This month I’m writing about another book that I really have wanted to re-read for a long time now – Joan Hess‘s Strangled Prose, the first in her Claire Malloy Mystery Series.

Claire Malloy is a busy woman – she’s a widow, a mother, and a business owner, running a semi-successful bookstore in Farberville, Arkansas, a small college town where life seems to largely revolve around the liberal arts college Claire’s husband was a professor at before his untimely demise. Claire doesn’t live the romanticized small-town life often shown in many modern Cozies – though she has a relatively wide social circle, her natural cynicism (verging on pessimism) often leads her to see the negative in those around her, including but not limited to her daughter, her bookstore, and her friends.

One of these friends, Mildred Twiller, aka renowned romance author Azalea Twilight, convinces Claire to hold a signing and reception for her most recent release, Professor of Passion. The signing is most definitely not a success – one of Claire’s other friends, a professor at the local college, arrives to read a few choice excerpts from the book, all of which make very clear parallels between the characters of the novel and questionable acts by the local academics. Suffice to say, it isn’t long before Mildred Twiller/Azalea Twilight is found dead, strangled to death at her house.

Before I go any further in discussing this series, I’ll have to mention that it’s a bit older than many of the Cozies I’ve covered, and as a result doesn’t fit many of the modern conceptions of a Cozy. Most notably, the novel deals a lot more with sex than many other Cozies nowadays – not on-screen, but more as an element of character backstories and as a topic for discussion, especially considering that the deceased for this novel is a renowned romance author. I personally did not find any of this any more objectionable than I did when I first read this novel thirty years ago – but some readers might.

As I said, I still enjoy this novel as much as I did decades ago. One of the most interesting parallels I noted as I re-read it was how many elements from this, a novel first released in the mid-eighties, have now become staples of the Cozy genre in general. As with most modern Cozies, Claire is an independent woman in one of a handful of specific occupations – in her case, owner of a book store. Also as within most modern Cozies, she was once either married or in a serious committed relationship that has relatively recently ended, not due to her own choice – in this case, the death of her husband. And also in this case, there’s the introduction of a detective Claire seems to feel some attraction toward, though in this case the attraction is substantially less evident and acted upon than in many modern Cozies due to Claire’s own somewhat prickly nature.

There are noteworthy differences, however. The most obvious have already been mentioned – namely, the somewhat candid attitude toward sex compared to modern Cozies and Claire’s more acerbic personality. The second in particular is something I appreciate as a nice change from the more positive, “can-do” style modern Cozy sleuths – I suppose it’s nice to see someone who doesn’t always seem to see only the best in people right away!

Overall, I’m not sure I can recommend Strangled Prose to everyone, but it’s certainly right up my own alley. It’s certainly an interesting study in Cozy-ish novels from the 1980’s.

If you’re interested in other Joan Hess series, she’s also the author of the also quite-excellent Maggody Mystery Series. I wrote about the Claire Mallory series because I slightly prefer it, but I know many people prefer the Maggody series, which I also like a lot – just not quite as much as this one.

This month I am going to write about a book I have just re-read — Cyril Hare‘s Tenant for Death, the first book in his Inspector Mallet Mystery Series. This is the next book that I am writing about as part of my most popular and recommended Cozy Mystery series posts.

Cyril Hare who was an English judge (his real name was Alfred Alexander Gordon Clark) was an author who wrote towards the tail end of the period that many would consider the classic mystery book period. He wrote from the 1930s to the 1950s, and Tenant for Death was first published in 1937. Cyril Hare’s total output was quite a bit less than some of the other classic period mystery authors. For example, the Inspector Mallet series only has six books that were published over 21 years. 

In this story, we are introduced to Inspector Mallet, a rather tall and stout man with a big appetite. He often seems to interrupt his sleuthing to refuel by going out to eat. His assistant is Detective-Sergeant Frant who is industrious and somewhat mystified by some of Inspector Mallet’s methods which include doing a lot of thinking (to the point of falling asleep in the office) and eating.

Nevertheless, Inspector Mallet is very successful. In this case, a high stakes financier, Mr. Ballentine, who committed a multiple-year fraud and was about to get caught goes missing and is found dead in a house that had been rented by a mysterious character. Mr. Ballentine’s disappearance happened just days after the release from prison of one of his earlier fraud victims who had said that he would see him dead.

The book is a leisurely read. The discovery of the body is not until around the book’s 15% point. This pace is not what you see in most modern Cozies, but I have to say that after reading a bunch of newer Cozies and then going to Cyril Hare, I did find it oddly attractive to read a book where the discovery of the body does not happen in the first few pages.

The setting is 1930s London and its surroundings which I found very interesting. Although Inspector Mallet is not an amateur sleuth (far from it!!), the book does have a Cozy atmosphere, although not the type found in modern Cozies. There is no small town, no heroine who inherits a shop, and the sleuth does not have to sneak around behind the backs of the police detectives, as examples. 

