On the Classic Mysteries podcast this week, you might call it a portrait of the artist as a young...dog? Inspector Knollis had to decipher the secret of Francis Vivian's "The Laughing Dog." 

Classic Mysteries

"The Laughing Dog," by Francis Vivian

A local hero is kidnapped, and a shocking murder is only one of many unexpected results. Investigator Anthony Bathurst uncovers the ugly truths that someone is willing to commit murder to hide.

"The Murders Near Mapleton," by Brian Flynn

A private detective and a small group of survivors from a murderous wedding find themselves trapped with an apparently psychotic killer on a remote island, cut off from the world at large.

"The Case of the Seven Sneezes," by Anthony Boucher

It sounded like the perfect story for a movie - a curse still working after 300 years. A macabre twist to a powerful drama - or simply brutal murder?

"The Condamine Case," by Moray Dalton

Nice to be newlywed. Not so nice to fight a blackmailer. Anne Morice's "Murder in Married Life," reviewed this week on Classic Mysteries.

"Murder in Married Life," by Anne Morice

Clever plotting, pointed dialogue and murder - what more could a reader want?

"Death in the Grand Manor," by Anne Morice.

A car driven by a dead man with a cut throat...a lost gallows on a missing London street...John Dickson Carr's second mystery starring Henri Bencolin, "The Lost Gallows," reviewed:

"The Lost Gallows," by John Dickson Carr

Rabbi Small needed a break in his routine. An international bombing incident wasn't what he had in mind.

"Tuesday the Rabbi Took Off," by Harry Kemelman

Nearly everyone in his family hated Sir Adam Braid. Only the old man's granddaughter loved him - and the old miser was cutting her out of his will. A motive for murder? Or did someone else hate him enough to kill him? "The Case of Sir Adam Braid," A Golden Age classic by Molly Thynne, reviewed.

"The Case of Sir Adam Braid," by Molly Thynne

On the Classic Mysteries podcast this week, Mr. and Mrs. North only want to draw up a new will, but it's their lawyer who gets murdered.

"A Key to Death," by Frances and Richard Lockridge

Newly appointed to Scotland Yard, Bobby Owen finds himself weighing motives, politics and amazing beauty as he hunts for a murderer who might just be an "untouchable" British aristocrat. E.R. Punshon's "Helen Passes By," reviewed.

"Helen Passes By," by E.R. Punshon

Another, earlier pre-Orient-Express train ride for Hercule Poirot comes complete with jewel robberies, blackmail, and murder on a luxury train across France.

"The Mystery of the Blue Train," by Agatha Christie

On the Classic Mysteries blog, Scotland Yard Inspector Macdonald thought he was going on holiday in Vienna. So how did he wind up helping local police investigate some nasty murders? E.C.R. Lorac's "Murder in Vienna," reviewed.

"Murder in Vienna," by E.C.R. Lorac

A grim solution to a grim problem: how to deal with a loathsome blackmailer who may also be a serial killer? For half-a-dozen young Englishmen, the answer appears to be a well-plotted murder, one where it will be impossible to tell who struck the fatal blow. Only things may not always go quite as smoothly as planned.

"The Orange Axe," by Brian Flynn

In Archie Goodwin’s world view, the word that best fits Isabel Kerr is a four-letter word: doxy. The dictionary says, it defines "a woman who is regarded as sexually promiscuous." Only trouble was, Isabel Kerr was dead. Murdered. And – with the police focused on a suspect who is both a friend and sometime colleague of both Archie Goodwin and Nero Wolfe, it was clear that  Wolfe was going to have to get involved in the search for the real killer.

"Death of a Doxy," by Rex Stout

Short reviews of classic mystery novels and stories that are worth reading and re-reading