THE DEREK SMITH OMNIBUS

One of the reviewers for this anthology ranked it only four stars because they disliked the third book in this omnibus. I have a different take on this. Let's say that I was reviewing an anthology of short stories, but one of those short stories was "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. Every other story in the book was terrible, but it does contain "The Lottery" and furthermore, it was the ONLY book to contain "The Lottery." I would rank that book five stars for the sake of that one masterpiece. (By the way, I wish that I could have read that story BEFORE watching the terrible made-for-TV movie based on it which gave away the shocking ending.) In the same way, I rank this book five stars for the sake of the first book, a forgotten classic "Whistle Up The Devil" even if the other two books that are included---"Come To Paddington Fair" and "Model For Murder" sucked.Well, those other two books---while not as good as "Whistle"---definitely do not suck. This book more than earns its five stars.The first book, "Whistle Up The Devil" was actually published in the 1950's and is highly regarded amongst locked room mystery fans. Sadly, author Derek Smith never had another book published in his lifetime. "Come To Paddington Fair" was privately published in 1997. Another book, "Model For Murder" which was based on the British detective series "Sexton Blake" was unpublished until this edition. Hopefully with this new omnibus, mystery fans will get an appreciation of just how good a writer Derek Smith was, and they should be very grateful to Douglas G. Greene of Crippen and Landru Publishing (to whom Smith left his literary rights) for allowing John Pugmire to publish these three books and a very short story in one volume.The first book, "Whistle Up The Devil" is surprisingly good. Although it was written during the same time period as John Dickson Carr's works, Smith's writing is not nearly as stilted as Carr's. He is also extraordinarily fair. The solutions to the two locked room mysteries are very simple, but the clues are available for the reader to discover. Not only that, but Smith actually POINTS THEM OUT during the story without revealing their significance. What also helps is that Smith does a good job portraying the characters in the book. I recently read "The House That Kills" where they mystery was spoiled because the killer was so obvious because of their behavior. You don't see a slip-up like that in this book, and even if you think you know whodunit (there are a limited number of suspects) Smith will probably have you second-guessing yourself near the end. The only drawback is an absence of any maps, but you don't really need it because the layout is simple and easily described."Come To Paddington Fair" has a big act to follow, and although it still holds up pretty well. The opening of this book is reminiscent of the beginning to Ellery Queen's "The Chinese Orange Mystery" where a shy bank clerk thwarts a robbery and then courts a female co-worker. But the romance is short-lived---soon he is interrogated in prison and we learn that the woman he dated has tricked him into robbing the bank, and then double-crossed him. He's unwilling to give the police more information because he's not looking for a lighter sentence, but rather take vengeance into his own hands. Years later, once he gets out of prison he shoots that same woman---who has now become a West End actress---dead during a live performance. Or has he? If this book isn't quite as good as "Whistle", it's because of a few things. First, this mystery only becomes an impossible crime VERY late into the book, and since that impossibility depends upon one witness, I was not quite sure it was really "impossible." Secondly, this book REALLY needs a map so that the reader can see the geography of the stage, the back dressing rooms, and the audience boxes. Thirdly, there is an annoying mistake which is repeatedly made throughout the book and should have been caught before publication. For some reason, Derek Smith writes "matinee" as "atinée". I don't mind reading the accent mark, but the missing "m" really bugged me. That being said, he is very fair with the clues, and his skill in characterization makes the story much better. Smith does a very good job of setting up red herrings, and then making the reader want to kick themselves for falling for his traps.Finally, there's "Model For Murder" which I liked much better than the other reviewer I mentioned earlier. However, the reader needs to keep two things in mind. First, the "Sexton Blake" series was obviously based on Sherlock Holmes, except set in the present day (1950's). Blake's "Watson" was a younger assistant named "Tinker" but it's hard not to read Sexton Blake and not think of Holmes. I don't think it's a coincidence that the Sexton Blake series stopped published just before Sherlock Holmes fell into the public domain in Great Britain. Anyway, the reader needs to let go of the idea the Blake is a Holmes rip-off, and accept him for what he is. Secondly, I get the impression that the Blake stories were juvenile adventures aimed at young male teenagers. With this in mind, most of this story isn't really a whodunit, but rather an adventure story where a woman gets kidnapped and there is a daring attempt made to rescue her. It's only after this storyline is resolved that Smith returns to the whodunit angle. I had a hard time imagining the precise method which the killer uses to escape the locked room, but once again, Smith is very fair. I also liked how Tinker is shown not to be just a sidekick of Blake's, but an intelligent detective in his own right. It's also regrettable from what we now know today that Derek Smith believed marijuana was as dangerous a drug as cocaine, but this was the 1950's. Once you start reading "Model", it's a very quick read even though it's the longest book in the series. I think it's a worthy addition to the other two.Finally, there's a very brief short story at the end called "An Imperfect Crime." Not really a whodunit but a spooky story with a Twilight Zone twist at the end.I have no illusions that this book will ever outsell the "Harry Potter" series or even the new "Seveneves" book which has just been published, but I hope that readers who consider themselves Golden Age detective story fans will give this book a read because Derek Smith was not only a voracious reader but a damn good writer. It's a shame that he was not able to write even more.

