Book Description
Three dozen mystery writers--among them Elizabeth Peters, Edward D. Hoch, Tom Holt, Margaret Frazer, Susanna Gregory, Derek Wilson, Marilyn Todd, and Michael Jecks--contrive deadly conundrums in the original stories commissioned especially for the volume. Its chilling, suspenseful pages include lethal doings in old Byzantium, the case of a serial killer loose in Elizabethan London, and terror in Celtic Wales, while inexplicable killings in medieval Sherwood Forest make sleuths of Robin Hood and Maid Marion and a perplexing murder in ancient Rome turns the orator Quintilian into Perry Mason. Readers of the immensely popular first Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits will welcome back Steven Saylor's Gordianus the Finder and his occasional employer, the lawyer Cicero (in a story never collected before in book form), Peter Tremayne's Sister Fidelma in medieval Ireland, and Mary Reed and Eric Mayer's John the Eunuch, the Emperor Justinian's Lord Chamberlain. Edward Hoch, Keith Taylor, and Cherith Baldry also turn such familiar historical figures as Christopher Columbus, John de Mandeville, and Geoffrey Chaucer into detectives in this new Mammoth collection of historical mysteries.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent!.......2007-02-15
I'm not usually a mystery fan but I found myself buying this book and I'm glad I did. I really enjoyed the time-span range of story settings. All the stories were at least good but some were really excellent. I was so pleased I got myself a copy of the first book as well.
This anthology is just remarkable..........2006-03-28
with each and every story a true gem. Prime historical crimes, in differnt settings, seen thru the eyes of each individual writer with each sleuth thoroughly enjoyable and set apart by their crime-solving methods.
A really good book for the night stand so you can read one or two stories and pick the order in which you read them. Totally engrossing and a wonderfully different read for the historical mystery buff.
Another terrific anthology series is the "Murder Most...." books.I have read most and really enjoyed.
I like to have one book with me and one anthology on the nightstand.
Enjoy the Mammoth Books..I did!
Overwhelming . . ........2002-01-29
This book is almost too much of a good thing. At 500 larger-than-normal-paperback-sized pages, it's more than a handful, believe me! So far I've only read the first 11 of 22 stories, because after a bit, they're too much of a muchness. I learned too late that this book is not exactly meant for reading the stories within from start to finish, more or less in consecutive order, and uninterrupted by other reading in between. Consequently, I found the stories beginning to mesh together rather a bit too much, and felt it unfair to continue reading just now.
As a rule, stories in an anthology of this kind are arranged by location of story, or time-frame. The latter is the approach here, and that's fine. It's a perfectly valid method. However, considering that the 22 stories begin in ancient Rome and continue only until the very early 1600s, there is bound to be some overlapping of settings. The first five stories, for instance, all share the Roman setting. Then there are the dark ages, and a raft of early Medieval, up to about 1250 or so.
I found them all to be enjoyable, although some more so than others, and will certainly be looking for books by many of these authors, who impressed me with their plotting and characters, not to mention the obvious and extensive historical research. The two authors with whom I'm most familiar-Margaret Frazer and Michael Jecks-appear in the second half of the book. A treat for next time!
Generally excellent collection of historical mysteries..........2001-10-11
This collection of 21 stories focuses strongly on the late Roman republic to the early Roman empire, and again on Elizabethan England. There are stories representing other periods, including a couple of funny pastiches of Sherlock Holmes, but if you like the Roman detective mysteries of Steven Saylor (or loved Colleen McCullough), and if you have a weakness for the intriques of Tudor England, this collection will most appeal to you.
Some of the stories, notably "Flibbertigibbet", were actually quite chilling in their depiction of torture as routine, the ritualistic execution of a captured Jesuit priest, not to mention the corpses left in the wake of an early "Jack the Ripper". If you can get past the vivid depiction of the execution, I would strongly recommend that story as an exercise in moral ambiguities. There are other strong contributions, including one based on Hamlet (a perennial favorite, it seems) and yet another on Hamlet (two Shakespeare-based mysteries). Personally, I liked Michael Jecks's "The Crediton Killings" (set in medieval England) and the two stories from the late Roman republic the best.
