The Halloween Tree: Ray Bradbury

I was alerted to this book by Scott Parker at Do Some Damage. And if you know how much I love skulls (and skeletons) on book covers, you will understand what drew my attention. The illustration by Leo and Diane Dillon on the dust jacket is just gorgeous. I was familiar with the Dillons as illustrators of children's books, but I was amazed to see how many adult books had cover illustrations by the couple. The interior illustrations are by Joseph Mugnaini, who was also responsible for the cover illustration of the first edition of this book.

The book has an unusual history. Bradbury wrote a script for MGM at the request of Chuck Jones, for a planned animated film. The film was not produced so Bradbury wrote a novelization of the script and published it in 1972. Then, in the early 1990's, an animated film based on the book was released  by Hanna-Barbera. And up until ten days ago, I had never heard of the book or the film.

Eight boys go out trick-or-treating on Halloween, but their friend Pipkin is not feeling well enough to join them. He promises to meet them at a haunted house where they instead encounter an odd man, Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud. And a huge tree filled with pumpkins. The story is a combination of two quests:  a journey through several countries to see different versions of the Halloween story and to find Pipkin, who keeps eluding them. I especially like that the last country visited is Mexico and El Dia de Los Muertos. Before that they visit mummies in Egypt, Rome, Greece, medieval Britain, and gargoyles at Notre Dame in Paris.

I am sure that I am not the first person to wish that this book had included some girls. But that is a minor complaint; I suppose it was a product of its times? Although, in 1972 I was just out of college and planning to have a career, and even then I would have wanted some girls in the book. The adaptation decreased the number of children to three boys and a girl. But I have never seen the film.

The writing in this book is often like poetry and the story would make a great read-aloud for adults and children. This is not a perfect book, but it is a lovely way to celebrate Halloween.


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Publisher:   Alfred A. Knopf, 2007 (orig. publ. 1972)
Length:       145 pages
Format:       Hardcover
Genre:        Fantasy
Source:       I purchased this book.

12th Annual Canadian Book Challenge

I am joining the 12th Annual Canadian  Book Challenge. I participated in the 6th Canadian  Book Challenge in 2012-13, the 7th in 2013-14, and the 8th in 2014-15. Now I am back to read more of the Canadian books on my shelves. And now the challenge is hosted by The Indextrious Reader.

What is the Canadian Book Challenge?

Created by John Mutford at the Book Mine Set and hosted by him for its first 10 years, the Canadian Book Challenge is an annual online reading challenge in which participants from Canada and around the world aim to read and review 13 or more Canadian books in a one year span: Canada Day to Canada Day. Reviews must be posted online and participants are asked to share links to their reviews with other participants.

What constitutes a Canadian book?

Canadian books can include any genre or form (picture books, poetry, novels, non-fiction, plays, anthologies, graphic novels, cookbooks, etc), can be written by Canadian authors (by birth or immigration) or about Canadians. Ultimately, participants must decide for themselves whether or not something fits the description of Canadian.

See the FAQ sheet for more information.

I dithered over whether to join in, hence I am joining in the 4th month of the challenge. As noted above, this challenge does require reviews, because one of the points of the challenge is to bring  attention to Canadian books. This may be my downfall because getting a review out in a timely manner is sometimes a problem, but I hope not.

One of the nice things about this challenge is that it runs from July 1 (Canada Day) of the current year to June 30 of the next year. Thus when other challenges are ending, this one still has 6 months to go.

I have a lot of Canadian books already in my TBR stacks to read. In September, I found a Canadian book I have been looking for at the Planned Parenthood book sale, and I have already read it (The Water Rat of Wanchai by Ian Hamilton). This month I also read the fourth book in Gail Bowen's  Joanne Kilbourn series. So I have a two book start once I get my reviews written.

And the challenge gave me a push toward finding a copy of a book I have been wanting to read for two years now: The Tin Flute by Gabrielle Roy. I have ordered a copy and it is on the way to me. I have several mysteries by Margaret Millar I want to read, and three novels from the Ricochet series of vintage noir mysteries published by Véhicule Press: The Long November by James Benson Nablo, Hot Freeze by Douglas Sanderson; and The Keys Of My Prison by Frances Shelley Wees.

