Book 3 of my 2022 Reading Challenge
Bodies in the Library
3 stars
Bodies in the Library is a short story collection of mysteries. Ten stories are new for this book and sixteen have been previously published (the earliest being Wilkie Collins' "The Haunted Hotel" which was published in 1879).
Just before Christmas my husband and I were doing some last minute shopping at Half-Price Books and the display of the 'Gothic Fantasy' series caught my eye immediately. The covers are amazing and the collection themes are unique. Side note: it was the entire outside of the book that looked great but I don't know what to call it because it's only hardcover so there isn't a 'book jacket' or 'dust flap'...would I call it the binding? The outside? Anyway, the entire book is covered in embossing which adds to the feel of mystery; it looks like the kind of book you'd find in a box in the attic of your deceased aunt.
Before I started the book I made this note: The book is thick and the print is small which would typically be daunting but since they're short stories, I knew I could take it in digestible chunks without worrying about getting lost or missing plot points. However, as I will expand on below, this unfortunately turned out not to be the case.
There were 5 stories that weren't solely contained in this book...the story would end abruptly with a note that said, "the complete and unabridged text is available online at [publisher's website]" so I had to go to the website for the rest of the story. I do not like this for three reasons. First, I think a book should be self-contained and further research (like extras or author interviews) should be optional. Second, I'm not the 'short story' police but I do not think any of these 5 stories would qualify; they weren't printed in their entirety for a reason. In total, these 5 stories were around 1200 pages (222 in book and around 1000 online)! For comparison, the other 21 stories in the book totaled around 250 altogether. Third, when flipping through the online books to get to the place where the story left off I saw diagrams and sketches included that were not in the print version but would've been helpful. I do have other books in these series and looking at the publisher's website, it appears that putting some online is not limited to this volume. Now that I know that I will probably note ahead of time which ones aren't complete and skip them in the print version, either to read completely online or to not read at all.
I like that the stories, whether old or new, generally use actual detective work and following breadcrumbs instead of technology. I rated it 3 stars both because of the online portions and also because while some stories were really great, the ones I didn't enjoy were really really unenjoyable.
I took a few notes as I read each story, included below.
Southern Charms
Wow, that was definitely on the short end of a short story. Quick and to the point, there wasn't much time for suspense but the house and surroundings set the scene right away.
The Haunted Hotel
I can tell it was written a long time ago since a woman was described as "of middle age - say a year or two over thirty", haha.
This was the first story that continued online so it caught me off guard the most. Luckily this was the second story because if it had been the first I would've been very nervous about the rest of the book.
In the Fog
The pages passed quickly. I thought I knew what was happening but I was wrong; it was a good length, entertaining, and had the classic "final twist/last laugh" line that catches the reader off guard one more time.
The Big Steep
Another one where the pages passed quickly. I liked that the main character's abilities gave a little edge when investigating but weren't so powerful that it translated into lazy writing. The combination of her skills and human observation left enough clues that I could follow the general direction it was going even though I was surprised by the details.
The Adventure of the Empty House
This is a Sherlock Holmes story. Doyle throws in a ton of details and information as red herrings so it took some concentration to read. I've discovered I like his short stories more than his novels for this reason.
Actions Louder Than Words
Having the present-day character as a tour guide for the historical home was a good way to convey past information without much introduction or backstory. It was short and sweet and the ending happened before the story got too outlandish.
The Mystery of 31 New Inn
I was interrupted while reading this one and I kept thinking about it before I could get back to it. Similar to the Sherlock Holmes story, there are a lot of details and if I want to keep up with the narrator's assessments, it requires lots of concentration.
This was another one that continued online. I was really enjoying the story up to that point but it took too long to figure out the "twist" we all saw coming and the last 12-15 pages were nothing but a monologue describing how everything came together. It did explain everything but I know there was a shorter way to do it.