I use historical anthologies such as this as a way to test what is out there. For example, an author may write very well, but the narrative may be too graphic for my comfort. Others may create a short story about a detective appearing in their books, such as Sister Fidelma (the creation of Peter Tremayne), or Gordianus (the creation of Steven Saylor). Yet others (Margaret Frazer, for example) use this as an opportunity to write about a slightly different period, and without using their most well-known fictional character.
The anthology offers a reasonably wide variety of historical mysteries, ranging from literary creations (Holmes, the Shakespearean Hamlet) to the odd historical personage serving as detective. And there is of course the criminal (or possible criminal) serving as detective in one or two stories.
How does this compare to earlier iterations (The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits, The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives), or to other series? Pretty well. For the price, it kept me well-entertained, and I discovered a couple of new authors I intend to try. There are no pre-historic stories, and none set in non-European worlds of course, nor any stories set between 1610 and 1800 that I noticed. If these represent your favorite periods and/or locales, you might be slightly disappointed. On the other hand, you will have read an interesting selection of authors.
Book Description
From Cleopatra and Herodotus to Howard Carter and the Curse of the Pharaohs, the investigators in The Mammoth Book of Egyptian Whodunnits uncover the murder mysteries of Ancient Egypt in over two dozen stories. Master anthologist Mike Ashley has gathered hidden gems and specially commissioned pieces from the genre’s favorite practitioners like Elizabeth Peters, Suzanne Franke, Michael Pearce, and featuring such favorite ancient-world investigators as Lynda Robinson’s Lord Meren, “the Eyes and Ears” of Nefertiti and Tutankhamun, Paul Doherty’s judge Amerotke from the 18th Dynasty, and Lauren Haney’s Lieutenant Bak of the Medjay police under Queen Hatshepsut, to beguile and confound historical mystery readers.
Customer Reviews:
Enjoyable selection of mysteries.......2007-08-13
The stories in this anthology are consistently good, which is a relief. There are not centuries but millenia of possible settings and the editor has done a good job of selecting a spread of times and places as well as authors. The historical settings are not annoying or invasive to the reader except in one story, the weakest in the book IMO. I'm glad I bought the book.
If you like History and Mystery...........2007-02-16
These stories are set in various times during Ancient Egypt, and are written by masters in the field of historical mystery. Stories were well crafted and riveting. I would have prefered a little more background on both the author and the main characters, especially the the authors I hadn't read before, but it's not really necessary. I will be looking for some of the authors to read more about their characters.
Book Description
In Chicago and New York, in sleazy speakeasies and on Easy Street, to the strains of jazz and the beat of the Charleston, the twenties roared. The horrors of the Great War behind it, the decade went mad with abandon—and mad over the movies, radio, telephones, and the motorcar. But beneath the froth and the folly, the razzle and dazzle, lay a darker world, a hard and often violent world, for the twenties belonged as much to the gangster as they did to the flapper. The stories in this vastly entertaining collection of whodunnits crafted by talents like Amy Myers, Robert Randisi, Jon L. Breen, Edward D. Hoch, Marilyn Todd, and Mike Stotter reflect the allures—and the deadly dangers—of both those worlds.
Book Description
The seventeenth century was a time ripe with murder, anarchy, war, and political and religious intrigue, of which the Gunpowder Plot is only one example. This unputdownable new anthology from Mike Ashley presents 25 whodunits set in those turbulent times—also the age of the Witchfinder General, ‘revenge’ tragedies, and the colonization of America. Stories of murder and mayhem centre on the true role of Guy Fawkes, the English Civil War and the fate of Charles I, plus the lost colony of Roanoke and the tale of Pocahontas. The Mammoth Book of Jacobean Whodunits is a fast paced anthology about a thrilling time in British history.
Customer Reviews:
Another Great Collection of Murder Mysteries!.......2006-08-24
Here's a Reader's Advisory tip you can take to the bank: Whenever you come across a new 'Whodunnits' book edited by Mike Ashley, BUY IT! Ashley has the Midas touch when it comes to assembling crackerjack collections of murder mysteries; He is simply the best at what he does!
Ashley's latest 'Mammoth Book of' features two dozen stories set in England and America in the 17th Century.
This Jacobean era was a rich period of history. Encompassing the reigns of kings James I, James II, Charles I, Charles II, the English Civil War, and settlements in America, these years provide fertile material for many of the stories contained in Ashley's book. The cast of characters includes kings, consorts, lords, ladies and assorted common folk along with the likes of William Shakespeare, Henry Hudson, Walter Raleigh and Francis Bacon involved in murders most foul but also very entertaining!
