Friday Forgotten (or Overlooked) Book: DESTINATION UNKNOWN aka SO MANY STEPS TO DEATH (1954) by Agatha Christie

When in doubt, reach for a Christie - words to live by. A quick re-read and all's right with the world again - at least for the moment. (This post is a re-working of a review I did several years ago of a book I never get tired of re-reading, especially when I'm in need of escaping to a more comfortable, more familiar world. And boy, these days do I ever need that.)

Destination Unknown (aka So Many Steps to Death) by Agatha Christie is a stand-alone published in 1954 - the book doesn't feature Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot nor any of the other Christie sleuths. In fact, for the most part this is a thriller though it also has, as a major plot surprise, an element of whodunit thrown in for good measure at the end. Christie was often tricky like that.

Probably not as well known as the titles in the Poirot and Marple canons, but I think this is in many ways, one of Christie's more comforting bests, even if the oh-so-improbable plot requires a larger than average suspension of disbelief. It is in my view, perfect escapist entertainment. The story begins with a sad woman on the verge of suicide and ends with her a heroine no longer sad. Through an extraordinary set of circumstances, she has found the strength to survive.

Hilary Craven is a young, typically subdued British woman who has lost her beloved child to illness and her husband to ennui. As an escape she gets on a plane to Paris, a runaway who discovers almost immediately that you cannot run away from yourself - wherever you are, there you are. Seeing no point to the emptiness of her life, she plans a nice, quite out-of-the-way suicide - wouldn't want to bother anyone back home in England. Christie was not being especially subtle when she named her heroine Craven. Though, in truth, her character's motivation is easy enough to understand.

This quest for oblivion is deduced at a conveniently opportune moment by a shady character named Jessop (of the intelligence service), who picks up on Hilary's intention with no more than an experienced hunch, To watch him reel her into his grand scheme of impersonation (it's her flaming red hair, you see) is a Christie, fairy-tale delight. (Yeah, this is definitely a candidate for my Fairy Tale Crime sub-genre which would also include THE MAN IN THE BROWN SUIT and THEY CAME TO BAGHDAD, both also by Christie.)

As she is lining up some pills, Jessop stealthily breaks into Hilary's hotel room and upsets her immediate plans:

"...You're not interested in life, you don't want to live any longer, you more or less welcome the idea of death?"

"Yes."

"Good," said Jessop, cheerfully. "So now we know where we are. Let's go on to the next step. Has it got to be sleeping pills?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I've already told you that they're not as romantic as they sound. Throwing yourself off a building isn't too nice, either. You don't always die at once. And the same applies to falling under a train. What I'm getting at is that there are other ways."

"I don't understand what you mean."

"I'm suggesting another method. Rather a sporting method, really. There's some excitement in it, too. I'll be fair with you. There's just a hundred to one chance that you mightn't die. But I don't believe under the circumstances, that you'd really object by that time."

The gist of the plot: several top-notch scientists have disappeared from their various corners of the world and no one knows where they are - not their governments, families, closest friends or fellow workers. Because of the delicate nature of their scientific specialties, government agencies are naturally concerned. The suspicion is that these learned men and women have gone over to the other side, slipped away behind the Iron Curtain - it was that time in history. If so, there's not much to be done, but if there should be another explanation then...

When Olive Betterton, a young, trim red-headed English woman suspected of being on her way to wherever her husband Tom - a nuclear physicist - is hiding, is badly hurt in a plane crash on the very plane that Hilary Craven would have been on had not the weather forced her connecting flight to detour away from the airport, well then, you kind of know where this is headed. Olive Betterton is pulled barely alive from the wreckage and taken to hospital where all she knows (IF she knows) about Tom Betterton's mysterious disappearance will die with her, unless...

Well, this is an Agatha Christie plot, so you have to expect surprises on top of surprises and boy do you get them here. Such an outlandish plot, but I go along with it every time I re-read the book. I mean, why not? It couldn't happen now, but it could have happened once upon a time...

Hilary Craven is quickly remade into Olive Betterton and sent on her way to join a bunch of disparate travelers, any one of which may or may not be an unknown contact, touring Morocco and other exotic locales. When contact is at last made, it comes in the least expected way and Hillary almost blows it.

Then the circuitous adventure begins. Hillary and certain traveling companions are led away from civilization towards 'a new world.' Their destination? A sinister Utopian society hidden away where no one would ever think of looking. 

