Two Clues by Erle Stanley Gardner consists of two stories about Sheriff Bill Eldon, a folksy country sheriff who doesn't hold with all that there modern fancy stuff. In both stories, town politicos and the local newspaper editor are out to get him, but they get their comeuppance. The first story, "The Clue of the Runaway Blonde," is fairly decent (2 stars) with some nice scene setting and fairly detailed characterization of the hapless undersheriff. The second story, "The Case of the Hungry Horse," is dominated by caricatures all the way and an overly complex explanation (1 star).

The Chinese Doll by Wilson Tucker is far better. Tucker is better known for his science fiction but this hard-boiled detective story was his first novel and he did several more with the same detective. While the voice and overly-complex plot are typical for the genre, Tucker introduces a few variations. The detective lives and works in a small town in Illinois, a favorite setting for Tucker. When he loses his gun license, he realizes that he really never really used it for anything anyway. The story is told as a series of letters to his fiance, Louise, which means that the narrator can only foreshadow a chapter's worth of events. Tucker was also a major SF fan, so he throws in an interesting but completely unnecessary visit to a Chicago fanzine publisher. The plot depends overmuch on the gullibility of the hero, but was an enjoyable read (2 1/2 stars). ( )