All of the books mentioned in the previous paragraph were recommended by Brian Busby, editor of Ricochet Books and author of the blog: The Dusty Bookcase (A Journey through Canada's Forgotten, Neglected and Suppressed Writing).

His Burial Too: Catherine Aird

Richard Tindall, of Strothers and Tindall (Precision, Investigation, and Development Engineers), is missing. He wasn't in his bed when his daughter got up and it looked like he never returned home the night before. He isn't at his office. And then a body is found in a church tower under the wreckage of a huge sculpture which had been temporarily stored in the tower. And thus begins a mystery with a very complex solution.

Inspector C.D. Sloan is sent to investigate, and takes along Detective Inspector Crosby, who often (always?) features in these stories. Crosby is generally inept and not much help in the investigation; he is good with cars but that is about all. Sloan is unusually grumpy with Crosby's foibles in this book, or so it seemed to me.

I found the story especially interesting because Tindall's company is involved in research and development in the scientific area, there are other businesses competing to buy the company, and the staff is somewhat eccentric. There are many suspects and red herrings. I did not catch any clues to the killer but I did have an inkling who it was, probably just because I read so many mysteries.

The writing itself is not spectacular but I enjoyed the story all the same. It must be the characters, her way of developing the plot, and the humor that keeps me coming back for more.

There were some good clothes descriptions also, that tell the reader something about the characters. Here Inspector Sloan meets Fenella, Richard Tindall's daughter, for the first time.

There was something a little unexpected about her appearance—almost foreign. ... 

It was high summer in England and this girl was wearing brown. Not a floral silk pattern, not a cheerful cotton, nor even a pastel linen such as his own wife, Margaret, was wearing today. And dark brown. It was a simple, utterly plain dress, unadorned save for a solitary string of white beads. 

He was surprised to note that the whole effect was strangely cool-looking There was the faintest touch of auburn in the colouring of her hair which was replicated in the brown of the dress. A purist might have said that her mouth was rather too big to be perfect but ...  

Sloan wasn't a purist. He was a policeman. On duty. He took a step forward. 

I have now read five of the Sloan and Crosby series by Catherine Aird, and I can say that she is one of my favorite mystery writers. Some of the books in this series are more serious, although they all have elements of humor. I would put Henrietta Who? and A Late Phoenix in that category. Also The Religious Body which I read before blogging. For that book, see this Spotlight by Margot at Confessions of a Mystery Novelist... This book and The Stately Home Murder are more on the lighter side,  emphasizing the wit and humor more.

See other reviews at Clothes in Books, Tipping My Fedora, and Classic Mysteries.

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Publisher:   Rue Morgue Press, 2009 (orig. pub. 1973)
Length:      159 pages
Format:      Hardcover
Series:       Inspector Sloan #5
Setting:      UK (Calleshire, fictional county)
Genre:       Police procedural
Source:      I purchased this book.

1944 Club: The Book of the Dead by Elizabeth Daly

I am a long-time fan of the mystery novels of Elizabeth Daly. She wrote 16 books in a series starring Henry Gamadge, an expert in rare books and manuscripts. Over the past few years, I finally found copies of the last three books of hers that I had not read. The Book of the Dead, 8th  in the series, was one of them.

The story is set in the summer of 1943, and New York City is experiencing a heat wave. In the first chapter we meet a very sick man, Howard Crenshaw, who is being cared for by Pike, a man he met in Vermont when settling his uncle's estate. He has recently found out that his illness is fatal and he will die soon.

In the next chapter, a young woman, Idelia Fisher, visits Henry Gamadge and asks if he can help her find out what was once scribbled in the margins of an old edition of some plays of Shakespeare. That edition belonged to Howard Crenshaw; he had brought it with him on his visit to Vermont, and Crenshaw and Idelia had struck up a friendship while he was there. When he left Vermont without saying goodbye to Idelia and she found the book in his house, she wanted to return the book to him. Although she has no real reason to be worried or suspicious about the situation, she wants to know what was erased from the pages of the book.

Gamadge is glad to help Idelia and the steps they take lead to him getting involved with a case of murder. He ends up going to Vermont to check out Crenshaw's actions while he was there.

This book was published in 1944 and as such shows us some of the culture and life in the US in wartime. The war is not mentioned a lot in the book. Gamadge is doing "war work" and his assistant is off in the Marines. Gas is scarce and cars are not used so much for transportation due to the shortage. Other than that, we just get a very good picture of the times. Women wearing hats; doctors who make home visits.

