THE MAN IN BLACK

Nineteen short stories featuring some of the acclaimed British mystery writer's most beloved characters

The collection offers a mix of previously published stories and new work following the adventures of detectives Justice Jones and Harbinder Kaur, magician Max Mephisto, and Griffiths' most famous character, forensic archaeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway. What makes these fictions so delightful is the gentle humor that underlies each narrative and the kinds of mysteries Griffiths explores. Some, like “The Valley of the Queens,” which in its River Nile setting recalls Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile, are classic whodunits. Others, like “The Village Church,” which features the apparitions of a long-dead caretaking couple, verge on the supernatural. Still other stories embed inklings of murder or mystery within stories about characters who, like Galloway, stand apart from the world of criminal investigators. In “Max Mephisto and the Disappearing Act,” for example, a young magician learns the art of making women disappear onstage only to find himself privy to a possible, but uninvestigated and unproven, crime of passion involving his married landlord and a singer. Even those characters who, like Justice Jones and Harbinder Kaur, are more involved with murder investigations are often made to feel like outsiders because of their gender, their ethnicity, or both. Griffiths' narrative playfulness is on full display throughout the book, but especially in the concluding story, in which Ruth meets Harbinder as she investigates curious goings-on in the basement of the same theater where Mephisto made his London debut. Skillfully plotted and deliciously quirky, these stories will appeal not only to Griffiths' many fans but to any reader seeking memorable encounters with unforgettable characters.  

Eclectic and always surprising.