In stories like 'Satan in the Star Chamber,' 'A Taste for Ducking,' 'The Philadelphia Slaughterman' and 'The Curious Contents of a Coffin,' a stellar group of authors including Susanna Gregory, Peter Tremayne, Ian Morson, Michael Jecks and Deryn Lake offer entertaining tales of murder. Greed, treason, intrigue, revenge and madness drive the action in these page-turners, all of which are cleverly resolved at tale's end.
This A-1 collection will give you many hours of reading enjoyment! Pick up a copy ASAP!
Book Description
A host of totally new stories written by some of the most popular writers of historical mysteries brings to life the glorious and nefarious world that for nearly a thousand years—from the founding of the Republic in 510 B.C. to the deposing of the last emperor, Romulus, in 476 A.D.—was ancient Rome. Events from the turbulent reigns of Julius Caesar, Augustus, Caligula, and Nero provide the colorful background to tales ingeniously contrived by contributors like Paul Doherty, Gillian Bradshaw, and Richard Butler. While John Maddox Roberts offers a new SPQR story, Steven Saylor, Marilyn Todd, Rosemary Rowe, Darrell Schweitzer, and Michael Kurland challenge their sleuths Gordianus the Finder, Claudia, Libertus, Pliny the Younger, and Quintilian with baffling new cases. Mary Reed and Eric Mayer conjure new intrigue for John the Eunuch, and Peter Tremayne sends his Fidelma on the trail of a Roman legion lost in Ireland. In addition to the original stories specially commissioned for this volume, this book also includes such rare reprints as a Slave Detective story by Wallace Nichols and one of the earliest historical mysteries to be set in Rome, "De Crimine" by Miriam Allen de Ford. which features Cicero as the investigator.
Customer Reviews:
Consistently good anthology.......2007-08-13
This is a very good anthology, with a wide spread not only of quality authors, but of stories set in different times and places in the Classical Roman sphere of influence. I am a minor historian and was not perturbed by any glaring inaccuracies. As a reader for pleasure I was not annoyed by painstaking details or footnotes. Some ripping good mysteries, and I find myself tempted to check out certain novel series based on short stories involving their sleuths.
Great for short story lovers!.......2006-03-02
For those who love Steven Saylor, you are in for a treat forther into Roman times before Gordanius,the Finder and beyond. For those who have never traveled to ancient Rome or have other favorite "Roman era" authors, you are sure to find them here and maybe some new ones!
Some really great stories; some flat stories.......2004-10-15
I love the mysteries from Steven Saylor and Rosemary Rowe so I thought this would be a great collection. They each have a story in this collection. Both are good, Rowe's better than Saylor's. I was also very impressed with Wallace Nichols older story; it made me want to try and find his other work. Caroline Lawrence's children's story was also interesting but I didn't think it did the period justice. In fact, maybe because I study ancient history (and just taught a college level Roman History course in the spring of 2004) I couldn't get over some of the historical problems with several of the stories in this collection. For example Michael Jecks' piece was full of very odd words that just did not fit in the context of his chosen time period and that made it very difficult for me to read. Other stories just didn't have main characters that grapped me. *shrug* Large collections are generall so-so in quality so I guess I should not have been very surprised.
A bit tired.......2003-12-29
The stories in this book just don't seem to be of the same caliber as those in previous Mammoth editions...or maybe I'm just getting tired of "ancient" mysteries. One thing I do know, however...this book needed a good editor...and didn't have one...too many misspellings, etc.
SPQR.......2003-11-04
Being an avid fan of Gordianus the Finder and Marcus Didius Falco, buying this book of short stories concerning mysteries set in the Roman world was a "no-brainer". I assumed that this collection, like all collections of stories, would vary in quality from indifferent to excellent. Thankfully, I was wrong, for all of the stories are top-notch examples of mystery writing at its best, including the one supposedly from 1866 or so, which is a good example of older writing. I'm pleased that Gordianus is in this book, but did miss Falco, although I did make the acquaintance of new friends of mystery whose careeers I will follow in other published works by their authors. If you, like me, enjoy mysteries set during Roman times, and can't get enough of them through novel length works, I highly recommend this wonderful collection. You will not be disappointed!
