Nine Man's Murder

by
Eric Keith

Ransom Note Press, March 2011, 231 pp.

ISBN: 978-0-9773787-7-7

Genre: Mystery
Subgenre: Detective
Reviewed: 6/6/2011

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Excerpt

Reeve read the note aloud:

"It's unsigned," Reeve said dryly.

Each guest in turn dredged the note to bring in clues, but only one was found. The message had been typed on ordinary blank white stationery. Its author had not wished to provide a sample of his or her handwriting. Which implied that it might be recognized by the others.

"So, one of us wants to kill the rest?" Jill asked.

"Or," Amanda suggested, "a third party has a grudge against all of us."

"Who?" Hatter asked. "We all have different professions. We live in different areas. Who would even know us all, let alone have a reason to kill each of us? What's the common denominator?"

"Damien," Gideon said. "We all apprenticed with him fifteen years ago."

"Gideon's right," Carter agreed. "We used to help Damien on his cases, as part of our training. Investigating, doing research, writing up reports. Maybe we helped convict someone he proved guilty of a crime."

"And the convict blames us," Reeve added, "as well as Damien."

Jill nodded. "It makes sense. He killed Damien. Now he's after us."

Gideon swept an eye over the others. "We all trained as detectives. Perhaps there's something more we can infer from the note."

"Tone?" Jonas asked.

"Angry," replied Carter.

"Hostile."

"Taunting."

"Damien made no secret of his winter retreats," Jill said. "Everyone who knew Damien knows about them. So anyone could have used that knowledge to forge invitations and lure us up here."

"Whoever did type the note," Jonas added, "had this whole thing planned out well in advance. Every stage seems to be under perfect control."

Amanda pondered. "All we really need to know is who put that note on the table, and then we'll know who wrote it."

"What if it was placed there before we arrived?"

Jonas shot down the notion with a shake of his head. "I was in the parlor room earlier this afternoon. That note was definitely not on the table at that time. Someone planted it there between then and now."

"Perhaps you put it there yourself," Hatter suggested, "when you were alone."

"All of us have had ample opportunity to plant it during the last two hours," Bryan said.

"Not to mention an outsider," Reeve added. "There were times when anyone could have come inside undetected."

"The mysterious outsider," Hatter muttered with his sandpaper chuckle. "The one who took the guns."

"The one we're trapped up here with," Jill pointed out soberly.

Synopsis

Fifteen years ago, while being trained to be detectives by Damien Anderson of the Detective Training School, the group of nine would-be detectives and their trainer try to solve a series of mysterious accidents on the set of a film entitled Nine Man Morris. One person on the set of the movie ends up being killed.

Now, each of the eight graduates receives a letter, supposedly from Damien Anderson, to come to his summer home in a remote part of California 300 miles from Los Angeles. Each of the "guests" has no idea what they are doing there and have not seen their fellow trainees in many years. Upon entering the mansion, they find the body of Damien Anderson in a upstairs bedroom and he has been stabbed to death.

Next, they hear an explosion and rush outside into the snow to find that someone has blown up the bridge . . . the only way off the mountain. Upon returning, they find a note that states that all of them will be playing a game of Nine Man's Murder. The note states that since they fancy themselves great detectives, all they have to do is find the murderer. Who are the victims? The note says that they will be. One by one they will each be picked off until only one survives.

Just as the note predicted, one by one the guests are killed. The survivors soon come to realize that one of them must be the murderer as there is no where else on the mountain anyone could survive in the frigid temperatures outside. The only question is which one of them is twisted enough to want to kill the other eight?

Cast of Characters

Carter Anderson - Employee in this brother Damien's detective agency. Has lived his life in this brother's shadow. But he is about to step out.

Reeve Argyle - Son of a poor Italian-American parents, he is a bodyguard hunted by a crime lord for a betrayal he did not commit. But is he the hunted of the hunter?

Hatter Cates - Best-selling author of violent supernatural thrillers and spokesman for the occult. Hatter believes the dead return to avenge their deaths. The question is: Do they have help?

Jill Constable - A home health-care nurse. Romantically involved with Bryan West fifteen years ago. The secret she shares with Amanda Farrell is one she is willing to die for. But is it one she is willing to kill for?

Jonas Cruz - Formerly a business partner of Bryan West. Son of migrant farm workers. Has a secret to hide. To keep it buried, will others have to be buried with it?

Amanda Farrell - Prosecutor for the district attorney, building a case against the employer of her former lover, Reeve Argyle. To what lengths will she go to get a conviction? And to what lengths will she go to cover it up?

Gideon Lake - A wheelchair-bound priest defrocked after a "misunderstanding," Gideon is searching for the culprit responsible for his condition. Do his religious beliefs include "an eye for an eye"?

Bennett Nash - A freelance smuggler on the run from the law. How far will he go to stay one step ahead?

Bryan West - Owner of a detective agency. Former business partner of Jonas Cruz. Romantically involved with Jill Constable fifteen years ago. On a crusade to avenge a family tragedy, and willing to bend the rules. But how far?

Nine Man's Murder is an Agatha Christie-like murder mystery book written by Eric Keith.

Review

Nine Man's Murder is the type of murder mystery book that I highly enjoy reading. Long have I been a fan of Agatha Christie, having read many of her Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot books. I love the intricate ways she evolves the plot along with the twists and turns she uses to confuse her readers. As you make your way through one her books, you are always end up thinking you know who the murderer is, and then change your mind . . . again and again and again. That is why she is the best murder mystery book writer to have ever lived.

Along comes Eric Keith, a former puzzle designer for a company that created logical games and puzzles, a man who's mind seems to evolve complex scenarios the same way Agatha Christie did. In this tale of deception and murder most foul, the author has created a plethora of curveballs that left me questioning who would be the next victim and who the murderer was. During the entire story, I never figured anything out. To me, that is a well-conceived storyline.

The story keeps flashing back to the set of the movie fifteen years ago. At first, this had me confused as I didn't understand what this had to do with anything. But as the story progresses, I came to understand that the reason for the murders in Damien Anderson's summer home were occurring because of what happened in the past. After all, isn't revenge a dish best served cold, even if it is fifteen years cold?

I found that I really liked the writing style of Eric Keith. I also enjoyed a story because the murders were not unnecessarily grisly, like they are in so many of the modern mystery novels. With television shows like CSI, NCIS, Criminal Minds, and so forth, dealing with all the totally gruesome ways a person can be killed and being pretty graphic with displaying those deaths to the audience, I found the murders in this book to be tastefully handled. Thank you, Eric Keith, for a breath of fresh air in the murder mystery genre.

Overall, Nine Man's Murder is an great story that I truly enjoyed reading. So, if you love Agatha Christie books, you must not pass up Nine Man's Murder. It will grab you by the lapels and not let you go until you read the last page.

I rated this book an 8½ out of 10.