The book has an old fashioned feel to it — mostly because it is an old-style mystery written so long ago. In the end, the clues are all gathered and laid out for the reader. All of the information that Inspector Mallet ends up thinking deeply about (remember what I said about him falling asleep at his office!) are available to the reader. Nothing significant is held back, so the reader has a fair chance to be a partner in discovering the murderer and the other mysteries involved in the story.

I found Tenant for Death a different and refreshing break from reading new Cozies (which I love too!!).

Click here to read more posts about the most popular and recommended Cozy Mystery series.

 

Paige Shelton’s Scottish Bookshelf Mystery Series is the next of the most popular and recommended Cozy Mystery series that I will be highlighting. As I mentioned last month, I have read The Cracked Spine as part of my effort to cover some of the most popular Cozy Mystery series.

Delaney Nichols, 29 years old, had just been laid off from her job working in a Wichita, Kansas museum when she spotted a quirky ad:

Wanted: A bold adventurer who would love to travel the world from a comfortable and safe spot behind a desk that has seen the likes of kings and queens, paupers and princes. A humble book and rare manuscript shop seeks a keenly intelligent investigator to assist us in our search for things thought lost, and in our quest to return lost items to their rightful owners. This multitasked position will take you places you can’t even imagine. Apply only if you’re ready for everything to change. Please note: the position is located in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Before she knew it, Delaney had the job. She had interviewed for an hour and a half over the phone with Edwin MacAlister, the owner of The Cracked Spine, a small bookshop in Edinburgh, Scotland, specializing in rare books (and other rare things), and was immediately offered the job.

Delaney, who was seeking an adventure and a job that she could throw herself into, has a striking appearance:

I’d been afflicted with the brightest tones: the fieriest red hair, the palest skin dotted with orange freckles, and light green eyes. I’d long ago become used to people’s reactions when they first saw me back home in the small town close to my family’s farm. There was usually a double take, sometimes a small gasp, and then a big forced smile to cover their shock at all my … glow. However in Wichita and Scotland, it seemed, no one had so much as given me a second glance.

When she gets off the plane in Edinburgh, she meets Elias McKenna, a cab owner and small-time landlord, who, along with his wife Aggie, quickly become Delaney’s new friends.

In the bookshop, Delaney meets the other employees, Rosie (“old, probably closer to seventy than sixty”) and Hamlet, a young man who works in the bookstore part time while attending school. When she meets him, Hamlet is dressed like, well, “Hamlet”, since he is also engaged in acting in local theater.

Edwin, the shop owner, is very wealthy, and he has a many wealthy friends who become suspects in the murder investigation that inevitably ensues.

Delaney becomes engrossed, you might say obsessed, with solving the murder that happens soon after her arrival in Edinburgh. Through dogged persistence, she eventually discovers the killer.

Delaney meets a romantic interest, Tom Fletcher, the local pub owner, very soon after arrival. Tom of course is wearing a Kilt when they meet. Their mutual attraction is instant:

I didn’t realize we were still holding hands. He smiled—almost sheepishly—and pulled his hand away. I had a sense that something pushed me from behind and wanted me to step closer to him. I resisted but it wasn’t easy.

“I’m glad you’re real,” I said before I could stop the words from propelling out of my mouth.

He cocked his head and blinked and then smiled.

Silly American.

“I’m glad you’re real too, Delaney. Please come by the pub anytime. If you haven’t tried Scottish whisky, you must. At least a sip. On me.”

And, there is a touch of paranormal in the book. Delaney hears voices from books. She has done so since she was a child. These voices seem not to be the normal recollections of things she has read, but actual voices that speak to her. In this book, at least, the voices do not play much of a part. But, I guess they become more important as the series progresses.

One thing I like about the book is that there is not much time wasted trying to explain Delaney’s obsession with trying to solve the murder. She just seems to be the super curious type of person who becomes doggedly obsessed when she is presented a puzzle to solve.

I have to say, this Cozy has a number of elements that I ordinarily don’t find super attractive:

• I am ordinarily not a great fan of paranormal elements (there are exceptions, of course — see my discussion of Aunt Dimity’s Death for one notable exception!)
• The way Delaney discovers the killer is, shall I say, a little short of being due to logical deductions following from the clues in the book.
• Delaney’s new life, including an instant set of friends, love interest, great job, etc., seems a bit much — quite a bit closer to fantasy than I normally go for.

Nevertheless, I really loved this book! I think I can forgive Paige Shelton for these elements that I don’t ordinarily enjoy, because I love the characters, I love the setting, and the writing is so good that the fantasy and paranormal aspects of the story are carried off so well. I was swept up in the fantasy so quickly that, for me, the pages just flew by. I’m a new Paige Shelton fan.

What about you? Did you enjoy The Cracked Spine? What did you like about it?

Click here to read more posts about the most popular and recommended Cozy Mystery series.

Also, before I forget: People may post spoilers in their comments, so if this is a series you think you might enjoy starting, don’t read the comments!