Murder Mayhem

Book 3 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from 12/29 - 1/9

Murder Mayhem

by various authors

Summary (via the book jacket)

A chilling selection of original and classic short stories, packed full of monsters, psychopaths, and high body counts. Tales of death and destruction from such classic authors as H.P. Lovecraft, William Hope Hodgson, Ambrose Bierce, Edgar Allan Poe, Franz Kafka, Bram Stoker, and many more, are cast alongside stories by exciting new hardcore crime writers.

My Opinion

4 stars

I love the art and look of this series so I've picked them up as I see them at Half Price Books and this is the second one I've read.  I was caught off guard by some of the stories continuing online as I read Bodies in the Library last year and wasn't a fan.  Now that I know this is something the series does I decided to look ahead of time so I could mark any stories that weren't complete in this book.  To my pleasant surprise, all of these stories appear to be self-contained and I shouldn't have to go to their website at all.

There are 9 original stories and 36 previously published, the earliest from 1819.

My top 3 stories were Drive Safe, Redux,  and The First Seven Deaths of Mildred Orly.

The Wendigo Goes Home

It's morbid to say but when the character referenced not having "young meat" in awhile since medical advancements have taken away the diseases of the early 1900's, I knew this was written pre-pandemic (which it was - 2016).

The story was short and to the point with an unexpected ending.

The Death of Halpin Frayser

I could tell it was an older story (1891) because it was very wordy and exclamation points followed all the surprises.  Because of the wordiness it felt very dense for a short story and even though it was explained, I didn't fully get what the mystery even was let alone how it was solved.

The Moonlit Road

Before reading: Uh oh, this story is by the same author that wrote the last one.  Will I like this one more?

After reading: Nope.  Still very wordy and while this one was clearer for me, I still wasn't interested.

The Rector of Veilbye

That took a minute to settle into because there were a lot of characters for a short story but once the crime occurred I was invested and did not expect the ending.

Funeral

I love the line, "I don't think he always cared what he said as long as he was the one saying it..."

That story gripped me from beginning to end.

Into the Blue

That was a really good length because I didn't want to spend any more time in the narrator's head and running commentary of jumbled thoughts.

Dr. Hyde, Detective, and the White Pillars Murder

The clues were all laid out in front of the reader and, like the novice detective, I missed them as well.  The nature of the short story meant more things were 'told' than 'shown' but all in all it wasn't bad.  I would read more of Brandon and Weir working together.

The Traveller's Story of a Terribly Strange Bed

When it began with a 'Prologue' I could tell it was going to be on the longer end of a short story.  The pages passed very quickly once the traveller's story began and it was excellent but the prologue explaining how the narrator came to be listening to the story was too wordy and unnecessary.

Who Killed Zebedee?

This story and the one previous were both by Wilkie Collins, an author during the mid-to-late 1800's.  I also remember reading him in Bodies in the Library so I may look him up and see if he has any other writings.

I really liked this story.  Although the concern about virtue would be less, this scenario about a woman scorned could've played out today as well.

The Trial for Murder

The story wasn't bad but it was clear where it was going very early on so I was waiting for everyone to catch up and the ending to be revealed.

The Problem of Dead Wood Hall

That was really long, both for a short story and for the plot.  It took a long time to get where it was going and the payoff wasn't worth it.  

Mr. Happy Head

It was very unsettling inside the narrator's head.  Very creepy.

The Brazilian Cat

Excellent story from start to finish.  It was nice to read a story by Arthur Conan Doyle that didn't have Sherlock Holmes in it.

Nineteen Sixty-Five Ford Falcon

A great story as long as you ignore the coincidences that move the story along.

"Mama Said"

This story had a good start but just as I was finding its rhythm it ended really abruptly.  It was too short.

Six Aspects of Cath Baduma

It was an interesting story but didn't really fit this theme of murder mysteries.  Good premise for more stories though.

The House Among the Laurels

Writing out dialogue in a Scottish accent is hard to follow and I really had to focus.  For example, one sentence was, "Thin, he an' this with him, shtarted in an' mhurdered thim wan an' all as they slep."

The story was fine.  I don't know why all the dogs had to die but I'm glad there was a full explanation of the haunting at the end.