Customer Reviews:
Modern-day India is memorably described........2005-09-08
Ms. Peters does a wonderful job of describing modern-day India in this book. It's easy to tell that she often visited there and loved it. India is teaming with life and with colours. In this book we have Dominic and his girlfriend Tossa acting as chaperones to deliver a young girl to her Indian father. Once there they find themselves in a whole bunch of trouble. Their job of delivering their young charge becomes very complicated when she goes missing. Tossa and Dominic are then racing against time in a strange country in order to try to get her back. Ms. Peters' characters in this book are wonderfully drawn, and the story is a wonderful journey to a wonderful country.
Dominic and Tossa's first journey to India.......2002-03-17
Strictly speaking, this isn't an Inspector Felse mystery, but a Dominic Felse mystery. Ideally, read all the preceding Inspector Felse mysteries, in order, as they follow Dominic's childhood onward - but only to enjoy the character development properly. At a minimum, at least read _The Piper on the Mountain_, which recounts Dominic's first meeting with Tossa Barber and her mother, before _Mourning Raga_.
Tossa's movie-star mother Chloe has a genius for disrupting her daughter's plans, so Dominic fears the worst when Chloe calls the university just before Christmas vacation, with an offer that sounds too good to be true: accept an all-expense-paid trip to India, to escort 14-year-old Anjli Kumar, the daughter of Chloe's co-star Dorette Lester, to stay with her father while her mother is filming in England. (Anjli's mother is nominally the custodial parent, but even she's mostly an absentee.) Happily, Ms. Pargeter (a.k.a. Ellis Peters), doesn't make either leading lady behave according to stereotype; each is charming in private as well as in public, and they seem to get on well together; their influence to bring others into their orbit is as inevitable as a planet's gravity. :)
Dorette arranged for an old friend to look out for Anjli and her companions, since the friend is directing a film - a dramatized life of Buddha - on location. A potted mini-biography of Siddhartha's early life, before he became Buddha, is provided as the film is described; one noteworthy celebrity they meet is the composer working on the film. He's adapted a morning raga - something sung when guests depart in the morning - as a theme to be played for Siddhartha's bride and their young son; the adaptation is catchy.
Unfortunately, Dorette only wrote to her ex, rather than phoning him or waiting for a reply. Kumar has been out of touch for months, and his mother - Anjli's grandmother - is dying. The only relative left functioning is a cousin who acts as trustee for the estate - and Dominic and Tossa aren't too keen to leave Anjli, Kumar's heir, in his care.
But the matter is taken abruptly out of their hands when Anjli is kidnapped and held for ransom after her grandmother's death. Although published after _Black is the Colour of My True-Love's Heart_, the events of this book take place earlier: their first meeting with the Swami, mentioned in that book, occurs herein. As a friend of Kumar's, he takes a hand in working for Anjli's safe return. And Dominic is very uneasy, since the morning of her disappearance, he heard someone in the street outside the hotel singing a song from the soundtrack of a film that's still in production.
a good edition to the George Felse series.......2000-10-27
Dominic Felse, the son of the famous policeman George Felse, met his girlfriend Tossa Barber in the earlier book in this series, Piper on the Mountain. Now, as a favor to Tossa's mother, Dominic and Tossa have agreed to escort a young girl named Angli out to meet her father in India. However, when they arrive they find that Angli's father has been missing for over a year, and soon Angli is kidnapped. The result is a good, fast-paced mystery, with some very interesting local color on India.
Customer Reviews:
Suspenseful reading, consistent characterization........2006-05-07
This is a very readable novel - both suspenseful and interesting - based on the hit TV series about young Clark Kent and his friends in Smallville, Kansas, before Kent went off to Metropolis and became Superman. In this one two crimes are played out in parallel.
First, Clark and his friends Chloe, Lana, and Pete discover a schoolmate's dead body in a pond on the boy's farm. As they investigate, police turn up the body of the boy's murdered sister. Other grisly discoveries follow, but the father remains missing.
Secondly, Lex Luthor's tycoon father Lionel is kidnapped in Metropolis. Lex has to decide whether to pay a ransom or attempt to rescue his dad, whom he hates anyway, while avoiding FBI authorities he thinks will bungle the investigation.
Both stories were interesting enough to keep me reading straight through, and as the kids investigate the murders, the question is raised whether they're connected to the kidnapping. It all
comes together to a dramatic conclusion.
