Two novellas and four short stories plucked from the repertoire of mystery writer Margaret Millar have been compiled into this volume edited by Tom Nolan.
Millar is not as well remembered today as is her husband, Kenneth Millar, who wrote the Lew Archer mysteries under the pseudonym Ross Macdonald.
But Margaret Millar actually launched her writing career before her husband did, and in many ways her works may boast more literary merit in terms of style and absence of formulaic structure.
“Mind over Murder,” the first and longest story in the volume, is reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s writing style because it assembles diverse individuals in an isolated spot at the time of a murder, or murders.
Dr. Paul Prye, a psychoanalyst, is the investigator in many of Millar’s mysteries and he is the main character in “Mind over Murder.” Prye has accompanied a psychiatrist friend and several patients to a small island in Lake Huron, where they are to relax and presumably receive treatment for ailments ranging from hypochondria to delusional behavior.
And of course, shortly after they arrive, someone is murdered. Doctors and patients are stranded on the isolated island without a telephone or other means of communication, and the boat that delivered them is not scheduled to return for a couple of days.
Millar has peopled her plot with colorful characters. Among them are an overly cheerful couple, a nervous young woman with what one reviewer called hormonal difficulties, an attractive young man with “issues,” and a man who promptly locks himself in the icehouse in search of solitude. That’s in addition to the hypochondriac, a vulnerable psychiatric nurse and a host of others.
“Last Day in Lisbon” is more spy thriller than murder mystery and, by modern standards, would be considered somewhat mild and romantic. Set in the early days of World War II, this novella describes the adventures of a young American singer who has been working in Europe and now wants desperately to get back home to safety.
The other four stories are more psychological and mystic than typical mysteries.
In one story an undertaker has a strange gift, another describes a middle-aged educator devoted to a wild bluejay and the title story tells of an oddly devoted couple.
One story leads a couple and young daughter into what at first appears to be an adversarial relationship with a family living across the canyon.
The Canadian-born Millar was a winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1956 and the Crime Writers of Canada’s Derrick Murdoch Award in 1986. She was a former president of the Mystery Writers of America, which in 1983 named her an MWA Grand Master.
Millar was 79 when she died in 1994. Her husband, who had Alzheimer’s disease, died in 1983. Ross Macdonald’s last book was published in 1976.
The lengthy introduction contains copious notes about the Millars, reviews and critiques of their writings and comments by both writers. In fact, it may be more than the average reader needs. One must wait until page 57 to dig into the first story.
“The Couple Next Door” is part of The Lost Classics Series published by Crippen & Landau, a Norfolk, Va.-based company working hard to preserve the writings of significant authors of the past century.
Florence Gilkeson may be reached at florence@thepilot.com.