And, since I have mentioned 1944, I will note here that this book is submitted for the 1944 club, hosted by Kaggsy at Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings and Simon at Stuck in a Book. Also, for Friday's Forgotten Books at pattinase, Patricia Abbott's blog.

My reactions to the book:

As I mentioned above, many years ago I had read 13 of the Henry Gamadge books and I liked them a lot. Coming to more of Daly's books after so many years, I wondered if I would still like the series. I must have read most of the Elizabeth Daly books in the 1970s and 1980s, and at that time the 1940's did not seem so long ago. I think I enjoyed reading about New York and the life of the upper class characters, something I knew nothing about. And in this reading, I still found Gamadge and his investigations good reading.

In this book, Gamadge has a definite idea of what is going on but keeps it to himself. I find that somewhat irritating (in general) but as long as the story is interesting and entertaining, it is not a deal killer for me. (Rex Stout does that sometimes in the Nero Wolfe stories, and I love all of his books.)

I like the author's writing style and the characters she has created. Gamadge is a very likable person and there are many interesting secondary characters. Gamadge is very prominent in this story; hardly anyone else has a large role, yet he carries the story very well. And he is determined to solve the crime.

I was very surprised at the ending of the story, the resolution to the crime and how it was carried out. I think there must have been clues, because I kept feel like something did not make sense to the story, but I never noticed them. I don't mind that kind of story; solving a puzzle myself is not my primary goal when reading mysteries. I can enjoy just following the thread of the story and watching out for red herrings, of which there are plenty here.

So, all and all, a very pleasurable reading experience. I have two more books to read (Deadly Nightshade and Murders in Volume 2) before having completed the series, then I will reread the other books.

Other resources:

• Sarah Ward's overview of Elizabeth Daly's mysteries at Crimepieces
• Moira's review at Clothes in Books
• Noah's review at Noah's Archives
• Les Blatt's review at Classic Mysteries
• Review at RogerBW's Blog

This book has been reprinted by Felony & Mayhem in trade paperback and is available in e-book format.

 -----------------------------

Publisher:  Bantam Books, 1948. Orig. pub. 1944.
Length:     185 pages
Format:     Paperback
Series:      Henry Gamadge, #8
Setting:     New York, Vermont
Genre:       Mystery
Source:     I purchased my copy.

Book Sale 2018, Part 3: My Husband's Books

It is not enough that I bring home way too many books from the book sale, but my husband and son also buy books that I want to read.

These are a selection of the books my husband found at the book sale.

Two years ago my husband found American Lit Relit by Richard Armour, this year he got English Lit Relit and It All Started with Eve. I have never read anything by this author, but I really like the illustrations.


Below are excerpts from a post at TOR.COM by Jo Walton. Read the whole post for examples of other books like this, and more about the book.

In 1939, L. Sprague de Camp came up with one of the wonderful ideas of science fiction, the man taken out of his time to a time of lower technology who works to change history and technology. ...

De Camp’s Martin Padway is a historian of the sixth century, the period he winds up in. There’s barely a handwave of explanation as to how Padway makes his way across time. As soon as Padway’s there, he puts his head down and starts to concentrate on what makes these books such fun—improvising technology from what he knows and can find around him.

Above are reissues of four vintage mysteries.

The first, Called Back, is from the vaults of HarperCollins and involves a blind man who stumbles across a murder, but is released by the assassins. Later he regains his sight, and he ends up searching for the solution to the murder. Originally published in 1883.

The Last Best Friend (1967) is from the British Library Classic Thrillers series. Murder Underground (1934) and A Scream in Soho (1940) are reissues from the British Library Crime Classics series. All three are set in London. And all have lovely covers.

A nice hardback edition of The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing, featuring Ray Milland and Maureen O'Sullivan on the cover. O'Sullivan was the wife of the film's director, John Farrow.

My husband is a fan of Ben McIntyre's nonfiction books. As the subtitle says, this one is about "The History of the SAS, Britain's Secret Special Forces Unit That Sabotaged the Nazis and Changed the Nature of War." I am looking forward to reading it myself someday.

