Spill the Jackpot by Erle Stanley Gardner writing as A.A. Fair

Review by Matt B. (BuffaloSavage)

Gardner wrote 29 Bertha Cool-Donald Lam mysteries. This 1941 entry, the fourth, is one of the better outings. It opens with Bertha checking out of a six-month stay in a sanitarium where she was recovering from a combined form of flu and pneumonia. In a well-plotted story, Lam investigates a disappearance and a murder.

When Gardner wrote as Fair, he allowed himself more digressions from the plot than in Perry Mason novels. He describes the desert country of Nevada and Arizona with affection and awe. He gives the reader a feeling that she’s learning something with a tangent on the inner workings of slot machines. For athletes he gives retro advice on the road work and training that goes into becoming a pugilist. He explores Lam’s wrestling with moral ambiguity with his relationship with a bad girl on the run – who is using whom?

I highly recommend this vintage mystery. Like many born-in-the-Fifties readers, I first read Cool & Lam mysteries as a teenager. Returning to them lately, I have to make allowances for old-timey technology and attitudes, but find the plots clever and the interplay between Bertha and Lam almost as funny as between Jeeves and Bertie Wooster.

THE RISE AND FALL OF D.O.DO. by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland

Review by Cyndi J. (cyndij)

“My name is Melisande Stokes and this is my story. I am writing in July 1851 (Common Era, or – let’s face it – Anno Domini) in the guest chamber of a middle-class home in Kensington, London, England. But I am not a native of this place or time. In fact, I am quite desperate to get out of here. “

So begins THE RISE AND FALL OF D.O.DO., in which Stephenson and Galland happily mix time travel, multiple universes, witchcraft, and government bureaucracy. Melisande is an underpaid and unappreciated lecturer at Harvard University, with a doctorate in ancient languages. After a seemingly accidental meeting, she’s recruited by nice guy Tristan to work for a shadowy government agency, translating documents that all have a mention of magic. To her surprise, there are a lot. In our present, there is of course no magic. But apparently there used to be witches doing magic, and it was just another part of life. Why isn’t there magic in the present day? By working up a timeline, they realize that magic disappeared in tandem with the rise of technology, and more precisely, photography.

Before too long, they’ve got a quantum physicist who might have invented a machine in which magic could exist, if only there were a person who knew how…and voila, here’s Erszabet, a 200 year old witch who says Mel not only told her to live that long, but when to meet.  Mel has no clue how this happened, but of course we readers have figured out that part thanks to the beginning.

The discovery that Erszabet can send people back in time leads to a scheme to fund the project by going back and finding a very rare book, putting it where it can be found 200 years later, and selling it. What could go wrong? Weelll… every action has a reaction, and there are indeed a lot of witches in the past.  Many of them are curious about what these future people want, and some have their own ideas about what might be best for the future.

The first part, while it’s all being set up, is pretty amusing.  Lots of stuff about time travel paradoxes and their unintended consequences. But this isn’t called “The Rise and Fall of DODO” for nothing, because we’re going to get a lot – and I mean a lot – of information about how it grows. Even shadowy military organizations have bureaucracy plus a massive amount of office politics, not to mention petty office jealousies and backbiting. While much of the book is told from Mel’s POV, there are excerpts of email communications, policy notices, text messages and more.  There are excerpts from other characters’ journals (don’t miss The Lay of WalMart). While amusing, it does slow things down; but enjoy the journey as it all contributes to the eventual fall. At any rate, after 600 pages the reader is still wondering what happened to strand Mel in 1851. Fear not, you’re almost there.  In the last act things start happening with a vengeance. So many conspiracies! It’s a 3 ring circus with witches everywhere, people whipping back and forth through the centuries, and treachery at every turn. Is Mel going to get back? Are the bad witches going to triumph after all? No spoilers here.

There is a sequel written solo by Nicole Galland, but this one makes a fine stand-alone if you don’t want to go farther.

Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown 

Review by Cheryl G. (Poncer) 

While not a fan of most pirate books because of their violent nature, this book intrigued me because of the mention of cinnamon in the title. I had recently watched a documentary about the history and current production of the spice in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). I am very glad I read this book, even the violent parts. Luckily the narrator was nearly as squeamish as I about violence, so while the book did contain violent scenes, they were over quickly and handled with some sympathy. 

Tossed in to this pirate novel is a charming love story and some recipes to make if you are ever stuck on the high seas with limited ingredients. Or even at home with some seaworthy goodies.

This book takes part during a few months in 1819 and though written in the early 20-teens, it seems very relevant to the discussions taking place since the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the impact of British imperialism around the world. Funny that the history we were taught in school, and the actual ways westerners affected other peoples of the world, are often very different. While this is definitely a work of historical fiction, I did learn some facts about spice trading, privateers and pirates of those days.

One of the best parts of this book was the humor. Some parts were actually laugh-out-loud funny. Along with the human reactions of the main characters, it made the book very readable. The characters were all developed well and all, even the most grizzled old lascar garnered my sympathy in some way as the story progressed. 

I highly recommend this book, and not only to fans of pirate stories. Four stars. 

The Case of the Fabulous Fake by Erle Stanley Gardner

Review by Matt B. (BuffaloSavage)

It is 1969 in Los Angeles. Diana Douglas and her brother Edgar are both employees of the Escobar Import & Export Company of San Francisco. Though controls in the company are cool and casual, auditors have tumbled to the fact that about $10,000 ($72,000 in 2022) is missing from the cash safe. Edgar, a charming do-nothing employed as a favor to his sister, may have embezzled it to settle gambling debts to wise guys.

LA blackmailer, Moray (as in eel) Cassell, has heard a rumor of the missing cash and seems to have contacted Edgar to put the bite on him. Sensitive Edgar got knocked out in an auto accident and is in a coma so sister Diana decides to pay The Eel off. Though she lies and frankly conceals information, Mason agrees to help Diana, mainly because he detests blackmailers. Mason admits he made a mistake when he unwittingly gave Diana enough rope to go and stick her pretty neck into an ugly noose. The inevitable murdered corpse in an apartment results in Diana being charged with Murder One since the murder weapon was a wooden-handled .22 owned by Edgar.

I’ll read late career Gardner because I’m a fan. But critical me has to admit this last Mason mystery, #80, has its problems. It is almost a quarter shorter than usual. There aren’t many suspects. The plot depends on an especially contrived coincidence revealed very late in the game. Gardner doesn’t play fair with the reader when he withholds facts the reader needs to guess the perp. We long-time fans miss Hamilton Burger and his exasperated outbursts; there are no comfy exchanges with Della or Paul Drake. Slightly grating is Gardner’s habit of making adverbs do more than their share of the work as characters glance meaningly, look quizzically, nod solemnly, and say impressively.

On the plus side, Gardner liked to stay abreast of new trends and technology so we feel the atmosphere of 1969 a little when he refers to computers, credit cards, electric typewriters, car phones, the Miranda decision of 1966, and the ease of taking guns onto airliners. The other plus is that a familiar Garderian heroine takes the stage yet again. That is, even though impetuous Diana Douglas plays fast and loose with the truth, she’s brave, headstrong, and loyal to her brother. And she’s starry-eyed with gratitude at the end after Perry foils the System’s savage determination to put her in the gas chamber.

The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler

Review by Matt B. (BuffaloSavage)

This story features Chandler’s series protagonist, private eye Philip Marlowe. It takes place in California in 1942, so it has various references to smoking stands, cheese glasses, and colors like mulberry and light green. Playing a walk-on part in the climax are the safety measures brought about by the US entry into the Second World War.

Marlowe is hired by Derace Kingsley to find his wife. Kingsley is a well-off cosmetics executive. But scandal would get him fired. There’s no question of community property since his wife’s money – from bubbling crude in Texas – is hers alone. A wild child, she’s been missing for a month, with the only trace of her a bizarre telegram sent from El Paso asking for a divorce. Kingsley needs reassurance that she’s okay because he’s edgy about her getting busted due to her drunk and disorderly behavior and thrill-seeking hobby of shoplifting. Their love burned out some time ago.