This one doesn't have much science fiction, but as suspenseful escapism reading it's outstanding. If you're a serious fan of the show, this book will satisfy you like an extra episode between seasons - it's very faithul to the series in characterization, tone, etc. And if you've never seen the series, it's still good reading.
Why Smallville?.......2005-02-15
I agree with Joshua Koppel's review... there is nothing here to advance the Smallville storyline. This could have been a Hardy Boys mystery. I'm not saying the story itself is bad, I was just terribly disappointed that it was such a generic mystery story and could have been plopped in any series with some character name changes. The only thing special I remember Clark doing was using some X-ray vision a couple of times and bringing Chloe a cup of coffee at superspeed. "City" is a much better read, it is much more Smallville than this book.
Smallville ( Whodunnit ).......2004-12-01
Smallville Whodunnit Warner Books Inc., 2002
Dean Wesley Smith ISBN: 0-446-61216-2 221 pages, $5.99
"Push a man to the edge, and he might just fall off."
Things are always going awry in Smallville. When Danny Franklin, a friend of Clark, Chloe, and Lana's, is found in the Franklin's pond dead, along side his sister Betty, they immediately use Chloe's "Connections" to secret files to look up some research on what or who killed the entire Franklin family. They have many suspects, but Jed Franklin - the father and only body not found of the Franklin family - is a main suspect for murdering his family on account of the layoffs from Luthor Corp. Meanwhile, Lex's dad has been kidnapped and Lionel's kidnapping and Danny Franklin's death occurred simultaneously! Now Clark, Chloe, Lana, and Pete are on the case to save Lex's dad and find out who really killed the Franklin family. Could Jed Franklin have been upset enough to murder his entire family? Or is that what the real murderers want us to think?
I really enjoyed this book and could barely put it down. It was very intriguing and delightful read. I suggest it to any Superman or Smallville fan; since the book is based on the T.V. series "Smallville" I knew it would be good. The trauma between Lex and his dad and the mystery of Clark Kent that baffles Clark's friends is the perfect balance of drama and suspense that will have you peeking at the next chapter every time.
- 6th Grade Student
best in the series so far.......2003-07-07
This was the best of the Smallville books that have been released as of Summer 2003. I really enjoyed it and couldn't put it down. It's the least repetitive when it comes to the Kent backstory which is a plus since the other books in the series tend to spend too much time explaining the origins of Clark Kent.
If I were to recommend ONE book from the series, this would be the one.
Decent Mystery, But Why Smallville?.......2003-05-05
Four murders and a kidnaping make up the basis for this mystery set in the world of the television show Smallville.
The mystery was good. Clark and friends discover that a friend and his family have been murdered. Lionel Luthor (Lex's father) has been kidnaped. Two good plots that are handled quite well.
Unfortunately, it reads like a mystery the author could not sell elsewhere so he moved the setting to Smallville. I don't know if this is really true, but there are no real aspects of the show used in the plot. The only advantage to the Smallville setting is that readers already know how unpleasant Lex's father really is so the author does not have to give any detail.
The story ends in a typical fashion with Lex curious as to how Clark managed to be on the scene and say the day yet again.
A good mystery but no real development of the Smallville story line.
Customer Reviews:
Othello, Hamlet, The Tempest...the cats got it right!.......2007-07-29
This is the first one of the series I've read. I must say I am so delighted that I'm now reading THE CAT WHO WASN'T THERE.
For a short time I have been to Pickaxe where I've made friends with Polly, the librarian, avuncular Qwilleran, and dear Mrs. Cobb. I should say, POOR Mrs. Cobb, but I have a feeling she is going to bounce right back after her big ordeal. I've suffered through a mean snow storm and a couple of startling catastrophies, reasons for which are not divulged till the end.
Was anybody listening to Ko-Ko and Yum-Yum?. They are cats who are indulged gastrnomically, but who maintain their independence...as all good cats do, especially Siamese. Someone should have been taking their insights and pranks to heart. They are certainly given credit at the finish of the story.
Each character in this book brings to mind someone, somewhere I've met before. Lillian Braun describes them so vividly they've stayed with me for days. And they are worth thinking about.
My only criticism is there were times I wanted more interaction with Ko Ko and Yum Yum.
