? The further the two dig, the more motives they find. But no proof whatsoever. There will be a few more deaths before the unlikely duo discover the truth behind Craig's death.

I read several of this series back when they first came out and I was struck then by how many parallels there are to the Lord Peter Wimsey books. At the time I was delighted to find a similar aristocratic sleuth because I'd read all the LPW stories there were and was wishing for more. I deliberately started reading this one this year with that in mind and wanted to see just how closely Corinth mirrored Wimsey. A quote from Poisoned Pen on the back cover of my edition says: "Roberts is convincing on period detail and crafts prickly characters...while in fact the period parallels Dorothy L. Sayers, Roberts goes his own way...." Okay, can we talk about that? Here's what I've got when I tally things up:

Like LPW, Lord Edward Corinth is the younger brother of a Duke named...Gerald. Gerald doesn't understand his younger brother and thinks he's a bit of a harum-scarum. [Fortunately, for LEC, the Duke of Mersham's wife isn't nearly the pain in the you-know-what that LPW's sister-in-law is.] LEC also loves to drive fast--though not as well as a LPW. From all reports, he's more like LPW's accident-prone nephew Lord St. George. But he does have the same proficiency at cricket--managing to bat "not out one hundred and five" (whatever that means in cricketese). LEC also has a friend who provides him an entry into bohemian/Communist party society where monkey glands are discussed. 

LEC loves to throw a quotation or two around and uses a deceptively flippant nature to disguise his intelligence. And his man Fenton, like Bunter in the filmed version of Five Red Herrings, makes claim to be an amateur painter. LEC and Verity Brown have an uneasy relationship--based on differences in politics rather than the burden of gratitude that haunts Harriet Vane. And like Harriet in Have His Carcase, Verity attempts to vamp one of the major suspects. 

The end of the story mirrors two of LPW's novels. Verity leaves LEC, not to go on a walking tour as Harriet does from Strong Poison into Carcase, but to report what's going on in Spain. LEC feels the need to leave England on a holiday just as LPW does between Whose Body? and Clouds of Witness. I'm sure I've missed several more. But you get the idea. From what I can tell, Roberts has tried to shove as many parallels to LPW into this first LEC chronicle as he could. 

But...what about the mystery? There's lots to like--lots of suspects; lots of red herrings; lots of motives. Our sleuths even have to wade through the question of whether the right person got poisoned. There's also a few quibbles--LEC and Verity don't really do heaps of detecting. They luck into a few clues, but track down fewer. The culprit is a fairly nasty piece of work and there is a pointless bit of animal cruelty thrown in. On the balance, though, this is a solid opening for LEC and I did enjoy revisiting a world and characters very similar to those of Sayers.   ★★★ and 1/2  

First line (Prologue): The Duke thrust aside his copy of The Times in disgust and stared up through the branches of the great copper beech under which he sat.

First line (1st Chapter): Lord Edward Corinth deplored unpunctuality.

Last line: Then, faintly, above the rustling of the trees in the wind, he heard the tumbling skylarks choiring and he knew that their cries were all the prayers Max needed.

************

Deaths = 6 (two shot; two natural; two poisoned; two stabbed)

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Murder Every Monday: Death...after Death

 

Kate at Cross Examining Crime hosts a fun mystery cover game on Instagram called Murder Every Monday. Our assignment, should we choose to accept it, is to display book covers and titles from books you own that meet prompts which she posts well in advance (see link). 

 

Today's theme is crime fiction published posthumously. I could have sworn I owned Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie (I can even see the cover in my head). Apparently, that's just wishful thinking, because I cannot find it anywhere--not on the shelves, not in my scanned cover files, not on my huge spreadsheet. Oh, well. I do have a few others to share with you.

