The Case of Miss Elliott: The Teahouse Detective is a collection of short stories. All of these are cozy mysteries written by Baroness Orczy (the author of The Scarlet Pimpernel).
Title: The Case of Miss Elliott: The Teahouse Detective
Author: Baroness Orczy
First Published: August 13, 2019
Publisher: Pushkin Press
Categories: Mystery
Acquired: from the publisher via NetGalley
*** Thank you to the publisher, Pushkin Press, for providing me with an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. ***
In the corner of the ABC teashop on Norfolk Street, reporter Polly Burton of the Evening Observer puts aside her morning newspaper and eagerly waits for her mysterious acquaintance to begin. For no matter how ghastly or confounding the crime, or how fiendishly tangled the plot, the Teahouse Detective always seems to solve the mystery without leaving the comfort of his café seat.
What did happen that tragic night to Miss Elliott? Who knows the truth about the stolen Black Diamonds? And what sinister workings are behind the curious disappearance of Count Collini?
I think I may have read some of these stories a long time ago (they were originally published in 1905 so have been available for awhile) but I only have a vague memory of them so this was a good chance to re-read them.
A fun collection of short cozy mysteries
This collection of 12 short mysteries is a great way to spend a reading afternoon. You can read them all in one shot or read them individually whenever you have a bit of time to spare.
Each story in the collection takes the same format: Polly reads about a case in the newspaper that the police aren’t able to solve, and presents it to ‘The Teahouse Detective’ – an old man who sits in the cafe, eating cake and playing with a bit of string. The cases run the gamut of crime – a murder, a theft, a disappearance, and more. The Old Man usually already knows about the case, and tells Polly what the solution (as he believes) is.
The mysteries (and the solution) are well laid out and remind me of Arthur Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie (both of home wrote many short mystery stories). The solutions aren’t always obvious and it’s fun to try and work out the answer before the Old Man lays it out.
The Teahouse Detective
Normally, I would blaze my way through a collection like this, but there are two things that make this book a touch less enjoyable for me.
First, the Teahouse Detective himself. He can sometimes act like a petulant child – playing with his string and having to be coaxed to discuss the cases (Polly is quite patient!) I could forgive this behaviour (Sherlock Holmes isn’t the most sociable person) but it’s the ‘shrieking’ that annoys me. This old man shrieks A LOT. He’s in a small cafe – there’s no need to shriek. And I mean, it’s so repetitive:
- “shrieked the excited creature”
- “he shrieked excitedly”
- “shrieked the funny creature”
I wish Orczy could have come up with a different word because this was so repetitive that it was noticeably annoying.
The other thing that bothered me (and this might be just me) is that there’s no clear resolution to the crimes. The Teahouse Detective enjoys solving the cases to show off his intelligence, but he doesn’t care about assisting the police or seeing justice delivered. So, while he shows us the solution, we never know if anyone ever gets punished for their crimes. It’s a small thing, but it’s just not the way I like my mystery stories to end. It seems like everyone just gets away with their crimes. And that gets tiring after awhile.
Classic, traditional cozy mysteries
Other than those two criticism (which other readers may easily overlook), Orczy is a strong writer and the mysteries are all really well done. There are unique twists in the crimes and they aren’t always so easy to solve. And this is a great collection of cozy mysteries in the classic, traditional style. If you’re a fan of Conan Doyle or Christie, then you will enjoy this collection.
Read The Case of Miss Elliott: The Teahouse Detective for yourself
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You totally had me at short stories. This book looks like a fun read. I will keep it in mind 😊
I love short stories too! I love being able to zip through a few stories in one sitting!
I’ve read the first of the Scarlet Pimpernel books as I enjoyed the television adaptation with Richard E. Grant. I didn’t know she had written some crime short stories though so I’ll definitely check these out. The ABC teashops are something I’m familiar with, too, so it will be interesting to see how they’re portrayed in this collection. A great review!
Thanks Tahnee! I never knew she wrote these either so it was a nice surprise. I’ve never seen the TV adaptation of the Scarlet Pimpernel so I’ll have to try and find it to watch!