My Favorite Cozy Series!.......2006-08-17
In the 7th book in The Cat Who...series, James Qwilleran aka "Qwill", is becoming acclimated to his new life as a millionaire in Pickaxe City (400 miles north of everywhere). He has moved his two beautiful Siamese cats (KoKo and Yum Yum) into the old Klingenschoen mansion and has settled in for a five year stay to fulfill the requirements of Aunt Fanny's will.
As the book begins, Qwill is awaiting the arrival of "the big one", a huge snow fall, as predicted every day on the weather report on WPKX. He is starting to adapt to life as the richest man in Moose County, and has started dating the local librarian, Polly Duncan. He begins to get acquainted with the various families in town, and develops an easy friendship with Junior Goodwinter, the young, energetic editor of the Pickax Picayune. When Junior's father dies suddenly in an accident, Qwill sympathizes with his friend, and looks for ways to save the centuries' old newspaper run for years without profit. Qwill begins to become suspicious of Junior's mother, and her reaction to her husband's death. It seems the widow is ready to sell all of her possessions and has been seen around town with a new man. Could the death of Senior Goodwinter have been anything more than a bad car accident? Distracting Qwill from the suspicious death is the upcoming marriage of his beloved housekeeper, Mrs. Iris Cobb. Qwill brought Mrs. Cobb up from "Down Below" to manage his household and the new museum that is being created in the Klingenschoen mansion. But the man she is marrying is highly disliked in town, and Qwill works hard to insure that Mrs. Cobb is marrying the right man for her.
This is my favorite cozy mystery series! I had read all of the books in the past, and wanted to read them again for a second time. This time around, I have chosen to listen to them on CD, as I love the voice of George Guidall. I am happily rediscovering how Qwill became a resident of Moose County, and how many of the series regulars join him from "down below". In this installment, Qwill brings Hixie Rice to town, and begins to talk about having old friend, Arch Riker, join him in Moose County. Also in this book, Qwill's long-time romance begins with librarian, Polly Duncan.
This is a great series by my favorite author!
The first book in the series is called "The Cat who Could Read Backwards". Enjoy!
My Favorite Cozy Series!.......2006-08-17
In the 7th book in The Cat Who...series, James Qwilleran aka "Qwill", is becoming acclimated to his new life as a millionaire in Pickaxe City (400 miles north of everywhere). He has moved his two beautiful Siamese cats (KoKo and Yum Yum) into the old Klingenschoen mansion and has settled in for a five year stay to fulfill the requirements of Aunt Fanny's will.
As the book begins, Qwill is awaiting the arrival of "the big one", a huge snow fall, as predicted every day on the weather report on WPKX. He is starting to adapt to life as the richest man in Moose County, and has started dating the local librarian, Polly Duncan. He begins to get acquainted with the various families in town, and develops an easy friendship with Junior Goodwinter, the young, energetic editor of the Pickax Picayune. When Junior's father dies suddenly in an accident, Qwill sympathizes with his friend, and looks for ways to save the centuries' old newspaper run for years without profit. Qwill begins to become suspicious of Junior's mother, and her reaction to her husband's death. It seems the widow is ready to sell all of her possessions and has been seen around town with a new man. Could the death of Senior Goodwinter have been anything more than a bad car accident? Distracting Qwill from the suspicious death is the upcoming marriage of his beloved housekeeper, Mrs. Iris Cobb. Qwill brought Mrs. Cobb up from "Down Below" to manage his household and the new museum that is being created in the Klingenschoen mansion. But the man she is marrying is highly disliked in town, and Qwill works hard to insure that Mrs. Cobb is marrying the right man for her.
This is my favorite cozy mystery series! I had read all of the books in the past, and wanted to read them again for a second time. This time around, I have chosen to listen to them on CD, as I love the voice of George Guidall. I am happily rediscovering how Qwill became a resident of Moose County, and how many of the series regulars join him from "down below". In this installment, Qwill brings Hixie Rice to town, and begins to talk about having old friend, Arch Riker, join him in Moose County. Also in this book, Qwill's long-time romance begins with librarian, Polly Duncan.
This is a great series by my favorite author!
The first book in the series is called "The Cat who Could Read Backwards". Enjoy!