Striding Folly by Dorothy L. Sayers

Two-Way Murder by E. C. R. Lorac

Lord Peter by Dorothy L. Sayers

The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey

My Lady's Garter ~Jacques Futrelle*

A Vacation to Kill For ~Eunice Mays Boyd

*which sounds like a romance, but the synopsis says it is is a theft mystery

The Feathered Serpent

 The Feathered Serpent (1927) by Edgar Wallace

When reporter Peter Dewin first heard about the Feathered Serpent, he laughed. "When he heard of it again, he sneered." It sounded for all the world like something from a shilling shocker or from one of the thrilling plays on London's stages. And, to be fair, the story did start with the theater. Miss Ella Creed, well-known actress, receives a cardboard message with a crude drawing of a Feathered Serpent and the words "Lest you forget." It's an exact duplicate of a card received by her friend Leicester Crewe, a stockbroker, and Joe Farmer, a boxing promoter. She scoffs at it as a joke, but she isn't scoffing when she's waylaid by a masked man at her apartment's door. She faints and when she comes to, her jewelry (all paste, fortunately) is gone, and another Feathered Serpent card is hanging round her neck.

Dewin's editor sends him to get the story. And he's none too happy. He's sure that it's nothing more than a publicity stunt on the part the of actress. But as he dutifully searches for a story that will make his boss happy, he discovers that there is more to this Feathered Serpent business than meets the eye...and when Farmer is shot on Crewe's doorstep (just as he's coming to tell Crewe that he knows who the Feathered Serpent is), Dewin realizes that he's got a hot story on his hands. Behind the Feathered Serpent is a story of forgery, theft, false imprisonment, treachery, and revenge. But will Dewin and his friend, Inspector Clarke, be able to track down the Serpent before someone else is killed? Reports are that the killer is an ex-con by the name of William Lane. But William is dead--can a ghost kill?

Wallace was a prolific author of thrillers and he's definitely at the top of his game in this one. Lots of thrilling action with killer "ghosts," menacing men in masks, fainting women, kidnap attempts, a secret code, and a mysterious key all playing their parts. Dewin is an engaging character and if he doesn't make appearances in future Wallace books...well, then Wallace missed a shot at having a really good recurring character. This is an entertaining story with a good attempt at basic clue-dropping (not bad for an adventure/thriller). I did have a glimmer about the identity of the culprit, but I didn't get the whole picture--not quite enough clue-dropping for that. But a good, quick read. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: What annoyed Peter Derwin most, as it would have annoyed any properly constituted reporter, was what he called the mystery-nove element in the Lane case.

Last line: "And whilst I slept lo! the Feathered Serpent vanished from the land!"
******************

Deaths = 4 (three shot; one hit by car)

Murder, London-South Africa

 Murder, London-South Africa (1966) by John Creasey

When an important South African diamond merchant by the name of Van der Lunn goes missing just after landing in London, Superintendent Roger "Handsome" West is tapped to lead the investigation. Working with Lieutenant Jameson, a South African officer attached to the country's consulate in London, They track Van der Lunn to a seedy little hotel where he is being held incommunicado. But those who are holding him attempt to sneak him out a window and the diamond magnate is critically injured--and will be unable to answer questions for quite some time...if at all.

Meanwhile, a hotshot reporter with an uncanny nose for news has also disappeared--after calling his editor from the airport to say that he'd just seen a man he thought was Van der Lunn get off a plane. Coincidentally, Nightingale (our intrepid reporter) is on the trail of a diamond smuggling ring. Was Van der Lunn involved? Or was he a victim of the ring? West wants to find out what Nightingale knew, but he'll have to find him first. The case takes West from the East end of London all the way to South Africa as he hunts for the ringleaders who have injured the diamond merchant and smuggled millions in diamonds.But the object of the smuggling game may be a bit unexpected....

In a previous review (Inspector West Kicks Off, book #8) I ended with: "I'm also wondering how often West is going to get hurt in this series and what his secret is for recuperation--he seems to be up and rarin' to go awfully quick for a man who had a large chunk of building fall on him..." Well, here we are in book #34, and West, now a Superintendent and in his fifties, is still at it. This book ends with him trying to save Faith Soames, niece of Nightingale's editor, from the bad guys and he winds up in hospital for (probably) the 34th time. I haven't read all 33 previous books, but if he sticks to brand then I'd say the odds are good that he was at least injured in every one of them. He's not a hardboiled hero, but he seems to take the beatings as if he were.

