Author: CARLING, John R.
Title: The Viking's Skull.
Description: Boston, Little Brown 1904. Octavo publisher's illustrated green cloth printed in colours; four plates. An excellent, bright copy. ¶ First edition of this convoluted, unfair, mildly occult thriller. "An ingeniously constructed plot, which tells how Idris Marville, true Earl of Ormsby recovered a treasure hidden by one of his progenitors - a Viking of the Ninth Century - and how he cleared the memory of his father, who had been wrongfully convicted of murder" - publisher's advertisement - which is both a spoiler and mostly untrue. All the detective work was done by the two beautiful women who love him. And since the spoiler is already in I can tell you that of course it's not a viking's skull. To this we add, "Yet even amidst her fear it did not escape her notice that the hand which held the weapon was small, white, and decorated with a diamond ring" (p33). Sometimes a black silk vizard is just not disguise enough. But is it a useful clue? No.

Keywords: literature fiction c20th America thrillers fantasy mystery women detectives