Terrific book if you're stricken with the doldrums and feel like a strangely comforting tale of spies, murder, travel, an incredible secret hideout, a cold-hearted villain and last, but not least, a bit of romance and a whodunit twist.

Since it's Friday, don't forget to check in at author Patricia Abbott's blog, Pattinase, to see what other forgotten or overlooked books other bloggers are talking about today.

Monday Book Review: DRACULA (1897) by Bram Stoker

I had honestly thought I'd read this before but just didn't remember doing so. But - turns out I hadn't read it at all. Surprise.

I have a Modern Library Classic trade paperback, an imprint of Random House, with an introduction by novelist Peter Straub (who goes on and on about the sexual aspects of Stoker's story just in case the reader hadn't noticed). I always read Introductions after I've finished the book. Works out better for me that way.

This edition has an excellent explanatory notes section since some of the words, phrases and destinations used by Stoker - familiar then, not so much now - need defining.

My reading of DRACULA also qualifies as an entry in the VICTORIAN CLASSICS READING CHALLENGE.

I'm probably happy I read this now and not when I was younger and more easily impressionable. There are many disturbing images in this novel of good vs. evil which would probably have bothered me then. I'm older now and have lived through some horrific 20th and 21st century turmoil - there's not much that shocks me any more.

Still, after just a few pages into Stoker's masterpiece, I'd slipped away into the 19th century and found myself in the dark and very inhospitable outer reaches of Transylvania, in a dank and gloomy castle perched on a precipice. I'd traveled there with Jonathan Harker who's gullibility and devotion to his lawyerly duties almost bring him to a very nasty end in the first third of the book.

At first glance, Harker is a devoted but not an especially bright chap, nonetheless, you can't help liking him. We get to know him from the pages of his journal in which the early sections of the story are revealed. Later in Stoker's novel, the plot expands with the help of other characters' journals, diaries, newspaper articles and notes. This is a thoroughly clever way of telling the story. Journals have immediacy and Stoker very smartly makes sure we're almost instantly caught up in the story, no matter our initial hesitation.

Harker, in his job as a solicitor, is traveling to Transylvania to visit with a nobleman named Count Dracula. He is on a legal business errand having to do with the Count's recent purchase of an estate in England, details of which must he handled in person.

The deeper Harker travels into the strangely picturesque countryside, the uneasier he becomes as he is met along the way by fewer and fewer people and those he interacts with, once they learn where he's headed, warn him against continuing his journey. And why is it that the sign of the cross is made every time Harker mentions Dracula's name?  Surely these are just the notions of the deeply superstitious, so evident in rural backwaters where myth and legend are handed down as gospel from one generation to the next.

In the dark of gloomy night, on a winding wooded mountain road with nary any habitation in sight, the public coach on which Harker is traveling is met at a crossroads by a private one, driven by a curious looking gentleman sent to take Harker to Dracula's castle. Harker hesitates. The other travelers and the coachman are reluctant to hand him over. They make warning noises and give Harker pregnant looks.

But the wily coachman who's come to pick up Harker will not take no for an answer and Harker is soon on his way up the mountain to Dracula's castle as the public coach speeds away, the coachman urging the frenzied horses on in a fury.

When nearer the castle, Harker's coach is suddenly surrounded by wolves and the coachman stops their approach with a wave of his arms, Harker realizes he's not in Kansas anymore. Things are happening for which he has no explanation.

The dark atmospherics as set up by Bram Stoker, are perfectly on pitch. What gloomy desolation!

On Harker's arrival at the castle, Dracula must first ask him if he wants to enter of his free will (it's the way of the vampire) and when an exhausted and frightened Harker says yes, we want to grab him and drag him back. Dracula appears welcoming and 'normal' - at first - this is much eerier than if he'd begun his approach with fangs and bloodletting.

Though his strange appearance as described in the journal would definitely give anyone pause.

His face was a strong - very strong - aquiline, with high bridge of the thin nose and peculiarly arched nostrils; with lofty domed forehead, and hair growing scantily round the temples but profusely elsewhere. His eyebrows were very massive, almost meeting over the nose, and with bushy hair that seemed to curl in its own profusion. The mouth, so far as I could see it under the heavy moustache, was fixed and rather cruel-looking, with peculiarly sharp sharp white teeth; these protruded over the lips, whose remarkable ruddiness showed astonishing vitality in a man of his years.