With his characteristic realism and irony, Marlowe interviews a variety of curious characters: a womanizer with a violent streak, an drunk with esteem issues, a fluttery landlady, and a slow-talking small-town sheriff right out of the pulps, to name only a few. The brilliant narration is sprinkled with evocative descriptions of LA, Santa Monica (called Bay City in the book), San Bernardino and the mountain hamlet of Little Fawn Lake. The cops are portrayed as so vicious, corrupt and terrifying that one wonders if the police unions of the time complained to Chandler’s publishers.

In this book the reader will find the writing that made Chandler as respected as founder of noir Dashiell Hammett: well-wrought sentences, funny turns of phrase, and a crime story as a way to examine the human condition. Unlike in some other of his novels, Chandler does not over-write and doesn’t leave any gaps in the plot. The hard-boiled epigrams aren’t too corny or contrived. The overall tone isn’t callous or cynical nor is the world portrayed to be more dangerous and mean than it actually is.

It’s firmly in the classic mystery genre, with all the action pointing to a stunning reveal that leaves the reader gaping. I just didn’t expect such a brilliant resolution.

Famous Crimes the World Forgot Vol II: More Vintage True Crimes Rescued from Obscurity

by Jason Lucky Morrow

Review by jjares

Jason Morrow created a website in 2013 called HistoricalCrimeDetective.com. His goal was (and is) to study and report sensational stories that swept across America years ago but are now lost in time. Another premise of his site is to avoid cases rehashed many times before (such as Jack the Ripper, Andrea Yates, etc.).

This author tells eight cases in great detail (averaging about 12,000 words per story). He has combed newspapers, culled any available photographs, and reviewed trial documents. All this is to offer his readers a complete picture of all known information about the cases selected.

This reader came away thinking that the ‘good ole’ days’ weren’t all that safe and serene. Evil has been with the human race for a long time. In this particular volume (this is a series), the police caught all of these perps. What sets Mr. Morrow’s book apart from others is that he tries to capture the mood of the times. He often uses direct quotes from sources, trying to set the scene. Additionally, the variety of crimes is startling.
In the first chapter, a brother and sister, each getting ready for their marriage on subsequent days, were both poisoned the day before the first wedding. Their deaths were extremely excruciating and drawn-out. The near-simultaneous deaths of two siblings sent the country into a tailspin. An early suspect was Susie Below’s old boyfriend; however, things soon moved closer to home.

Ivy Giberson tells her story of the robbery and murder of her husband in Chapter Two. Unfortunately, this was the third time two men in thirteen years had robbed Ivy. Something seemed fishy to the police. In Chapter Three, Catherine Clark was very lonely. Her first marriage had been unhappy; Catherine was a bit portly, and she was desperate for a loving relationship. She got involved in a national matrimonial service popular at the time (her case single-handedly killed this avenue to find new love). Convinced to bring her $2000 savings with her to meet her new fiancee, Catherine traveled three thousand miles to meet her murderer. Her fiancee (the murderer) was married with five children.

Things turn even more grim in Chapter Four. Two sisters, both educated and accomplished, were killed by a maniac. They were eleven miles from their parent’s home when they were shoved off the road by a car behind them. Although it didn’t help, their father was an assistant police chief. In the week in 1930, when the widely-known, musically-gifted women died, they were the most famous sisters in America.

The story in Chapter Five is even more stunning. A multi-time ex-con killed four men in cold blood for $40 to continue his drinking spree. This is the first story I’ve read about American Basques (who immigrated from Spain) and became wealthy ranchers in Nevada. One of the murdered men was Basque, and the tight-knit community wanted blood. At that point, Luther Jones found himself between the gas chamber and a Basque lynching party.