But that aside, is this a good mystery? That depends on what you're here for. If you're looking for old-fashioned clues, red herrings, and loads of suspects to sift through, then you may want to look elsewhere. But if you want a good police procedural with interesting lead characters and new supporting cast (the newspaper crew and the South African officials), then this may be the book for you. I knew that a certain person was part of the ring (though not the ringleader) as soon as they strolled onto the page (and, as already indicated, there aren't exactly hoards of possibilities). But finding out who the baddies are isn't exactly the point. Watching how "Handsome" and company are going to rescue Nightingale and round up the baddies is. ★★★★

First line: "Handsome in?"

Last line: "And Faith Soames said that all you seemed to talk about, when she met you here, was me."

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Deaths = one shot

A Dying Fall

 

A Dying Fall (1985) by June Thomson

Martin Holt's relationship with his father has been a rocky one--especially after his mother's death and Martin's decision to leave the family business to become a small hold farmer with the hopes of raising spectacular roses one day. Rex Holt has been used to a lifetime of successes as a businessman and getting his own way. But the two men meet periodically for lunch...and an almost regularly scheduled argument. Martin's latest visit home sees him faced with two unpleasant revelations--his father has installed his long-time mistress in the local village and he has given a random researcher from America access to poems written to Martin's mother by the man she loved before she met and married Rex Holt. Neither announcement is particularly palatable at the lunch table and the men have their usual row before Martin heads back to his farm.

But come the next morning all is not as usual...Rex Holt's housekeeper finds him dead at the bottom of the stairs leading to the garden. He had been a bit unsteady after a slight stroke a few months ago, so it's expected that the death will be ruled an accident. But it isn't and the local police soon call in Detective Chief Inspector Jack Finch (renamed Inspector Rudd in US editions) to get to the bottom of things. As the heir to Holt's rather large estate, Martin is the prime suspect and certain clues found at the scene seem to point his way. Finch isn't too sure though--it appears that someone has gone to great pains to make the murder appear to be very much a murder with a very clumsy attempt to disguise it as an accident. After interviewing witnesses and suspects, Finch has difficulty believing that Martin would be that clumsy if he were to try and make a murder look like an accident. But who else has a strong motive...and who would want to see Martin take the blame?

Thomson has provided another solid police procedural in this eleventh Finch mystery. Sometimes her characters (beyond Finch & his side-kick Sgt. Boyce) aren't as fully developed as one might like, but here they all shine--from Rex and Martin Holt to the housekeeper and her husband to the American researcher to Rex's lady, Bea Chilton and other peripheral characters. Even those that are on the page very briefly are well-defined. The plot is pretty solid as well. I did figure out half of it. My one complaint is that I don't see how the reader could be expected to make the connection necessary to get the full picture before the reveal. Perhaps I missed an early pointer, but I don't think so.... ★★★★

First line: Driving back to Barnsfield was for Martin Holt more than just a physical return to that part of the countryside where he spent his childhood; it was a journey into the past which, since the death of his mother and the quarrel with his father, he preferred not to make. [One note on this first line--it makes it sound like Martin Holt is returning to his childhood home after a very long absence which just isn't the case. He doesn't visit every week, but he has been to his father's house on a fairly regular basis since the quarrel.]

Last line: "As a friend," he repeated with more assurance than he really felt.
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Deaths = 4  (two natural; one hit on head; one shot down in war)

Murder Every Monday (on Tuesday): You Can Bet On It

 

Kate at Cross Examining Crime hosts a fun mystery cover game on Instagram called Murder Every Monday. Our assignment, should we choose to accept it, is to display book covers and titles from books you own that meet prompts which she posts well in advance (see link). 

Today's theme is books with covers/titles that have a gambling theme.