For the rest, his ears were pale, and at the tops extremely pointed; the chin was broad and strong, and the cheeks firm though thin. The general effect was one of extraordinary pallor.

Hitherto I had noticed that the backs of his hands s they lay on his knees in the firelight, and they had seemed rather white and fine; but seeing them now close to me, I could not but notice that they were rather coarse - broad, with squat fingers. Strange to say, there were hairs in the centre of the palm. The nails were long and fine, and cut to a sharp point.

As the Count leaned over me and his hands touched me, I could not repress a shudder.....a horrible feeling of nausea came over me, which, do what I would, I could not conceal. The Count, evidently noticing it, drew back; and with a grim sort of smile, which showed more than he had yet done his protuberant teeth, sat himself down again on his own side of the fireplace.

Yeah, that would have sent me screaming out one of the windows.

Later when Harker comes to the realization that he is a prisoner in the castle - all exits are either locked or non-existent - he is mystified and helpless to do much about it except sit and go nuts. When Dracula keeps extending Harker's visit, sending notes to Harker's fiance Mina Murray, back in England, telling her Harker will soon return, the young solicitor understands that the Count has some deep, nefarious purpose of his own.

The writing in Harker's journal becomes more and more agitated as he believes he's going mad with fright. And let me tell you, there is much in that dark castle to be scared of, the howling of wolves in the night don't help much either. Nor do the three or four boxes of dirt hidden away in the basement.

At first I thought, oh well, this guy is done for. There doesn't seem to be much he can do to help himself out of this fix. But I didn't count on Harker having ingenuity. And though he is frightened almost out of his skull - he still manages to dig deep and show gumption and courage in the face of what looks like insurmountable odds.

I can say no more except that despite familiarity with the movie versions and such, if the first third of this novel doesn't grab you and keep you reading late into the night (as it did me), then you are not ready for prime time story-telling. And I insist once again in saying that I am NOT a reader of horror or even of monster stories. But I am definitely a reader of well-told tales.

As the desperate Harker continues his dark adventure in Transylvania, trapped in the castle, scribbling in his journal, we have also been shown pages from his fiance, Mina's, journal while she worries about Jonathan and spends time with her friend Lucy Wenstenra. We're also privy to the jottings of a Dr. Seward who - wait for it - runs the local lunatic asylum next door to the estate that Dracula is in the process of purchasing with Harker's help. Seward is also one of three suitors (Lord Godalming and the dashing American  Quincey Morris being the other two) for the hand of the beautiful and doomed Lucy Westenra.

Note: On top of the many duties at the asylum, Seward is dealing with an especially vexing patient named Renfield. The plot thickens.

Count Dracula eventually sets sail for England, traveling below deck in a wooden box full of Transylvanian earth.. The ship arrives on the coast after weeks at sea, in a cloud of mysterious fog - no humans left on board except the dead body of the Captain lashed to the wheel. A huge dog or wolf is seen to leap ashore from the ship and disappear into the night. We learn of the ill-fated ship's travails from a newspaper article and the Captain's journal.

You may be wondering when Van Helsing, the vampire hunter, enters into the mix but you won't have long to wait. He happens to be an old friend of Dr. Seward's and has been called in from the continent, (he lives in Holland) to help with Lucy Westnera's mysterious wasting away disease.

The large bat flapping its wings at the window should have been the first clue.

It is Van Helsing's job in the story to be the bearer of incredible vampire facts AND to be the leader of this small group of believers as they work together, racing against time, to bring an end to Dracula's English sojourn and save Madame Mina from Lucy Westenra's tragic fate.

What a vile creature this vampire is. There's nothing whatsoever attractive about him, nothing to set a teenager's heart pounding. He is a true monster, a plague from hell whose destruction must be complete.

Knowing that, I read through the last third of the book at a gallop, wanting to know what happens next and what happens next and...

DRACULA is perfect for October reading. If you've never read it, even if you've seen the film(s) don't delay, get a copy and settle in on a chilly night with a nice cup of tea by your side.

illustration by the one and only Edward Gorey.

Vintage Mystery Challenge: Four Nero Wolfe Short Story Collections

I re-read these stories over the last couple of weeks during lunch and/or dinner. Nero Wolfe makes for great meal time companionship if you enjoy reading at meals.  I do. Since mine are paperbacks, the books are easy enough to hold and maneuver - unless you're eating finger food, in which case oh well, try and prop the book up someway or other. Nero Wolfe is worth the trouble.

