The Hunger and the Howling of Killian Lone by Will Storr

For long, I believed that the brave fought the war till the end, even if they knew that it was a losing one and one not really worth winning. Then I realised, it needed greater courage to realise that you are fighting a losing war or a war not worth it and walk out of it. Killian had been victim all his life, abused at home and bullied outside. When his dream of working with his idol celebrated chef Max Mann comes true, it is not long before he realises that he is working in a nightmare kitchen. Max doesn't shout, no doesn't shout at all. He just makes the lives of his kitchen staff miserable. Why didn't somebody tell Killian it is okay not to be a victim and walk out of the whole thing? Killian is the underdog, 'turnspit dog' as he calls himself, we all root for. We want him to walk out of it, we also want him to teach Max Mann a lesson. 

While reading the book I was thinking, this can't be, Max Mann is a celebrated chef why would he do such a thing. These guys are adults, this is not the way adults behave. Then this is not really that impossible, we do hear horror stories of bullying all the time especially when one has unlimited power over his/her domain. Kitchen is Max's domain, he does what he wants with his staff. Nobody can fight against it, if they do, they are finished.

The successful could be mean or bad-mannered, but we give them the respect they deserve as long as they made it through hard work. We don't really like people who take shortcuts to success, all those who make it big with no hardwork or long hours. When Killian tries a shortcut to success, we don't grudge him, we want him to prove to the Max Mann's of the world that it is not okay to torture others. They are your apprentices, not somebody you can 'feed shit', (that's exactly what Max does). But from the beginning we realise that Killian is messed up and there will be no happy ending. We are like Mr.Mayle, Killian's teacher and Mentor, who wants the talented often victimized Killian to prove to the world that he can do it. But at moments like when he insults Mr. Mayle in the Kitchen when he presents the Saucier Award to him, we realise that Killian will not turn out to be the hero we would look up to. The herbs the Killian uses are just a way to change the balance of scales to show us what Killian is capable of.

This is a horror story with magical herbs in a hidden garden, with a touch of supernatural with a fly hovering over most of the book and the kind of things we see in the climax of a horror movie. But this is also the story of horror of how ambition makes a talented and nice man into a monster, how somebody who fights for the oppressed becomes the oppressor. A gripping story of horror kitchens!

Disclaimer: I received a free ebook in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own. 

The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes

“The Avenger was not a ghost; he was a living man with some kind of hiding-place where he was known, and where he spent his time between his awful crimes.”

“however nomad he may be in his habit; must have some habitat where his ways are known to at least one person. Now the person who knows the terrible secret is evidently withholding information in expectation of a reward, or maybe because, being an accessory after the fact, he or she is now afraid of the consequences. My suggestion, Sir, is that the Home Secretary promise a free pardon. The more so that only thus can this miscreant be brought to justice. Unless he was caught red-handed in the act, it will be exceedingly difficult to trace the crime committed to any individual, for English law looks very askance at circumstantial evidence.”

Jack the Ripper had killed at least five women in the East End. How did he escape notice? He has to live somewhere, and with all the blood on his hands and clothes somebody should have noticed something, also going out at strange hours in bad weather, should have made somebody suspect something. So why didn't the person who noticed come out with the truth? Is it greed for reward, money, or fear of being the accessary to murders, or fear of the Ripper himself? What is it that stopping these persons from talking up? Could it be something as inane as misplaced loyalty? Marie Belloc Lowndes has used this as the premise for her psychological suspense and changed the Ripper to Avenger. 

The Buntings are literally starving, and then they find a Lodger, who makes them possible to eat and live. The Lodger is eccentric, doesn't like anybody except Mrs Bunting to wait upon him,  Then there are murders in the East End. Could a Gentleman living in the West End be responsible for the horrible murders in the East End? The Lodger keeps strange hours, sneaks off into the small hours of the morning in fog. He reads and quotes from Bible, about women who should be punished. If you are starving to death, would you put the man who made it possible for you to eat again go to his death? What if he were murderer, somebody killing women every fortnight? But he looks so gentle, eccentric yes, bit touched upon the head perhaps, and he has taken harbour with you. Will you betray somebody who placed faith on you? I mean yes he is eccentric, but do you know for sure? If you did, what would you do? There are fears and suspicion and sometimes you just know even if you don't want to acknowledge to yourself. And Mrs. Bunting knows. There is the young policeman who is friendly to Bunting who drops in giving them latest developments in the murders. Then Mr.Bunting's daughter comes to stay with them creating a tense atmosphere. What is going to happen now? 