Every Bet's a Sure Thing ~Thomas B. Dewey

Luck Be a Lady, Don't Die ~Robert J. Randisi

The Case of the Lucky Legs ~Erle Stanley Gardner

13 for Luck ~Agatha Christie

Good Luck to the Corpse ~Max Murray

The Last Gamble ~Rae Foley

Cards on the Table ~Agatha Christie

Death in the Cards ~Ann T. Smith

The Case of the Rolling Bones ~Erle Stanley Gardner

The Wheel Is Fixed ~James M. Fox

S. S. Murder ~Q. Patrick

Ghost of a Chance ~Kelley Roos

Death of a Racehorse ~John Creasey

Murder at the Racetrack ~Otto Penzler (ed)

The Casino Murder Case ~S. S. Van Dine

Murder Being Once Done

 Murder Being Once Done (1972) by Ruth Rendell

Chief Inspector Reg Wexford has been put on sick leave after a thrombosis in his eye. Dr. Crocker has put him on a regimented diet and ordered him off of alcohol, rich food....and police work. The doctor suggested a month at the seaside--but it's February and Wexford has no intention of freezing at the beach. So, he arranges to stay with his nephew and his wife in London. His nephew is a Detective Superintendent at the Yard. Wexford figures he'll at least get to be involved in crime vicariously. But Howard will discuss anything with his uncle--the weather, literature, London sightseeing--except his job. When a young woman is found strangled to death in a cemetery on Howard's patch, Wexford has to find out about it from the newspapers.

A brief blowup results in Wexford discovering that "that meddlesome Crocker" had sent a letter to the nephew telling him that there is "nothing [Wexford] wants more than to get completely away from everything connected with police work." As soon as Howard realizes that it wasn't Wexford's wish at all, he's relieved that he can consult his uncle's experience. But is Wexford out of his league in the Big Smoke? Howard's subordinate certainly thinks so. Wexford, still feeling that his insights may not be fully appreciated, strikes out on his own--making a few false starts, but coming up with the goods in the end. The plot is fairly straightforward--the girl is at first totally unknown and it is a search for her identity. Even after she's initially identified, they still have a puzzle on their hands because she doesn't seem to have any connections anywhere. Does she have a previous identity? And, if so, was the killer from her past or from her current life in London? Wexford helps his nephew and company find out.

So...once upon a time, I really enjoyed Ruth Rendell's mysteries. I read several of them from my hometown library in the early 80s and then more in the late 90s. I know I read this one (and gave it a middle-of--the-road score of three stars). It wasn't one of my favorites--probably because it takes Wexford off his home turf and leaves him without his right-hand-man Mike Burden. This time around, I'm even less taken with it. I don't like how Wexford is represented. I really dislike Howard's subordinate and his attitude towards the "country policeman." I don't care what he thinks of Wexford--Wexford outranks him and he ought to show at least that much respect for the man. I do appreciate that it shows Wexford as the fallible, fish out of water, trying to detect in London where he doesn't know the people and the ground like he does at home in Kingsmarkham. On top of the personality problems, the mystery itself isn't a very appealing one to me. The clues are not thick on the ground and I certainly didn't see much of them pointing at the particular suspect. Not Rendell's best. ★★ and 1/2

First line: When Wexford came downstairs in the morning his nephew had already left for work and the women, with the fiendish gusto of amateur dieticians, were preparing a convalescent's breakfast. 

Last line: Her husband was asleep.
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Deaths = one strangled

The Four of Hearts

 The Four of Hearts (1938) by Ellery Queen

Ellery Queen is going stir-crazy in Hollywood. After a hugely successful investigation into a Los Angeles murder in the previous book and the West Coast fame that came with it, he was in demand. He's now under contract to Magna Studios to produce scripts. All fine and dandy--except he hasn't actually met with his supposed boss, Jacques Butcher, and he hasn't actually been given any work to do. His agent tells him not worry, it's just the way studios operate. And why complain about getting a paycheck for just sitting around or seeing the sights? But Ellery can't stand to be idle and when "Butch" finally calls him (as if he's just heard that Ellery is around), he tells the boss that he's had enough and is leaving. Which results in immediate work.

