Else Fischer, Testamentet der dræbte (1958)

Stenrige, gamle Henriette Fram har besluttet sig for at ændre sit testamente, men nogen forhindrer hendes plan ved at forære hende en æske chokolader, som smager usædvanlig bittert.

Bonnie Marshall er journalist og har netop interviewet Henriette Fram om de velgørende foretagender, som kan se frem til at modtage legater, men efter dødsfaldet begynder mærkelige ting at ske. Bonnies notater forsvinder, dernæst er det selve artiklen, og på vej hjem fra avisen bliver hun udsat for et mordforsøg.

I begyndelsen er hun vis på, der ikke er nogen i hendes nærmeste familie eller omgangskreds, som vil hende ondt. Hun bor i en stor villa med sin tante, en fætter og kusine. Desuden optræder to trofaste tjenestefolk og et par tilbedere: landsretssagfører Gregers og kriminalreporteren Morten Skov. Bonnie stoler så meget på den lille, lukkede kreds af mistænkte, at hun underdriver begivenhederne for politiet i første omgang, og derfor kommer hun snart til at fremstå som en utroværdig fantast.

Som læsere af Else Fischers puslespilskrimier vil vide, er alle i huset på et tidspunkt dræbt eller under mistanke. Men bare rolig, alt ordner sig til det bedste for de gode i sidste kapitel. Her er intet nyt under solen. Jeg købte bogen brugt & billigt i en rodekasse i Thisted. 

Else Fischer, The Will that Killed (1958)
(My translation, these Danish books have not been translated into English)

Rich, old Henriette Fram has made up her mind to change her will when someone prevents her from doing it by giving her a box of chocolates which taste oddly bitter.

Journalist Bonnie Marshall has just interviewed Ms Fram about the good causes which can look forward to legacies from her, but after the death strange things begin to happen. Bonnie´s notes and her article disappear, and she is almost killed on her way home from the paper.

Bonnie is so certain that no one from her small circle of relatives or friends will cause her any harm that she does not tell the police everything from the beginning. Therefore she seems fanciful and unreliable when she really needs them.

Readers of Fischer´s puzzles will know that before or later, everybody in the house is either dead or a suspect. But don´t worry, all ends well for the good guys in the last chapter. This is a real comfort read, or perhaps a cosy mystery. I bought six old books for next to nothing in a second-hand shop, and this one kept me entertained for two-three hours.
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Fischer´s Formula

Else Fischer, Hvorfor døde Anette (1959).

Instead of posting an ordinary review of this crime novel (one of my bargains of last week), I will try to review Else Fischer´s authorship. Several of her crime novels for adults were published even before I was born so the ten or so that I own have all been bought second-hand. They have not been translated into English, and she died in 1976.

On the whole, I like her Danish ´puzzles´, but they have one ´flaw´ in common: Fischer tends to follow a formula which is far too easy to recognize when you have read a few of them.

The main character is a young girl, usually very pretty, who visits or moves to a new environment. She gets caught up in something which seems to be suicide or an accident, and for some reason she lies about her name, her movements or her past (white lies which don´t seem to matter). Later it is clear that a murder has been committed, the police are involved, and our young girl is not really able to get out of her lies (often because she feels she must protect a brother or male friend, or something happens to interrupt her confession to the police).

Other common tricks are the girl lending her coat and scarf to another girl (who is attacked by the murderer soon after), the girl wanting to get in touch with an important witness (who is invariably killed before she has a chance to speak to him) etc.

The other female characters may seem friendly in the beginning, but later they are suspicious or jealous of our damsel in distress. The three-four young men all seem to be interested in her, but usually one of them is the murderer, one just wants to worm secrets out of her, and only one is genuinely interested in her and tries to save her.

And the environment: either a remote cottage or an ordinary (large) family house which is at some point isolated because of storm, snow, or a power cut.

So why read Else Fischer at all? Well, each story is entertaining enough – and you never know exactly who the murderer is.

Have you come across other crime authors who tend to use a formula?