Koko Rides the Elevator.......2005-05-03
As we join the soap opera that is Pickax City in this the seventh book of this series we find that all is quiet, at least in the beginning. The people of Moose County are bracing for the first snow of the year, which they refer to as "the big one" and Jim Qwilleran has lost another love interest. Of course anybody who has read any of the other books knows that before long somebody is going to die and that usually the deaths just keep right on coming. With only 4000 people in Pickax City the author is eventually going to have to bring in new people or quit killing off so many in each book. This series can be just a little morbid but I have found that once one begins reading these books the marvelous characters and backdrop become addictive.
Right on schedule there is a death that looks like an accident but Qwilleran isn't so sure that it wasn't murder or even suicide. The first death to occur throws things into an uproar that particularly affects one of Qwilleran's close friends and he jumps into action to solve the problem. He also finds a new love interest and his housekeeper is hinting that she may be close to getting a proposal from her new beau. Along the way he opens a museum in his new palatial home and is suspicious of his old friend Hixie Rice's new boyfriend. Qwilleran also learns that the local radio station predicts snow every day in November until they are finally right and he learns a hard lesson about "the big one" after he starts to ignore the weather forecast. All the while Koko, the cat in the title, is trying to tell the former ace reporter something but somehow Qwilleran misses all of the signals. Koko, for his part learns to use the new elevator in the house and rides up and down a lot.
Like the previous books in the series, the mystery in this book becomes secondary to the antics of the people and cats of Moose County. Lilian Jackson Braun has an uncanny ability when it comes to character creation and the reader will get attached to these people, which makes it all the more sad when she kills somebody off. I have even developed a desire to visit Moose County, even though it is a figment of the author's imagination. I would particularly like to visit the town of Brr where it is always colder than it is anywhere else in Moose County. This is just the kind of extra touch that makes these wonderful books so addictive.
THE BEST BOOK SERRIES EVER.......2005-02-18
The Cat Who is the best serries ever full of humor wit and complexity,
James Macentosh Qwilerin is a off beat repoter/Billion air with his 2 cats Koko and Yumyum who are no shorter than extra ordinary.
This is the best book serries I have ever read and would recomend it to any one over 10.
Trevor Oliver
12 Years old
Customer Reviews:
A Mystery of Manners.......2006-03-14
This is the first of this series that I have read, so I have nothing else by the author to compare it with. There is a murder, in fact more than one, but the focus of the story is on the people connected to the murder and its effects on them. For those who don't know, Markby is a police officer in the town where the murder takes place, and Meredith is a Foreign Office employee currently stationed back home in the UK who is friend/love interest for Markby. I found one of the characters to be over-the-top unbelievable, but that may simply be because I don't have any experience with small English country towns and the people who inhabit them.
I recommend it for those who like a character-driven story, or are simply tired of the flood of serial-killer novels inundating the market.
Book Description
To follow the successes of Classical Whodunnits and Shakespearean Whodunnits, popular anthologist Mike Ashley has specially commissioned more than a score of new stories from top drawer writers, lead by Stephen Baxter, Peter Tremayne, Margaret Frazer, Richard Lupoff, Susanna Gregory, and Tom Holt, for his latest page-turning anthology. Regal detectives (and victims) in these tales include Mary Queen of Scots, George IV, Edward Duke of Windsor, King John, Robert the Bruce, Princess Anastasia of Russia, Victoria's beloved consort Prince Albert.
Customer Reviews:
An unusually high quality anthology.......2006-04-14
I am not a big fan of short story anthologies. I usually find a few that I enjoy, and equal number that I loathe, most that are enjoyable enough ways to pass the time, and, if I'm lucky, one really great story that makes the purchase worthwhile.
I was torn between giving this 4 and 5 stars. Four because none of these stories was a "great", that I will always want to go back to, but almost all of them were very good and interesting. There were none that I thought were truly bad. On this basis, I am going to give Mike Ashley's other anthologies a try.
The stories move over something like a thousand years in time, and I enjoyed the constantly changing times, places and people. They range from almost gruesome to very funny. Not being a historian, I cannot say how accurate they all were, but the ambience was generally very well evoked.
One comment as a matter of taste. Many of the stories are very cynical, which is actually quite appropriate, given the royal subjects. Mysteries usually concern themselves justice, but don't count on it here!
