The Five Red Herrings: A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery / by Dorothy Sayers

All Lord Peter Wimsey wanted for his holiday in the highlands was to sleep late, reflect on his misspent youth, catch some trout and possibly fit in a round of golf. The quaint village that he and Bunter take up residence is actually a type of artist colony where an assortment of painters--all a bit odd but talented in their own way--have set down roots. One among them isn't really odd though, he's just mean. Campbell Quick is a barrel-chested, red-bearded Scotsman with a temper to match his drinking habits and a peevishness overshadowing any artistic skill he possesses. "He's a devil when he's drunk and a lout when he's sober", they all say. So when he turns up dead in the river the day following an evening in which he rowed with six of his fellow artists, the question for Lord Peter is to find out which one of them murdered Campbell, a man best characterized by Wimsey's eulogy, "Nothing in his life quite became him like the leaving of it." To do so the gentleman sleuth and his crafty manservant will need to eliminate the five artists,  the "five red herrings", who had the motive and possibly the means but not the opportunity to dispose of the undesirable Campbell.

If you didn't know him, it might be easy to overlook Lord Peter Wimsey as a minor fictional sleuth from the golden age of mystery fiction. The amateur "gentleman detective" is nothing like the big names of the period--Poirot, Maigret, Mason, etc.--who are all 'in the business' so to speak, all detectives by trade with solid credentials and proper training. And though he usually shirks the perception as quickly as it's made, Wimsey can come off as something of a nosy, entitled aristocrat. He doesn't work at job or need money, his butler does everything for him short of clip his toenails and though he's an amateur criminologist of the highest order, he has no real reason other than avid interest to associate himself with crime and murder. But while not featured in the sheer volume of fiction occupied by a Poirot or a Perry Mason, he's aged as well as any of them, his "mind like a razor", discernible eye for detail and inimitable charisma winning over hoards of readers. Always the bon viveur with an incurable optimism and contagious confidence, Wimsey can't help but, well, project 'whimsy' everywhere he goes, winning as much respect as admiration and garnering appeal with his sophisticated charm and personality. It's here where Sayers, with her manifestation of the 'gentleman detective,' really distinguished herself, managing to create an admirable, truly estimable character from someone with a manservant, lots of money and lots of free time--later works would see Wimsey take a seat in the House of Lords but for the most part he's just another member of the idle rich set bouncing around Europe's glamorous hotspots. It's harder than it looks because with a few discrepancies, the svelte, polished protagonist might have easily become a buffoon like Bertie Wooster or even a distancing snob, something like James Bond maybe. But it's nothing like that. When people are difficult, Wimsey is class and composure personified. Where they might feel inferior, he deftly erases social barriers. Where there's a case to be solved, he never oversteps his authority but never capitulates to official crime solvers who sometimes resent the butting-in of a posh member of the nobility. He may not be officially affiliated with law enforcement, but he's amply capable, has a free maneuverability, abundant resources and is never afraid to get his hands dirty--all things which make the books, every one of them, serious fun. (MYS SAYERS)

Wicked Autumn: A Mystery / by G.M. Malliet

There's a reason retired MI5 agent Max Tudor is now a village vicar in the tiny hamlet of Nether Monkslip. There was a time and place for his former life of adventure and espionage, a period in his past when tracking down criminals and terrorist threats was his only calling. But then a horrific accident changed everything forever and now he's perfectly happy to mentor and minister provincial types on matters of faith. So it's something of a minor inconvenience when one of his congregation is found stabbed to death at the Harvest Fayre and Max finds himself in the middle of a murder case. Granted, the victim was one of his less popular parishioners. Wanda Batton-Smythe, the mean, bossy leader of the Women's Institute of Nether Monkslip was most certainly not very well-liked. With a penchant for inciting fear and exposing weakness in seemingly every acquaintance she ever made (even her husband, a former Army Major, seems thoroughly cowed under his wife's authoritarian demeanor), Wanda was a woman which more than a few townspeople might've enjoyed ridding themselves of. But when the two detectives from the county's police task force arrive on the scene, no one seems remotely interested in giving evidence. It's even difficult for Max, operating behind the scenes, to surmise on a possible suspect. Wanda's enemies, though plentiful, aren't so aggressive that they'd attempt any kind of physical assault. And then to kill her?

Agatha award winner Malliet brings the goods in this cozy mystery which even includes a fold-out map of the village in the binding. Quirky characters and sequences are given mileage by a hefty dose of metaphorical inserts ("her voice filling the room like a sonic gun", "her hair clipped short around protuberant ears, she resembled a Chihauhua puppy abandoned in a snowdrift" or "the woman stared at the cover like Queen Victoria being handed a pamphlet on early contraceptive techniques"). Not that it's unwelcome or even misplaced. Malliet knows how to write cozy. Which is to say she writes with a splendid sort of moderation, a perfect blend of comically cute descriptions and indelibly charming technique. Readers will enjoy the author's take on village life and its colorful individuals while at the same time won't be lulled into boredom by predictable circumstances. Max Tudor is the right kind of protagonist to confront such surroundings, an outsider who's understandably been converted to domestic small town life and yet remains an introspective, spiritual man keen on the deeper elements of human nature. That he's a handsome eligible bachelor amid the cooing eyes of all the available parish women makes things even more interesting. (MYS MALLIET)

Senior Sleuths

The Shooting in the Shop: A Fethering Mystery / by Simon Brett
Chummy widows in the small coastal village of Fethering, England, Carole Seddon and her friend Jude are two former knockouts aging gracefully as they like to call it. When trendy shop around the corner burns to the ground and the daughter of a local couple is found dead inside, Carole and Jude think arson may be afoot and get busy on the sleuthing. (MYS BRETT)

.

