Review: The Dark Side of Positive Thinking--With Style
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 13, 2012
I used to subscribe to Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, plus I read quite a few other mystery digests. So over the years I've read most of the adventures of Martin H. Ehrengraf. The first was published in 1976. The last is brand-new, never before published. Back then the stories always stood out because they weren't like other mysteries. They aren't hardboiled, or gun-totin', overtly violent, filled with clues or puzzles, or action-packed. The stories consist mostly of dialogue between Ehrengraf and his (always innocent) clients. (What terrific dialogue it is. Maybe Block will issue this collection as an audio book--I keep catching myself doing the voices aloud just because the phrasing and inflection are so much fun.) What these stories actually are--twisty, turny, sly and, dare I say it, subversive. What's the American ethos, anyway? Go for the gold! If you can dream it, you can make it happen. Build it and they will come. Think big! Think positive! Say it is so and make it so. That is exactly what Ehrengraf does. Each story begins with Ehrengraf, the dandy, dapper little attorney, and a client accused or about to be accused of murder. Ehrengraf only has innocent clients. Why are they innocent? Because Ehrengraf says they are. Because he says it, Ehrengraf makes it so. He will do whatever it takes to make it so. These are dark tales about the dark side of positive thinking and wish fulfillment, but told with such charm and humor you don't notice how chilling they are until later, when the real meaning catches up to you and you think, "Oh my god, did he really do that?" Then you might, as I do, give a little smile and kind of, sort of wish you had the guts to be like Ehrengraf. If I had to pick any of the stories as a favorite, I'd be hard-pressed. I will say I especially like THE EHRENGRAF OBLIGATION, because it shows best what the little attorney will do in the name of what he holds most dear (and contrary to popular belief, it's not money).