Pandora's Book
This story was not like the other ones so far at all. It wasn't really a mystery but a good, creepy, horror story. It was short enough that everything raced as I felt the main character's panic as things spun out of control quickly.
The Mystery of the Hasty Arrow
This was a big nope.
This was another one that continued online. It was too long and turned into a monologue at the end trying to wrap up too many loose ends (way too many mysteries crammed into one).
If it takes pages and pages after the culprit is revealed to explain how it happened, the story wasn't effective.
The Case of the Pool of Blood in the Pastor's Study
It meandered a little in the middle but it was a pretty good length with an unusual method of crime.
The Last of the Perivales
Short and unexpected. It was nice to have the main characters on the same page regarding the belief in supernatural activity and anticipating what was going to happen instead of the reveal happening and the characters looking for an explanation after.
The Mystery of the Steel Room
This one was also a good length and didn't take too long for everything to come together. I like stories that use actual visual detective work and knowledge to solve the crimes.
The Spoils of Sacrilege
It has the old style of "why use one word when twenty will do?" but since he admitted the crime right at the beginning I didn't have to search the words for clues. It was fine, not my favorite but not horrible.
Home Sweet
I want more of that story! It ended with more questions than answers and I'll be thinking about it for awhile. It had a satisfactory arc but it's the first one where I would've been happy to read more of their stories.
Every Day is Thursday
The use of whispers and half-sentences added to the sense of confusion about what was real. It progressed at a good pace and had a good reveal.
The Mystery of the Yellow Room
A "locked room" mystery. This one also aged itself by mentioning how surprising it is someone would be interested in marrying her at the age of 35, haha.
Another one that continued online, this one so long even in just the pages that were printed. This is the first one that I knew ahead of time that it would continue online and it affected how I read it; I stopped and put the book away because I did not have time to invest in that today.
The Inn
Being snowed into a cabin for the winter is a great setting for this kind of story and it was a good length to convey the slow decline and questioning of your sanity. However, the ending didn't give enough any sort of payoff. There were three main plot points and none of them were answered satisfactorily.
The Octagonal Room
That had a surprising but plausible explanation, even if the aftermath didn't play out the way I thought it would (someone is mad enough to kill but then not mad enough to kill the person who knows about it?)
The Warder of the Door
I liked it. It was very unexpected and had a good mix of supernatural and physical elements.
The Book of Futures
It worked since it was very short because the mystery turned out to not be a mystery at all. The characters were very interesting though. I'd read more about their monastery.
The Case of the Expired Wizard
Although this is the first publication of this story the author seems to noted the same things I did about references to age; one of the women was "kept on the shelf until the ripe old age of twenty-five".
This is one of the few I've read that stands as a good story, not just a good mystery. The characters were fleshed out and had reasons for existence beyond moving the mystery along. I liked the banter between the main couple and while this story was a good length, I would read more of their adventures.
Red Roses
This was great! Having it told through the viewpoint of a child added to the mystery since she's not privy to all the adult interactions but there were enough clues dropped through her observations that I had an idea of where it was going even though she didn't.
A Recently Expired Corpse
The story had enough red herrings that I wasn't sure what was going to happen but it wrapped up quickly and satisfactorily. In this story, as well as a few others, I'm always surprised by how quickly people rebound to "business as usual" after a traumatic event (a murder in this case).
The Secret House
I understand the words that are happening but there are too many people being introduced at once to have a firm grasp on what is going on.
The concept of trying to find someone in the Secret House (similar to a funhouse with smoke and mirrors) would be enough without the extra inheritance and missing persons stuff.
This was another one that continued online but it was unusual in that the last half was included in the print version and then the beginning was online. I actually preferred the part that was in print only and found the whole story unnecessary (especially when I already knew what was going to happen).
The Canterville Ghost
That was a great story. It's unusual to feel sympathy for a ghost and the cat-mouse games the humans and the ghost played brought lightness that isn't usually found in a ghost story.
