Book Review: MORE MURDER MOST COZY

Title: More Murder Most Cozy
Editor: Cynthia Manson
Authors: PD James, Agatha Christie, Christianna Brand, Melba Marlett, Henry T Parry, John H Dircks, Ruth Rendell and Elizabeth Goudge
Publisher: Signet
Pages: 260
My GoodReads Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I picked this one up because of Agatha Christie, PD James and Ruth Rendell. I found two new authors worth reading, Henry T Parry and John H Dirckx.

The Boxdale Inheritance by PD James: A canon is unwilling to accept a large inheritance until he can be sure that the step-grandmother that bequeathed it to him did not acquire it through unlawful means.

The Man on The Roof by Christianna Brand: A mean duke is found killed, but the inspector isn’t convinced it is suicide even though the dead man had a history of always threatening to commit suicide.

In this story, it is a woman who upstages the intelligent inspector, as is a trend in cozy mysteries.

The Second Mrs Porter by Melba Marlett: A woman admitted to a hospital believes that the real Mrs Porter is dead and that she has been forced to take her place.

I found the plot this book rather clever at the beginning, but it ended so vaguely that I lost all interest.

The Paintbox Houses by Ruth Rendell: I enjoy her writing, particularly the Wexford series. Her descriptions were a treat and so they were here. But the story itself felt flat as it reached its conclusion.

The Mahogany Wardrobe by John H Dirckx: This was one of the best stories in this book.

The Plumpoint Ladies by Henry T Parry: This one started out very slow, and I almost gave up reading it. But it simmered nicely and really turned up the intensity around the halfway mark.

White Wings by Elizabeth Goudge: Two rich elderly sisters who come upon hard times, and have pity on a vagrant, only to find their precious possessions being stolen from them.

Sanctuary by Agatha Christie: A dying man drags himself into the sanctuary of a church, and says one word, Sanctuary, to the pastor’s wife. She turns out to be the niece of Miss Marple, and she uses her own common sense, along with her aunt’s wonderful deduction skills to learn the truth about the murderer.

All in all, this was quite a good collection and lived up to the promise of being a most cozy read.