The Murders in Volume 2 [Paperback]

Elizabeth Daly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2005

“New York at its most charming” (New York Times) is the setting for Volume 2, first published in 1941. One hundred years earlier, a beautiful guest had disappeared from the wealthy Vauregard household, along with the second volume in a set of the collected works of Byron. Improbably enough, both guest and book seem to have reappeared, with neither having aged a day. The elderly Mr. Vauregard is inclined to believe the young woman’s story of having vacationed on an astral plane. But his dubious niece calls in Henry Gamadge, gentleman-sleuth, expert in rare books, and sufficiently well bred – it is hoped -- to avoid distressing the Vauregard sensibilities. As Gamadge soon discovers, sensibilities abound chez Vauregard, where the household includes an aging actress with ties to a spiritualist sect and a shy beauty with a shady, crippled fiancé. As always in this charming series, Gamadge comes up trumps, but only after careful study of the other players’ cards.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Henry Gamadge may now be counted among that choice company of the best fiction sleuths." --New York Times

About the Author

Reportedly Agatha Christie's favorite mystery writer, Ms. Daly won an Edgar Award in 1961 for lifetime achievement in mystery fiction.

Product Details

• Paperback: 238 pages
• Publisher: Felony & Mayhem Press (June 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933397012
• ISBN-13: 978-1933397016
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #595,297 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great on Gamadge, Good as mystery, November 26, 2010

By 

Lazy reviewer (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Murders in Volume 2 (Paperback)

Elizabeth Daly's sleuth is the amateur detective and professional expert on texts Henry Gamadge. She supposedly was Agatha Christie's favorite author, and frankly is a better writer than Christie. She does better characterizations, plot development, and depiction of her cultural milieu--upper-class American culture around 1940. Her mysteries are not quite as imaginative [or Byzantine, to put it another way], and they often come down to about two real suspects [though it's usually hard to tell why the murders are committed]. But Gamadge's powers of inference are amazing.

In this book, the key thing is that Gamadge meets his future wife. If you like to follow the lives of mystery series heroes, this one is very good. Otherwise, the mystery is more transparent than most of hers, but is still above average and worth reading. Daly deserves to be much better known. Her mysteries are not really dated, since they display their cultural context in a way that's timelessly revealing--it's like reading Jane Austen.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining golden age mystery, October 31, 2008

By 

Ron "[e-mail]" (Whidbey Island, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Murders in Volume 2 (Paperback)

Daly's amateur detective Henry Gamadge is hired by a once-great, now not-so-much, New York family to save them from what they think is a plot to divest them of their inheritance.

As always, Daly's writing is easy to follow, and this plot is very interesting, with a hint of something unnatural going on behind the scenes (not quite supernatural, but vaguely so.) The book also introduces us and Henry to his future bride, Clara.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great New Felony and Mayhem Mystery, November 8, 2009

By 

Carol Bell (AL USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Murders in Volume 2 (Paperback)

This detective novel is written by one of the few American authors of the Golden Age -- Elizabeth Daly. I am very glad to see it in a fine paperback edition. It is indeed worth buying!