Though I've already finished my challenge requisites for the Vintage Mystery Challenge hosted by Bev at MY READER'S BLOCK (and was very nicely awarded a Dorothy Sayers book by Bev, for my trouble), I'm still reading and rereading vintage when and where the time is right. Suffice to say, the time is usually never wrong. Though Bev, John and Les usually put me in the shade when it comes to reading vintage. Still, I muddle through. HA!

Don't forget to check out Bev's blog to see what the other Challenge participants have been up to.

Four Short Story Collections:

NOT QUITE DEAD ENOUGH (1944) - two novellas.

TROUBLE IN TRIPLICATE (1949) - three short stories

CURTAINS FOR THREE (1950) - three short stories

AND FOUR TO GO (1958) - four short stories

Stout wrote other story collections of course, but these are the four most recently re-read by yours truly.

AND FOUR TO GO

Contents:

Christmas Party
Easter Parade
Fourth of July Picnic
Murder Is No Joke

Four mysteries, three set during three separate holidays. Most appropriate this time out was Fourth of July Picnic in which Wolfe is actually persuaded to go to a labor organization picnic and give a speech. Of course murder follows Wolfe and Archie wherever they go and this time it's no different.

This collection also has the classic story, Christmas Party, in which Wolfe disguises himself as Santa to spy on Archie when he suspects Archie may be about to get married.(!?). In truth, the whole Santa idea is rather appalling, but Stout makes it work. Hilariously. Think of it as a satirical swipe at his own creation.

CURTAINS FOR THREE

Contents:

The Gun With Wings
Bullet For One
Disguise For Murder

One of the stories, Disguise For Murder concerns a strangler in disguise, this time most emphatically NOT Nero Wolfe. Though the killer does manage to pull the wool over Archie's and our eyes. Wolfe, though, is onto the killer's identity, improbably as it may seem, almost from the very beginning. Well, that's what a genius is for.

This is one of two stories (there may be a third fled from memory) in which I can remember a murder occurring in Wolfe's office. Oh, the ignominy! This time during an ill-advised garden party tour of the orchids on the roof.

Another story in this collection, Bullet For One, also concerns a disguise. This time a disguise and a horse and murder on a canter in Central Park. Oh, and a chase near the end involving NYC's finest mounted police and Archie on foot.

TROUBLE IN TRIPLICATE

Contents:

Before I Die
Help Wanted, Male
Instead of Evidence

Wolfe and Archie are at odds (wouldn't be the first time) in Before I Die and Wolfe, most likely to spite Archie, but with Wolfe, one never knows - invites Dazy Perrit, criminal kingpin into the brownstone and actually takes on a case for him. After the end of WWII, meat shortages have rendered Wolfe grumpier than ever and black market meat may be the actual raison d'etre behind Wolfe's intent. Archie, rightly perturbed, suspects this is the case that may get them both killed and dumped in the river.

Help Wanted, Male is only the second story I remember in which Wolfe hires a man to impersonate him. The other more famous example is in THE DOORBELL RANG (1965) one of Stout's most brilliant books. In that novel, the impostor has to fool the FBI, but in this short story, the imposter's job is to hang around the office and wait to get killed.

NOT QUITE DEAD ENOUGH

Content:

Not Quite Dead Enough
Booby Trap

Both these novellas take place during WWII. Archie has, of course, enlisted, but to his chagrin, is being kept state-side to work the intelligence angle and help manage Nero Wolfe when Wolfe is called to work for Army Intelligence. In this first story, Archie is actually sent back to the brownstone to request Wolfe's help on an urgent Army matter. Once Archie enters the old brownstone, his home and place of employment for many years, he gets the shock of his life.

In their own inimitable and totally preposterous fashion, Wolfe and Fritz are preparing themselves to go fight the Germans.

I was thinking that if you're not that familiar with Wolfe and Archie and I know there are several of you out there, then these short stories might get you into the fold - might be a good way to introduce the few stragglers who haven't yet made Wolfe's acquaintance. No time like the present.

For a complete list of all the Nero Wolfe books by Rex Stout, please check the best website for this sort of thing, fantasticfiction.com.

10 Interesting Things About Rex Stout - link here  He really did have a very intriguing life.

Friday's Forgotten Books: Episode of the Wandering Knife (1943) by Mary Roberts Rinehart

This is my entry in the Friday's Forgotten Mysteries meme usually hosted by Patti Abbott at her blog, PATTINASE. Doing the hosting duties this week is Todd Mason at his blog, SWEET FREEDOM while Patti takes a well-deserved break. She'll be back at her post next week.

