WOLFIRE3

What do you think of the club philosophy?

- It works, doesn't it?

Does it?

- We're all animals! Why deny it?

So you don't believe in suppressing anything? 

- Why would I want to suppress my urges? If your body wants something, it must be natural. 

Well what if you get the natural urge to rip someones throat out, shouldn't they suppress?

"The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery"

Finally got rid of my backlog in review-to-be-written now! Though I cheated a little by postponing writing one review so long I simply don't remember enough of it to write a decent review.

Baron Pierre Benac wanted his name carved in eternity and the easiest way to do that is by having other people doing the hard work. The concept of the Olympique Scientific Internationale held in the French Alps sounded admirable: for one year, the most outstanding scientists in their respective fields of expertise were to live and work together, with each other's presence stimulating their academic work. Mont St. Denis was used to skiing tourists, not so to scientists and academics who kept cooped in their laboratories, but still, the OSI worked. Until the body of one of the scientists was found stuck on a torch, after having his throat torn out. When the police officer in charge of the case is also killed in his office and another scientist barely escapes a second attack by a mysterious, clawed assailant, the baron is forced to call in Professor Niccolo Benedetti, the most famous expert on evil and his associates to save his life project (and while he's at it, the lives of the scientists) in William L. DeAndrea's The Werewolf Murders (1992).

The Werewolf Murders is the second book in the Professor Niccolo Benedetti series, following The HOG Murders and followed by The Manx Murders. I was not very impressed by the professor's appearance in The Manx Murders, but luckily, this second volume is more similar to The HOG Murders, which makes it a lot more entertaining. As always, the eccentric Benedetti is accompanied by his disciple Ron Gentry and his wife, and the three make a good team of three detectives. Ron and his wife basically act as the Archie Goodwin to Benedetti's Nero Wolfe and these series detectives are also joined by the local police and mystery-loving scientists, making The Werewolf Murders a fairly densely inhabitated novel.

The case in The Manx Murders was a bit underwhelming to me: definitely not the case here, with physically brutal murders held in a closed community (the OSI grounds) and a fairly colorful cast all doing their own thing (making the investigation perhaps more complex than realistically should've been). The result is a story that keeps up a good pace right until the very end, something that didn't work really in The Manx Murders, but did in The HOG Murders. In fact, The Werewolf Murders is really a lot like The HOG Murders, from the serial killings in the small community setting to the little problems like too-many-detectives and too-few-suspects.

I thought the puzzle plot a bit more fair in The Werewolf Murders compared to the The HOG Murders though, with better clues (though I still love the deductions surrounding one of the murders in the second half of HOG). The 'big twist' of The Werewolf Murders is a bit easy to guess, though that might be because it's is a very often used trope, especially by Christie (seriously: this is the first time I really thought about it, but she used this gimmick a lot). In The Werewolf Murders, this is done so straightforward I was actually guessing (hoping) it was a trap, but no. There are some other elements that work well with the werewolf theme and overall, The Werewolf Murders is a well-crafted yarn.

Looking back at the series, I think the Professor Niccolo Benedetti series is good, but a bit uneven. The HOG Murders and The Werewolf Murders are incredibly alike, almost like the same tale from different universes. The Manx Murders in comparison is not nearly as captivating as the first two books and is almost so different, it doesn't even feel like it's the same series (save for the same characters appearing).

Now I think about it, I think I've actually read fewer mystery stories featuring fake werewolves than real werewolves. Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within for example had a real werewolf and the werewolves in The Terror of Werewolf Castle...err, they were different werewolves. Even Scooby-Doo! of all things basically featured more real werewolves than fake ones.

Anyway, The Werewolf Murders is an amusing entry in the casefiles of Professor Niccolo Benedetti. It's a bit similar to The HOG Murders in terms of setting though, so I recommend not reading them back to back.

The Cat Who Sang for the Birds

さよならさえ伝えられなくて

それでも僕は今日此処を出てゆくよ

また素敵な誰かに会えるかな

気まぐれで自由な暮らし僕は野良猫

「Nora」（Garnet Crow)

I can't even tell you farewell,

But even so, I'll leave here today

Will I ever meet a wonderful person again?

Whimsical and free, I'm a stray cat

"Nora" (Garnet Crow)

I've been postponing writing this review for weeks. Which isn't that bad a thing, save for the fact that by finally writing this review, I'm postponing a different review for even longer. At this point, I'm not even sure whether I'm going a review on that book anymore, because it's slowly sinking deeper and deeper away in my memories...

Professor Niccolo Benedetti is usually called in with particularly nasty situations that ask for his expertise on human evil, for example with the horrible serial killings chronicled in The HOG Murders. So Ron Gentry, Benedetti's disciple, was a bit surprised to hear the Maestro accepted the request to help mediate between the two Pembroke twins. The feud between Claude (birdwatcher) and Henry (manx cat breeder) has been going on for decades, but their quabble becomes government business when Claude puts out his veto on manufacturing an air-cleaning device the brothers invented: Claude thinks his brother is responsible for an aviaric disappearance from their grounds. Benedetti thinks evil is behind the flight of the birds and his suspicions soon prove to be right when the mediation session becomes a kidnapping case with a deadly result in William L. DeAndrea's The Manx Murders (1994).

