The striking cover of this English translation from the late 80s drew me in as soon as I saw it at Barbed Wire Books in Longmont, and the game of the book convinced me. The structure is 10 detective short stories, each one of which breaks one of the 10 detective story “commandments” created by Ronald Arbuthnott Knox, a priest, reader and writer of detective stories in the early 20th century. The introduction tells us he hobnobbed with all the usual suspects real and fictional: He knew Chesterton, who wrote the Father Brown mysteries, and founded “Holmesiana” accidentally by writing an essay as if Holmes was a historical person.
But these stories actually have little to do with Father Knox, besides the ten commandments that serve as rules to the game. At a certain point in each story, a small box notifies the reader that there has been enough information to deduce not only who the murderer was, but which commandment was broken in the story, and “ab-solutions” are found at the end of the book.
Each story is in some way about the nightclub singer and accidental detective, Eve Adam. I was really impressed with the versatility of approaches, which made each story fresh. The last story was a bit of a stretch to be considered breaking its assigned commandment, but I think that was the only way to make it a surprise, since readers who followed the rest of the book know which commandment is left.
I've been missing out on mysteries, and Europe in the 70s, apparently, so I'll be looking for books with more of each in the future. ( )

3 and a half stars.

10 short detective stories in the best Sherlock tradition with Miss Eve Adams a nightclub singer playing Holmes. The really fun parts of the book are the Ten Commandments of Father Knox and discovering which Commandments each story breaks. Father Knox (17 February 1888 - 24 August 1957) was an English theologian, priest and crime writer. He apparently had a decent career in the Church and made contributions to theological literature that were not insignificant. He was friendly with a lot of writers including G.K. Chesterton and perhaps from Chesterton developed a love of crime novels...
He not only read them but wrote them though his novels are not that famous. he did write two theoretical accomplishments that are truly Chesterton in spirit and for these he is mostly remembered.
Knox wrote a humorous essay in which he portrayed Sherlock Holmes as a historical personage which founded the entertaining body of pseudo-science known as Holmesiana, and in 1929 he issued ten commandments that crime writers should follow - at least those writing in the Holmes tradition.

Father Knox's Ten Commandments.
1.The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow.

2. All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.

3. No more than one secret room or passage is allowable. I would add that a secret passage should not be brought in at all unless the action takes place in the kind of house where such devices might be expected.

4.No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific explanation at the end.

5.No Chinaman must figure in the story*

6.No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right.

7.The Detective must not himself commit the crime.

8. The detective must not light on any clues which are not instantly produced for the inspection of the reader.

9. the stupid friend of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal any thoughts which pass through his mind: his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader.

10. Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them.

* this was not a display on the part of the good Father, but simply his reaction to what was one of the most hackneyed ploys of cheap detective stories that he had read during his lifetime .

If you are not sure which commandment is being violated by which story, you can find out by turning to the "ab-solutions" at the end of the book.

I'm not going to tell you the stories that would be spoilers they are short enough as it is..I will say that not only are some of them difficult to solve "who done it", in some cases there are multiple options as to what commandment has been broken. All stories feature the pretty Czech nightclub singer Eve Adam, though the detectives vary as she travels around the world. There is even one story that maths geeks will adore.

I am only sad there were not more stories. In fact I would enjoy a whole novel about Eve's adventures.


bought for $1.50./Salvos ( )

The premise is kind of clever, but the stories, the mysteries, and the new characters not very interesting - perhaps the premise is too clever. Despite the presence of LT Boruvka in two of the stories they and the book do not come close to the The Mournful Deamenor of LT Boruvka and the The End of LT Boruvka. ( )