Interesting, but not very compelling..........2001-10-24
This set of royalty-based mysteries also include a bit of alternate reality, notably in the deaths of the Princes in the Tower (Edward V and his brother Richard, Duke of York) and the Grand Duchess Anastasia. I found the stories that were based on earlier royalty (such as Macbeth and his wife Gruoch, a descendant of the older dynasty) rather more interesting. By comparison, the alternate-reality sketches of some famous royal crimes seemed rather iffy. I don't read historical mysteries to get "what-if" scenarios, but rather to get valid and soundly constructed mysteries. [I am rather interested in medieval royalty. Add to that the fact, that I don't like Edward IV nor Henry VII nor Henry VIII!]. I hoped that the less-known mysteries in the lives of some major and minor royal personages would have been discussed, such as "Did Anne of Austria really fall for Buckingham? And what exactly was her relationship with Richelieu?" or "Why did Mary Queen of Scots behave as she did at critical points in her life?" And so forth. Of course, stories using these as plots should also be based on solid historical evidence. That is what makes them historical, not alternate reality.
While there were several stories, some better than others, this anthology therefore failed to satisfy me on several levels. For one, some of the stories simply were not very interesting. Others offended my sense of history (as well as my sense of logic, whatever I posses). Still others struck me as rather unrealistic solutions. On the whole, I cannot recommend this collection; it was not a waste of my time, but I had expected a rather different style.
Who cares whodunnit?.......2001-07-11
This book is neither fish nor fowl! The stories are all short, predominantly silly & far from suspenseful. As far as writing whodunnits is concerned, Agatha Christie has nothing to worry about. History, it definitely is not! Whilst the authors do try to draw circumstances from true history, the links & threads in these stories are pathetically fanciful, bordering on the preposterous. There isn't a single story that gripped me or, in writing this review, is worthy of a positive mention. This book is neither history nor mystery. If you want either, or both, you can certainly do better than this.
A royal collection of great intrigue!.......2000-11-04
In his introduction to this collection, Paul Doherty writes that " a number of (the British) monarchs have met highly suspicious deaths, or disappeared under mysterious circumstances" and then proceeds to give some delectable morsels of royal intrigue, mayhem, and murder. In "Royal Whodunnits" Ashley has brought together 25 "tales" of this nature in an intriguing compendium, to say the least. Popular--and good--writers contribute, from Edward Marston to Peter Tremayne to Susanna Gregory to Margaret Frazer, to name but four. Of course, the collection is fiction--and should be read as so--but intriguing, exciting, and suspenseful nevertheless. The subjects range from Richard II, William the Conqueror, Richard the Lionheart, the Princes in the Tower, Edward II, and Henry VIII, again to name a few. Anglophiles--and even others, if there are any!--will find this a good read! (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)
A wonderfu, rich read.......2000-07-20
25 stories involving two favorite subjects mysteries and the royal family.
Authors are: M.G. Owen, Peter Tremayne, Mary Reed & Eric Mayer, Tom Holt, Susanna Gregory, Tina & Tony Rath, Liz Holiday, Mary Monica Pulver, Renee Vink, Jean Davidson, Edward Marston, Cherith Baldry, Margaret Frazer, Amy Myers, Claire Griffen, Derek Wilson, Paul Barnett, Robert Franks, Andrew Lane, John T. Aquino, Edward D. Hoch, Martin Edwards, Stephen Baxter, Richard A. Lupoff, Morgan Llywelyn.
Having read this for a reading group, I found no one in the group who felt disappointed in ROYAL WHODUNNITS. Each writer has a voice of his/her own. Each mystery involves a member of the royal family. I was impressed with the knot-tying concept in The Snow of Saint Stephen by M.G. Owen. My favorite was Night's Black Agents by Peter Tremayne - the ending made me gasp. You will find another Mary Reed - Eric Mayer's short story in here also. Their character John the Eunuch, who made his debut in HISTORICAL WHODUNNITS, and now has his own mystery series.
The historical aspects in this anthology are rich and impressive. It's so detailed that reading it in one sitting will be impossible; expect to carry it around and enjoy it for a while. You will get your money's worth with Royal Whodunnits.
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- The Road to Disunion, Volume II: Secessionists Triumphant 1854-1861
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Books Index
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Anthologies
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunits
The Mammoth Book of Egyptian Whodunnits (Mammoth Books)
The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits (Mammoth Book of)
The Mammoth Book of Roman Whodunnits
The Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives (Mammoth Book of)