Running a blog on fiction does not mean I can actually read and think: that's why I jumped from The HOG Murders to the third novel in the series, The Manx Murders, even though I already have the second book and I'm pretty sure the correct reading order is mentioned somewhere in the books themselves...

Anyway, The Manx Murders is the third time the public is told about the adventures of Professor Niccolo Benedetti, his disciple Ron Gentry and Gentry's wife in their fight against evil. Evil's Benedetti's lifework mind you, and not detecting, he is sure to tell you, which is why he accepted the job even if it's not as big a case as The HOG Murders. In fact, The Manx Murders feels a bit underwhelming most of the time. Disappearing birds? Dead cats? Even when the stakes get higher when one of the twins is kidnapped and bodies (of the not-so-living anymore kind) start to pop up, it's still nothing compared to the terror we experienced with the unknown serial killer in The HOG Murders. Benedetti still does his paintings thing (he starts off painting realistic paintings when he investigates a case, which turn more surrealistic as the investigation continues, turning into subconcious hints), Ron and his wife still have their banter and stuff, but it's like they're stuck in the wrong story, because The Manx Murders is just not a story that would need these characters.

The Manx Murders has a very limited setting, both in terms of cast and location and while that is not a bad thing per se, I wouldn't say these elements were done exceptionally well in The Manx Murders. The length of the book does not allow much room for exciting plot developments or interesting confrontations between characters. Personally, I think the mystery plot would've worked better as a shorter story (with a few trimmings), as the current length of The Manx Murders just isn't optimal: either a longer, or shorter length would've resulted in a better-flowing story, in my opinion.

I lean towards the shorter version because the puzzle plot is a bit simple this time. The murderer is incredibly obvious (especially after the second thing) and while the clue leading to the identity of the murderer is fair and good enough, it's not nearly enough to sustain a whole novel-length story. It'd worked much better in a different type of story I think (I especially think this idea would've fitted perfectly in a Columbo episode, for example).

The Manx Murders is not a bad mystery story. But I do think it'd be a lot better in a different form and maybe even if moved outside the Professor Benedetti series. Ah well, I still have to read The Werewolf Murders, which apparently is a lot closer to The HOG Murders in terms of set-up, so that should be fun.

White Reflection

絶望(かなしみ)も傷痕(いたみ)も振り切るように羽ばたく

 あなたがくれた勇気(つばさ)を　この胸に広げて… 

「White Reflection」 （Two-Mix）

I flap my wings and shake off my sadness and pain

In my heart I spread the wings of courage you have given me...

"White Reflection" (Two-Mix)

Hm, the last books reviewed on the blog are all from the same publisher. And I wrote these three reviews all on the same day.

Matt Cobb is one of the vice-presidents of a television network (simply called The Network) and part of Special Projects: the department responsible for handling troublesome cases that 'normal' departments like Public Relations and Security can't handle. In short, Cobb is The Network's own little single-man A-Team. This time, Cobb joins the negotiation team of The Network with millionaire Gabby Drost, who wants to buy the television network. Anonymous letters suggest that Drost is not a sane man and that it is unwise to do business with him: Cobb is to investigate the case and see if The Network is in any danger. The negotations are held in Drost's mansion, which for convencience's sake is inconveniently located on a mountain which according the Laws of Mystery, is of course visited by a snow storm, cutting the mansion off from the outside world during the negotations. The first night ends rather uneventful (relatively), but the morning brings death: the millionaire host's body is found outside on the rocks, with a field of virgin snow between the mansion and the body. How did the murderer escape from the crime scene without leaving footprints, that is the main question in William L. DeAndrea Killed on the Rocks (1990).

I don't look for them especially, but I'm pretty sure that every year, I read at least one detective story with the no-footprints-in-the-snow scenario. Not that I mind, far from it, but it does show that it is a very popular theme among impossible crime writers and that also means that there's a lot of competition in terms of solutions. The moment you publish a story with an often used trope, you're not just challenging the reader, but also all those who tackled the problem before you, and after you.

Killed on the Rocks' take on the familiar problem is not exceptionally inspiring though. It seems to me that the solution seems rather obvious... I don't mean that in a 'hah, look at how smart I am' way of speaking, but more in the sense of 'but surely that is about the first thing you think, so it has to be a fake solution!'. I genuinely had the final solution as my very first thought when confronted with the crime scene, figuring that would be the most easy and obvious way of pulling of the trick (i.e. if I was a murderer who would have wanted to create such a crime scene, I would have done it like that). Then again, I have read a lot of stories that do a similar thing, so maybe Killed on the Rocks just had the bad luck of having me as a reader. Ignoring the lack of surprise for me, the mystery is a fairly clued and adequately constructed one.

