THE ABOLITION OF DEATH
UK publication: 1974 (Constable)
US publication: 1975 (Walker)
Detective: Mikael Josef Petros
Plot summary and comments:
THE AFFAIR OF THE BLOOD-STAINED EGG COSY
UK publication: 1975 (Constable)
US publication: 1977 (McKay), 1979 (Avon); republished 1998 (Poisoned
Pen Press)
Detective: Inspector Wilkins
Plot summary and comments: One of the two parodies of the classic 1930s English murder mystery among a country house party.
THE ALPHA LIST
UK publication: 1972 (Constable)
US publication: 1973 (Walker)
Detective:
Plot summary and comments: Now republished as an e-book from Virtual Publications.
ANGEL OF DEATH
UK publication: 1978 (Constable)
US publication: 1989 (Doubleday Crime Club)
Detective: Alec Webster
Plot summary and comments: Webster is an ex-detective (he resigned out of frustration with the system) who is hired by a millionaire tycoon (George Roussos--modeled on Aristotle Onassis) to protect his daughter from a possible kidnapping attempt. Most of the book takes place on Roussos's yacht during a Caribbean cruise; the passenger list is a blithe roundup of the most diverse possible characters, stereotypically caricatured. As in the Christie story 'Ten Little Indians', the boat's isolation means that as worrying incidents start to happen, it must be one of the passengers who is responsible. The suspense builds when it appears that half the characters may have been given a slow-acting poison, but no one knows which have been poisoned. The plotting is careful and tight, leading to a fine climax that will surprise most readers, but the aftermath is long and wordy, and the characters are rather cardboard-like.
APPEARANCE OF EVIL
UK publication: 1977 (Constable)
US publication: None
Detective: Matthew Greenwood
Plot summary and comments: Matthew Greenwood, the hero and unlikely detective of this thriller, is an American, a small-town librarian somewhere in New Mexico. Decades previously, as a struggling graduate student, he had been employed by the family of a famous senator, and while there he was party to several suspicious incidents involving the senator's son, whom he has believed ever since to be a calculating criminal and possibly a Communist spy. As the action begins, Matthew discovers that this same son (Victor Feverstone), now a successful and charismatic politician, is about to become governor of a western state. Matthew, who is the only living witness to the old events, becomes obsessed with the need to prevent Feverstone from assuming power, which at first takes the form of attempting to prove Feverstone's guilt as a spy and murderer. Eventually, believing that lives are at stake, he quits his job and follows Feverstone to England, where the thriller suddenly takes a serious turn, with the requisite amount of mayhem, kidnapping, car chases, and, yes, murder. But few people are who they appear to be, and Matthew has rather more enthusiasm than good sense, so it takes some fancy footwork on Anderson's part to bring about the successful ending. There is some characterization of Matthew and his wife, and some clever plot devices, but as literature the book still resembles a screenplay, with most of the writing in the form of dialogue (a standard Anderson practice). When Anderson reaches for deeper psychological ground, it doesn't always work: it isn't clear, for example, why Matthew is so obsessed with the crime in the past, and references to Christian ideas of guilt and atonement feel a little forced.
ASSASSIN
UK publication: 1969 (Constable)
US publication: 1971 (Simon and Schuster)
Detective: Mikael Josef Petros
Plot summary and comments:
ASSAULT AND MATRIMONY
UK publication: 1980 (Muller)
US publication: 1981 (Doubleday Crime Club)
Detective:
Plot summary and comments:
ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE
UK publication: None
US publication: 1988 (Doubleday Crime Club)
Detective: Roger Matthews and others
Plot summary and comments: At the outset a young model (Linda Matthews) is strangled in her apartment in the southern English town of Fermouth, and Stephen Grant, a local businessman, is in custody as a result of witness testimony. It soon becomes clear that Stephen was having an affair with Linda, but both Stephen's wife Alison and Roger Matthews, the brother of the murdered woman and an off-duty detective, believe him to be innocent of the murder, and they separately try various schemes to get at the truth, alongside the official efforts of the local police department, led by Chief Inspector Bidwell. The reader knows very little of the characters concerned at the beginning, and more and more of their connections and pasts is revealed as the story goes on; the suspicions of the police change dramatically with each new bit of evidence. The plot is tight and well-constructed, with a twist in the tail; characterizations are relatively flat.
THE AFFAIR OF THE MUTILATED MINK COAT
Alternate title: THE AFFAIR OF THE MUTILATED MINK (in US reprint)
UK publication: 1983 (Avon)
US publication: 1981 (Avon); republished 1998 (Poisoned Pen
Press)
Detective: Inspector Wilkins
Plot summary and comments: A sequel to The Affair of the Blood-Stained Egg Cosy, and also a 1930s mystery parody. Set in the same country house with many of the same characters.
THE AFFAIR OF THE THIRTY-NINE CUFFLINKS
US publication: 2003 (Poisoned Pen Press); paperback 2005
Detective: Inspector Wilkins
Plot summary and comments: A second sequel to The Affair of the Blood-Stained Egg Cosy. Set in the same country house with many of the same characters; as before, it is an affectionate send-up of the Golden Age detective conventions.
AURIOL
UK publication: 1982 (F. Muller)
Detective: none
Plot summary and comments: More of a thriller than a mystery, it concerns 20-year-old Auriol Hunter, who has dreams in which she foresees terrible disasters. From Anderson's website: "As [the forecasts] are fulfilled she becomes a national celebrity. Terrified by her dreams and resenting the publicity, Auriol withdraws more and more into herself" before she "experiences the most horrifying dream of all." Anderson comments that this book is one of his personal favorites, but virtually disappeared after publication due to inept promotion.
MURDER, SHE WROTE #1: THE MURDER OF SHERLOCK
HOLMES
UK publication: 1985 (Star)
US publication: 1985 (Avon)
Detective: Jessica Fletcher
Plot summary and comments: A novelization of two episodes of the CBS-TV series Murder, She Wrote. Set in Fletcher's town in Maine.
MURDER, SHE WROTE #2: HOORAY FOR HOMICIDE
UK publication: 1985 (Star)
US publication: 1985 (Avon)
Detective: Jessica Fletcher
Plot summary and comments: A novelization of two episodes of the CBS-TV series Murder, She Wrote: "Hooray for Homicide" and "Deadly Lady". While the two are presented between the same covers, there is practically nothing linking the two plotlines. In the first half, a rich tycoon (Stephen Earl) is reported lost at sea while sailing with his grown daughters, but his corpse eventually turns up with a bullet hole in it. After helping Sheriff Tupper trap the killer, Jessica Fletcher leaves Maine for Los Angeles, where one of her novels is about to be filmed. The producer (Jerry Lydecker) is destroying her work, but he is murdered before she can convince him to change the script. Soon she is ferreting out the murderer at the request of the ever-helpful LAPD. The plotting and characters, dictated by the TV scripts, are as pedestrian and one-dimensional as most television fare.
MURDER, SHE WROTE #3: LOVERS AND OTHER
KILLERS
UK publication: 1986 (Star)
US publication: 1986 (Avon)
Detective: Jessica Fletcher
Plot summary and comments: A novelization of two episodes from the CBS-TV series Murder, She Wrote. Set in Kentucky and Seattle, respectively.