Book Sale 2018, Part 2: My Son's Books

For the next couple of book sale posts, be prepared for more variety than usual. My son reads mostly fantasy, science fiction, and non-fiction. My husband reads all types of fiction, but also leans toward non-fiction.

This post showcases some of the books that my son found at the book sale, and there are a lot of gorgeous covers here.

Terms of Enlistment is military science fiction, and the first book in a six book series.

The Dragon Never Sleeps is a science fiction standalone book by Glen Cook, who is more well know for his fantasy series (the Garrett P.I series and the Black Company series are examples).

Blindsight is a hard science fiction novel about a First Contact situation, written by Canadian writer Peter Watts, published by Tor Books in 2006.

Archivist Wasp is set in a post-apocalyptic world, with a young female protagonist who is an Archivist. She hunts and studies ghosts and she has her position because she killed the previous person in the position. And every year other young girls try to do the same to her to get her job.
 

From the author's blog:

Meet Edinburgh Detective Inspector Liz Kavanaugh, head of the Innovative Crimes Investigation Unit, otherwise known as the Rule 34 Squad. They monitor the Internet for potential criminal activity, analyzing trends in the extreme fringes of explicit content.

I knew I had heard of Rule 34 before. Margot wrote a Spotlight on this book at Confessions of a Mystery Novelist...

Two fantasy novels:

Chasing the Moon is described at Tor.com as:

an unabashedly zany comedic fantasy that combines Douglas Adams-style humor and a protagonist who could be the sister of Bridget Jones with horror in the vein of H.P. Lovecraft.

The Dirty Streets of Heaven by Tad Williams is described as noir urban fantasy. It is the first in a series and features an earthbound angel who helps souls get to heaven. It is not quite as long as some of his fantasy novels, and I think I am going to have to try it.

This book, The Manual of Detection, is very hard to describe. From what I can gather, it is a very unusual mystery, with elements of fantasy, science fiction, and literary fiction. From the back cover:

In an unnamed city always slick with rain, Charles Unwin toils as a clerk at a huge, imperious detective agency. But when the illustrious detective Travis Sivart turns up murdered, Unwin is suddenly promoted to detective and must solve the mystery himself, aided only by the Manual of Detection.

Book Sale 2018, Part 1: Forgotten Books

The 44th Annual Planned Parenthood Book Sale ran from September 20th -30th this year, over two weekends. We went on 4 of the days. I bought way too many books, as usual, but a lot of them were small paperback editions of vintage mysteries, which don't take up too much space.

So here are a few "forgotten" books that I got at the sale.

I just finished reading this book, the 8th book in the Miss Marple series. The wrap around cover illustration is by Tom Adams.

The Sound of Murder is a Rex Stout mystery that does not feature Nero Wolfe. I reviewed it earlier under the original title: Alphabet Hicks. This copy is a new addition to my collection of Pyramid Green Door mysteries.

The Unfinished Clue is one of Georgette Heyer's mystery novels.

I have heard good things about the short stories of Dorothy Salisbury Davis but haven't tried any. And this is is very interesting cover.

Ross Macdonald (pseud. of Kenneth Millar) was married to Margaret Millar. They lived in Santa Barbara, California for many years and both wrote mystery novels. Macdonald's books were primarily hardboiled detective novels; Millar's books were mostly psychological suspense.

The Case of the Lucky Legs was the third Perry Mason mystery (out of over 80 books in the series). The book was published in 1934 but this Cardinal edition, with cover illustration by John Fernie, was published in 1959.

Reading Summary, September 2018

September was another good reading month. The eight books I read were divided equally between vintage crime fiction and more contemporary fiction. I read a children's book, unusual for me, but I maintain that a good children's book will be equally enjoyed by adults.

NON-MYSTERY FICTION

Saffy's Angel by (2001) Hilary McKay

Winner of the 2002 Whitbread Children's Book of the Year award. I read about this book at Clothes in Books (and here) but I actually decided to read it when I read the first three or four pages in a preview. I loved the story because personally (even in my old age) I can identify with Saffron and her quest, but also because the author makes each of her brothers and sisters interesting, caring people. 

CRIME FICTION reads in September:

The Drowning Pool (1950) by Ross Macdonald

This is the second Lew Archer novel, published in 1950 and set on the southern California coast (Ventura, although the name is changed), in an area where oil is the prime source of money. Archer is dealing with an extremely dysfunctional family. My full review is here.