But Killed on the Rocks isn't just the no-footprints-in-the-snow, and there's enough in the book to entertain the reader. I for one quite enjoyed the story overall, because... well: 1) isolated mansion, 2) closed circle, 3) impossible crime, 4) people starting to suspect each other are usually elements that make me a happy little reader and it was no different here. If I had mostly been reading English novels, I might have noted on the fact that it is quite interesting that these classic tropes were still used in 1990, but then again, I am spoiled with the boom in New Orthodox detective novels that started just a few years before in Japan. But certainly doesn't make Killed on the Rocks any less fun and I can recommended this to all readers.

Oh wait, this was the first time I read a Matt Cobb novel, but this is a fairly late one in the series and it actually spoils the identity of the murderers of some of the earlier novels (or they were making really detailed references to an event not featured in the novels, but I don't think so...). I'll probably forget about these details in some weeks or so, knowing my memory, but some people might wanna read the books in order to make sure they don't get spoiled. But as a standalone mystery novel, Killed on the Rocks is great.

This was my second DeAndrea novel and I enjoyed it greatly, even if the impossible crime was kinda easy to solve. The character of Matt Cobb and his work is quite interesting too, so I'll probably try some more books in the series (and hope I'll have forgotten the spoilers by then).

Five Little Pigs

This little piggy went to market, 

 This little piggy stayed home, 

This little piggy had roast beef, 

This little piggy had none, 

And this little piggy cried wee wee wee all the way home 

Seriously, today's book has a pretty bad cover. I know I shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but I think that in day and age, publishers should put some effort in covers. A book isn't just the story inside, it's a physical product, and that includes the cover, so I'd appreciate it if they wouldn't treat cover art as an afterthought.

The winter of Sparta, New York feels even more ruthless this year, as the town is haunted by a mysterious serial killer calling him(her?)self HOG. The murders and the victims all vary: from a highway sign crashing on a car to what at first seemed like a trip of a staircase, from little children to the elderly, nobody is safe. And HOG derives pleasure from taunting the police with Dear Boss-esque letters that show how utterly helpless they are. Private investigator Ron Gentry also becomes part of the hunting troupe and he in turn is asked to contact his mentor, Professor Niccolo Benedetti, the world's most renowned detective. Whimsical (and freeloading) as Benedetti may be, even he feels that there's absolutely evil at work in Sparta and puts his own name at stake to find the serial killer in William L. DeAndrea's The HOG Murders (1979).

Oh, how often I heard people praise DeAndrea's The HOG Murders! I don't have a special interest in serial killer stories to be honest, but still, Queen's Cat of Many Tails is quite good, so there was always the little note in the back of my head, to read The HOG Murders. Of course, too much expectations could work in its disadvantage, so I kept those in reasonable check, and I went in the book with no more knowledge than that 1) this book was about a serial killer and 2) it was supposed to be good. How did it turn out?

Well, it certainly didn't disappoint! This was my first DeAndrea and I want to read more now! The serial murders that form the core mystery are gruesome, terrifying and seem only to shock and awe the reader into accepting The HOG Murders is just a crazy serial killer story, but this is actually a well-clued, absolutely fair orthodox mystery novel. And a good one too. Pick up the hints and turn your head the right way and you can spot HOG in time (I didn't pick up on the hint, but my Gut Instinct and Meta-Knowledge did give me the right person. But that's cheating). The one little problem I have with the solution is that a lot of orthodox mystery stories that feature serial killers kinda revolve around the same concept and The HOG Murders is no different: if you have read other puzzle plot mysteries with serial killers, there's a good chance you have a rough idea what to look for. I guess it's the same for most tropes in the genre, but I haven't seen that much variation in the concept with the serial killer trope, though that may be perfectly be the fault of my skewed reading diet.

There's more to The HOG Murders than just the serial murders though and I in particular liked two parts of the story that I thought feel quite Queenian: first is speculations around what HOG actually means and the wordplay reminds of Queen's dying message stories with many, many possible solutions that what seems a simple word (the 'solution' is presented in a rather arbritrary way though). Second, there's a very strange crime scene around three-quarters in the story, with someone who froze to death. The strangeness of the scene and the way the hints to the solution were laid out (as well as the 'sort' of hints) are classic Queenian stuff and I really loved it.

Not a big fan of the detective Professor Niccolo Benedetti though, but that's more on a character level. The HOG Murders does suffer a bit from a few too many 'detective' figures in the story: I get why DeAndrea went for that and it allows him to keep the momentum by jumping to moments with story developments, but still, it's a bit crowded with a great detective, a private detective, a police inspector, a reporter and a criminal psychologist to follow. It would be bit different if they were rival detectives, but they actually work and quite often move together in little groups.

I have to admit though, I do prefer less open mysteries in general. There's just something more thrilling and enjoyable with murders commited in more intimate circles, rather than an 'everyone in this town can be a victim!' type of plot. Even with a fair play puzzle plot where you can detect the criminal in advance, I can't say that I'm a very big fan of these open mysteries. That said, I still think The HOG Murders is great, but I just don't read that much orthodox mysteries with serial killers.

Anyway, The HOG Murders is a great detective novel that combines the serial killer motif with a puzzle plot in a succesful manner. Recommended reading for everything and I'm definitely going to read of DeAndrea in the near future to see what more surprises he has in store.