The Affair of the Mutilated Mink Coat

Second in Anderson's series of affectionate parodies of the classic 1930s country house murder mystery. I thought this one was better constructed than the first, with enough there to make it possible to deduce who the killer was if you were paying attention. I did work out who the killer probably was fairly early on, but not his motive, which is very cleverly hidden. I missed some of the clues and was distracted by some of the red herrings, so wasn't certain until close to the end. The Earl of Burford has discovered the joys of the talkies, and is having a wonderful time being a starstruck fan. So wonderful that he can't believe his luck when a Hollywood film producer wants to hire Alderley as a setting for his latest film, starring the Earl's favourite actor. Naturally, the producer wishes to assess the building and grounds for practicality first, and to encourage the Earl to agree asks if he can bring his star along as well. Thus starts a weekend house party which snowballs, continually acquiring invited and uninvited guests until the house is full of people -- many of whom are not quite what they seem on the surface. And when one of them ends up shot dead in the middle of the night, Inspector Wilkins has a job on his hands untangling the many motives which have brought the characters to Alderley. Great fun to read, with some appealing characters. I'm being more ruthless about getting rid of books now, and this one isn't a keeper for me, but it was well worth the time spent reading it.

This is a charming and amusing mystery evoking the era of the old black and white British movies. It takes place in England during the 1930's and the Earl of Burford is hosting another zany, house party. The Earl of Burford is very house proud, or in this case country estate proud, so he is thrilled when he finds out someone wants to film a talking picture at his country estate starring one of his favorite movie heros. His wife, the Countess, isn't thrilled at all and on top of the film stars and film crew, she now has a long-lost cousin who arrives at the same time as the film people. Before long the country estate is overflowing with invited and uninvited guests. Then, inevitably, the house party leads to a murder, and Scotland Yard comes to solve the crime. This is the second Inspector Willkins case, and there are also some additional characters from James L. Anderson's first hilarious "The Affair of the Bloodstained Egg Cosy". Merryweather, the imperturbable family butler, Ins. Wilkins of the Westshire constabulary, Geraldine, the beautiful daughter of the Earl are all there to delight the reader. My advice: unplug the phone, lock the door, and delve into this wonderful British caper.

The Case of the Mutilated Mink is a marvelous mystery that perfectly evokes the ambiance of the classic English country house mystery and at the same time spoofs it (with affectionate Wimsey, I mean wimsy). My only regret is that Mr. Anderson's corpus is not larger. I hope he's just getting warmed up!

Dear Mr. Anderson, Please, sir, if we all ask very nicely, might you be persuaded to write more of these books? As with the Bloodstained Egg Cosy, this was pure delight, and I am sure I am not alone in wishing for more, more -- more!! Once again, Lord Burford and his stately home, Alderly play a major role, this time because of the Earl's love for movies. He is especially fond of Rex Ransom, one of the talkies' first cowboy/action stars, and blithely offers Alderly as the setting for a proposed new movie about the English Civil War. The Countess is not quite so certain about all this, but would never bespeak her husband. Further, it provides their daughter, Lady Geraldine, the opportunity to invite her two most amorous, and possibly serious suitors, the Olympian track star, Paul Carter, and the rather Bohemian painter, Hugh Quartus, to come stay for a week or so. The producer of the film company, Cyrus Haggermeir, is delighted at the prospect of such a visit, even if he does have to put up with the writer of the original screenplay, Arlington Gilbert. And here, he'd thought he could re-write at will. Then, of course, there are secretaries (the sly Maude Fry) involved, as well. And finally, a long-lost cousin of the Countess, Cecily Bradsaw (as was), now Everard, and her current husband, Sebastian, recently from Australia. Well now, isn't this an interesting mix? And it is, too, but it gets far more interesting with the advent of the famous Italian actress, Laura Lorenzo, who has come to Alderly from London, because of a telegram she received from Cyrus-who doesn't recall having sent it. And finally, we have Miss Dove, Jemima, that is, who has been engaged to catalog the library, but gets her dates mixed up and arrives a week earlier than expected. A blizzard, an auto that runs out of petrol, a stolen motorcycle (carefully separated from the side-car first, however), and a local talent show all combine to produce a murder. Thus we have not only the delightful Inspector Wilkins and his trusty Sergeant Leather to investigate, but -- (fanfare, please!) St. John Allgood of the Yard. One of the Three Great A's, the other two being John Appleby and Roderick Alleyn, no less! Allgood is rather full of himself, and needs to be taken down a peg or so, and in spite of himself, Wilkins is just the man for the job. One after the other, Allgood makes a case for each of the inhabitants as first murderer, only to have the case crumble around him. Surprises tumble all over each other, presenting laughs galore before the final, final dénouement. Hardly anyone is quite who or what they seem, and my best advice is to not only read the book, but be sure to pay special attention to the prologue. Marvelous. More! More!

Takes place in England during the 1930's. It's the 2nd novel in the Inspector Wilkins series. The Earl of Burford has stars in his eyes when he finds out someone wants to film a talking picture at his country estate starring one of his favorite swash buckler heroes. His wife isn't thrilled at all and now a long-lost relative is arriving at the same time as the star and soon their home is inundated with invited and uninvited guests. Here we go again a house party that leads to the same extra curricular activities as the last one. But this time Inspector Wilkins boss wants Scotland Yard to help out. The author as in his last title The Affair of the Bloodstained Egg Cozy just as masterfully weaves this mystery. I found myself following the leads closely to see if I could figure out whodunit before the end of the book, but I couldn't. I am honest in saying both Inspector Wilkins novels will go on my favorite mystery list.