Recently I read another three stories in Leopold's Way by Edward D. Hoch. I read the first five stories in the book in November 2023. See this post for my thoughts on those stories and notes about the book and the author.
These are the three stories I read:
"The Oblong Room"
A college student has been killed in his dorm room, and his roommate stayed in the room with him after his death for at least 20 hours before the student next door discovered the situation. The assumption is that the roommate killed him, but question is why. This one was more spooky than most. It was a puzzle, of course, but it had a psychological element too.
This story won an Edgar award. My only complaint is that Captain Leopold keeps saying that this case is Sergeant Fletcher's case, but then he seems to take the lead. Still a great story. From what I have read, it has been reprinted many times.
"The Vanishing of Velma"
In this story, a teen-age girl has been reported as missing under very unusual circumstances. The young man who she was out with reports her missing; he says she took a ride on the Ferris wheel but never got off. It is a very good puzzle but Leopold figures it out.
The story mentions events in a previous story in this book, "The House by the Ferris," and Stella Gaze, a character in that story.
The solution was outstanding.
"The Athanasia League"
Of the three, this was my least favorite, but very interesting nevertheless. A woman is dead at the Athanasia League, a sort of home for older people run by Dr. Raymond Libby. He is not a medical doctor, but he leads a group of older people who pay to live in the home, "striving for deathlessness and immortality." A very strange case, since there seems to be no one with a motive to kill the woman, who was a member of the group.
Two interesting aspects are that Sergeant Fletcher has taken the test to become a Lieutenant and the only other policeman competing with him is one with a questionable reputation, not above taking graft or using force with a suspect. Also both Leopold and Fletcher have conflicts with the Mayor and a staff member. Unfortunately the story leaves it up in the air whether Fletcher gets his promotion or not.
Why do I like the Captain Leopold stories?
- Captain Leopold is a very likable character. Dedicated to his job, smart and intuitive. I also like Sergeant Fletcher, who works with Leopold most of the time.
- There were over 100 Captain Leopold stories and I have only read nine of them, so I am no expert. But so far in each story we learn just a bit more about Leopold and his background. (In "The Vanishing of Velma" the missing girl is 15 years old and he wonders if he might have a daughter that age if he and his wife had not divorced.)
- The stories are always interesting and never too far-fetched.
I like Hoch's writing, Tracy, including his short stories, so I was glad to see this here. The stories sound well written, and I'm glad you enjoyed them.
ReplyDeleteStronger than the mighty oak/Are the plots of Ed D. Hoch
ReplyDeleteVery clever, Jerry. Over the years, how many stories do you think you have read by Hoch? I am way behind, but I do have several collections on my shelves.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read that many stories by Hoch, Margot, but I have read more Leopold stories than any of his other sleuths.
ReplyDeleteI really need to try these stories as your description of the ones you read was intriguing.
ReplyDeleteCath, I got Leopold's Way as an inexpensive kindle a while back (and forgot I had it) but otherwise his stories are not that easy to find at lower prices. And I don't know about their availability in libraries either. But I hope you can find some to read and see if you like them.
ReplyDeleteI suspect "The Oblong Room" is Hoch's most widely-read story, as it did find its way into a number of anthologies, as you note, and it remains memorable (as I've mentioned, it was the first Hoch story I read...and I've read at least a hundred of his stories as I've come across them over the decades, most in EQMM issues). The resonance of "The Oblong Box" by Poe only, if anything, more effectively uncanny in its offhandedness, has helped it along thus, I suspect.
ReplyDeleteTodd, I was glad I finally read "The Oblong Room" in Leopold's Way; I remember you mentioning that it was the first Hoch story that you read. I can see why it has been reprinted so often.
ReplyDeleteOnce I get done with this book by Hoch and read some of the stories in the more recent collection, The Killer Everyone Knew, I want to try a few stories from all of other sleuths that he wrote about, or at least the ones I have in various collections.