Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine November/December 2019 Vol. 154 Nos, 5 \u0026 6 Whole Nos. 938 \u0026 939 by Janet Hutchings

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine November/December 2019 Vol. 154 Nos, 5 \u0026 6 Whole Nos. 938 \u0026 939 Reviews

• 
  John Loyd

  2 • A Little Happy Hunting • 17 pages by Charlene Harris
  Very Good. Anne DeWitt is out hunting and witnesses a fight. She wants to keep a low profile so she doesn't interfere. It turns into a murder. Three weeks later she "discovers" the body and reports it to the police. At the victim's funeral she learns who the murderer is and the probable motive. It's too late to come forward, besides if the guy is left alone he isn't going to murder again. If he's left alone.
  
  19 • The Breakfast Club • 10 pages by David Dean
  Good. Pulver, his young wife and good looking employee are at breakfast when Father .. goes over and inadvertently refers to the two young people as being married. This doesn't set well with the Pulverizer.
  
  29 • The Island • 7 pages by Elizabeth Zelvin
  Good. Luce and Jase land on the private island of a recluse who is known to chase off strangers. But Jase has asthma and is in dire need of medical attention. Will he help? Will Jase survive? Did they really just happen to come to the island? Maybe they want a juicy story.
  
  36 • Stray Dogs • 12 pages by Matt Coleman
  VG/Good. True crime writer Ellis Masur is contacted by Bertie to look into the decades old unsolved murder of her sister. Bonnie went to Coney's that night and was found near there. Ellis starts by finding and talking to some of the patrons of Coney's. Which leads to talking with a waitress.
  
  49 • Death and the Donkeys • 8 pages by Amy Myers
  OK. Nell is trying to enjoy a day at the beach. In the morning there is an argument between the carousel owner and other vendors. In the afternoon there is a big ruckus when the dog chases after the donkeys. Just a few minutes later Harold is found dead.
  
  57 • The Beige Skirt • 2 pages by Joseph Goodrich
  OK+. POV character is interrupted while having a bagel in the break room. Put down the knife.
  
  59 • None of this is on the Map • 11 pages by Richie Narvaez
  Good. Eulogio gets some supplemental PI work. A councilwoman wants him to track down her husband. The daughter and business partner tell him that Ish may have a very good reason to be in hiding.
  
  73 • The Chess Room • 11 pages by Elizabeth Elwood
  VG/Good. Jacob Russell is an apparent suicide in a locked room mystery. His son David was upset that the maid Chloe was getting close to the old man. Clever plot, but it felt out of character.
  
  84 • Three Calendars • 7 pages by Angelique Fawns
  OK+. Betty wakes up every morning searching for her sister. Checking her calendar to see where she looked recently, but poor Elvie died from domestic violence.
  
  91 • The Underground Man • 11 pages by John Lantigua
  Good/VG. Corvo is being blackmailed into helping with a robbery. Willie is hired to stop the jewel thieves from disclosing Corvo's past.
  
  102 • Private War • 14 pages by Roger Torrey
  Fair/OK. PI gets knocked around, there's a girl, loot from a jewel heist, and more criminals. I started reading this and thought it was just like hack writing from the fifties. I found out why. The blurb at the end says it was written in 1934. I don't think this merited a reprint.
  
  116 • The Final Stage • 6 pages by Ingrid Oonincx
  OK. Mr. Li is setting up a murder/suicide because he can't bear to watch his wife decline. She isn't the vibrant young Huong that he married.
  
  122 • The Drawings • 7 pages by A. M. Porter
  Good/OK+. Rosie is raising two children on her own. She didn't want to believe that Brad was cheating on her. Jake is a handful, wandering to the new housing construction behind their home. He makes drawings of things that the equipment has uncovered.
  
  129 • Wrangled • 14 pages by Doug Crandell
  OK. Jeb has had a trouble youth, but he's stayed out of fights for a couple years now. He's living with his grandparents since his parents died. Loralee blames his mother and hasn't taken to Jeb. Vern a little bit. Some cattle have gone missing from the ranch and Jeb knows it's that Dan Morrell to mess with him.
  
  143 • Fiction Addiction • 6 pages by Christine Poulson
  Good/VG. Fran is feeling down when she receives a speeding ticket in the mail. Mostly because her husband will lord it over her. Speaking of her husband he's been acting a bit strange, too. Rosie reassures her about the ticket, saying that since it's her first ticket she can go to a class and she can avoid telling her husband about it. They also talk about their passion, crime fiction.
  
  149 • Fathers-in-Law • 5 pages by Twist Phelan
  Very Good/Good. Aiken and Castelli are reminiscing. Aiken telling how he chauffeured around congressmen. Castelli interjecting snippets that sounded gang related to the reader, but that Aiken didn't quite pick up. e.g. Castelli saying his son died, he was a soldier, Aiken asking if it was in Iraq, no New York when a bar got shot up.
  
  154 • The Dutchy • 24 pages by Doug Allyn
  Very Good. Polly and Angus have a ranch in southern Missouri. The Union and Rebel armies have both taken supplies from them. Gus is hiding the last of his horse herd until the war ends. Now a Union captain is giving Pol a prisoner, but really it's to spy on her. Find Gus and those horses. For now they are in no win circumstances.
  
  178 • That Which We Call Patience • 11 pages by Anna Scotti
  Good+. Marianna Parker is found dead at the bottom of the stairs. It could be an accident, but she willed a large sum of money to the retirement home. The employees also get a bonus, based on length of service. The manager asks Audrey to look into it, because she's only been there a few weeks and isn't getting anything.
• 
  Paul

  Ratings for this issue:
  
  A+ (outstanding):
  
  The Dutchy by Doug Allyn
  
  A (excellent):
  
  A Little Happy Hunting by Charlaine Harris
  Fiction Addiction by Christine Poulson
  Father-in-Law by Twist Phelan
  Private War by Roger Torrey
  On the Road with Manfred B. Lee 'The Most Profound Mysteries' (non-fiction) by Joseph Goodrich
  The Final Stage by Ingrid Oonincx
  
  B (very Good):
  
  The Chess Room by Elizabeth Elwood
  The Underground Man by John Lantiqua
  Wrangled by Doug Crandell
  That Which We Call Patience by Anna Scotti
  Stray Dogs by Matt Coleman
  Three Calenders by Angelique Evans
  The Drawings by A. M. Porter
  
  C (average):
  
  The Island by Elizabeth Zelvin
  The Breakfast Club by David Dean
  Death & the Donkeys by Amy Myers
  The Beige Skirt by Joseph Goodrich
  None of this is on the Map by Richic Narvaez