The Demolished Man (1953) by Alfred Bester

This book is a cross between mystery and science fiction and was the winner of the first Hugo for best novel. Set in 2301, the police are aided by humans with advanced ESP (called "espers") and it is impossible to get away with murder. Nevertheless, business mogul Ben Reich is plotting to murder his rival, Craye D’Courtney. I think I missed a lot in this book. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading it. But when I read other reviews or articles on the book, there was a lot of symbolism, etc., that I just missed. This is one of those books I will reread.  

Brewing Up a Storm (1996) by Emma Lathen

This is the next to the last book in the Emma Lathen series about John Thatcher, Wall Street banker. This one focuses on a group that is against the selling of non-alcoholic beer in grocery stores, seeing it as a mechanism to encourage young people to move up to real beer.  As usual it is the characters and their interactions that really shine.

Real Tigers (2016) by Mick Herron

The third book in one of my favorite espionage series, set in the UK. The basic setup is that agents who have messed up in some major way are put out  to pasture at Slough House, and thus are called the Slow Horses. Their leader is Jackson Lamb; everyone in the group has their problems, but none of them give up hope that someday they will get back to a "real job" in the secret service. A great series and this one was my favorite so far. 

Outrage at Blanco (1998) by Bill Crider

This is a Western, set in 1887, with a strong female protagonist, Ellie Taine. It does start out with several crimes, and we know exactly who the bad guys are. A  very good and unpredictable revenge story, with interesting characters. The book is described as "True Grit meets Grand Torino" and I can see the comparisons there.

The Asphalt Jungle (1949) by W.R. Burnett

This is a noir heist novel, set in an unnamed city in the midwestern US. It has a large cast of characters and the focus is on the team setting up and carrying out the heist. My first novel by W.R. Burnett, who also wrote Little Caesar and High Sierra. We watched the film adaptation, and it was very true to the book, with a marvelous cast.

The Murder of My Aunt (1934) by Richard Hull

This story is an inverted mystery, in which the reader knows who commits the crime. In this case, the narrator, Edward, is planning to murder his aunt  and that takes up a large part of the book. He is an unlikable character but still entertaining. A very interesting story, just different from most crime fiction. See my thoughts here.

The Murder of My Aunt: Richard Hull

Edward, the main character and narrator of this novel, is a self-centered, amoral, spoiled brat. He lives with his aunt and depends on her to provide money for his needs. The money she gives him is not enough to support himself unless he lives with her, and he is unwilling to find work in order to provide his own support. Naturally he resents the situation and his aunt. So he decides to do away with her, and spends most of his time plotting her demise.

They live in the lovely town of Llwll, in Wales, and he detests the area, of course. No decent roads to drive his car on. Too much rain. And not enough culture.

This story is an inverted mystery. In that sort of book, the reader knows who commits the crime, and the remainder of the book is devoted to how he or she is caught. Well, usually. Just as there are many sub-genres of crime fiction, there are different types of inverted mystery. In this case, the planning for the crime takes up most of the book and the investigation is hardly there. But it is still a very good and very interesting story, just different.

I cannot help but compare this story to Malice Aforethought, which shares some characteristics with this book. Both are inverted mysteries, and both feature unlikable main characters. Yet I enjoyed this one much more than Malice Aforethought. In The Murder of My Aunt, the unpleasant characters are much more fun and the secondary characters were more realistic. Not everyone likes this type of mystery, but if you like something different now and then, I would recommend this book. The characterization is very good, and there are surprises at the end.

I will be seeking out more of Richard Hull's books. This book is available in a British Library edition with an introduction by Martin Edwards. The edition I have, from International Polygonics, has a different introduction which is also very interesting. One warning: There is an incident with a pet which doesn't end well. That is my sole complaint against this book.

Other posts on this book, most with much more detail than I have provided:

At JASON HALF : writer.
At crossexaminingcrime.
At His Futile Preoccupations...
At Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine, a lovely paperback cover post.

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Publisher:   International Polygonics, 1979 (orig. pub. 1934)
Length:      174 pages
Format:      Paperback
Setting:      Wales
Genre:        Inverted Mystery
Source:      Purchased at the Planned Parenthood book sale, 2018.