CLASSIC CRIME
A DEATH IN REMBRANDT SQUARE
by Anja de Jager (Constable £8.99)
A fatal hit and run in central Amsterdam threatens to upend the police career of detective Lotte Meerman. It was she who, 15 years earlier, had nailed the dead man for murder.
Now, new evidence appears to show that he was wrongly convicted. Moreover, his death may not have been accidental.
Such is Anja de Jager’s skill as a story teller, it is impossible not to share the agonies Lotte goes through as she struggles to find the truth while matching wits with an investigative journalist intent on proving police incompetence. As a bonus, the plot captures the feel of Amsterdam, city of canals and bicycles, without the usual travelogue of famous sights.
On her fourth appearance in print, Lotte is entirely convincing as a dedicated policewoman under pressure from both sides of the law while somehow keeping a grip on her private life.
IT WALKS BY NIGHT
by John Dickson Carr (British Library £8.99)
John Dickson Carr was just 23 when he wrote the book that introduced readers to the locked-room mystery.
The style is melodramatic and, at times, over-elaborate with more than a casual nod of acknowledgement to the horror stories of Edgar Allan Poe.
But the potent combination of mystery and macabre is irresistible.
Set in high society Paris, the challenge for detective Henri Bencolin is to expose the killer of the Duc de Saligny. Since the means was decapitation, suicide is ruled out. How then, did the perpetrator enter and escape from a heavily guarded room?
When the novel was first published in 1930, the third part of the narrative came with a paper seal that had to be cut to continue the story. Anyone who could resist reading on had their money returned. Few took up the offer and there will be fewer now who will willingly forgo the denouement of a genuine classic.
THE ALLINGHAM MINIBUS
by Margery Allingham (Agora Books £8.99)
Fans of Margery Allingham’s classic mysteries featuring her cerebral sleuth, Albert Campion, will find a different side to her work in this short story collection.
While Campion makes two brief appearances, the best of the rest are tales of crime and the supernatural. Detection is a minor element.
In this sceptical age it is hard to make ghostly appearances part of a convincing plot.
But such is the Allingham skill in creating plots where the incredible is more than likely, we are easily persuaded to defy cynicism.
The opening story gives a fair idea of what to expect. Having disposed of a companion for financial gain and with no chance of being caught, the murderer is beset by letters from friends who claim to have met the victim.
The mounting sense of menace, brilliantly conveyed, sets the mood for the rest of the book.