In the 1940s, a redheaded woman was often called a tomato. Chapter Six is the complex case of an escaped serial killer who preferred redheads. The Charming Casanova plied his sensational murders from New Orleans to Chicago and beyond. The police were baffled because there were no marks on either redhead and no signs of violence anywhere. Found in a bathtub with six inches of water, neither woman had water in her lungs. By the time of the third murder of a redhead, Joseph Medley was Public Enemy Number One for the FBI.

Chapter Seven recounts the car bomb death of a wealthy San Angelo, Texas, socialite. Residents heard the bomb a mile away, and windows shattered for blocks around the Weaver family’s mansion. Stories about the shocking homicide swept across the US and Great Britain. Eventually, the trial would be the first live televised murder trial in US history.

The final chapter is about the stiletto slayer of Milwaukee in 1966. This serial killer stabbed young girls with a seven-inch stiletto. An altar boy (and brother to one of the victims) found his sister’s murdered, half-nude body lying next to the church (where he was serving as an altar boy) ten minutes before mass started. By this murder, Milwaukee police were sure they had a serial killer (although that term wasn’t coined until 25 years later). This was a huge national story that rocked the Milwaukee community.

In 2018, Jason Morrow’s volume of this book earned the Gold Medal for the True Crime Category. The Independent Publishers Book Awards (the IPPYs) are among the highest awards a new or seasoned author can receive.

Octavia Gone by Jack McDevitt

Review by Cyndi J. (cyndij)

OCTAVIA GONE by Jack McDevitt is the 8th and so far latest in his Alex Benedict series.  It’s a pretty good SF series but I recommend a new reader starting with an earlier book, as this one relies on the reader knowing about events from past books.

 The time frame is somewhere around 9,000 years in our future. Alex is an antiquities dealer, tracking down artifacts from past civilizations along with his assistant Chase Kolpath. The story as always is told from Chase’s POV. Over the course of the series they’ve had some hair-raising adventures.  These books also always have a puzzle or mystery as the plot driver.

In this book, Alex’s uncle Gabe has just been rescued from a passenger spacecraft that went missing for over 10 years. For Gabe, however, it seems like only a few weeks have passed. Several previous books have mentioned Gabe and the last one, COMING HOME, dealt with how the rescue was accomplished.

While everyone is getting to know each other again, Gabe (who is an archaeologist) remembers an odd trophy someone gave him, but during the past years the previous owner asked for it back and now it’s lost. Gabe was and is convinced that it was an alien artifact and he decides he needs to track it down.

Mystery #2 is the fate of the research station Octavia, which was looking into wormholes and mysteriously vanished a short time before Gabe himself went missing.  Some of the missing crew family members want Alex to see if he can find anything to figure it out, although after exhaustive government inquiries there may not be anything new to discover.

I have to say this isn’t one of the most exciting of the series. McDevitt never adds much emotional depth to his characters, which is too bad here, because potential clashes between Alex and Gabe could have been great. Chase as well has a failed relationship which she implies has a lasting impact on her, but again we’re not shown that.   The main thrust of this story is AI (artificial intelligence). 9000 years later this seems to be the main way that human society has changed.  Are AIs sapient life? Do they deserve to be treated as people? The question is still debated, but we know which side Chase and Gabe come down on.  Alex…well I didn’t think his position was quite so clear.

The two mysteries are interlocked in a tragic way, which the three will discover. Nobody ends up particularly happy with the outcome, but they do have the satisfaction of knowing what truth there is.

I’m going to give this an rating of just above average, mainly based on the slow pacing. Gabe’s homecoming should have sparked major household turmoil, but we only see a couple spats.  I liked the AI portions and I really would have liked more discussion of the ethical considerations around them. Some of the physical considerations were thought-provoking although McDevitt didn’t follow that much. And I have to say I always like watching them track down the next bit of information, it’s just that this time it seemed so, so, slow. In the end, I feel McDevitt should have stuck with more of the usual action scenarios, because there isn’t enough serious internal introspection or emotional content to make up for the lack.