EPISODE OF THE WANDERING KNIFE is a relatively short novel - just 128 pages in my current library edition. I zipped right through it, couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I've read several Rinehart books lately (I'm sort of on a reading binge with her) and this, surprisingly, has turned out to be one of her best. I'd never heard of it before so I came to it with a blank slate. Except that I knew I was going to get a 'murder with manners' tale probably taking place among the well to do. And sure enough I did. But what a tale!

EPISODE OF THE WANDERING KNIFE is full of suspense and a terrific 'what happens next' rhythm which I loved. Rinehart is so good at this kind of pacing. I wish more mystery writers today had this knack, by the way.

Since we only have 128 pages, things have to happen at a relatively fast clip and they do. First we have a big party (the mayor in attendance) thrown at the mansion of Mrs. Shephard, a society type with high society attitude. Within a couple of pages, the party is over and a murder has occurred in the house next door where her son lives. Larry Shephard staggers in with the news that his wife, Isabel (who had not attended the party) has been stabbed to death.

Mrs. Shephard runs right over to see what's what and the cops are called. The cops arrive quickly enough but the murder weapon, the knife in the title, has disappeared. The heroine of the piece, Judy Shephard is also in attendance, keeping an eye on her mom who is prone to volatile behavior. We're also introduced to Anthony King who first appears to be a member of the police but then evolves into some sort of mysterious agent eager to find the murderer while driving Judy nuts with his exasperating behavior. We know, right off the bat, that despite his odd behavior (and possibly because), Tony King is the romantic lead. Rinehart usually has one up her sleeve.

To protect her son Larry (the obvious suspect) from being arrested for the murder of his wife, Mrs. Shephard has spirited the knife from the crime scene under the noses of the cops. She goes next door and hides the knife in her toilet tank. As good a place as any I suppose. Then she collapses, prostrated on her bed - though she is not the collapsing type - assuming the cops won't cross her bedroom's threshold if she is lying in bed in shock. Ah, mother love.

There aren't many servants left in the house since the story takes place during WWII, when most able-bodied men and women were needed for fighting or war work of some sort. But Mrs. Shephard does have a couple of servants in residence as well as a secretary, the hard working Alma, driven to distraction by the comings and goings between the two houses, the intrusion of the police and the increasing hysteria of her employer. Judy Shephard herself has caught the hysteria bug once she learns that her mother has absconded with vital evidence from the crime scene. But when the knife first disappears then keeps reappearing, no one can blame her if she acts a bit on edge. Especially when Don Sutton, a man Judy has had a crush on for years begins acting suspiciously. What a mess.

Long story short: Within the next day or so, a cop who was on duty the night of the party and the murder, is found dead. Then a woman who'd shown up at the mansion wanting to speak to the Shephards is killed. Meanwhile, the knife keeps showing up, kind of like a corpse that won't go away. Three people are dead and nobody but the killer knows why. Then the story of a baby born inconveniently years ago is revealed.

This is one fine Rinehart novel. A terrific way to spend a few hours when you're in the mood for a murderous tale which will keep you guessing until the very end. It's interesting that in such a short period of time, Rinehart still manages to make the characters and scene so vivid and suspenseful. What happens next has rarely been more fun.

Monday Review: THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE (1908) by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Well, I'm glad to find myself back online. I had computer problems today but, all's well that ends well. My internet provider walked me through some hair-raising mumbo-jumbo and here I am. Now all I need is a martini and all would be perfect. Ha!

I brought home a bunch of Mary Roberts Rinehart books last Tuesday (a secret trip I didn't tell you about - or did I?). Didn't say much because I wasn't sure if I was going to be reviewing one or two of them or not. But I was so taken with THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE, that I thought I'd write about it today for my Monday Book Review AND also as an entry in the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge. Link here to read more about the Challenge being hosted by Bev at MY READING BLOCK.

THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE is Rinehart's first book and all I can say is, wow! - what a terrific debut. It set the stage for the writing of the rest of her stories featuring similar circumstances with similar characters for the rest of her life. But in this case, instead of familiarity breeding contempt, it bred affection. Talent can make the most mundane things appear new and fresh every time. Formulaic, but never dull or uninteresting and always mysterious and bristling with suspense.

