This month I read a bunch of mystery stories and I had initially
intended to do individual posts about each of them. But then, time got away from me
and I was quite surprised to realize today that the month is nearly over. I’d
like to get my post in before the Short Story Initiative monthly roundup so I’ve
decided to do one post with my pick of the best mystery shorts I read this
month. Sadly, when I got down to it, only three of the six stories I read
seemed good enough to write about.
The Mystery of the Essex Stairs by Sir Gilbert Campbell
This one is an old fashioned mystery of the sort that would appear in periodicals.
It’s not an Agatha Christie kind of mystery where you have all the facts of the
case needed to figure it out yourself. This is one of those mysteries where the
detective (in this case a lawyer) pulls the killer out of his hat and presents
us with a neatly tied up case and even a rather ridiculous confession. But I
found the story very quaint and fun to read. If you enjoy courtroom dramas
give this one a go.
The Fenchurch Street Mystery by Baroness Orczy
I’ve only ever thought of Baroness Orczy as the writer of the Scarlett
Pimpernel books, but apparently she has quite a repertoire of mystery and crime
stories as well. Judging by this story, she was very good at it too. I will definitely
be looking up more of her mysteries. This one is about the murder of a
blackmailer by his intended target. The whole case seems very straightforward
at first but obviously, it all unravels very soon. The story is very taut and
clear with no holes to be found in the plot. Easily my favorite of the lot.
The Dancing Partner by Jerome K Jerome
This is the kind of dark story that you would expect from someone who
regularly dabbles in the macabre like Edgar Allen Poe not from someone who has
written a book as funny as Three men in a Boat and Three men on the Bummel. The
protanganist of The Dancing Partner is Nicholaus Geibel, a talented toy maker
who specialises in clever mechanical toys. One day, listening in to a
conversation between his daughter and her friends, Geibel strikes on an idea
for a very ambitious toy. Although not strictly a suspense, it is sinister and
menacing.
All three stories (and many more besides) can be found online here. Read
and enjoy.