Mrs. Bunting is not one to betray. But she knows only the killer, the victims are just a name. If she knew the victim, realise that they are human beings too not just names, will her stand change? Interesting psychological suspense. 

The Middle Temple Murder by J S Fletcher

Spargo, sub-editor of Watchman, returning home after the papers have gone to the press at 2 in the early morning, spots news near Middle Temple lane when he finds policemen there. A porter had reported that he found a man lying dead in one of the entrances to the lane. There was nothing on the man that could lead to his identification.

They find a scrap of paper with a barrister's address on it. But the barrister is not aware of any such man. So who was he? Why was he murdered? Who murdered him? Spargo plays an active role in the investigation. He uses his influence of as a journalists to get the case solved.

With the help of the cap, the dead man was wearing, they trace him. It is a complicated and confusing case involving embezzlement, impersonation, hidden identities, invaluable stamps, hidden leather box and a twenty-one year old case.

I didn't guess the killer or the reason. There were many twists that I hadn't anticipated. Interesting mystery that got me glued from start to finish. I liked this book much much better than The Charing Cross Mystery by J S Fletcher. The Middle Temple Murder published in 1919 is available as a free ebook from many websites including Gutenberg and Amazon.

The Silent House in Pimlico by Fergus Hume

In London, No:13 Geneva Square, Pimlico, is reputed to be haunted and left untenanted for a long while with frequent sightings of a light flitting from window to window. Because of its loneliness, and grimness, it is called the Silent House.

When finally there is a new tenant in the house. He hardly interacts with anybody and stays confined all the time. On a foggy November night, Lucian Denzil, a briefless barrister, living in Geneva Square, has a strange encounter on the streets with Mark Berwin, the tenant of the Silent House. Berwin is drunk and lost and rambles on about the ghosts of his folly. Denzil helps him find home.

There are rumours of strange happenings in No.13. Nobody visits the home by the front door which looks like the only entrance to the house but two or three shadows are visible on the sitting-room blind. What is happening at the silent house? After a few nights, Denzil witness two shadows, of a man and woman violently arguing in the Silent House and Berwin is not inside the house. Who are these shadows and how did they get in?

Is it a surprise when Berwin is found stabbed to heart in his home the next morning? There is only one entrance to the house and it is locked from inside. How did anybody kill Berwin? Who are the shadows? How did they enter the house? Is it the work of the supernatural?

Berwin has a beautiful daughter and how could Denzil resist temptation. He tries to unravel the mystery. One clue leads to another which leads to another and so and on. It has more a feel of adventure. Suspicion moves from one suspect to another. Denzil establishes a case against one and finds them innocent and moves on to the next. The story is quite complicated. I read two Hume this year. They almost follow a similar pattern. I didn't guess the killer. Couldn't help wondering about the not so thorough work of the police. If it is not for Denzil, who is workless and infatuated with Berwin's daughter, this case would never be solved. An interesting locked room mystery published in 1907 that has a haunted house, a scheming woman, impersonation, romance, drug-addiction and insanity. Available as a free ebook at Gutenberg.

The Big Bow Mystery by Israel Zangwill

The Big Bow Mystery by Israel Zangwill published in 1892 is considered to be the first locked room mystery.

Mrs.Drabdump of Bow, London, is not able to wake her lodger Arthur Constant. Her shouting and rattling at the door is not answered. Mrs.Drabdump fears the worst and runs across the street to ex- detective Grodman. They break the door. Arthur Constant is found dead in his room. All the doors and windows are locked so how did any one gain entry and kill him. So is it suicide? If it is suicide, where is the weapon? If he was murdered who killed him and how? Edward Wimp of Scotland Yard investigates the case. The rivalry between Wimp and Grodman is interesting.

Speculation in the newspapers and the Coroner's inquest are funny. I liked Zangwill's humour and his characters especially Peter Crowl, 'the plain Man' without any fads and Denzil Cantercot, the dreamer and the poet. There is a conversation on Beautiful and Truth which can be irritating to some but it is funny. The preface where Zangwill describes how he developed the story is interesting.

Spoiler:


There is only one possible logical solution to a locked room mystery. (Of course there are many illogical and fantastic solutions.) I guessed it. Did you?

The book can be downloaded for free from Gutenberg. So what are you waiting for?