(I also read another of her books, THE WALL (1938), which I enjoyed very much, but won't be reviewing. Though I did post a few words about it yesterday. All I can say is, you won't go wrong picking this one up as well.)

In THE CIRCULAR STAIRCASE, we meet the first of Rinehart's women of a certain class who will become, in time, a staple of her stories over her long writing life.

This is the story of how a middle-aged spinster lost her mind, deserted her domestic gods in the city, took a furnished house for the summer out of town, and found herself involved in one of those mysterious crimes that keep our newspapers and detective agencies happy and prosperous.

Rachel Innes, a woman of a certain age and a city-dweller, has decided, at the urging of her two grown wards, Halsey and Gertrude (her brother's children), to rent a house in the country. The house, called Sunnyside, is a huge white elephant much bigger than they need, but set in nice surroundings near a lake. Just for a change of pace, Rachel decides to go ahead. The house in question belongs to Paul Armstrong, a bank president currently traveling in California for his health with his wife and doctor.

Soon, Rachel and her companion/servant, Liddy (prone to drama and hysteria), are on their way to Sunnyside. Rachel - looking forward to it. Liddy - reluctant and rightly predicting disaster.

Almost from the very first there are strange stirrings and sounds and things that go bump in the night. From a very eerie beginning - Rinehart is adept at setting the stage - a corpse soon turns up. Rinehart wastes no time.

Earlier, Gertrude and Halsey had brought a friend, Jack Bailey, over to visit. It is apparent that Gertrude is very fond of Jack and this is by way of a family introduction to her Aunt Rachel.

Very late that same night there is a disturbance in the house and a body is found at the bottom of the circular staircase. Further it is the body of a man no one in the family appears to know.

When Halsey Innes, goes missing that very night it becomes obvious that his sister Gertrude is covering for him and, of course, the police are suspicious. There has never been a murder in the small town and the cops are stepping all over themselves to make sure they get it right. But since the summer people are the staple of the town's economy, they have to move cautiously.

Rachel too knows that Gertrude is hiding something, but cannot get the girl to talk. In the meantime, the strange noises and stirrings continue in the house at night.

Within the next couple of days, the town's bank closes and most of the townspeople as well as Gertrude and Halsey are in danger of losing their savings and investments. Halsey is back home but refusing to say what he was up to the night of his disappearance.

When the dead body found in the house is finally identified as Alan Armstrong, son of the traveling president of the bank, it is obvious the murder and the bank failure are tied in together. Suspicion falls on Jack Bailey, Gertrude's friend, since he is the head cashier at the bank. The cops think he was conniving with Paul Armstrong, the missing bank president.

Jack Bailey is arrested but makes bail and disappears.

News comes from California that bank president Paul Armstrong has died of natural causes. His doctor soon shows up back in town. The widow too is back, urging Rachel to leave Sunnyside so she can move back in and recover from the double shocks.(Though it is known she hates the house.) But Rachel suspects that the house is at the bottom of the mystery and refuses to leave - her lease is up at the end of the summer and she is bound and determined to stay until the murderer is caught.

With everyone suspecting everyone else, and the house refusing to give up its secrets, you can hardly blame Rachel for wanting to stick it out and find out who the murderer is and what the unfathomable motive may be. There are red herrings and twists and turns galore and I, for one, could not stop turning the pages to see what happened next.

One of the main things I love about this book is the way that the house, Sunnyside, is made to seem like another character. Author Rinehart uses her astute powers of description to make the house's presence keenly felt. Despite it's name, the house appears dark and eerie and full of secrets. Especially since the electricity is turned off from the generator in town precisely at midnight and from then on till morning, it's candles or nothing.

Another thing I liked are the couple of b/w illustrations that accompany the story. One is used for the cover (of my edition) and it is quite atmospherically wonderful.

One of the things I disliked about the book is the way that minorities, especially African Americans (which make up part of the servant class in this story) are depicted. But as I read I remembered the times these books were written in and that these were the prevailing attitudes. Still, some of the comments are hard to read. Fortunately, they are few and far between.

The edition I have from the library (a first edition) is 362 pages long, so it's rather a lengthy, involved story. But despite its complexities the main action remains centered on the house and its summer occupants.

Before too long, there is more death, the appearance of a mysterious child, a kidnapping, a night time excursion to the graveyard and another defense of the house in which Rachel is called upon to fire a revolver several times.

What I did over the summer has never been more entertaining or more mysterious.