The studio is planning an epic biopic featuring their two big stars--Blythe Stuart and Jack Royle. The film will tell all and the masses will flock to the theaters to learn the "true story" of the legendary feud between the two families. A feud that revolves around the once engaged couple and their respective children, Bonnie Stuart and Ty Royle. And as a bonus--Blythe and Jack will play themselves. Just as the Ellery gets down to work gathering background for the script, the two stars through a wrench into the works. Not only have they patched up the feud--they are going to get married. At first Butch and the studio are furious--there goes the melodrama of the feud. But--they decide to cash in on the romantic ending and make the most of the situation. They arrange for Blythe & Jack to be married in front of fans at the LA airfield. Then the happy couple will fly off into the sunset for a honeymoon on a secluded island. And, though Bonnie and Ty aren't happy about it (and are still feuding themselves), Ty volunteers to fly the plane.

But after the plane has taken off, Bonnie and Ty are found--tied up and gagged. So, who is flying the plane? Are the two stars being kidnapped? A few hours later, the plane is found on a mountain plateau. The pilot is missing and Blythe and Jack have been fatally poisoned. Ellery must give up researching to hunt for clues the murders. Apart from the family feud, there seems to be no motive for the death of either of the stars...let alone both. It's soon discovered that Blythe has been receiving mysterious mailings with playing cards and if Ellery can correctly decipher the cards' hidden meanings, he'll be able to hand the murderer over to Inspector Glücke.

This is a fun, slightly madcap, slightly convoluted mystery. It's obvious that Queen (Frederic Dannay & Manfred Lee) are thoroughly ensconced in Hollywood screenwriting at this point. The book reads as though "we" had a movie deal in mind. Lots of dialog, lots of action scenes--not a whole heck of a lot of focus on the mystery. A nice little romance for Ellery, but apparently not as serious as we're led to believe because Paula Paris disappears rapidly after this book. It's obvious who the leads are--Bonnie, Ty, and Ellery, with a good dose of Paula, syndicated columnist, thrown in. We could have used a bit more "screen" time for other characters. Maybe if I'd seen more of them I would have remembered how some of them were connected and I might have spotted the killer. As it was...I didn't. The solution is good and consistent, though a bit of a violent ending for the killer. ★★★★

Other Reviews:
Cross Examining Crime
The Grandest Game in the World
The Green Capsule
In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel 
The Mystillery blog
  

First line: It is a well-known fact that any one exposed to Hollywood longer than six weeks goes suddenly and incurably mad.

Last line: And, her eyes still closed, stumbled blindly across the threshold into the world.
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Deaths = 7 (three natural; three poisoned; one fell from height)

Murder Every Monday: Is This the End?

 

Kate at Cross Examining Crime hosts a fun mystery cover game on Instagram called Murder Every Monday. Our assignment, should we choose to accept it, is to display book covers and titles from books you own that meet prompts which she posts well in advance (see link). 

Today's theme is books with titles that have a word denoting finality.

Drawn Conclusion ~Willetta Ann Barber & R. F. Schabelitz

Case with No Conclusion ~Leo Bruce

Finished Off ~Rebecca Kent

Rope's End, Rogue's End ~E. C. R. Lorac

Death Comes as the End ~Agatha Christie

Tether's End ~Margery Allingham

Latter End ~Patricia Wentworth

The Mystery of Hunting's End ~Mignon G. Eberhart

Charity Ends at Home ~Colin Watson

Final Curtain ~Ngaio Marsh

A Masculine Ending ~Joan Smith

The Living End ~Frank Kane

Final Cut ~Eric Wright

The Final Pose ~Marcia Blair

Final Notice ~Jo Dereske

In the Last Analysis ~Amanda Cross

Look Your Last ~John Stephen Strange

When Last I Died ~Gladys Mitchell

The Last Escape (Dishonour Among Thieves) ~E. C. R. Lorac

His Last Bow ~Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective ~Leslie Thomas

Last Seen in London ~Anna Clarke

The Last Sherlock Holmes Story ~Michael Dibdin

Last Respects ~Catherine Aird

Rumpole's Last Case ~John Mortimer

At Last, Mr. Tolliver ~William Wiegand

Drury Lane's Last Case ~Ellery Queen (as Barnaby Ross)

Irene's Last Waltz ~Carole Nelson Douglas

Last Seen Wearing ~Colin Dexter

The Last Straw ~Doris Miles Disney