She Shoots to Conquer / by Dorothy Cannell
Ellie Haskell may look and think like Miss Marple, but she’s her own person and can distinguish herself as well as anyone, especially when television cameras are around. When another mystery crops up involving some stolen diamonds, Ellie starts snooping around the Lord’s estate where the jewels were taken and where also, the production for a popular reality television is underway. (MYS CANNELL)

Wanting Sheila Dead: A Gregor Demarkian Novel / by Jane Haddam
Retired FBI agent Gregor Demarkian may be getting on in years but he’s feeling younger these days after his marriage and recent honeymoon, at least until he and his new wife arrive back in Philadelphia to find their reclusive neighbor dead, possibly poisoned. Meanwhile, a rather scandalous game show host, Sheila Dunham, has been the target of an assassination attempt and Demarkian has been asked to brainstorm on just who the would-be killer is? (MYS HADDAM)
.

What Are You Wearing to Die?: A Thoroughly Southern Mystery / by Patricia Houck Sprinkle

Home-grown Georgia gal MacLaren "Mac" Yarbrough may not look like your average detective, but the aging southern belle has always loved to play detective, so much so that her husband Joe has tried anything and everything to keep her from meddling in other people’s affairs. But when a local young mother is found dead, even Joe’s good-natured efforts at preventing her from getting involved can’t keep Mac from another mystery. (MYS SPRINKLE)

The Hangman's Row Enquiry: An Ivy Beasley Mystery / by Ann Purser

86-year-old Ivy Beasley's can sometimes seem a bit pushy and she does have a tendency to meddle in other people's affairs. But she means well and has a good-natured way about her, never totally out of line and just curious mostly with the intent to get to the bottom of things. Long the the most well-known busybody in Round Ringford, where within her circle of spinsters she was generally know as the cleverest as well as the bossiest, Ivy has pulled up the stakes and relocated to an assisted living home near her cousin Dierdre's house in village of Barrington. But no change of pace or altered lifestyle can limit Ivy's gregarious nature, or keep her from another mystery in which a local woman named Miriam Blake has been found dead nearby at Hangman's Row, stabbed in the heart with a bread knife.

.

Teaming up with Gus, another newcomer to the same nursing home and once a neighbor of the dead woman, Ivy immediately starts in on the sleuthing soon discovering that the corpse in question was worth a deceptively large amount of money. Miriam Blake's wealth didn't win the victim too many friends, however, as she'd remained a bit of a recluse of late, harrowed by people who wanted her money including her own daughter with whom a nasty feud was still simmering. With the police seemingly preoccupied with pinning the crime on the victim's daughter, Ivy suspects there's more than meets the eye and that more secrets that are yet to be uncovered. Together with Gus and Dierdre--the group having officially formed an private detective service called "Enquire Within"--Ivy steadily pieces together the discontiguous parts of the mystery, soon leading to a discovery which will shock her neighbors and everyone else in this quiety English country town.
.
Purser's first novel in the Ivy Beasley series is a good spin-off from her Lois Meade mysteries in which Ivy was a subordinate character yet popular with readers for her autocratic personality which slyly concealed a crafty investigative prowess. 'Hangman's Row' is no doubt as formulaic as it gets in the cozy mystery realm with police procedure barely incorporated into the narrative and circumstances a little too convenient for practical realism. But Purser knows how to keep an audience satisfied and writes in a manner which will prevent many readers from complaining about continuity issues. Her style of short, manageable chapters with succinct get-the-point-across paragraphs helps to establish the characters, build relationships and maintain a steady level of drama. (MYS PURSER)

Touch-Me-Not: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery / by Cynthia Riggs

In Martha's Vineyard, a knitting circle meets weekly at the local library to work on a quilt, the project part of an awareness campaign on global warming. Things aren't so pleasant though when a series of anonymous crank calls begins to target select group members. Not knowing what to do, and with the personal threats growing more menacing, the group calls upon writer and village sleuth Victoria Trumbull--92 years young and still sharp as a tack--to help investigate. As it turns out, the messages--some of them directed at Victoria's granddaughter Elizabeth--may be connected to a current missing persons case. Around the same time the calls began, local tradesman Jerry Sparks stopped being seen around town. His family and friends have lost touch with him and there's no evidence to suggest he may have gone on a trip.

.

Even with enough energy to confront the mystery head on, and meanwhile continue to write poetry, perfect her patented specialty foods, and assist Police Chief Casey O'Neill with other matters, Victoria recognizes her need for help and summons her daughter Amelia (Elizabeth's mother) from California to help monitor things. When a dead body suddenly turns up, Victoria and the gals know they have a very dangerous situation on their hands. It will take all of Victoria's cunning and crafty sleuthing skills to get to the bottom of this yarn, and, at the same time, keep everyone around her from freaking out.

.

Cynthia Riggs is a thirteenth-generation resident of Martha's Vineyard. Within her home which dates back to the 1700's, she operates a bed-and-breakfast catering mostly to artists and writers. But don't categorize this cozy author too quickly as a grounded domestic, she's followed quite an extraordinary path. It's a life which includes travel writing for National Geographic and The Smithsonian, doing geological surveying in Antarctica, attaining a Coast Guard Master's License, owning a Ferry service and working as a rigging specialist in the shipyards of Chesapeake Bay. This latest mystery in the fascinating Victoria Trumbull series demonstrates why so many readers have grown to love Riggs' heroine, one very special woman indeed. (MYS RIGGS)