The Thing Invisible

There wasn't a payoff with the story.  The writing was good but it took so much time building up only to sum things up in a few paragraphs (and even if the ending had been longer I didn't like it anyway).

I didn't know the same author wrote this and the previous story until after I'd read both.  I would not have guessed because they had two completely different styles and settings.

Freedom is Not Free

That was a great story.  Although some stretching was done to get all the pertinent info to the police, the twist and ending was unexpected and excellent.

Mademoiselle  de Scuderi

There are so many characters and since they're French each character has 4 or 5 parts to their name which also makes them all sound similar.  Plus it's 38 pages of small print and I was lost by page 3.  No thank you.  I really struggled to finish this one.

How to Build a Mass-Murderer

That was an excellent story.  I didn't know where it was going and I do wonder if there will be a genetic component to predicting serial killers in the future.

I loved the line, "My parents used childbirth as an alternative to marriage counseling..." to describe an unhappy marriage producing many children.

Pigeons from Hell

I didn't notice right away because I was very invested in the story but my husband was watching a show and the spooky music accompanying it really added to my experience.  It was a good length with an unexpected ending.

The Two-Out-Of Three Rule

The bones of the story were good but I couldn't suspend my disbelief that nobody would either notice what was going on with Kyle or be suspicious enough after the fact to not stay in contact with Elaina.

The Well

It was pretty predictable based on the title and the structure but it was still a good story.

In the Penal Colony

This was very clearly a Kafka story.  The last page or so seemed out of place (basically, once they switched locations) but all in all it was visceral and kept my attention.

Getting Shot in the Face Still Stings

This story wasn't bad but I didn't see the point of it.  It felt like it ended just as things were getting started.

The Return of Imray

I feel like I've read that one before (and it's very possible since it's an old one by Rudyard Kipling).  It was fine but the confession happening unprompted and immediately is an easy out for the story.

Less than Katherine

Even though it was clear from the beginning what was going on it was still creepy.

Shared Losses

That was the perfect length with no extra filler.  At first I thought the clerk was the person the narrator was referring to but then I was able to get reoriented and it was a shock.

The Hound

As I was reading I was wondering how the character was able to narrate everything when I assumed he was going to die; having this be a final letter before he gives in to the madness was a good solution.

From Beyond

This had the classic "The End...Or Is It?" final sentence.  There was a lot going on for a short story but it was fine.

Drive Safe

That was gripping.  My favorite so far.

In the Dark

It ended with a whimper instead of a bang but the story itself was good.

The Cask of Amontillado

If I haven't read this story before I've definitely heard of it.  It was a good story but by jumping right in there was no suggestion of his motivation to do such a drastic thing.

The Azure Ring

The title gave away the method but not the person.  It was an interesting story.

Redux

Another top for me.  That story was unlike anything I've read before.  The main character caught on in appropriate increments and she died the perfect number of times (what a weird thing to say) before flipping the script and ending the story.

The First Seven Deaths of Mildred Orly

Incredibly creepy but also sad.  Another top contender.

Markheim

This was confusing.  I understood the basic plot but all the extra dialogue and fighting turned out to be completely unnecessary when he immediately confessed.

The Dualitists

I didn't like that one at all.  It was gruesome just to be gruesome and I don't mind if the culprits escape through some sort of cleverness but this was unjust and ridiculous.

The Burial of the Rats

This story was by the same author as the previous one and I feel similarly about it.  With nothing happening at the end, it seemed unnecessary.  While the story was happening I was interested and it had good action but wrapping it up the way he did made it all for nothing.

Mister Ted

Quick and creepy.  I've seen that concept in movies but I'm not sure I've read it in story form before.  Telling it from the toy's point of view instead of the human's added a different element as well.

Cheese

I was so worried throughout the story and even though I'm not sure why the criminal acted the way he did, I'm really glad it was a happy ending.

Corpses Removed, No Questions Asked

I was along for the ride on the first and second removals but the third and fourth were too much. I either wanted something different to happen or for the story to end sooner.

Following the removal people could be a fun idea for a longer book though.

Lord Arthur Savile's Crime: A Study of Duty

It definitely didn't go the direction I expected.  It was a little long but kept my interest.

Fragments of Me

I really liked that one.