The Derek Smith Omnibus contains 3 novels and a short story.The first novel Whistle Up The Devil was first published in 1953 but has long been out of print and difficult to obtain. We must be thankful to LRI for publishing this remarkable novel and making it accessible to readers.Derek Smith wrote 2 other novels Come To Paddington Fair and Model For Murder, but these were refused by publishers though a very limited number of copies (80 copies) of Come To Paddington Fair was published in Japan in 1997 by Derek Smith's Japanese friends. Hence, these 2 novels are virtually being published for the first time in this volume.The first novel Whistle Up The Devil involves the detective Algy Lawrence, a romantic young person in his 20's. It is a brilliant locked room mystery. I regard it as a masterpiece. A must reading for mystery fans.Roger Querrin, a business man, locks himself in a supposedly haunted room on the ground floor, as part of a ritual, one month before his marriage. The door is locked from inside and the only other entrance to the room, the French windows are bolted from inside. Algy along with Roger's brother Peter keep a watch outside the passage leading to the room, while Sergeant Hardinge keeps watch on the French windows from outside the house. At midnight, a scream is heard and when the locked door is forced open, Roger is found murdered. There is a second locked room murder later.Both the locked room murders have really ingenious and highly satisfying solutions. After reading the novel, the reader is advised to reread it. He will note that all the clues are there and this is definitely a fair play mystery.The novel is unputdownable and the suspense becomes unbearable especially towards the end.The second novel Come To Paddington Fair also involves Algy Lawrence. It is a very clever murder mystery.Chief Inspector Castle receives, anonymously, 2 front row tickets for a matinee performance of a play. Intrigued, he takes Algy along with him. At the play's climax, a stage actress is shot dead in presence of the entire audience. Though there is no locked room stuff here, it may be regarded as an impossible crime mystery. The impossibility of the crime is not apparent during the initial stages when it appears to be an open-and-shut case and the suspect is arrested. However, as the investigation progresses, it seems that no one could have committed the murder !There is a brilliant twist towards the end which will surprise most readers. Like the first novel , this is also suspenseful and a page-turner.The third novel Model For Murder involves the detective Sexton Blake.Linda Martin, a model employed by sculptor Garvary comes to the house of Sexton Blake and states that Garvary had been receiving anonymous threatening letters and he needed help at once. Blake's assistant Tinker goes along with Linda to Garvary's flat. While they are approaching the door , Garvary opens the door but on seeing them he closes it. He does not open the door after that. When the door is opened with a duplicate key, Garvary is found murdered.I regard this novel as mediocre. It is often dull. Though there is a locked room murder, there is no ingenuity in the solution. The several twists, instead of surprising and delighting, only serve to irritate. In my opinion, this novel is not worth reading.Due to the inclusion of the third novel, I give only 4 stars to the entire book; otherwise, I would have given 5 stars.In addition to the three novels, there is an amusing short crime story The Imperfect Crime.

John Pugmire of Locked Room International is doing a great job in translating Locked Room mysteries from other languages, notably French and Japanese, into English. It also produces Locked Room mysteries that has been out of print for a long time like this meaty paperback volume of 621 pages. In fact, two of the books have never been in print before. This volume collects all the books that Derek Howe Smith has written. He was an authority on Locked Room Mystries. The First "Whistle up the Devil" is a real classic. It is one of the best Locked Room mysteries ever written. It is strange that the second book have never been published because it is also a very good story. The third book is a curiosity. It is an unpublished Sexton Blake novel. This was the first Sexton Blake book I have read. The set-up is quite different from Derek Smith's other two books but I liked the Locked Room Puzzle. This volume also contains a short story by Derek Smith, but which is not a LRM. Because it is such a thick book it came apart at a few places. This is mainly due to the way I handle a book when reading it. I fixed it with glue however. I was so impressed with this volume that I also purchased the Kindle edition when it came out. Highly recommended for all fans of Locked Room mysteries!

Scruffy is a highly intelligent Shih Tzu, but solving locked room murders and impossible situuations is somewhat beyond his capabilities. Algy is too one dimensional a character. Sexton Blake was much better even if he was clearly an imitation of Sherlock Holmes. Years ago John Dickson Carr was scheduled at a local MD library, but the Metro bus drivers were on strike after a driver had been murdered by a passenger.

Whistle up the Devil - 4 starsCome to Paddington Fair-4.5 starsModel for Murder- 3 stars.The ingenuity of the plotting in the first two is superb, the third not so good. Overall, the writing does not match this level of excellence. The characterisation is thin and the female characters overdone in their pulchritude. The third story was rather a letdown, as I thought it not difficult to reach the solution-and I am not usually very "on the ball" with locked room mysteries.This was a great find for me. Although the Kindle edition has its drawbacks, and there are lots of typos, it is excellent value, and fans of locked room mysteries should be grateful that these rarities are now readily available.

Si vous aimez le crime impossible, vous acheterez ce livre et vous ne regreterez pas!!!Ce livre est, à mon avis, le meilleur polar publié en 2014.