Palmer, Stuart - The Puzzle of the Red Stallion (1935)

On the downgrade, The Puzzle of the Red Stallion (1935) is awful. The best part of this book is Chapter 7, in which Hildegarde gets arrested, and in which there is some good Dr. Thorndyke like detective work concerning pipes. The dream sequence in Chapter 4 is also inventive. The faithful but dreary film version of this book is also the poorest of the Withers films.

Mike Grost

Waspish, wealthy Violet Feverel takes her horse Siwash out to ride in the early morning from Thwaite's stables; but going through Central Park she is killed. Hildegarde Withers appears on the scene a few minutes later and is able to point out a few missing clues. Paired with Inspector Oscar Piper, she solves the conjoined mysteries of this and a second, later, death in upstate New York.

The story is fairly clued but I found it hard to keep track of the male characters, none of whom appeared to have much personality. The motive for the first murder, when it appeared, seemed particularly thin; and the murder methods veered perilously close to farce. Not a satisfying book.

Jon.